ABSTRACT
Machover's system, much like the current system, was based on a large number of clinical observations to which she applied interpretations that were heavily influenced by psychoanalytic theory. Similar to Machover's instructions, the current system involves directing examinees to draw a person, draw another person of the opposite sex, and answer questions about the human figures in the inquiry phase. Machover provided general commentary on interpreting qualities of drawings, including size, placement on the page, speed of drawing, and line quality, among others. The absence of or concealment of hands is interpreted by both systems as evasiveness and guilt, particularly related to masturbation. Both systems include scoring criteria based on size; however, the DAP:SPED evaluates dimensions of human figure drawings, while the CCPAM qualitatively evaluates the size of the male and female drawings in comparison to one another.
