AN EXAMINATION OF CHILDREN'S PERCEPTIONS OF MONSTERS FROM A PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE: THE DRAW-A-MONSTER TASK

Abstract

Children encounter the concept of monsters at an early age through literary works, media, and similar sources. In the literature, monsters are frequently used to explore children’s fears and their perceptions of reality and fantasy. This study aimed to examine the monster perceptions of 20 children aged 66–84 months through drawings. The research was conducted as a qualitative case study. The draw-and-tell method was selected as a developmentally appropriate data collection technique. Accordingly, the children’s drawings and their verbal explanations of these drawings were used as data. The data were analyzed through content analysis. The findings indicated that most children perceived monsters as imaginary and predominantly male. The names assigned to monsters were also influenced by children’s everyday experiences and media exposure. In addition, children attributed both positive and negative characteristics to monsters, and most of the depicted monsters were embedded within a story. Overall, the findings suggest that children construct the monster figure in diverse ways through cultural imagery, imagination, and social-emotional themes, demonstrating the potential of the “draw a monster” task as an exploratory tool. The results were discussed in relation to child development and gender roles.

Keywords: early childhood education, monster, perception, drawing, draw-and-tell technique

Ethics and Conflict of Interest

The authors of the study acted in accordance with ethical rules in all processes of the research. The authors declare that they acted in accordance with ethical rules in all processes of the research. The authors declare that they do not have any conflict of interest with other persons, institutions or organizations.

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