Rorschach Ink-blot Test

Niharika ThakkarB.A, M.A, N.E.T, MBPsS,

Clinical Psychology

History

(1921) Hermann Rorschach Psychodiagnostik Original set contained 40 inkblots

15 used regularly (eventually narrowed down to 10 due to printing costs)

Devised a set of codes Printing error led to use of shading

Systems

Focus on content analysisDavid Levy (1926) brought plates to USSamuel Beck (1927)

standardization study of the inkblotsBruno Klopfer (1922) - Germany

studied under Carl Jung in Zurich immigrated to US in 1934

Klopfer and his students developed a scoring system(1936)

Beck scoring system (1937) David Rapaport - Psychological Diagnostic Testing (1946)

clinical applications of 8 tests including the Rorschach Roy Schafer (1954)

Psychoanalytic Interpretation in Rorschach Testing content analysis

John Exner (1995-2003) Most extensive and well researched scoring system

Administration

Steps in administration

1. Introducing the subject to the technique

2. Giving the test instructions3. The Response Phase4. The Inquiry Phase5. Testing the limits

Introduction/Test Instructions

Sit side by sideCards should not be made visible before Appropriate order with Card I on topHand subject first card

Response sheet

Response Phase

Verbatim, no probing, Silence by examiner is the rule

Position of card<,^,>, 0“I don’t see anything there”

Take your time, we’re in no hurry (everyone can find something).”

“If you take your time and look some more, I think you’ll find something else too.”

Response time to be notedTotal time to be noted

Enquiry Phase

Conducted after all responses are given to all 10 cards

Gain information needed to score accuratelyNondirective questionsComplete location sheetNot used to generate new information

“ O.K., we’ve done them all. Now we are going to go back through them. It won’t take long. I want you to help me see what you saw. I’m going to read what you said, and then I want you to show me where in the blot you saw it and what is there that makes it look like that, so I can see it too. I’d like to see it just like you did, so help me now. Do you understand?”

Enquiry (cont.)

“Focus on gaining information and asking questions on: Location (Where is it?) Determinants (What makes it look like that?) Content (What is it?)

Example Response:

Its a pretty flower Inquiry:E: (Repeats response)S: Yes that’s the stem & here are the petalsE: U mentioned that it is pretty

Location chart

Rorschach: Assumptions

“Perceptual sets” displayed through projective techniques

Ambiguous stimuliResponses are scored along three categories:

location determinants Content form

Scoring and Interpretation

Scoring

LocationDeterminantsContentPopularityForm

Location

Where? Entire blot =W Common Detail= D Unusual detail =Dd and dD Use of white space =S

Determininants

Why? ex. shape, color, texture F= form C= colour FC= shape and colour CF= colour and shape M= Human movement FM= Animal movement Fc= texture response Fk= shading response Fm= Object movement

Content

What? Human= H Animal= A Human anatomy= At Animal Anatomy= AAt Object= Obj Blood= Blood Fire= Fire Plant= Plants Clouds= Clouds Geographical= Geo Human like (ghost, cartoon)= (H) Animal like (dragon, cartoon)= (A) Human part (face, hands etc)= Hd Animal Part= Ad Food= Fd Sex= sex Abstract= Abs Force= m

Popular Responses

(P) frequently perceived responsesAverage is 6.9 in non patient populations5= AdequateMost frequent on I, III, V, VIII

Popular Responses in the Comprehensive System

Card I. Bat or butterfly; always involves the whole blot.

Card II Animal forms, usually heads of dogs, bears, elephants, or lambs.

Card III. Two human figures, or representations thereof, such as dolls and caricatures.

Card IV. Human or human-like figure such as a giant, monster, science fiction creature, etc.

Card V. Butterfly or bat, including the whole blot; the apex of the card upright or inverted.

Card VI. Animal skin, hide, rug, or pelt.

Card VII. Human head or face, specifically identified as female, child, Indian, or with gender not identified.

Card VIII. Whole animal figure. The content varies considerably, such as a bear, dog, rodent, fox, wolf, and coyote.

Card IX. Human or human-like figures such as witches, giants, science fiction creatures, monsters, etc.

Card X. Spider or crab with all appendages restricted to a specified area (Dl). Other variations of multilegged animals are not coded as P (popular responses).

Scoring examples

Card Response InquiryCoding

I < 1. If I turn it ths way ths E: (Rpts S’s resp)

part ll an evergreen tree S: Well, it certainly has the shape

of an evergreen, u kno sk of an evergreen, like a spruce, very

stately looking

Interpretation

Three steps:1. Listing the sequence of codes or scores2. Recording frequencies for each variable3. Performing various calculations required to

obtain the ratios, percentages and derived scores

Calculations

Total responsesPopular ResponsesColour shock and shading shockForm QualityQualitative analysisQuantitative analysisPsychogram

Testing the limits

Thank you