The Psychological Related Effects of Children Creating Mandalas

The purpose of the study was to test the hypothesis that art therapy, specifically creating mandalas was physiologically relaxing for elementary school aged children. A thermal monitor was attached to the non-dominant wrist of the study subjects in order to record peripheral wrist temperature. Pulse was taken prior to and after each groups task to determine variations in heart rate due secondary to the involvement in the task. The experimental group created a mandala whereas the control group engaged in puzzles such as dot-to-dot, mazes and finding the hidden pictures. The results indicated that the experimental group had a statistically significantly greater reduction in heart rate (