Drawing on memory: A meta-analytic review

Abstract

Drawing is commonly used to facilitate event recall in eyewitness and therapeutic settings. Building on Derksen and Connolly’s (2022) review, we meta-analytically examined how drawing affects memory relative to purely verbal methods of communication (e.g. ‘talk only’ interviews). Database searches identified 36 randomised controlled trials of the effect of drawing-based interventions on event memory (N = 2013). Our memory outcome measures were amount and accuracy of information reported, errors and confabulations. Random-effects analysis indicated drawing was favoured relative to verbal controls across these four outcomes. Drawing enhanced the amount (g = 0.63, p < .001) and accuracy (g = 0.29, p = .014) of information reported, but did not reduce errors (g = 0.05, p = .633) or confabulations (g = 0.22, p = .488) relative to control. The memory benefits of drawing were not moderated by age (children vs. adults), event type (autobiographical vs. live/staged vs. video), control type (visual-active vs. verbal-only) or task timing (immediate vs. delay). Two potential moderators could not be analysed due to the paucity of studies: event focus (trauma-related vs. non-trauma-related) and drawing focus (event-focused vs. non-event-focused). Our meta-analysis indicates that drawing is a valuable facilitator of event recall relative to traditional methods of communication. However, our review also highlights the need for more trauma-specific studies. We address and offer practical recommendations for future studies to address potential risks that may result from using drawing in applied settings.