HOUSE, TREE, PERSON

By  

JOSEPH BUCK  

I. INTRODUCTION

Read me what you write or show me what you draw and I will tell you what
you are. . . .  

The drawing page serves as a canvas upon which the subject may sketch a
glimpse of his inner world, his traits and attitudes, his personality strength and
weaknesses including the degree to which he can mobilize his inner resources to
handle his psychodynamic conflicts, both interpersonal and intrapsychic.  

Artists have understood for centuries the creative urge to express personal
ideas, reactions, and interpretation of unstructured stimuli through symbolic media.
However, it is only recently that this process has been studied in a systematic
manner to gain insight and understanding about the artist himself. As the science of
psychology has developed, and people have become more concerned with how man
thinks and feels, it has become apparent that individuals who express themselves in
artistic forms are actually sharing their perceptions and reactions to the world around
them. Their art is not necessarily a realistic portrayal of the world but rather the
expression of their subjective response to, and personal interaction with, their
perceived reality. To put this in psychological terms, the person "actively and
spontaneously structures unstructured materials, and in so doing reveals . . . . the
principles of his psychological structure."  

II. BACKGROUND

Establishment  

The House, Tree, Person Test (HTP) was originally developed by Buck and
Hammer in 1969 who reasoned that, in addition to human figure drawings, drawings
of houses, and trees were also likely to be associated with relevant aspects of the
person. All are familiar objects, are likely to be accepted objects for drawing, and will
produce a number of associations than most other, more neutral objects. The HTP
potentially has advantages over the DAP in that, not only does it include human-
figure drawings, but the greater variety of object drawn is likely to produce greater
number of areas of interpretation. If the house, tree and person are all drawn on one
sheet of paper as recommended by Burns and Kaufman (1970, 1972) and Burns
(1987), then the picture often results in an integrated international story.  

The earlier developers tended to rely heavily on traditional Freudian theory,

as is represented by the following discussion of chimneys by Handler (1985).  
 . . . . If a subject suffers from psychosexual conflicts, the chimney – by virtue
of its structural design and its protrusion from the body of the house – is susceptible
to receive the projection of the subjects inner.  

Author's Biography  

The H-T-P technique proposed by Buck (1948) derives its designation from
the fact that the subject is requested to make freehand drawings of House, Tree, and
Person. Buck describes his method as a two-phased approach: the first being
nonverbal, creative, relatively unstructured, and requiring a rather primitive form of
expression, drawing; the second, verbal, apperceptive, and somewhat more structure.  

The subject is first asked to make drawings of the three objects and is
allowed almost complete freedom in the manner in which he performs the tasks..
Following this, the subject is asked to define, describe, and interpret the objects
drawn and their respective environments and to associate concerning them.  

According to Buck, "The specific items, House, Tree, and Person, were
chosen because: (1) they are items familiar to even the comparatively young child: (2)
they were found to be more willingly accepted as objects to be drawn by subjects of
all ages than other items suggested and (3) they appeared to stimulate more frank
and free verbalizations than did other items"  

Buck postulates further that the H-T-P is valid measure of adult intelligence,
for the reasons that: (1) the H-T-P appraises intelligence from the standpoints of
elemental information (details), spatial relationships (proportion and perspective), and
concept formation (organization and quality of the completed whole, and the subject's
spontaneous and/or induced comments concerning it); (2) the problem presented to
the subject in the nonverbal phase involves the reproduction in two-dimensional form;
and (3) because of the relatively primitive method of expression, subjects who find
verbalization difficult may reveal the presence of a hithherto unsuspected intellectual
ability or potential.  

With regret to the latter set of postulates, Buck proceeds to a method of

estimating adult intelligence that is unique, to say the least. The exact mode of
approach employed in this series of steps is much too involved and complicated to
described in detail here and the reader is referred to the Qualitative and Quantitative
Scoring Manual. Suffice it to say that fairly acceptable correlations seemed to exist
between H-T-P scores and standardized intelligence tests, although few of the 356
subjects were normals.  

Another complicated series of instructions is presented for qualitative analysis

and interpretation, in which Buck assigns psychological values to certain designated
characteristics of the drawings. For example: "if the tree is tiny, the subject is belived
to feel inferior and inadequate, to be indicating a desire to withdraw."  

 
Theoretical Framework  

Because drawings are such unique and creative expressions of an individual

it is a grave injustice to interpret them with a rigid dogmatic structure. When this is
attempted, the rich variety of information and the depth of understanding that can be
gained about a person are lost, and the personal characteristics that contribute to the
expressions and symbols within the drawing are often discarded. On the other hand,
some guidelines and training are necessary for the clinician to sharpen his
interpretative skills and benefit from the experience of others who have attempted the
same tasks. It is important for the evaluator to become familiar with the guidelines
and use the standard interpretations as springboard or baseline from which to branch
out and explore the intricacies and unique characteristics of the particular drawing
being studied.  

