As Halloween draws near, some people draw drawings of witches.Which size witch they draw depends on the day, suggests a study resented at the seventieth Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association: August 30-September 5, 1962, in St. Louis, Missouri. The following year, a formal study was published:
“Size of Halloween witch drawings prior to, on, and after Halloween,” Ray A. Craddick, Perceptual and Motor Skills, vol 16, no. 1, 1963, pp. 235-238. The author, at New Mexico State University, explains:
“The sizes of witch drawings on Halloween were significantly smaller than those prior to that date, and drawings 2 weeks after Halloween were larger than either of 2 earlier drawings. Results were discussed in terms of the witch’s representing an ambivalent potential reinforcer, and the need for suppressive activity on the part of the child to control what may be some fear and anxiety in relation to the figure drawn and the time of the drawing.
BONUS: Drawing blood from a witch [from the journal Notes and Queries, Volumes 6-XII, Issue 309, 1885, p. 425. ]
BONUS: Meet Dr. Craddick’s protege, Dr. Shook.