From the author: Subtleties of interpretation of the products of Creativity. Figure: Many experts give their preference to projective techniques. More and more psychological space is being captured by art therapy and other techniques for analyzing the “products of human activity.” Graphology is direct confirmation of this. It is used in forensic science, therefore, it has reached a higher level of development and public acceptance than, for example, drawing tests. Before raising both hands “FOR” the work of drawing up a psychological portrait through the interpretation of drawn images, I think it is important to say a few words about unintentional projection of the person who will analyze the drawing or other creative product. And this, of course, reduces the objectivity of the method. It is useful to form an impression and then confirm or refute it through other techniques. However, I didn’t say anything new. Any single (single) test, ten times valid and reliable, requires confirmation of the psychologist’s hypothesis with other tests and different methods. I will give an example. In kindergarten, a six-year-old boy drew his family. Given that the family composition is “mom, dad, me,” two figures were drawn in the boy’s drawing. Him and his dad. There were several other details on which the child psychologist made a disappointing verdict. A mother who is in shock after visiting a psychologist, go ahead and ask her son about the reasons for such an image. And the son replied: “Mommy, you are so beautiful! and you know how I draw. I can't draw at all. And I didn't want to make you look ridiculous. Dad and I are men, we’re not afraid.” By the way, this is the honest truth. In the sense that the child barely knew how to hold a pencil. Well, he didn't like to draw. And in the evenings, with their mother, they tried to do this, on the instructions of the kindergarten teachers. The mother took her son’s hand with a pencil, moved it along the paper, then the mother drew herself, and the son watched, but this action did not have any special results. Despite the fact that the boy read well from the age of three, he resisted drawing in every possible way and in general, the guy was “big-headed”, but not at all “armed”. Fortunately (or not?), human consciousness is not infinitely individual, it also reveals typical general peculiarities. From the earliest times there have been attempts to classify people according to types, and thus bring order to chaos. K.G. Jung proposed a new typology based on the two main attitudes of people that he identified, and which are now so widely accepted that they have entered into everyday speech. I'm talking about extroversion and introversion. We will also keep in mind the 4 functions of consciousness identified by him. This is sensation, feeling, thinking, and intuition. It is this typology according to K.G. Jung can help us interpret other people's drawings. With its help, we can obtain a certain interpretation algorithm, a kind of system. In contrast to interlinear techniques, which cannot be memorized, they are very difficult to memorize. Large “manuals” for drawing tests depicting a person, for example, are almost impossible to remember verbatim. “Does the person drawn have eyelashes, how is his palm positioned?” Everything matters, every little detail is clearly defined and tightly tied to interpretation. I believe that there are experts who are brilliant at the technique. These are years of work, practicing skills with a textbook and instructions under your arm. I myself like not to stupidly memorize any instructions, or memorize instructions for action verbatim, but to understand the “principle of action” itself. Based on which you can make correct judgments. Approximately this principle of working with drawings was revealed by the followers of K.G. Jung, using his author's typology of personality. So, we have extroversion, introversion, sensation, feeling, thinking, intuition. You can read about these functions of consciousness HERE. Introverted attitude. The interpretation of the image should begin with an introverted attitude. This means that when looking at a drawing, we (the one who interprets the drawing) usually concentrate on theimage (extroverted mode), and we do not pay enough attention to our own internal (introverted) side of the picture. That is, to his subjective reaction. The one who will interpret the drawing must ask himself the question: “What is my instinctive reaction to this drawing?” The second question, or rather step, will concern the four functions of consciousness in the introverted attitude. The next four questions that someone interpreting a drawing will ask themselves are: Sensation. “How does my body react to this drawing?” Feeling. “Do I like/dislike this drawing? Does he inspire/depress me?” Thinking. “How harmonious is this drawing?” Intuition. “What does this drawing “smell” like? Health? Illness? Anxiety? Serenity? and so on. Thus, we have an algorithm for making a first impression of a drawing. Extra-faithful attitude. After addressing our subjective reactions, it is the turn of the image itself. At the same time, NOW, we make sure that now our subjective thoughts “do not get in the way” of the objective message of the drawing. And again we turn to the four functions of consciousness, which C. G. Jung believed to be attempts to adapt to the environment of his ego. Different in their content (functions) for different people. The sensation function consciously registers facts. Questions that the interpreter may ask himself are: “What quality of paper was chosen for the drawing? What is the medium (watercolor, pencil, ink)? What is the format and what colors were used?” and so on.Feeling function. Establishes priorities in the drawing. “What takes center stage? Where is the energy of this drawing?” Function of thinking. Focuses on the structure, organization and logical order of the image. “How do the elements of the picture relate to each other? Is this drawing dynamic or static? Is there space and perspective in the drawing?” The function is intuition. This is the perception of a drawing from the position of the unconscious. It gives us guesses, hypotheses regarding the author of the drawing. “From what kind of constellation in the unconscious does this drawing come from?” - this is the question we should ask ourselves. Thus, we can look at the drawing in four different ways, according to the number of functions of consciousness. And, for dessert. Like icing on the cake. Main function. Usually a person develops only one main function of his consciousness, as the most comfortable way for him to adapt to the world around him. And this same function begins to be used when meeting something new. She becomes the support, the dominant one. The function opposite to the main one is called a subordinate function. It does not always meet the ego's demands. Therefore, people with a primary sensing function (sensitive) may find it difficult to activate their intuition. And people with the leading function of thinking (intellectuals) have difficulty with the function of feeling. It is these feelings that are opposite to each other. You can read more about the functions of consciousness, their correlation, and the subordinate function in my other publications. To exclude a one-sided approach to a drawing, it is useful for the one who interprets it to know his leading and subordinate functions. And in the process of interpretation, activate each of your four functions, knowing your weak points. To visualize this extroverted circulation, Theodor Abt, a follower of C.G. Jung, suggests using an old alchemical pattern consisting of four elements: earth, water, air, fire. (By the way, these same elements are used in astrology and horoscopes. There are earth, water, air and fire signs of the Zodiac. In Tarot decks, where these elements correspond to pentacles, cups, swords and wands. C. G. Jung spoke about the importance of the works of alchemists !). The relationship between these elements and the functions of consciousness is as follows: Sensation – earth. The material of the drawing, its format, all external aspects that can be “touched”. Material, earthly, so to speak. Feeling – water. What is important in this drawing for the author, and what is secondary. Thinking is air. Questions of the relationship of elements, colors and perspective. Movement or static..