The primary tool used by the skilled clinician to integrate to seemingly

contradictory details within the drawing, and to understand the message conveyed
through the symbols represented, is himself. No book or set of rules will contain the
unique combination of characteristics that the evaluator is called upon to examine,
and as a result, he must rely on his personal skill and expertise to determine the
meaning of the drawing. Responsibility rests on the examiner, then, to continue
developing himself and familiarizing himself with a variety of stimuli which will
contribute to his skill as clinician. Exposure to various avenues of understanding
people – the arts, literature, psychological studies, and self-exploration – can greatly
enhance the examiner's skill. The key to evaluating drawings is for the examiner to
open himself up o any and all possibilities of interpretation, and the extent of
exposure and interaction he had had with different worlds and people will enhance
this process. When strict, formalized procedures are followed, these more elusive
qualities are missed, and the full impact and meaning of the picture are lost. For the
evaluation then, it is important (1) to be familiar with standard guidelines for drawing
interpretation, (2) to be aware of all the possibilities contained within the drawings, (3)
to be open and confront inconsistencies when evaluating a drawing, and (4) to
integrate the observations will all the other information known out a person to
crystallize one's understanding of the present drawing.  

In addition to these areas of knowledge which the evaluator needs to develop,

the following general guidelines should be utilized when attempting to interpret a
drawing.  

1. Once the drawing has been obtained, it is the important to consider it in its
totally. Rather than focusing attention on specific detail, it is valuable to look
initially at the whole picture and notice what mood or message is conveyed.
This is a very intuitive process, and involves stepping "into" the picture to see
how it "feels" and what overall impression is portrayed. From these first
impressions of the drawing, it is often possible to see how the individual
relates in his world how receptive he is to outside influences, how he handles
emotion, and how he feels about himself. It is valuable at this point to jot
down initial impressions and reactions without any attempt to analyze,
integrate, or understand the observations.
 2. After this intuitive, impression gathering stage, the examiner should go back
to the drawing and analyze the specific details in a more logical or rational
manner, using published guidelines and previous clinical experience. Some
interpreters conduct this process in a routine and systematic manner, often
using a checklist to categorize the different components. Other examiner's
begin with the details that draw their attention and proceed from there to
further observations. The details within a drawing that initially catch one's
attention are usually quite obvious and can take numerous forms, such as the
unusual treatment of a particular figure, a large inconsistency in how the
drawing was executed, intense erasure or scratching over, or unusual figure
placement on the page. They serve the function of focusing the evaluator's
attention onto the drawing and often convey the primary message of the
drawing quite clearly. Both of these approaches are valuable, and the
preference of the examiner determines which is the more effective style to
utilize.
3. The final step in interpreting a drawing is to evaluate the information obtained
from steps 1 and 2, and integrate it with any other test results or background
data known about the person. Things that are true and significant for an
individual are usually repeated in numerous forms, and it is important for the
evaluator to recognize this and obtain confirmation of his clinical conclusions
from other information known about the person. In other words, drawings can
only be understood in the context of other test data and the individual's
personal life and these must be considered when making final conclusions
about a drawing's possible meaning.

Depending on the theoretical framework from which the examiner is operating,

interpretations of a specific drawing may vary greatly. For example, a person with an
analytic bias may see a particular drawing as representing conflicts from early
childhood while a family therapist may emphasize current attitudes and feelings
towards family members in the interpretation. Both interpretations may correctly
portray different aspects of the individual, and both may be useful in terms of
understanding the unconscious dynamics operating in person's life. Some drawing
tasks are more conductive to particular theoretical framework than others, and it is
up to the clinician to select the drawing tests that best meet his needs. A Kinetic
Family Drawing or a House-Tree-Person Tests, for example, may be ideal for
revealing attitudes and feelings towards family member, while a Draw-A –Person
Test may be more adept at uncovering sexual attidtudes and feelings towards the
self.  

Once the clinician has found the drawing test that works well for his
theoretical framework, he must become aware of the subtleties of interpretation.
There are as many variations of the same drawing as there are persons doing the
drawing. To complicate matters even further, a person' drawing can change
considerably each time it is executed. Within this wide range of variation, however,
there are some common characteristics which the trained eye can quickly assess to
determine the emotional stability and psychological orientation of the individual.  
 The more exposure a person has had to interpreting drawings, the more
accurate will his interpretative skills become.. Also, the more open the interpreter can
be to all the possibilities contained within a drawing the more he can trust his trained
intuitions about the meaning of that particular drawing. There is a delicate balance in
this process, combining the uses of personal intuitive skills with concrete knowledge
based on research and experience. When the balance is maintained between these
two methods of observation, the interpretation and understanding of particular
drawings is likely to be both accurate and meaningful.

III. TEST DESCRIPTION

 

The H-T-P is a two phase technique, the first phase is non-verbal creative,
relatively unstructured that of drawing; the second phase the past drawing integration
is more formerly stretch.  

1. The H-T-P is a projective device although its stimuli house, tree, person are
objects that are completely familiar, subject is not told what house, tree or
person to draw. Buck regards drawing as a self portrait.
2. The H-T-P measure intelligence from the standpoint elemental information
(details size and spatial relationship (proportion and perspective) and concept
information (as evidence by the organization and quality of the completed
holes drawn and by the subjects spontaneous and or induce comments
concerning them).
3. Each drawing may arouse both conscious and unconscious associations that
of the house, associations concerning the subjects home and those living with
him; the tree, his life role and his ability to device satisfaction from and his
environment is general; person, interpersonal relationship both specific and
general. In each instance past, present and future may be involved.
4. Any emotion exhibited by the subject while drawing or during the past
interrogation about this drawings is presumed to represent his emotional
reaction to the relationships situations needs or posses that he sees or feels
which may have been suggested by the drawings.
5. A subject may indicate that a given detail or details complex of the method or
presentation is special significance for him in two general ways.
a. Positively, as by exhibiting over emotion while drawing it, by excessive
erasures and re-drawing, or by presenting it in deviant or bizarre
fashion and
b. Negatively, by presenting a detail incompletely by omitting an
essential detail, by refusing to comment upon a detail.
6. If the HTP details do not have universal and absolute meaning the subjects
own meaning must not be overlooked.
7. Interpretation of the HTP, detail must be made in the light of as complete
knowledge of the subject, of his past and present environment.
8. Chromatic drawings may tap even deeper personality layers than the subject
may convey through a chronic drawings. May top another psychological item.
IV. ADMINISTRATION
 

