Standardizing the Formal Elements Art Therapy Scale (FEATS) rotation scale with computerized technology: A pilot study

The Formal Elements Art Therapy Scale (FEATS) Rating Manual includes a rotation scale to measure the angle or tilt of objects, such as a tree or a person, in drawings. Rotation has been shown to be an important criterion in distinguishing certain patient groups, such as schizophrenia and organic brain disorders. However, this FEATS scale has been traditionally difficult to score accurately by human raters. This difficulty is due in part to the lack of standardization of the rotation scale in the FEATS manual. The present study is an initial step toward standardizing rotation in the FEATS through the use of computer tools. Mental health workers using the computer (“human-computer”) (n = 2) and mental workers not using a computer (“human”) (n = 7) rated angles from Person Picking an Apple from a Tree (PPAT) drawings completed by individuals with schizophrenia (n = 2). Inter-rater Kappa was higher for human-computer raters (.67, p < .001) than human raters (.48, p < .001), and the human raters increased their criteria ratings based upon the human-computer results. From this pilot study (n = 11), results imply that human-computer rating tools may be more accurate than human perception, and human perceivers may tend to underrate angle sizes in PPAT drawings.

► A computerized application to measuring angles of rotation.
► Method of additional standardization for FEATS rotation scale.
► Expansion on previous literature on rotation.
► Discussion of generalization of technology to other art-based instruments.
► Increased accuracy of rotation angle rating.