Drawings of the President: 1980 and 1984

Abstract

In Study 1, 77 children in Grades 3 and 6 were asked to draw pictures of the three major Presidential candidates (John Anderson, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan) at 2-wk. intervals beginning October 1, 1980 (about five weeks before Election Day) and ending November 12, 1980 (about one week after Election Day). It was hypothesized that the pictures would increase in size until Election Day and decrease thereafter. Drawings of Carter and Reagan decreased after Election Day, while those of Anderson began decreasing three weeks before the election. In Study 2, 81 children in Grades 4 and 5 drew pictures of Ronald Reagan and Walter Mondale at 2-wk. intervals during the 1984 Presidential campaign. Drawings of Reagan decreased in size after Election Day but not those of Mondale.