Why We Doodle
Have you ever been in a boring meeting and start drawing on the margins of your notepad? What about in a class or while talking on the phone? We all do it, but do we know why? Do they mean something?
WHAT IS IT?
Doodling is an absent minded scribble or marks without aim, purpose or thought. Some definitions describe it as a foolish or wasteful act. In some circles of psychology that is not the case. While a definite reason for the act is not that clear, there are some commonalities and hypotheses about the act of doodling.
Doodling usually happens when people are stuck in a place where we do not want to be. If you are in a boring meeting and you have other priorities or prefer to be someplace else, doodling is likely to occur. Like daydreaming, doodling helps us displace our thoughts to something more pleasurable.
Another characteristic is that it usually happens where open expression is disallowed. If you are on a conference call or in a class lecture and you cannot expresses yourself freely, doodling is a way to compensate for that restriction. The drawings can potentially have a meaning to the person creating the doodle.
THEORY
Some theories, including Freud and Jung, think that doodling is an act where the individual is conscious, but the meaning of the drawings is unconscious. Alfred Adler suggested that we tend to seek symmetry and doodles meet that need. Other psychologists suggest that doodles are a manifestation of an unconscious or emotional state.
What is interesting about doodles is that we all have a pattern. Some draw circles, while others draw shapes or jagged lines. Sometimes the doodle is based on an internal or external stimulus. If you look at your previous doodles, you may find patterns.
So my question to you is: When do you doodle and what do you doodle?
A note from the Author: “Hi! My name is Roberto and I live in Miami, Florida. Currently, I’m finishing my Doctoral degree in Psychology and have a full-time job like everyone else. I have a passion for all things related to psychology and how they help us interact with our everyday world. I believe that the more we know about ourselves and the world around us, the more we will enjoy life. I have always been curious about the way we do things or react to situations. Even the most mundane things in our lives, I find interesting. That is why I write, to share that view with you.” Visit Roberto at Psychbits.
