1. Does Shape Constancy Relate to Drawing Ability? Two Failures to Replicate.
- Author
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I. McManus, Phik-Wern Loo, Rebecca Chamberlain, Howard Riley, and Nicola Brunswick
- Subjects
DRAWING ability ,GEOMETRIC shapes ,FIGURATIVE art ,REGRESSION analysis ,STATISTICAL correlation ,META-analysis - Abstract
People vary in their ability to make accurate representational drawings. Cohen and Jones (2008) have suggested that individuals who draw poorly have problems in the perception of objects, so that the extent of shape constancy (phenomenal regression) correlates with drawing ability, there being a "robust negative relation between perceptual errors resulting from shape constancy and drawing accuracy." The present article describes two attempts to replicate that finding, with 30 non-art students in Study 1 and with 106 art students in Study 2. Study 1 found a correlation that was statistically significant, but in the opposite direction to that reported by Cohen and Jones, and in Study 2 the correlation was very close to zero. Combining these results with those of Cohen and Jones using a random-effects meta-analysis finds a non-significant correlation overall. Taken together, these findings throw doubt on the Cohen and Jones' hypothesis that those with less phenomenal regression have better representational drawing ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2011
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