AT Design Principles & Elements 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In the Munsell color system used in art therapy assessment, 'chroma' refers to:
- The lightness or darkness of a color
- The purity or saturation of a color (Correct answer)
- The temperature of a color
- The hue family of a color
Correct answer: The purity or saturation of a color
Chroma in the Munsell system describes color saturation — how pure or muted a hue appears.
Question 2: A client consistently draws figures with disproportionately large hands. From a formal elements perspective, this use of scale most likely communicates:
- Decorative interest
- Emphasis on the hands' perceived importance (Correct answer)
- Lack of artistic skill
- Adherence to realistic proportion
Correct answer: Emphasis on the hands' perceived importance
Exaggerated scale draws attention and may indicate the client's psychological emphasis on that body part.
Question 3: Which type of balance is created when a large light-colored shape on one side is visually counterweighted by a small dark-colored shape on the other?
- Symmetrical balance
- Radial balance
- Asymmetrical balance (Correct answer)
- Crystallographic balance
Correct answer: Asymmetrical balance
Asymmetrical balance uses differing elements of unequal size or value to achieve equilibrium.
Question 4: In formal art therapy assessment tools like the PPAT, which design element is evaluated as part of 'use of color'?
- Number of hues, color placement, and appropriateness (Correct answer)
- Only warm versus cool color choices
- Color symmetry across the composition
- Whether primary colors were used exclusively
Correct answer: Number of hues, color placement, and appropriateness
The PPAT's Formal Elements Art Therapy Scale (FEATS) evaluates color on dimensions including quantity, placement, and appropriateness.
Question 5: When a client's mandala shows all design elements radiating from the center equally, this exemplifies which principle?
- Pattern
- Radial balance (Correct answer)
- Asymmetry
- Emphasis
Correct answer: Radial balance
Radial balance occurs when elements spread outward equally from a central focal point, as in mandalas.
Question 6: Which Formal Element on the FEATS scale evaluates how much of the page a client's drawing occupies?
- Integration
- Space (Correct answer)
- Prominence of color
- Logic
Correct answer: Space
The Space scale on FEATS rates how much of the paper the client uses, from a tiny isolated figure to filling the entire page.
Question 7: Cool colors (blues and greens) in art therapy are most commonly associated with which emotional quality?
- Excitement and passion
- Calmness and introspection (Correct answer)
- Aggression and danger
- Happiness and warmth
Correct answer: Calmness and introspection
Cool colors are widely linked to calm, withdrawal, and introspective emotional states in color psychology.
AT Design Principles & Elements 3
In the Munsell color system used in art therapy assessment, 'chroma' refers to: