Kinetic family drawing

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The Kinetic Family Drawing (KFD), in psychology and counselling, is a highly controversial personality testing technique devised by Burns (1982) created for children. Use of this test is considered a violation of ethical standards in most jurisdictions and can lead to license revocation or disciplinary action. There is little if any credible scientific support for the use of this odd procedures. See, Grove, W. M. and Barden, R.C. (2000) Protecting the Integrity of the Legal System : The Admissibility of Testimony from Mental Health Experts Under Daubert/Kumho Analyses, Psychology, Public Policy and Law, Vol 5, No. 1, 234-242. Excerpts reprinted in Fisher, George (Prof. Stanford Law School), Evidence: University Casebook Series, Foundation Press - West Group, New York, 2002, pg. 688.

The Method: The KFD involves the examiner instructing the child to draw a picture of themselves, and everyone in his or her family, doing something. The examiner may then ask the child questions about the drawing, such as what is happening and who is in the picture. Certain characteristics of the drawing are noted upon analysis, such as the placement of family members; the absence of any members; whether the figures are relatively consistent with reality or altered by the child; the absence of particular body parts; erasures; elevated figures; and so on.

The KFD was created as an extension of the Family Drawing Test (Burns & Kaufman, 1972). The kinetic aspect refers to the instructions given to the child to draw his or her family members doing something.

The KFD is similar to other psychometric projective techniques such as the Draw-A-Person Test (D-A-P) developed by Machover, and the House-Tree-Person (HTP) technique developed by Buck.

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[edit] References

  • Anastasi, A., & Urbina, S. (d1997). Psychological Testing, 7th Ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc.
  • Burns, Robert C. (1987). Kinetic-house-tree-person drawings (K-H-T-P) : an interpretative manual. New York : Brunner/Mazel.