The Baum test, (also known as the "Tree test") is a projective test developed by German psychologist Charles Koch in 1952. It is used extensively across the world as a method of analyzing an individual’s personality and underlying emotional history.
Patients are asked to draw a broad-leaved tree on a standard 8.5” x 11” blank sheet of paper. A psychologist or a psychiatrist will then evaluate the different aspects of the tree drawing as well as the individual’s behavior /comments while completing the test.
A tree is selected as the object to be drawn because trees serve as an important element in mythologies all over the world. Additionally, trees are a nonthreatening element that allow for a wide range of adaptation. It is suggested that the type of tree an individual draws relates to the structure of the psyche or unconscious itself.
Read more about Baum Test: Forms of Analysis, Advantages and Limitations, Indications
Famous quotes containing the word test:
“Tried by a New England eye, or the more practical wisdom of modern times, they are the oracles of a race already in its dotage; but held up to the sky, which is the only impartial and incorruptible ordeal, they are of a piece with its depth and serenity, and I am assured that they will have a place and significance as long as there is a sky to test them by.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)