RORSCHACH

INKBLOT TEST
The Rorschach is often mentioned in television shows or in films depicting
psychological evaluations.
Curiously, the idea of seeing objects in inkblots came from a common game
in the 1800s called Blotto.
Someone would put a drop of ink on a blank piece of paper and fold the
paper in half, creating a unique inkblot.
Others would then take turns identifying objects in the inkblots. Alfred Binet
used this technique to examine imagination among children.
Swiss psychiatrist Hermann Rorschach noticed that mental patients tended
to respond very differently to this game relative to others.
Thus, Blotto became the basis for the Rorschach test.
Although the origins of the Rorschach Test lies in Europe, its subsequent
development and elaboration occurred in the United States (Exner, 1993).
Disenchantment with objective inventories probably facilitated this
development (Shneidman, 1965).
However, the general rise of the psychodynamic, psychoanalytic movement
and the emigration of many of its adherents from Europe to the United
States in the 1930s were also important.
What has confused many and perhaps impeded efforts to demonstrate
reliability and validity is the fact that there are several different general
Rorschach approaches.
For example, in the past, Klopfer, Beck, Hertz, Piotrowski, and Rapaport
each offered the scoring and the interpretation of Rorschach systems.
The systems differ in the manner in which they administer, score, and
interpret the results of the test and in the instructions they provide to
examinees.
This has created many problems in interpreting the results of research
studies and in generalizing from one study to another.
In addition, Exner and Exner (1972) discovered that 22% of the clinicians
they surveyed did not formally score the
Rorschach at all, and75% reported that when they did use a scoring system,
it was a highly idiosyncratic one.
However, it is now virtually a requirement for research publication that
Rorschach protocols should be scored in a systematic fashion and that
adequate inter scorer agreement be demonstrated (Weiner,1991).
At a minimum, it is expected that the Rorschach responses should be scored
similarly by independent raters.
Description
The Rorschach consists of ten cards on which are printed inkblots that are
symmetrical from right to left.
Five of the ten cards are black and white (with shades of gray), and the other
five are colored.
A simulated Rorschach card is shown in Figure below.
An inkblot similar to those used in the
Rorschach test
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rorschach_test
Administration
There are various techniques for administering the Rorschach Test.
However, for many clinicians, the process goes something like this.
The clinician hands the patient the first card and says, ''Tell me what you
see. What it might be for you”.
“There are no right or wrong answers. Just tell me what it looks like to you”.
All of the subsequent cards are administered in order.
The clinician takes down verbatim everything the patient says.
Some clinicians also record the length of time, it takes the patient to make
the first response to each card as well as the total time spent on each card.
Some patients produce many responses per card, and others produce very
few.
The clinician also notes the position of the card as each response is given
(right side up, upside down, or sideways).
All spontaneous remarks or exclamations are also recorded.
Following this phase, the clinician moves to what is called the Inquiry.
Here, the patient is reminded of all previous responses, one by one, and
asked what it was that prompted each response.
The patient is also asked to indicate for each card the exact location of the
various responses.
This is also a time when the patient may elaborate or clarify responses.
Scoring
Although Rorschach scoring techniques vary, most employ three major
criteria.
i) Location refers to the area of the card, to which the patient responded. The
whole blot, a large detail, a small detail, white space, and so on.
ii) Content refers to the nature of the object seen (an animal, a person, a
rock, fog, clothing, etc.).
iii) Determinants refer to those aspects of the card that prompted the
patient’s response (the form of the blot, its color, texture, apparent
movement, shading, etc.).
Some systems also score popular responses and original responses (often
based on the relative frequency of certain responses in the general
population).
Currently, Exner's Comprehensive System of scoring is the most frequently
used (Exner,1974, 1993).
Although the specifics of this scoring system are beyond the scope of this
unit (a total of 54 indices are calculated in Exner's Structural Summary), a
number of resources are available that provide details on the Comprehensive
System (including Exner, 1991, 1993).
The actual scoring of the Rorschach Test involves such things as compiling
the number of determinants, computing their percentages based on the total
number of responses, and computing the ratio of one set of responses to
another set (e.g., computing the total number of movement responses
divided by the number of color responses).
Indeed, the layperson is often surprised to learn that orthodox scoring of the
Rorschach Test is much more concerned with the formal determinants than
with the actual content of the responses.
However, many contemporary clinicians do not bother with formal scoring at
all, preferring to rely on the informal notation of determinants. Furthermore,
these clinicians tend to make heavy use of content in their interpretations.
As mentioned earlier, the Rorschach Test interpretation can be a complex
process. For example, a patient's over use of form may suggest conformity.
Poor form, coupled with unusual responses, may hint at psychosis.
Color is said to relate to emotionality, and if it is not accompanied by good
form, it may often indicate impulsivity.
Extensive use of white spaces has been interpreted as indicative of
oppositional or even psychopathic qualities. Use of the whole blot points to a
tendency to be concerned with integration and to be well organized.
Extensive use of details is thought to be correlated with compulsivity or
obsessional tendencies.
As previously mentioned, the most comprehensive approach to scoring has
been developed by Exner (1974, 1993).
His system incorporates elements from the scoring systems of other
clinicians. Exner and his associates have offered a substantial amount of
psychometric data, evidence of stable test retest reliability, and construct
validity studies.
It is a promising, research based approach that warrants careful attention
from clinicians who choose to use the Rorschach Test.
However, it is also important to note that many of the reliability and validity
studies cited by Exner have been challenged (Wood, Nezworski, Lilienfeld,
& Garb, 2003; Wood, Nezworski, & Stejskal,1996).
Limitations
■ Lack of an objective system.
■ Lack of satisfactory internal consistency.
■ Failure to provide evidence for clinical validity.
■ Individual differences between groups of normal subjects.
■ Failure to find any significant relationships between Rorschach scores,
intelligence, or creativity.
Thank you