Special Report: Doodle decoding

Some do it while they're on the phone and in meetings.

But is there some deeper meaning to these doodles?

Dr. Don Davidoff, psychologist at Mclean's Hospital in Belmont
"By looking at doodles, it may begin to give us at least one lens to begin to look at individuals."

Dr. Davidoff has been studying patient's drawings for years. He says, doodles give clues to how the artist views the world. So we gave him a number of sketches to review.

First up, this spirited blue piece.

Dr. Davidoff
"A lot of 3 dimensional boxes here, someone who's organized, someone who looks around the corner at things. We see a bunch of flowers, and that could speak of a passionate nature."

So what does the creator think of his soothsaying?

Lee McLaughlin, doodler
"Some of it was pretty dead on. He said I was organized, and I feel that I'm organized, has an inquisitive nature , so part of that is true."

Here's a doodle from someone else, an intense red face with a big mouth, which is a big clue.

Dr. Davidoff
"This is someone who likes to go to restaurants, who likes to eat, who enjoys good food."

Is he correct?

Justin Solomon, doodler
"I had no idea that from that picture of that face that I drew that he could come up with the fact that I like to eat."

Other doodling clues Dr. Davidoff looks for, big ears means a good listener; triangles, someone who takes a strong stand. Stairs symbolize several things, if they're going up that's optimism while reaching a goal. Flowers, butterflies and birds signal a comfort in femininity.

Dr. Davidoff points out these doodle interpretations shouldn't be seen as a diagnosis for any medical problem or condition.

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