Sex differences in expressive drawing

We examined sex differences in expressive drawings produced by 105 boys and 105 girls aged 9–15 years. The drawings were classified according to the type of expressive strategy used to depict emotion (literal, content, abstract, or any combination of these), and rated according to the complexity of that strategy. A creative/divergent thinking task (figural form) was used to assess the relationship between expressive drawing and figural creativity. As predicted, girls scored higher than boys on the expressive drawing task. Specifically, girls relied less often on literal strategies alone and were more likely to combine literal expression with metaphorical (content and abstract) expression than boys. There was a linear relationship between expressive drawing and divergent thinking scores. These results are consistent with the idea that boys and girls differ in the expressive component of emotion, and suggest that these sex differences extend to the expressive drawing domain. They also suggest that divergent thinking may be involved in the ability to draw expressively.

► Sex differences in expressive drawing.
► Girls score higher than boys on the expressive drawing task.
► Girls combine more likely literal and metaphorical expression than boys.
► Sex differences in emotional expressivity extend to the drawing domain.