Journal of Applied Psychological Research

Thematic Analysis and Examination of Transformational Trends in the ‎Conceptual Representation of God in Paintings by Iranian Girls in the ‎First to Third Grades of Elementary School

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Educational Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Education , Tehran University, Tehran , Iran.

2 Professor, Department of Educational Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Education , Tehran University, Tehran , Iran.

Abstract

The objective of this investigation was to investigate the visual representations of the concept of God in the illustrations of Iranian girls in grades 1 to 3 of elementary school in Tehran during the 2024–2025 academic year. Initially, a qualitative approach and thematic analysis were employed to collect and qualitatively analyze a total of 246 drawings. Subsequently, the Python programming language was implemented to conduct a quantitative analysis of the predominant hues in the drawings. Image processing was conducted using OpenCV, color clustering via the KMeans algorithm from scikit-learn, and color palettes were visualized with Matplotlib and Seaborn. Additionally, the pretrained ResNet50 model was utilized to extract advanced visual features for deeper and more precise analysis. The results indicated that children’s representations of God are influenced by their religious beliefs, lived experiences, and cultural heritage, as evidenced by symbols such as light, clouds, human faces, angels, and natural elements. The imagery in lower grades was more anthropomorphic and concrete, whereas the imagery in higher grades was more symbolic, abstract, and complex. The consistent presence of emotional colors and symbols, including red, gold, blue, hearts, and weeping, suggests the enduring role of affective elements in the religious experiences of children. This study underscores the Iranian cultural context and encourages the reevaluation of solely cognitive developmental models, providing novel insights for comparative research in non-Western societies.

Keywords

حسینی دهشیری، ا. س.، کشاورزیان، ص.، نظامی، م.، و امیریان، س. خ. (1401). واکاوی تجارب زیستۀ مربیان در مناطق محروم در کارگاه آنلاین تربیت مربی خلاقیت. فصلنامه پژوهش‌های کاربردی روانشناختی، 13(4)، 35–19. https://doi.org/10.22059/japr.2023.344818.644304
حسینی، ا. س.، و جعفرپور، ف. (۱۴۰۲). مطالعۀ اثربخشی دورۀ تربیت مربی خلاقیت بر دانش، نگرش و مهارت معلمان مناطق محروم: مطالعۀ طولی پدیدارشناسانه. فصلنامه پژوهش‌های کاربردی روانشناختی، ۱۴(۴)، ۳33–۳17.  https://doi.org/10.22059/japr.2023.360075.644640
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Journal of Applied Psychological Research
Volume 17, Issue 1
February 2026
Pages 113-128
  • Receive Date: 25 May 2025
  • Revise Date: 11 July 2025
  • Accept Date: 12 August 2025
  • First Publish Date: 15 October 2025
  • Publish Date: 21 March 2026