Regardless of the different variations in administration, instructions re kept to

a minimum. This helps to maintain the antiquity of the situation, thereby increasing
the likelihood that significant aspects of personality will be projected onto the
drawings. Clients should be seated in a comfortable position, with sufficient room to
freely move their arms while completing the drawings. They are provided with a
single sheet of 8 1/2 x 11-inch sheet of paper and, if an achromatic drawing is
desired, are given a sharp #2 pencil with an eraser. If chromatic drawings are desired,
clients should b provided with crayons, colored pencils, or different colored felt-tip
pens. Some administrations suggest that no other instruction be given, whereas
other recommend that the person also be told to take his or her time and do as good
a job as possible. One variation of the HTP recommends that the client be requested
to "Draw me a picture that includes a house, a tree, and a person." Once the drawing
has been completed, the clinician should note the client's name, age, and date, and
should number the drawings according to the order in which they were drawn.  

Sometimes, clients complain that they are poor artists. This might be
countered with the observation that most people's artistic ability stops when they are
about 10 years of age so that most people are not particularly good artists.
Furthermore it might be stressed that this is not a test of artistic ability but that they
should still do the best they can. Occasionally, clients will request specific guidelines,
such as how big to make the person, what sex they should be, or what the person in
the drawing should be doing. The examiner should simply state that it is up to them.
If they draw a stick figure, they should be given a sheet of paper and requested to
draw a more complete person. Some examiners recommend that, if subjects draw
only the top half or quarter of person, they should also be give a new sheet of paper
and be requested to draw a complete person.  

One option is to include an inquiry phase, in which the client might be

requested to tell a story about the person in the drawing. This story can then be used
to aid future interpretations. More specific questions might be asked, such as having
subjects indicate what the person in the drawing is thinking or feeling, what makes
him or her happy/sad, or what his or her interests are. A semi structured list of
questions for the HTP is included in Appendix O. if only the DAP is administered, the
examiner might only select and ask the questions relevant to the person drawing(s).
Some examiners might want clients to associate to and interpret the significance of
their drawings. The clients themselves are thereby being used as consultants to help
with the interpretations. This latter procedure is likely to be most successful for clients
with a good level of insight and who are fairly appreciative of unconscious processes.  

During the administration, the examiner should note any relevant behavior.
These might include clients level of confidence or hesitancy, whether the procedure
increases their anxiety. Their degree of playfulness, impulsiveness,
conscientiousness, or the presence of excessive erasures.  

The most appropriate variation on administration will depend on the purpose

of assessment as well as the personal preference of the clinician. In general, the
most research and therefore the most strategies available for interpretation can be
found with human-figure drawings. However, if a clinician would like to obtain
information about family, school, or work, then variations such as the Kinetic Family
Drawing or Kinetic School Drawing might be administered. Different author is argue
the relative usefulness of different variations. For example, Burns (1987) has argued
for and provided examples of the advantages of the Kinetic House-Tree-Person over
the regular House-Tree-Person. Similarly, Sarrell & Berman (1981) have emphasized
that the Draw-A-Person is good at uncovering attitudes toward the person's sexuality
and body image.  

Rationale  

The HTP Freehand drawing of house-tree-person is a technique designed to

aid the clinician in obtaining information concerning the sensitivity, maturity, efficiency
and the degree of integration both specific and general.  

Drawings, though they have only recently been classified and understood as
projective techniques, are more accurately expressive methods for revealing
individual feelings and personality structures. As such, they have become a valuable
tool for understanding and assessing the personality characteristics of an individual,
and have gained popularity among clinicians because of their unique ability to allow
the nonverbal expression of an individual's feelings and attitudes.  

In order to appreciate the complexity and symbolic messages communicated

through drawings, it is necessary to look at the theoretical assumptions that form the
basis of projective drawing interpretation. In general, without a belief in the
unconscious, the whole discussion f project testing and interpretation is meaningless.
Given the existence of an unconscious, there follows the assumption that this
unconscious can reveal itself in symbolic form to the individual's conscious mind.
Because man tends to view the world in an anthropomorphic manner, he can project
his unconscious feelings, conflicts, attitudes, and reaction onto anything outside
himself. Projection is most likely to occur when a individual feels threatened or
insecure with certain personal feelings because it is less anxiety provoking t attribute
problem areas to the outside world than to himself. Drawings, then, are just one
technique of bringing into awareness unconscious feelings, attitudes, and reaction
through the use of symbolic representation.  

