Do Human Figure Drawing IQ Scores Match Wechsler IQ Scores? A Reared-Apart Twin Study.

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Title: Do Human Figure Drawing IQ Scores Match Wechsler IQ Scores? A Reared-Apart Twin Study.
Authors: Segal, Nancy L. (AUTHOR), Scott, Patrick (AUTHOR), Matthews, Luc (AUTHOR), Pratt-Thompson, Elizabeth (AUTHOR)
Source: Journal of Genetic Psychology. Mar/Apr2026, Vol. 187 Issue 2, p104-109. 6p.
Subjects: Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, Twin studies, Cognitive ability, Intelligence levels, Monozygotic twins, Psychological tests
Abstract: Agreement between IQ scores derived from human figure drawing tests and standard general intelligence tests has been of interest to psychological investigators and practitioners. Some early studies found associations between drawing performance and motor skills, but few recent investigations have detected meaningful relationships with cognitive ability. Furthermore, few twin studies have considered a genetic component to scores on drawing tests. The present study is the first to undertake these analyses using adult reared-apart twins. Both drawing-derived IQ scores and Wechsler IQ scores were available for reared-apart monozygotic (MZA, N = 71) twin pairs and reared-apart dizygotic (DZA: N = 53) twin pairs from the Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart (MISTRA). Intraclass correlations for the drawing-derived performance scores were modest, but significantly higher for MZA (ri =.31, p <.01) than DZA twin pairs (ri =.02, ns), p <.001. Intraclass correlations for the Draw-a-Person IQ score (DAP:IQ) showed the same pattern. Finally, the correlation between the drawing-derived IQ scores and Wechsler IQ scores was quite small with a low effect size, but statistically significant (r =.15, p =.02). These findings suggest modest genetic influence on drawing performance. Like most previous studies of nontwins, little meaningful or practical association between the two IQ measures was indicated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Genetic Psychology is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: Do Human Figure Drawing IQ Scores Match Wechsler IQ Scores? A Reared-Apart Twin Study.
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  Data: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;JN&quot; term=&quot;%22Journal+of+Genetic+Psychology%22&quot;&gt;Journal of Genetic Psychology&lt;/searchLink&gt;. Mar/Apr2026, Vol. 187 Issue 2, p104-109. 6p.
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– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Agreement between IQ scores derived from human figure drawing tests and standard general intelligence tests has been of interest to psychological investigators and practitioners. Some early studies found associations between drawing performance and motor skills, but few recent investigations have detected meaningful relationships with cognitive ability. Furthermore, few twin studies have considered a genetic component to scores on drawing tests. The present study is the first to undertake these analyses using adult reared-apart twins. Both drawing-derived IQ scores and Wechsler IQ scores were available for reared-apart monozygotic (MZA, N = 71) twin pairs and reared-apart dizygotic (DZA: N = 53) twin pairs from the Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart (MISTRA). Intraclass correlations for the drawing-derived performance scores were modest, but significantly higher for MZA (ri =.31, p &lt;.01) than DZA twin pairs (ri =.02, ns), p &lt;.001. Intraclass correlations for the Draw-a-Person IQ score (DAP:IQ) showed the same pattern. Finally, the correlation between the drawing-derived IQ scores and Wechsler IQ scores was quite small with a low effect size, but statistically significant (r =.15, p =.02). These findings suggest modest genetic influence on drawing performance. Like most previous studies of nontwins, little meaningful or practical association between the two IQ measures was indicated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
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  Data: &lt;i&gt;Copyright of Journal of Genetic Psychology is the property of Taylor &amp; Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder&#39;s express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.&lt;/i&gt; (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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RecordInfo BibRecord:
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    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1080/00221325.2025.2487501
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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      Pagination:
        PageCount: 6
        StartPage: 104
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Twin studies
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Cognitive ability
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Intelligence levels
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Monozygotic twins
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Psychological tests
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Do Human Figure Drawing IQ Scores Match Wechsler IQ Scores? A Reared-Apart Twin Study.
        Type: main
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      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Segal, Nancy L.
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          Name:
            NameFull: Scott, Patrick
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Matthews, Luc
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Pratt-Thompson, Elizabeth
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            – D: 01
              M: 03
              Text: Mar/Apr2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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            – Type: issn-print
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              Value: 187
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              Value: 2
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Journal of Genetic Psychology
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