HTP by John N.

Buck
Dr. Tahira Youasf
Associate Professor
 The house-tree-person test (HTP) is a projective
personality test, a type of exam in which the test
taker responds to or provides ambiguous,
abstract, or unstructured stimuli (often in the
form of pictures or drawings).
 In the HTP, the test taker is asked to draw
houses, trees, and persons, and these drawings
provide a measure of self-perceptions and
attitudes. As with other projective tests, it has
flexible and subjective administration and
interpretation.
 The HTP can be given to anyone over the age
of three. Because it requires test takers to
draw pictures, it is often used with children
and adolescents.
 HOUSE:
 POORLY DRAWN: Indicate poor interpersonal
relationships.
 DETAILED MATERIAL: Obsessive personality,
Try to live lavish life.
 CLOSED DOORS AND WINDOWS: Guarded and
defensive personality
 DOOR IS OPEN AND WINDOW IS CLOSED OR
DOOR IS CLOSED AND WINDOW IS OPEN:
Shows want to free with someone (emotional
affiliation with loved one)
 LOCKS AND KNOBS: Defensive personality
and poor interpersonal relationship with
siblings.
 SUN: The need of warmth and attraction
 MOUNTAIN: Show depression and anxiety,

Some sort of sexual role conflict in females

and in males it is breast fixation.
 CHIMNEYS: Person needs some sort of outlets

to express his ideas, warmth and affection at

home. (mother figure)
 SMOKE: It needs warmth and affection.
 WATER PONDS: Need of having sexual
relations at unconscious level.
 DOUBLE STORY HOUSE: Double standards of
the person.
 BACK DOOR: Shows some secretes in life and
don’t want to express these, also guilt
feelings in males shows sexual relations.
 LAWN AND FLOWERS: Some sort of pleasant
personality, good interpersonal relations.
Person is satisfied family life.
 COMPARTMENTS MEANS ROOMS: Tight
boundaries at home.
 LONG WALKWAY: Interpersonal relationship if
pathway is straight means god interpersonal
relationship and if not straight indicate
disturb or bad relationships.
 TIGHLY LOCKED DOORS: Pathological
tendency, tight boundaries at home.
 BARS ON WINDOWS: Higher level of
pathological tendency.
 SHADING: Anxiety, depression.
 TREE WITH HOUSE: Need of somebody for
warmth and affection
 SYMMETRY: Obsessed personality
 KITCHEN: Also indicate warmth and affection,

in some cases shows nourishment.

 STRONG BOUNDARY LINE: Insecurity feelings.
 OPEN DOORS AND WINDOW: Well balanced

synchronized personality.
 DOUBLE HOUSE: Psychotic personality, dual
personality in forensic cases
 SNOW ON ROOF: Indication of severe

depression.
 PERSON WALKING ON WALKWAY TOWARD

HOME: Good interpersonal relationship.

 WALKING AWAY FROM HOME: Poor
interpersonal relationship.
 SWINGS, CARS, POTS ETC..: Good

interpersonal relations.
 BIRDS: Anxiety
 CLOUDS, SKY (SHADING): Anxiety
 SWING WITHOUT CHILD: Issueless people
 SPLIT: Spilt in ego, dual personality
 CLOUD LIKE TREE: Confused thinking.
 STRONG LINE ON TRUNK AND BRANCHES:

Concrete and solid thinking, positive attitude

toward life.
 LOTS OF BRANCHES: Obsessive personality.
 HUMAN LIKE TREE OR BUG LIKE TREE:

Tendency of schizophrenia and high

pathological risk
 LOTS OF EMPHASIS ON TRUNK BY FEMALES:
Sexual anxiety
 FRUIT AND FLOWER: Strong tendency to have
children
 MORE BEAUTIFICATION: Very high tendency to
have children.
 BASELINE: Strong thinking, desire to be
independent.
 ROOTS: Pathological tendency
 WITHOUT BASELINE / ROOTS: Disturb thinking.
 LEAVES: Obsession
 DISTRORTION: Schizophrenic personality,
severe pathology, psychopathic tendency in
some cases.
 DISTORTION IN ANY PART: experience of

some trauma, some sort of somatic delusion,

and conflict related to the part.
 INTERNAL ORGANS: Schizophrenia, somatic

delusion.
 OMISSION OF ANY BODY PART: Conflict
related to that body part.
 TRANSPARENCY: Transparent clothing in

same gender indicate homosexuality and in

opposite gender indicate sexual tendency.
 UNESSENTIAL DETAILS IN CLOTHOING:

