Psychology of Doodles
A traditional definition of doodling is to “scribble absentmindedly.” But what if doodling could actually help free up your mind to focus on what was being presented? A study published in the Applied Cognitive Psychology journal in 2009 found that people who doodle during lectures can retain up to 29 percent more of the information that is being presented. At Oxygen Learning our classes are designed to be experiential and engaging. We are going to encourage anything that helps learners down that path. As soon as you step up to our classroom and are greeted by one of our signature welcome signs—complete with cloud doodles and a personal invitation—you know that this is an environment that is going to encourage creativity. We may even challenge you to think outside the box with a colored marker or a box of chalk. Sunni Brown, author of Gamestorming, did a TED talk about Doodling titled “Doodlers, Unite!” In this talk she argues that doodling has a profound effect on creative processing and should be embraced and encouraged. “Doodling can actually be a successful multi-modal learning exercise” said Brown. She proposes a new definition for doodling: “To Doodle: (the real definition) to make spontaneous marks to help yourself think”. Shouldn’t any behavior that can help you to think be encouraged? This is definitely something that I need to go think about, right after I sharpen my colored pencils.
Psychologist or Magician? When I was interested in personal development and psychology 10 years ago, I never expected that one day I will be able to know about the personalities of other people by watching their gestures, noticing their face features, knowing about the type of music they prefer, taking a sample of their handwriting and even by looking at their doodles. Yes their doodles! everything that you do in life leaves traces of your personality traits and of your inner world. As you may have guessed this article will talk about doodles, their interpretation and their hidden meanings. Doodles follow the same rules that graphology follows and so the same variables used to interpret a handwriting
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sample can be used with doodles (example pen pressure, margins…etc) Doodle Interpretation Accuracy When you start to doodle you will usually be under the effect of many unconscious parameters including your personality, your current mood and other variables. That’s why the interpretation of doodles needs to be done with care and without giving hasty judgments. Collecting Some information about the person’s current mood and background may be very useful in the analysis of his doodles.
What your doodles really say about you By Mandy Francis
Stuck somewhere, waiting or listening with a pen in your hand? The chances are you’ll start doodling. And what you choose to doodle will reveal volumes about your personality and mood.‘We tend to doodle when we are bored or stressed,’ says Ruth Rostron, professional handwriting analyst and vice-chair of the British Institute of Graphologists. ‘Because of this, we’re usually only half-conscious of what we’re drawing — which means our inner preoccupations surface on paper.’ You are what you draw: Doodles can reveal you personality and state of mind. Many of us end up drawing the same things. Stars, flowers, boxes and arrows frequently crop up — common symbols of aspirations and feelings.According to Rostron, you should also look at how a doodle is drawn to find out its true meaning. ‘Emotional people who want harmony and crave affection tend to use rounded shapes and curved lines. Down-toearth, practical types tend to use straight lines and squares. Determined people will use corners, zigzags and triangles, while more hesitant types use light, sketchy strokes. ‘A large doodle shows a person is confident and outgoing, while a small one suggests the person prefers to observe rather than participate.’