Given this set of hypotheses, the evaluation of a person's drawings provides

useful information for clarifying areas of conflict and assessing the strengths and
weakness available to handle these conflicts. In order to do this, both the style of the
drawing and the specific content depicted in the drawing must be looked t. the style
of the drawing, or the manner in which the person has presented the specific content
of his drawing, may vary tremendously from person to person and from drawing to
drawing. Some drawings are very bold, others quite sketchy; some small, other large;
different perspective may be used, as well as varying amounts of shading, erasures,
and organization. The way a person elects to perform his drawing reflects the way he
approaches his personal life situation. Evaluation of one's style of representation is
 useful in determining the person's strengths and abilities, and gives the interpreter a
better understanding of how the person interacts psychologically with specific
aspects of his life. The content of the drawings, that is, what the person has content
of the drawings, that is what the person has chosen to draw within the given set of
directions, helps the clinician to assess specific areas of conflict within an individual.
Since these areas are often not readily accessible to a person's consciousness, their
recognition and classification may also help the individual to understand his current
situation and his reaction to it. Within the conscious areas of conflict, there are often
underlying unconscious dynamics that are influencing a situation. As these areas of
the unconscious become known and clarified for the individual, the conflicts often
resolve themselves.  

Of course, drawing must be interpreted with caution and treated with same
carefulness as any other type of psychological test data. One drawing may reflect a
specific aspect of an individual, but the significance of that drawing in terms of how a
person is functioning psychologically can only be determined when other drawings or
data from other psychological tests have been evaluated and understood in the
content of the person's present life situation. It is important then, when making
clinical judgements, to consider how a person appears through the interpretations
derived from a number of different psychological tests. What is most significant
psychologically will appear consistently throughout the test data and will also be
visible in the person's current life situation. When this kind of consistency is noted in
the test results and interpretations, the examiner can be reassured that the
conclusions are an accurate reflection of that person's level; of psychological
functioning.  

V. SCORING

A. Quantitative

The subject's achromatic and chromatic drawings are to be scored

quantitatively which is based upon the items of detail, proportion and perspective.
Their presence or absence is the basis of the person's intelligence.  

Detail scores appear to be a quantitative index of the subject's recognition of

his own of his own orientation to the elementary concrete aspects of everyday
life.  

Proportion scores seem to be an index of his judgment, to represent a way

the elemental relationship of details.  

Perspective sores seem to be a measure of the subject's ability to evaluate

environment and his relation to those peopling it on a broad basis.  

B. Qualitative Analysis  

The meaning of the three wholes:  

a. House represents the home or the domestic situation.

 b. Tree represents the individual's general role in life (wherein the trunk reflects
the individual's feelings of basic power while the branch structure represents
the individual's flexibility.)
c. Person is the self-portrait.

1. Details

A. Essential Details

House must have at least one door, one window, one wall, and the
roof must have its chimney.  

Tree must have a trunk and at least one branch.  

Person must have a head, a trunk, 2 legs and 2 arms, facial

characteristics; must have 2 eyes, 2 ears, a nose and a mouth.  

B. Non-Essential Details  

This includes window curtains, shading materials for the wall with
regards to the house and drawing the bark for the tree is considered non-
essential. As to the person, it is not necessary to draw the neck, hair and
clothing.  

Note: The absence of even a single detail is to regarded as serious. Limited

use of non-essential details implies good reality testing; a sensitive and well-
balanced interaction with the environment.  

C. Bizarre detailing is strongly suggestive of a major maladjustment.  

2. Proportion

A relatively tiny whole suggests feelings of inadequacy and withdrawal tendencies.  

Too large whole and wholes that tend to press out against the page's borders denote
feelings of environmental construction.  

3 Perspective  

Drawing that are rigidly framed suggests maladjustment.  

VI. INTERPRETATION
 

The Healthy Drawing  

There is a tendency in the field of psychology to focus on pathology,

sometimes to the exclusion of the more stable and healthier aspects of personality.
Rather than attempt the difficult task of defining emotional health with all its unique
and individual variations, psychologists tend to focus on what is not healthy and to
assume that the remaining attitudes, feelings, and behaviors fall within the broad
spectrum of normalcy. In the field of psychological testing, this approach has
predominated, with interpretations being based on what is "wrong" with the person
rather than on what is "right". As would be expected then, in most drawing
interpretation guidelines there is little mention of what constitutes a healthy drawing;
rather there is subtle encouragement to study the drawing in extreme detail until the
internal pathological dynamics of the unconscious are revealed.  

When approaching drawing interpretation, the clinician needs t have a clear

definition of his personal concepts of both psychological health and pathology. He
should then be aware of how these concepts bias his orientation, as well as how they
help clarify his drawing interpretations.  

Although the theoretical framework and value system of each examiner may
vary tremendously, there are certain characteristics of psychological health common
to most orientations which would be considered when evaluating drawings. People
whose lives appear to be working well for them are individuals who are able to
identify and meet their psychological needs accurately and adequately. They feel
positive about themselves, and are not afraid to express their ideas and feelings to
others. In addition, these people are accurate in their self perceptions, and feel they
have power and control in their lives to effect change when necessary. In other words,
they have the tools to handle their life problems and conflicts successfully. As would
be expected, theses traits are visible in the drawings of psychologically healthy
individuals and are demonstrated clearly in the following guidelines.  

Self-esteem. When the drawing contains person, the figure is integrated and
contains all the essential details (facial features, torso, hands, feet, legs, arm; Buck,
1948; urban, 1963). It is drawn in proportion to the rest of the picture (Urban, 1963),
and for males, the drawing is neither extremely large on or extremely small (Delatte
and Hendrickson, 1982). Line quality is firm and definite, and the appearance of the
figure is strong, solid, and pen in position (Levy, 1958).  

