The second part of this blog entry has been a long time coming, but here it is: Part 2 of my procrastinating insight into the world of scribblings...
In Part 1, I despaired at my inartistic inclinations which led me to explore what little art I did - the little arts in my note margins. This was actually a lot more widespread than I thought, and some common motifs occurred again and again. But with so much more to say I promised to continue to write more. And now a year later, here it is:
Once I had taken on my adventure through the tumult of drawings, I did begin to feel slightly concerned. Maybe I shouldn’t be spending quite so much time in when I’m supposed to be learning embellishing my margins. So I did what any self-respecting student gets concerned that they’ve made the wrong choices in life: I Googled it. And upon inputting ‘concentration’ and ‘doodling’ and one of the top results was the PDF of a psychological study which not only promised to answer my question but suggested the possibility that doodling could be potentially helpful (!!!).
Once I had taken on my adventure through the tumult of drawings, I did begin to feel slightly concerned. Maybe I shouldn’t be spending quite so much time in when I’m supposed to be learning embellishing my margins. So I did what any self-respecting student gets concerned that they’ve made the wrong choices in life: I Googled it. And upon inputting ‘concentration’ and ‘doodling’ and one of the top results was the PDF of a psychological study which not only promised to answer my question but suggested the possibility that doodling could be potentially helpful (!!!).
Upon further reading, it would appear the psychologists in question had performed a study where participants upon completing a previous study were asked if they could just stay five minutes longer in order to help with another. They were asked to listen to a tape of a phone call about a party. Warned that it would long and dull, the participants were told not to worry about remembering anything - all they had to do was write down the names of those who would probably be attending and nothing else. The participants were split up into two groups - one set were also asked to shade in shapes whilst completing the task, being told it didn’t matter it was to help alleviate boredom. After listening, both groups were asked if they could recall information from the call.
On average, doodlers performed a lot better at the task, being able to passively recall more information. One of the reasons suggested for this was that doodling helps prevent daydreaming. Doodling allows concentration on a separate task without detracting from the verbal processing resources needed for listening. Daydreaming however appears to be much more distracting. If you are supposed to be copying notes from a book and instead decide to doodle this is of course unhelpful, but the research suggests that during something like a lecture or a conversation doodling prevents you from daydreaming. So although not definitively better than concentrating, if boredom does hit, doodling can help you reduce your lack of concentration. I hope. But moving on…
I also expressed in my first doodling exposé, my concern on whether my doodles put my feminism* into question. Not because I’ve been lovingly doodling pictures of the patriarchy, but more to do with the proliferation of damsel-in-distress, ballgowned princesses and faceless women in quasi-bride’s dresses. As I sat and learnt about economics and soil erosion, was I secretly dreaming that my knight-in-shining-armour would ride into the lecture hall, to carry me away to live a life of domesticated, wedded bliss? But after admiring the varying females, I reassured myself with the fact that more likely I was doodling fairytales as escapism from work rather than as an alternative lifestyle choice - me drawing lovely flowing dresses is probably more in response to the fact that I’m thinking of May Week rather than me subconsciously eschewing the values of my trousers-wearing, liberated sisters. However this entire conundrum is probably a prime example of the dangers of reading too much into your doodles (meta-procrastinating!!!) which the internet is more than happy to do for you.
So what have we learnt on this long-winded journey into the pointless scribbles of my life? Apart from my ability to reassure myself repeatedly of my actions. That I enjoy doodling way too much? Probably. Could doodling be constructive? Possibly. Ultimately, doodling could be an effective technique to keep your concentration next time you are stuck in a lecture that just makes you want to fall asleep. But maybe don’t do it in supervisions. Or at least not when the supervisor can see your notes.
Georgina Phillips
*DISCLAIMER: Obviously as a third-wave feminist, I do not believe their is an 'ideal woman' - feminist or otherwise - that people should aspire to; feminism should be about respecting women's choices and providing an environment where women can make and develop such educated choices. So if you want to be a damsel in distress, I respect your right to that choice. But I might question it's efficacy. And obviously feminists can wear dresses.
Georgina Phillips
*DISCLAIMER: Obviously as a third-wave feminist, I do not believe their is an 'ideal woman' - feminist or otherwise - that people should aspire to; feminism should be about respecting women's choices and providing an environment where women can make and develop such educated choices. So if you want to be a damsel in distress, I respect your right to that choice. But I might question it's efficacy. And obviously feminists can wear dresses.