Karl Koch Tree Test

The Karl Koch Tree test is an interesting projective test to analyze our personality, as well as our underlying emotional universe. Due to the ease of its application, it is commonly used in children; However, it is also usually a very entertaining self-analysis tool to try to get to know ourselves a little better.

The Tree test is also known as the Baum test and was developed in the 1950s by a psychologist named Charles Koch. It is now quite a few years old, but its use is still frequent. Now, if we say that this test consists only of asking a child or an adult to draw a tree with its roots, its trunk and its crown, it is possible that more than one of our readers will almost instantly doubt its reliability and validity. of this instrument.

Before reaching this conclusion, it is worth taking into account some details. Projective tests constitute a very useful type of clinical instrument. Thanks to them, we are able to collect various data about how people perceive, understand and manage their world. Thus, instruments such as the Rorschach test, the man in the rain test or the Tree test They are very effective as complementary (non-exclusive) tests that we can use along with many others.

On the other hand, and as a simple curiosity, it should be noted that Dr. Koch chose this figure to design his diagnostic test because of the symbolism that trees have. All cultures, all countries have a mythological and totemic reference in trees, which is deeply rooted in human beings regardless of age. Trying to capture them, trying to draw them is almost like bringing out the lights and shadows that we carry inside…

What does the Koch Tree test evaluate?

The Kosch Tree test, like any exercise that forces us to make a drawing, to choose some colors, to create a figure from nothing by capturing it on a blank sheet of paper, offers some clues about the style of our personality. Likewise, it also denotes a certain emotional state.

It also measures the stability of the personthe presence or absence of internal conflicts, their vulnerability and their sensitivity. On the other hand, certain psychological currents, such as psychoanalysis, indicate that This test also reveals the structure of the psyche or content of our unconscious.Likewise, as revealed by a recent study by the University of Bologna and published in the journal Behavioral Neurology that the Baum test or the Koch tree test has proven to be very effective in diagnosing cognitive disabilities and even the beginnings of dementia.

For example, it has been seen that Trees drawn by patients with cognitive impairment or the beginning of Alzheimer’s are different from those drawn by healthy subjects. Both the crowns of the trees, as well as the size and uniformity, appear as examples of that cerebral decline so characteristic of dementia.

How does it apply?

The Tree test can be applied to anyone from 5 or 6 years old. The child or adult is only required to have certain basic motor skills to draw.

The person is given some blank sheets of paper, colored pencils and an eraser.You are asked to draw a tree, with its roots, trunk, branches, etc.If the patients are children of 5 or 6 years old, they are asked to make two drawings. The first is freestyle and the second is a different tree than the first. In this way, there will be more material to be able to make a better evaluation.The estimated time is between 10 minutes and half an hour. What each person needs.

How is the Tree test analyzed?

For its interpretation, the following elements are taken into account:

Figure size

Big: egocentrism, also having a high expectation of the environment and personal internal self-control.Normal (between 12 and 20 cm high): indicates emotional stability.Little: Overvaluation of the environment, exaltation and submissive style

Figure position

With upward direction: demonstrates insecurity with visibility of withdrawal and presence of fantasy.Down: denotes insecurity, devaluation, absence of physical activity and maintaining a tendency toward depression.Left direction: demonstrates withdrawal, avoidance and introversion.Up on the left: demonstrates a need for emotion and support.Total location on left side: denotes fixation on past antecedents with the maternal relationship and representation.Located on the left side with an inclination to the center: manifests need for protection.High position located in the upper room: It demonstrates compensated behaviors, which may be depression with a desire to contradict others.Completely centered without any tilt: indicates the search for personal balance.

Line types

firm line: Ease of decision-making, represents evolution in the personal and professional areas and stable energy.strong pressure: Possible attacks and internal uncertainty.Pressure weak pressure: Expresses anxiety, fear and low energy.Faded line: Concern with the environment causing imbalance.Reinforced line: Expresses withdrawal, interest in getting involved with the environment, total or partial neglect of its presentation, sacrifice to keep its anxiety under control and its social development.Deletions: Expresses concern, need for decision, own displeasure and anxiety dispute where corrections are made

Floor

A drawing where there is no line of soil or roots may indicate a lack of emotional and personal stability in the patient.Disproportionate and ray-shaped roots can also be an indicator of problems.emotional containment, rage and uprooting.

Trunk

A very thin trunk: it is associated with very sensitive and delicate people or, on the other hand, it can denote the presence of external tensions or demands that alter the calm and well-being of the patient. A very wide trunk: impulsive people, with high emotionality and little capacity for self-control. A trunk of normal proportions denotes internal balance.

Trunk formed by straight lines: correct person, with good abstraction capacity.

Trunk with wavy lines: sociable, sweet person who does not have sociability problems.

Trunks with dilations, cavities, studs, protruding tips: presence of fears, traumas, contained emotions, inhibition…

The cup

The canopy of the trees reflects the interaction with the physical and external environment. While the roots and the trunk relate more to the inner and emotional world, the branches are supposed to represent another psychic level.

Small cup: children up to 9 years old always draw small cups, it is normal. They can denote immaturity, a relationship with the child’s world. Large crown: it can tell us that the person who has made the drawing has great fantasy, enthusiasm or even that he or she may have a more prominent point of narcissism. Tree without a crown: it can tell us that the person The person who made the drawing has a lack of development, a possible cognitive problem.Spiral cup: this may be a communicative person, with good taste, delicate. Cup in the shape of rays or rods: stubborn, impulsive person, with some anger or challenging feelings.Cup with leaves: lively person.Cup with fruits: person with goals and desires to fulfill.

Many more are added to these described values, such as the appearance of other “accessories” such as houses, birds, hills… That is, details not requested by the psychologist that can also provide relevant information. In addition, It is also good to take into account the colors chosen to paint the tree and even the size of the figures.

Furthermore, elements such as cut branches, holes or wounds in the trunks, lack of roots or the presence of dark colors They can catch our attention. All this would reveal the presence of possible traumas. However, as we noted at the beginning, the Tree test is not used as the only diagnostic test. We are talking about an interesting tool, which, together with some others, can help us gather information to give a more precise final diagnosis.

Is the Koch tree test reliable?

As we have pointed out throughout the article, this complementary tool for clinical practice is as used as it is valid.. Psychologists, psychiatrists, doctors and educators use it for its simplicity and for the great informative value it can give us about the emotional world of adults and especially children.

Thus, and just as an example, it is worth highlighting the study carried out by Dr. Yutaka Hatano from Kyoto University. The work was published in the Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology, and Thanks to him, it became evident, for example, that This test is widely used in pediatric oncology departments to assess the emotional state of children.. In the sample analyzed it could be seen that the vast majority of sick children are hopeful about their recovery, and this was demonstrated in the shape, quality and originality of the drawn trees…

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