Security and Self-Confidence. The figures in the drawing are grounded and
represented as touching the earth or floor. They occupy the central area of the paper
and do not cling to the edge of the sheet (Lakin, 1956). Line quality is firm and strong
(Urban, 1963). Figures are often shown moving in the picture or having the potential
to move; they possess arms, feet, and legs that are free and adequate for mobility in
the environment.  

Personal Relationships. The figures in the drawing are fairly close to each
other and show some type of dynamic interaction or relationship. The figure
themselves contain the essential tools for communication, that is, open arms with
hands, ears, mouth, and eyes (burns, 1982).  

Openness. The figures in the drawing are standing in open posture or

interacting with their environment in a positive manner. Building are drawn with
windows and doors that are unencumbered and accessible to the environment
(Barnouw, 1969; Jolles, 1971).  

Stability and Orderliness. The drawing forms a complete picture, with the
parts integrated and relating in a complementary manner. Each figure in the drawing
contains its essential elements and relates with the other figure to form a unified and
orderly picture (jolles, 1971; Urban, 1963).  

Sexual Identification. Figures of people are drawn as obviously male or

female, and the first figure drawn is the same sex as the person doing the drawing
(Gravitz, 1968). All figures (male and female contain the details essential in a human
figure drawing, are comparable size, and are in proportion to the complete picture
(Buck, 1966).  

Age Consideration  

When interpreting drawing of young children, it is important to take into

consideration their respective capabilities at various stages of development. A 2 year
old will usually scribble when presented with paper and pencil. His muscle
movements are uncoordinated and random, although he can make dots and dashes.
He can move about the page, filling the unused portions and usually managing to
stay on the paper.  

The 3 year old can execute circles, loops arts, and ines. These earliest
attempts to create identifiable objects often result in unrecognizable forms which the
child may call "Daddy" or "Mommy".  

At 4 years of age, a child can arrange oops and circles in a horizontal fashion,
and is able to add lines to the circles to represent people's legs and arms. Although a
4 year old can orient himself on the paper from left to right, any other differentiation
or order in the drawing is unusual.  

The 5 year old is able to use combinations of circles, arcs, lines and dots to
create familiar objects. Most children at this age are able to cross vertical with
horizontal lines.  

By 6 years of age, the child is capable of integrating his drawing and has the
fine motor control needed to represent his visual world more accurately. He can
orient a square obliquely, produce vertical series, and successfully make dots which
are not circles.  

It is not until the child is about 7 to 8 that he is able to foresee sequences and
therefore represent movement in his drawings. Until this age, the child's images are
static and the figures often unrelated to each other. After the age of 7, the child is
able to produce integrated picture. He has the mental and fine motor skills
necessary to represent the picture he has in mind accurately on the paper.  

 
 General Interpretive Guidelines  

There are general guidelines that should be taken into consideration when
evaluating any projective drawing. Regardless of which drawing is being completed,
the manner in which the task is approached and the way the drawing is presented
are of equal importance to the content itself. The first step in analyzing the drawing,
then, is to look the overall picture and evaluate it in the following areas.  

Caution in Interpretation  

No one thing indicates anything; it is the whole configuration.  

Interpretation  

Placement is important. Usual position is upper left center of page.  

Left:  

a. Indication of past, events of the past

b. Traditional in thinking
c. Feminine tendencies
d. Repression of feeling

Right:  

a. Over anxious about involvement

b. Indication of future, of what will happen in future
c. Intellectual control; obsessive, intellectual controlled masculinity

Top Left: Severe regression; never was, never matured  

Down Right: Depression, hypercontrol  

Aspects of the Drawings  

The House  

1. Roof – meticulous roof: normal, tactful, sensitive interaction with environment. If

details is meticulous, obsessive compulsive traits.
a. Deep shading of roof: anxiety in fantasy level.
b. Wing-like formation: idea of flying away
c. Ear-like roof: auditory sensitivity
d. When roof and walls equivalent: (Wall Roof) tendency t act ones fantasy
immediately

2. Wall – indicator of ego

a. Overemphasized: effort to maintain control
b. Weak boundary line: beginning breakdown of ego control
c. Light pencil line: I don’t want to be involved
 d. Break in lines: aggressive impulses. Impulses may come to expression
without control; person is vulnerable to influence from outside
e. Transparency: marked regression
f. No wall line: a maniac, no control over impulses, murderer
g. Horizontal dimension of wall emphasized: unable to bring dominance to any
orientation, latent homosexuality; Horizontal expression of phallic symbols:
vulnerable to environment pressure.
h. Vertical dimension of wall: more latent
i. Double perspective: intellectual deficit

1). Emotional pathology if sing well  

2). Armoring or buttress defense produced by Schizoid much of myself, fear

to reveal self at the beginning of contract. If reverse, trying to adapt to
conviction but irritable about it.  

3). One dimensional facade: I will not tell you much of myself, feat to reveal
self at the beginning of contract. If reverse, trying to adapt to convention that
irritable about it.  

3. Size
a. Tiny regression, if scant detailing. Desired lack of involvement with reality.
b. Tiny and well drawn: feeling of great inadequacy, that environment is hostile,
is opposing person.
c. Large: excessively o, strong feelings of conflict with environment. Person
refuse to found in by environment; breaking loose with hostility.
d. House not completed: act out hostility to someone in household; evasive,
acting out potential.
 