Indicates unlogical schizophrenia and logical

OCD
 HOLDING PISTOL OR DAGGAR: aggression
 HOLDINJG STICK: Need for help
 BELT EMPHASIS: Sexual conflict.
 BUTTONS OR BUCKLE: Dependency
 BUTTON ON COFFS: Obsessive personality and
dependency
 BUTTON IN MIDDLE LINE: Maternal dependency
and breast fixation
 BUTTON PLUS HAT: regression
 CIGRETTE, CIGAR IN HANDS AND LIPS: In hands
represents sexual conflict, in lips osculation
 CAREFULLY DRAWN CLOTHING: Immature ego
 CLOTHING EXTRA DETAILING SAME GENDER:
Homosexual tendency
 OVER CLOTHING: Withdrawal tendency and
antisocial personality
 CLOTHING ILL-FITTING: Unsatisfying social
status.
 COLLAR VERY TIGHT: Problem with control of
aggression
 EAR RINGS BY FEMALES: Assumptions
tendency
 HANDKERCHIEF IN POCKET OR HANDS: Sexual
inadequacy
 POCKETS INSIDE: Affectional deprivation
 MANY POCKETS ON MALE BY MALE: Passive

homosexuality
 SHOE LASES, WRINKLES ON DRESS: OCD
 TIE: Sexual inadequacy
 FLOWERS: Sophistication
 TOYS: Immaturity
 FEET AND HAND BOTH OMITTED AND DIM:
Schizoid personality
 FEET AND LEGS DRAWN FIRST: Depression
 SMALL FEET BY MALE SUBJECT: Insecurity

feelings.
 FINGERS EITHER OMITTED OR EXTRA LARGE:

Masturbatory activities
 FINGERS, NAILS JOINT: Schizophrenia
 FINGERS CLAW LIKE: Aggression.
 FINGERS GRAPES LIKE: Immaturity
 CLOSED FIST: Rebellious tendency, repressed
regression
 FOOT EMPHASIZED BY MALE: Feelings of
impotency
 FOOT EMPHASIZED BY FEMALE: Feeling of
assault experience
 FOOT PHALLIC LIKE: Sexual inadequacy
 LESS THAN FIVE FINGERS: Immaturity
 HANDS OF FEMALE FIGURE IN PELVIC AREA BY
MALE SUBJECT: Experience of rejection by
female
 HANDS OF FEMALE FIGURE IN PELVIC AREA BY
FEMALE SUBJECT: Sexual inadequacy.
 GENITAL AREA: Oral eroticism
 HANDS BEHIND THE BACK OR IN THE POCKET:

Lack of confidence, high chances of

psychopathic tendency, masturbatory guilt.
 HANDS DIM: Lack of confidence
 HANDS OVER EMPHASIZED: Externalized aggression.
 SHADED HANDS: Anxiety over poor interpersonal
relations.
 JOINTS, ANKLE ON FIGURE SHOWS: Feelings of body
in organization, in schizophrenia, homosexual
tendency and dependency.
 FACE:
 EYE BROWS BUSH LIKE: Aggression
 EYE BROWS EMPHASIZED ON CAREFULLY DRAWN:
Sophistication
 CHIN EMPHASIZED ON OPPOSITE GENDER:
Dependency on opposite gender, regarded as
stronger opposite.
 CHIN ENLARGED: Aggressive desire or poor decision
making ability.
 EYES BEATUIFIED: Sexual conflicts preoccupation
 EXTRA LARGE EYES: Some sort of traumatic
experience, hallucinations.
 OVER EMPHASIZED: Some sort of trauma
 EYES AS CIRCLE: Ego centric tendency or immaturity
 EYES IN THE FORM OF DOTS: Paranoia, ideas of
reference
 SMALL EYES: Self absorption.
 LARGE EYES WITHOUT PUPIL: Voyeuristic guilt
 EYES AND LASHES EXTRA LARGE: Homosexual
tendency
 FACE VERY ILL LINES: Person very shy, self conscious.
 LIPS FULLY DRAWN ON OPPOSITE GENDER: Oral
eroticism, Sexual preoccupation
 TEETH: Reggression
 MOUTH EMHASIZED: alcohol tendency, addicted
tendency
 OPEN MOUTH: Oral eroticism
 MOTH OMITTED ON OPPOSITE GENDER: Severity of
scolding by opposite gender
 MOUTH SINGLE LINE: Oral regression
 NOSE CUT OFF: Castration fear, castration desire
 CARTOON DRAWING: Feeling of inadequacy, feeling
of rejections
 MALE SUBJECT TENDS TO SPECIFY
 MATERNAL FIGURE: Dependence, mother

figure perceive stronger than father.

