The House-Tree-Person Test as a measure of intelligence and creativity

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Educational Psychology
• Human Development

Background:

• The House-Tree-Person (HTP) test is a projective drawing technique.
• Assessing the validity of projective tests as measures of cognitive ability is crucial.
• Understanding gender differences in cognitive assessments is an ongoing area of research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the House-Tree-Person test's validity as a nonverbal measure of mental ability.
• To examine the relationship between graphic expression (HTP) and verbal intelligence (Basic Word Vocabulary Test).
• To investigate potential gender differences in the correlation between HTP scores and verbal intelligence.

Main Methods:

• Administered the House-Tree-Person test and Basic Word Vocabulary Test to university undergraduates and school-aged children.
• Scored HTP drawings using a standardized manual, impressionistic intelligence ratings, and impressionistic creativity ratings.
• Analyzed intercorrelations between HTP measures and correlations with vocabulary scores, stratified by gender and age group.

Main Results:

• All three HTP scoring methods were highly intercorrelated across all participants.
• Significant positive correlations were found between HTP scores and vocabulary for female university students and grade-school girls.
• No significant correlations were observed between HTP scores and vocabulary for male university students and boys.

Conclusions:

• The House-Tree-Person test shows promise as a nonverbal assessment of mental ability, particularly for females.
• Graphic expression competence appears to operate independently of verbal intelligence in males.
• Impressionistic scoring methods for the HTP test are efficient and reliable for assessing cognitive ability.