 
4. Absolute Profile House
Evasion: desire to show self as little as possible.  
 
5. Bird's eye view
a. Looking down at house: rejection of home except for medical student
b. Worm's eye view: home inadequate, goals not attainable
c. Fear from observer, use of foreground objects: inaccessibility, home beyond
coping with
d. Drawn down: insecurity or dependency
e. Arch-like: dependency on mother; exhibitionism may be implied
f. Upward ground line: future is difficult, much striving
g. Downward ground line: pessimistic,, less willingness to strive
 
6. Fence
Guardedness, protect self from people  
 
7. Door
Direct contact with environment  
a. No door: difficult accessibility; only in inner life.
 b. Door high beyond baseline: person is inaccessible
c. Emphasis on door and hinges: admit you only on his own terms
d. Door knobs: orality and dependency. Will not permit contact. Higher the door
is beyond baseline, the greater the degree of unwillingness to get in contact
 
8. Windows
Media of contract with environment  
a. Overly large windows: great demand ness
b. No panes, blank: oppositional tendencies; if windows are light in strokes,
apathy, empty feeling within
c. Bar in window: keep away
d. Look in windows: guardedness, suspiciousness
e. Decorations of shutters, shades and curtains: controlled, too defensive
f. Little dots: eye watching
g. If windows made differently: disorganization, unpredictability
h. General emphasis on door or window: possible oral pre-occupation
i. Oriental window with overhanging: suspiciousness, drawn by paranoid people
j. Windows up in the wall: inaccessibility
 
9. Chimney
a. Smoke in profusion: inner tension
b. Right: pressure from the past
c. Left: pressure from current situation
d. Thin line: little assimilation
e. Overlarge chimney: virility, exhibitionism
f. None: coolness in home, missing father
g. Tottering: castration, tottering virility
h. Transparent: attempt at masculinity
i. Peeping: weak, coward, is afraid to come out in open
j. Large chimney looming at the back of house: latent aggressiveness
k. With antenna: protection of phallus
 
10. Walkway
Well proportioned, easily drawn means person is in intact  
a. Long: loosened accessibility
b. Ladder-like: impulsive, move away, much reaction formation
c. Wide at entrance, narrow to house: remain aloof, superficially friendly. Forced
qarety and goodwill
d. With impulsive lines: tendency to rush; without adequate control and foresight:
cannot predict what he will do next
e. Large, with house small: compensatory sociability
 
11. Shrubs and trees
Mild anxiety, channelized and under control.  
 
12. Irrelevant details
Severe anxiety  
  
13. Clouds
Generalized anxiety  
 
14. Garage emphasis
Large or reinforced, need for motor release (Desire t get out of the house)  
 
15. Backdoor
Stealthy, guilt ridden activity  
 
16. Lack of function
Poor tie reality  
 
17. Bizarre
Confusion, does not know what he is doing  
 
18. Unconventional
Schizophrenia, marked vulnerability. Two picture of hose: by schizoid, demanding
mother or mother-wife  
 
 
The Tree  
Basic self portrait, less conscious. Normal tree is two dimensional.  
 
Dead trees: traumatized, hurt and damaged. Penetration tree, trunk like.  
 
Thallus: uncertainty in sex identity.  
 
X-ray: strong hypochondriacal tendencies, strong suicidal tendency  
 
Two Trees: sibling rivalry, anxiety.  
 
Fruit: dependent children and pregnant women draw fruits.  
 
Apple falling: rejection.  
 
Grass and shrub around tree: some anxiety, but pretty well under control.  
 
 
1. Trunk
 
Basic power, person's ego strength.  
 
Beyond top of page: heavy fantasy.  
 
On baseline of paper: depression, adult feeling of inadequacy.  
  
In yardstick area: material dependency.  
 
Reinforcement of trunk line:  
1). Faint line: weakness, breakdown  
2). Heavily drawn: anxiety  
3). Vertical lines: splitting tendency  
4). Scar: scarring event of the past  
5). Overly large: react aggressively in fantasy or in actuality  
6). Narrow at base, large at end: over-striving, may collapse  
7). Round, rounded: dependency  
8). One dimensional: inferior adjustment to life. If drawn slowly or hesitantly, could be
depression.  
 
2. Branches
 
Resources, satisfaction from environment. Inter-relationship of branches: how well
organized is he?  
a. Flexible: better flexibility to environment
b. Shade: anxiety in integration with environment
c. Two-dimensional, clubs: strong hostility
d. Turned inward: obsessional
e. Drooping: indication of depression, like weeping willow tree
f. Open ended: lack of ego boundary; involved with arms and legs
g. Breakthrough boundary: aggression potential tremendous
 
3. Roots
 
Stabilizing strength of personality  
a. Roots exposed: ungratified need
b. Emphasized: great need for dependency
c. Root-like talons, but not in ground: paranoid
d. Cut: psychopathic, suicidal potential
e. Transparent roots below ground: poor judgment, basic mental deficit,
expression of guilt or acting out tendency
 
4. Leaves
 
Leaves represent fulfillment and satisfaction  
a. Well drawn: strong obsessive compulsive ill
b. Crude: less intelligent
c. None: frustrated, cold.
 
 
The Person  
Drawing of person is most conscious self concept; actual reproduction of self with
weaknesses, or may be a fantasy portrait.  
The adjusted: drawn the person he likes.  
 
