Comparative study of artists and nonartists on the maitland graves design judgment test

Abstract

Administered the maitland graves design judgment test to 229 male and 236 female nonart students and 519 male and 478 female art students. Only very slight differences were observed between groups. Following the lines of a previous factor analysis of the test, scores were derived for 3 subsets of designs (symmetrical, 3-dimensional, complex). These scores were negligible correlated with each other. Conspicuous differences between artists and controls were only found for the symmetrical set, and scores on this set were more homogeneous for artists than for controls. The use of overall scores on a heterogeneous test is criticized, and the development of a more homogeneous test based on symmetrical designs only is suggested. An explanation is suggested for the differences in results reported by graves and the present study. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)