Synonyms
Description
The House-Tree-Person (H-T-P) technique, developed by John Buck (1948) and Emmanuel Hammer (1958), is one of the most widely used projective tests for children and adults. It can be used with individuals aged 3 years and older and is almost entirely unstructured; the respondent is simply instructed to make a freehand drawing of a house, a tree, and a person. Analysis of the H-T-P is a two-phased, four-step process. In phase one, the first step in testing is nonverbal and almost entirely unstructured; the medium of expression is the freehand, pencil drawings of a house, tree, and person (Buck, 1966). The second step is verbal, apperceptive, and more formally structured. In it, the subject is given the opportunity to describe, define, and interpret his or her drawn objects and their respective environment, and to respond to various open-ended questions. In phase two, the first step again involves the freehand drawing of a house, tree, and person, but with...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References and Readings
Blatt, S., & Ford, R. (1994). Therapeutic change. New York: Plenum.
Buck, J. N. (1948). The H-T-P. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 4, 151–159.
Buck, J. N. (1966). The House-Tree-Person technique: Revised manual. Beverly Hills: Western Psychological Services.
Buck, J. N. (1978). A qualitative and quantitative scoring manual. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 4, 397–405.
Buck, J. N., & Hammer, E. F. (Eds.). (1969). Advances in House-Tree-Person techniques: Variations and applications. Los Angeles: Western Psychological Services.
Garb, H. N., Wood, J. M., Lilienfeld, S. O., & Nezworski, M. T. (2002). Effective use of projective techniques in clinical practice: Let the data help with selection and interpretation. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 5, 454–463.
Goodenough, F. L. (1926). Measurement of intelligence by drawings. New York: Harcourt, Brace and World.
Groth-Marnat, G., & Roberts, L. (1998). Human Figure Drawings and House Tree Person drawings as indicators of self-esteem: A quantitative approach. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 54, 219–222.
Hammer, E. F. (1958). The clinical application of projective drawings. Springfield: Charles Thomas.
Hammer, E. F. (1971). The clinical application of projective drawings. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.
Hammer, E. F. (1997). Advances in projective drawing interpretation. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.
Handler, L. (1996). The clinical issues of figure drawings. In C. S. Newmark (Ed.), Major psychological assessment instruments (2nd ed., pp. 206–293). Allyn & Needham Heights, Mass.: Bacon.
Harris, D. B. (1963). Children’s drawings as measures of intellectual maturity. New York: Harcourt, Brace and World.
Jolles, I. A. (1964). Catalogue for the qualitative interpretation of the House-Tree-Person (H-T-P). Los Angeles: Western Psychological Services.
Koppitz, E. M. (1968). Psychological evaluation of children’s Human Figure Drawings. New York: Grune & Stratton.
Machover, K. (1949). Personality projection in the drawing of the human figure. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.
McNeilly, G., & Gilroy, A. (Eds.). (2000). The changing shape of art therapy: New developments in theory and practice. London: Jessica Kingsley.
Palmer, L., Farrar, A. R., Valle, M., Ghahary, N., et al. (2000). An investigation of the clinical use of the House-Tree-Person projective drawings in the psychological evaluation of child sexual abuse. Child Maltreatment, 5, 169–175.
Safran, D. S. (2002). Art therapy and AD/HD: Diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. London: Jessica Kingsley.
Sattler, J. M. (1988). Assessment of children (3rd ed.). San Diego, CA: Jerome M. Sattler.
Silver, R. (1996). Silver drawing test of cognition and emotion. Sarasota, FL: Ablin.
Tharinger, D. & Stark, K. (1990). A qualitative versus quantitative approach to evaluating a Draw–A-Person and Kinetic Family Drawing: Study of mood- and anxiety-disordered children. Psychological Assessment: Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 2, 365–375.
Vass, Z. (1998). The inner formal structure of the H-T-P drawings: An exploratory study. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 54, 611–619.
West, M. M. (1998). Meta-analysis of studies assessing the efficacy of projective techniques in discriminating child sexual abuse. Child Abuse and Neglect, 22, 1151–1166.
Yama, M. (1990). The usefulness of human figure drawings as an index of overall adjustment. Journal of Projective Techniques, 12, 202–215.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this entry
Cite this entry
Gordon, R.M., Rudd-Barnard, A. (2011). House-Tree-Person Test. In: Kreutzer, J.S., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79948-3_2029
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79948-3_2029
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-0-387-79947-6
Online ISBN: 978-0-387-79948-3
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science