The less adjusted: draw those they don’t like.  
 
The ambivalent: draw that which is ambivalent to them. Vale with drawing of bulging
muscle suggests anxiety with masculinity.  
 
A body like a face: drawn by Psychotic.  
 
Clothing when over emphasized: may suggest need to compensate>  
 
When underemphasized: something to hide.  
 
Transparency: indicated poor judgment.  
 
Looping lines: desire to return to womb.  
 
Broken down boundaries: lack of control.  
 
Profile  
Absolute: suggests strong paranoid tendency: this is only of what you see,
one arm, one leg  
Partial profile: tendency to paranoid, evasive, aloof, socially snobbish,
pretentious.  
 
1. Size
If the self concept is small (average would be two thirds of the available
space)the hypothesis may be formulated that the person feel small (inadequate) and
that he is responding to the demand of the environment with feelings of inferiority.  
 
2. Movement
A drawing that is suggestive of much activity: is frequently drawn by those
individual, the man of action, the hypermaniac, hysterias.  
Drawing that convey the impression of extreme rigid and usually brittle control
is maintained.  
If a drawing is a mechanical kind of figure: completely lacking in kinesthetic
implications, the analyst should be alert for other signs of depersonalization and
psychosis.  
Seated or Reclining: frequently indicative of low energy level, lack of drive, or
of emotional exhaustion  
 
3. Distortions and Omissions
A distortion of omission of any part of the figure suggests that conflict may be
related to the part so treated.  
Voyeurists: frequently omit the eyes or close them.  
Individual with sex conflict will omit or distort the areas associated with sexual
parts.  
 Infantile individuals with oral needs usually draw enlarge breast  
Remarks, erasure, shading, and reinforcement are all in the same direction as
distortions and emission, and should be explored for possible relationship with
conflict areas.  
 
4. Parts
A. Head: General – usually drawn first – concept of self is focused in the head or
face
If head is markedly enlarged: the subject may either be very
grandeuse, have intellectual aspirations, or may have head pains or other
schematic symptoms, be introspective or fantasy ridden.  
If head and face dimmed out: the subject may be extremely self
conscious and shy.  
If head drawn last: the possibility of severe thought disturbance should
be explored.  
If head very clearly drawn in contrast with a vaguely sketched or
rejected body: subject may resort to fantasy.  
Small head: may suggest obsessive compulsive, or marked inferiority
feelings, or denial of site of guilt feeling.  
Large head on small body: false impulses control (catatonic may draw
tiny head, huge body, outbidded house, huge tree).  
Large body and small head: may indicate impulsive acting out.  
 
If shape odd look for delusions.  
Flat top head: may suggest feelings of castration especially intellectual
and learning area.  
Head to back: may mean paranoid a withdrawal.  
Peripheral line: in head suggests effort to control fantasy or perhaps
obsessional reaction.  
Older people may draw larger head than body, suggesting effects of
reaction to arteriosclerosis.  
 
Features - If no features, subject is uncertain of identity unable to face self or world.  
 
Hair and Beard  
If hair well drawn: sensitivity  
Lack of hair: suggest feeling of impotence or lack of virility. Adolescent
girls emphasize hair.  
Heavily shaded hair: suggests anxiety about fantasy.  
When hair astray or "messy": there may be anxiety about sexual
strivings.  
Gives hair a great deal or attention and care: narcissistic oor
homosexual individuals.  
Hair on face, or beard or mustache: is usually associated with
compensatory striving for virility by those who have feeling of sexual
inadeqancy or doubts about masculinity. e.i. serve as phallic substitutes.  
 
  
Face - Main index of social adjustment.  
When over emphasized: look for attempt to maintain facade or social
front.  
Shaded face: suggests depersonalization, guilt  
 
Eyes  
If very large if those of male figure have lashes: subject tends to be
homosexual.  
If large in outline but pupils omitted or absent: subject may be
expressing guilt in relation to voyeuristic tendencies.  
If large and staring: possibility of paranoid trends.  
Hollow sockets: lack of ability to accept stimulus from the eye.  
Closed eyes: suggest avoidance of unpleasant stimuli.  
Complete omission of eyes: might indicate visual hallucinations.  
Pinpoint eyes or dot eyes: subject wants to see as little as possible.  
Oriental eyes: suspiciousness. One is not fully been.  
Watchful, looking eyes: emphasis on detail, very sensitive
visualization.  
 
Nose - May portray a social stereotypes, or may be interpreted as phallic
symbols.  
If hooked or broad and flared: the subject may be expressing rejection
and contempt.  
If especially large: may associated with feelings of sexual impotence.  
If extremely large: usually drawn by male involutional (depressed).  
Large noses: drawn by adolescents who are attempting to establish
their male role but feel inadequate for it almost invariable.  
Turned up nose: Schizoid, "Don’t want to smell it"  
 
Mouth and Chin - Mouth suggests oral adjustment.  
Heavy lips: oral emphasis  
Teeth: oral hostility  
Smiling mouth: desire to be occupied socially, but may be artificial.  
One line mouth: oral resistance or denial  
No mouth: resistance.  
 
Chin - associated with masculinity, often social rather than sexual.  
Underemphasized: suggest feeling or social impotence.  
 
