Family in animals

The family in animals according to Luitgard Brem-Gräser (1957) is a projective investigation method for children in which the test person is supposed to represent his family members as animals. Like the Rorschach test , the method is one of the projective procedures . The use of drawings should make it easier for the child to express themselves conclusively. In this way, children can depict conflicts in a family context without having to use language. The implementation takes place in a calm atmosphere. The instruction is that the child should imagine his family in animals and now draw those animals.

The evaluation takes place in "free" interpretation according to depth psychologically or systemically oriented criteria on certain aspects. The author herself provides assistance with a catalog of animal characteristics. Another criterion is the arrangement, size and type of animals in the picture:

Which family members are drawn in the same layer?
Who turns to whom?
Who turns away from whom?
What are the spatial distances between the family members?
How big are the animals shown?
What similarities or differences are there with regard to the species of the drawn animals (for example domestic or wild animals, mammals, insects etc.)?

In contrast to the Rorschach test, the drawings are not necessarily meaningless a priori. They are assessed subjectively by the tester.

criticism

Some studies, including at the University of Vienna , have shown that “family in animals” does not meet any of the usual quality criteria ( validity , reliability and objectivity ). Petermann therefore considers the use of “family in animals” as a test to be irresponsible and its use as an exploration aid to be speculative. In its review of 2014, the Test Board of German Psychologists' Associations also came to the conclusion that "Family in Animals" does not meet any of the quality criteria of psychodiagnostic procedures and advises against "making a certain decision about the child on the basis of a certain test result . "

One shortcoming of the procedure lies in the open possibility of interpretation, which requires a good and precise anamnesis in advance: if, for example, the child paints the father as a lion, it remains superficially unclear whether the role of the father is positive (e.g. strong, protective) or feels negative (e.g. aggressive, dominant). In addition, it often remains unclear whether the child's drawing should represent the current family situation or the desired situation, as the child wants the family to be. It is therefore important to discuss the subjective meaning of the drawn animals with the child and to include the anamnestically known data. In this respect, this test only confirms the draftsman's tendencies which have already been ascertained and known in a hypothetical diagnosis.

Variations

Variations include the test arrangement Enchanted Family by Marta Kos-Robes and Gerd Biermann (investigations from 1956) and zoo family game by the Italian child psychotherapist Sabina Manes (1993).

literature

Luitgard Brem-Gräser: Family in animals - the family situation as reflected in the children's drawing. 9th edition. Reinhardt-Verlag, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-497-01887-2 .
Marta Kos, Gerd Biermann: The enchanted family, a depth psychological test of signs. 5th edition. Reinhardt-Verlag, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-497-01592-X .
Sabina Manes: La mamma è una farfalla, papà un delfino. Verlag Arnoldo Mondadori, Milano 1993. (German: Mama is a butterfly, Papa is a dolphin: Understanding children's drawings. ) Verlag Piper, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-492-22558-6 .

Web links

Review of the test board of the Federation of German Psychological Associations (PDF; 727 kB), as of 2011
Information on the projective test family in animals and animal characteristics

Individual evidence

↑ KD Kubinger, A. Schrott, P. Maitz: On the zero objectivity, zero reliability and therefore zero validity of the "family in animals".
^ F. Petermann: Family in animals - the family situation in the mirror of children's drawings. In: Journal for Differential and Diagnostic Psychology. 18, 1-2, 1997, pp. 90-92.
^ F. Baumgärtel, R. Thomas-Langel: TBS-TK review: Family in animals. In: Report Psychology. 11/12, 2014, pp. 453-454.

[1] KD Kubinger, A. Schrott, P. Maitz: On the zero objectivity, zero reliability and therefore zero validity of the "family in animals".

[2] F. Petermann: Family in animals - the family situation in the mirror of children's drawings. In: Journal for Differential and Diagnostic Psychology. 18, 1-2, 1997, pp. 90-92.

[3] F. Baumgärtel, R. Thomas-Langel: TBS-TK review: Family in animals. In: Report Psychology. 11/12, 2014, pp. 453-454.