Children's drawings may predict IQ later in life
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2014 10:04 AM

Many proud parents post their children's sketches to the gallery of honor, aka the refrigerator. However, they may not realize just how important those images are. According to a study conducted by the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London, and published in the journal Psychological Science, those drawings may do more to inspire feelings of pride than you'd think. Researchers observed both identical and fraternal twins and discovered that a child's ability to draw around age 4 may predict their IQ score now and later in life.

All the right parts
Because beauty is commonly in the eye of the beholder, researchers developed a system for analyzing the kids' sketches systematically. They had children draw images of other people, and the pictures that were most anatomically correct received the highest score. The drawings were placed on a scale of 0 to 12. For example, a drawing that featured a person with two arms, two legs, a head, a body, but no eyes and nose may be given a four. 

"Drawing is an ancient behavior, dating back beyond 15,000 years ago. Through drawing, we are attempting to show someone else what's in our mind," Dr. Rosalind Arden, the paper's lead author, said in a statement. "This capacity to reproduce figures is a uniquely human ability and a sign of cognitive ability, in a similar way to writing, which transformed the human species' ability to store information, and build a civilization."

Correlating art and intelligence
In addition to having the children sketch, researchers administered an IQ test. Those with the best drawing scores often had the highest IQ scores as well. Furthermore, researchers tested the same children when they reached age 14. Again, those whose drawing was considered best frequently had a higher intelligence. However, the study does note that this correlation is moderate, meaning the connection between drawing skill and IQ is not strong. 

"The correlation is moderate, so our findings are interesting, but it does not mean that parents should worry if their child draws badly," Arden said in a statement. "Drawing ability does not determine intelligence, there are countless factors, both genetic and environmental, which affect intelligence in later life."

The ability to draw is a complex one. Children have to know how to hold a pencil, be observant of features others have and so forth. For this reason, researchers aren't completely surprised by the results. Recognizing defining features enough to recreate them exemplifies an intelligent mind.