Ear - Rarely detailed.  
If enlarge or emphasized: the clinician may explore the possibility of
organic damage to the auditory area, or auditory hallucinations in a paranoid
individual, a hearing disability, or a passive homosexual conflict.  
If underemphasized: sensitivity to criticism.  
If omitted entirely: possibility or auditory hallucinations should be
explored.  
  
 
B. TRUNK: General – Seat of Basic need and desires
Long trunk: unsatisfied needs of which patient is not aware  
Short trunk: denial or drives  
Tall, narrow trunk: avoidance of extreme contract, fantasy.  
 
Neck - Coordinating element  
Thin neck: drawn by schizoid people.  
No neck: suggests lack of control, person t the mercy of body desire
which may overwhelm him.  
 
Shoulder - Physical strength and power.  
Tiny: feelings of inferiority.  
Rounded: well balanced.  
Square: over defensive attitude.  
Unequal: sexual conflict  
Left, female  
Right, male  
 
Waist - coordination of power drive.  
 
Genitalia - severe maladjustment, severe sex problems, seen in exhibitionist,
psychotics.  
Overemphasize on buttocks: may be seen in male homosexuals  
Lack of pelvic closure:. May suggest latent homosexuality. Closue
means vulnerable, passive.  
 
Arms - Related to control of environment.  
Arms as wings: schizoid tendency  
Overlong: over ambitious striving  
Short: absence of striving  
Thin: absence of striving  
One dimensional: gross inadequacy feelings, regression  
Broader in hand area: lack of control, impulsiveness  
Snake-like: stealing activity, with pockets for stolen good.  
Broken off or omitted: feelings of castration  
Arms at back: guilt no desire to meet people  
No arms: feelings of tremendous inadequacy.  
Relaxed arms: suggest adjustment  
Tense: rigidity  
Crossed over pelvic region: involutional melancholics, feelings of loss
of sexual potency.  
Arms against body: acting out against environment.  
 
Hands  
 Good hands - usually found in drawings of person of above average
intelligence,  
Heavily shaded: suggest guilt, masturbation  
Clenched fist: hostile feelings  
Extremely large hands: impulsiveness, awkwardness in social
relations.  
Petal hand (mitten hand also): infantile frustrated, weak, dependent.  
Hand behind back: subject afraid of own aggression  
Absence of hands: guilt, castration feelings.  
Finger large, spikelike, protruding: suggest hostility  
Hand a line with no fingers delineated: suggestion of feelings of loss of
control.  
 
Legs - Absence, feeling of castration  
Large: striving for autonomy  
Tied together: rigidity and tension in regard to sexual area  
Broad based stance, spread out legs: suggests defiance, or insecurity
if body is not too well balanced.  
Relaxed position normal: adjustment running feels forced to achieve.  
Controlled running: attempt to escape or achieve;  
Panic reaction, compelled to run: feelings of castration.  
 
Knee - emphasized, homosexual tendencies (strain during act of sex).  
 
Feet - control location  
Placement gives clue to ambivalence, indecision  
Backward: desire to get away from the environment, phallic looking,
assaultive weapon.  
Large: may suggest phallic exhibitionism  
Tiptoe: tenuous reality, fantasy  
Club: poor judgment  
Web-like: schizoid, stick, hostility of kind seen in sociopath,
schizophrenic, connotes weakness  
Bars: form of defiance  
 
Clothing  
Overemphasis on clothing has feeling of inferiority to which he over
compensates through physical attraction.  
Heavily coated figure or with a heavy coat shows isolation against the
environment seem in schizophrenic due to character disorder. With tie – has
problem of masculinity.  
 
Body  
Body transparent through clothing: has conflict over sexual impulses,
has poor control of sexual impulses.  
Overemphasis on body/shown by heavy lines: shows narcissism.  
 Broken lines for body/with zones separated, or a disintegrating body:
shows deterioration of age bounds, has ego dysfunction, schizophrenic.  
All parts of the body shows, or face-like body: paranoid, schizophrenic.  
Intestine: show schizophrenic.  
 
 
Other Graphic Considerations  
 
Impulsive drawing ex. Christmas tree or fruits - hysteria  
Draws very fast – acute schizophrenia  
Wide space in drawing – paranoid schizophrenia  
Lower part of the page used – neurotic depression, psychotic depression  
Lacking details – neurotic depression, psychotic depression  
Disorganization of details or confusion in drawings – acute schizophrenia  
Excessive details – obsessive-compulsive neurotic  
Cleanliness - obsessive-compulsive neurotic  
Repaired lines - anxiety neurosis  
Overuse of shading – shows tense anxiety, see in anxiety neurosis and borderline
schizophrenia  
Very light shading – neurotic depression, psychotic depression  
Overemphasis on symmetry - obsessive-compulsive neurotic  
Exact angulation - obsessive-compulsive neurotic  
Sharp angles – paranoic schizophrenia  
 
 
VII CONCLUSION  
 
The H-T-P is applicable to Filipino setting for the reason that: (1) the items
drawn are familiar to verb the comparatively young child. (2). They are willingly
accepted as object to be drawn and (3) they appeared to stimulate more frank and
free verbalization the any other items.  
 
 
VIII REFERENCES  
 
Murstime, Bernard. Handbook of Projective Technics.  
New York basic Book, 1st Ed., 1965. pp. 934-937  
 
Zubin, Joseph. An Experimental Approach; the Projective Techniques..  
2nd Ed., 1900. Pp. 112-143