 OPPOSITE SEX FIGURE DRAWN FIRST: Sexual

conflict and opposite figure represent

Stronger.
 DRAW PARENTS: Parental dependency
 SNOW MEN, BUGS BUNNY AND HUMPTY

DUMPTY: Somatic delusion, exhibitionistic

tendency, high defence mechanism
 DRAWING OF PUPPET: Feeling of dominance by
others.
 ROBOT LIKE: Intellectual functioning.
 WITCHES: Negative tendency toward women,
aggressive toward women.
 HAIR EMPHASIS SHADING: Anxiety.
 CAREFULLY DRAWN HAIR: Obsession, over
sexuality
 BEARD OR HAIR ON FACE: Sexual inadequacy
 BALDNESS: Feeling of inadequacy and lack of
masculine power.
 MUST HAIR: Sexual immorality
 MIDDLE LINE SHOWNBY FEMALE: Narcissistic
personality (person is involved in self love)
 MIDDLE LINE SHOWN BY MALE: Obsessive

personality
 BY MALE DONE HAIR OF FEMALE AND OTHER

THINGS CAREFULLY DRAWN: Lack of sexual

control, feeling of inadequacy, sexual conflict
and antisocial personality.
 EXTRA LARGE HAIR: Delusional thinking or
grandiosity feelings, Homosexuality
 EXTRRA LONG EAR BY NORMAL: Sensitivity to
criticism, hearing disability
 HEAD IN DIM: Feelings of inferiority, shyness and
self conscious
 HEAD DRAWN IN THE END: Thought disturbance
concern over poor interpersonal relations.
 OMISSION OF HEAD: Conflict some sort of
somatic delusion, feelings of depersonalization.
 ENLARGE HEAD: Sufficient concern paranoid
ideas in intellectual ability, fantasy and day
dream.
 LARGE HEAD ON OPPSITE GENDER: Feeling of
dominance
 HEAD DISTORTED: Organicity
 LARGE NECK: Strong ego
 EMPHAIS ON NECK: Shows high ego means
person don’t have but tend to keep it.
 GIRRAFAE LIKE NECK: Particularly
schizophrenic.
 EXTRA LARGE NECK: Poor impulse control,
schizoid tendency
 NECK LONG BUT THIN: Repression
 NECK OMITTED: Poor impulse control
 SINGLE LINE NECK: Depression
 SHORT BUT THICK NECK: Un integrated nerve
control
 NAKED FIGURE DRAWN: Immoral sexual desire
 FEMALE FIGURE DRAWN WITH FIGURE
SPECIFICATIN: Poor sexual control, psychopathic
tendency, preoccupation in sexual thought.
 SEX ORGASN DRAWN OR SOME SORT OF SEXUAL
ACTIVITY: Strong indulgence in sexual activity. In
psychopathic person might be a rapist or have a
tendency to do that.
 SAXUAL ORGAN OF MALE BY MALE: Homosexual
tendency or experience of sexual abuse.
 SCARS ON THE BODY DRAWN: Traumatic experience,
suicidal and homicidal ideas in same gender.
 OPPOSITE GENDER: Sadistic approach
 ARMS CLOSED TO THE BODY: Repression or self
internalized regression.
 ARMS AWAY FROM BODY: Externalized aggression
 ARMS FOLDED: Internalized feelings, feelings of
rejection by same gender.
 ARMS VERY STRONG AND SHADED, STRONG
SHOULDER AND ARMS: Opposite sex viewed as
punishing.
 ARMS OR HAND OMMITTED: Feelings of guilt
 ARMS OR LEGS REINFORCED BENDING: Need

of strength, sexual role conflict

 MALE SUBJECT, MALE FIGURE ARMLESS: Fear

OR desire for castration

 EXTRA LONG ARM: Ambitious personality
 LONG BUT WEAK ARMS: Nurturance need
 LONG AND POWERFUL ARMS: Need of

authority