Nicole Yeung
Edited by Anna Gagne
Have you ever started doodling during school, in the car, or in any particularly dull setting in general? It is typically assumed that someone who’s doodling isn’t listening or paying attention, but is there more to learn from the art of doodling?
Conducting Research
In 2009, a study by psychology professor Jackie Andrade recorded the results of 40 participants who listened to a voicemail message. While they were unaware that memory was being tested, half the participants doodled (shaded in a shape), as the other half did nothing. After testing their memory on the voicemail, the results stated that the people who doodled recalled about 29% more information than those who didn’t.
A report featuring Michiko Maruyama, a medicine student, also tested doodling. The student, who didn’t take traditional notes during lectures, paid close attention during lessons to scribble down key words. They reflected on the lesson in the evening and wrote what they learned. Following the writing session, they spent 30 minutes doodling as an attempt to put together an image that represented what they learned. Looking at daily doodles triggered their memory of lessons and information. After stopping doodling routines to take traditional notes during lectures, the student had a more difficult time recalling information. As the study suggests, even 30 minutes of doodling can fill gaps in the mind’s thinking, providing a fuller understanding.
How Does Doodling Benefit the Brain?
Paying full attention to a task for a long amount of time puts a strain on the brain, and doodling may help relieve the stress without causing the brain to lose complete interest in the information it should be processing.
Doodling stimulates more areas of the brain, keeping it alert and able to focus. Affiliated with the brain’s creative region, doodling is fit for generating ideas, grasping new concepts, and making connections between pieces of information. Cognitive studies demonstrate that doodling can light up default networks in the brain that would normally be resting while we pay attention.
Different Methods of Doodling
A style suggested by psychologist Christine Selby, “surf doodling” is drawn as a continuous line that can curve and intersect. With no breaks in the ink, this technique targets people who need to relieve stress, as the action is very gentle and soothing.
Another doodling method, Stendoodling requires not only a pen but a stencil as well. As the creation of a Brazilian artist Michael Trent, Stendoodling makes art easier by providing a foundation for the artist to start with. Patterns and shapes can then be drawn inside the traced shape, meaning that this technique can calm down stress and frustration.
Zentangles–repetitive doodles–are another popular doodling choice. Generally incorporating detailed patterns, Zentangles are created by abstract strokes with no eraser so the “mistakes” can be weaved into the art. As this exercise requires full attention, this type of doodling will not be effective for those who are interested in the studying-while-doodling combination.
Doodling’s Influence
All things considered, doodling has proved itself to be more meaningful than as an idle amusement. Having such a large influence on the mind, the director of the Institute for Human Development at the University of Seattle, Dr. Robert Burns, uses doodles to diagnose emotional complications of his patients, believing that doodles reveal parts of the unconscious.
“It just comes out of my subconscious. If you asked me to draw you a doodle, I couldn’t do it.”
Lois Frankel
References
- “The ‘thinking’ benefits of doodling.” Harvard Health. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/the-thinking-benefits-of-doodling-2016121510844
- “Medical doodles: 30 minutes well spent.” Carol Ann Courneya. CMAJ. https://www.cmaj.ca/content/184/12/1395?related-urls=yes&legid=cmaj;184/12/1395
- “How Doodling Can Help the Brain.” Cali & Caro. https://www.caliandcaro.com/blog/doodling-for-brain-power#:~:text=Drawing%20and%20doodling%20stimulates%20more,creative%20area%20of%20the%20brain
- “What Does Doodling Do?” J Andrade. Modesto Junior College. http://pignottia.faculty.mjc.edu/math134/homework/doodlingCaseStudy.pdf
- “Doodling: Listening With a Pencil.” University of Minnesota Twin Cities. https://university-relations.umn.edu/blog/2021/07/16/doodling-listening-pencil
- “What Are The Five Styles of Doodling?” Sparkle Tart. https://www.sparkletart.com/rsr/2016/08/what-are-the-5-different-styles-of-doodling.html
Leave a Reply