2. What is a projective test?
- any personality test
designed to yield
information about
someone's personality
on the basis of their
unrestricted response to
ambiguous objects or
situations
3. This holds that an individual puts
structure on an ambiguous situation in a
way that is consistent with their own
conscious & unconscious needs.
• Reduces temptation to fake
• Doesn't depend as much on verbal
abilities
• Taps both conscious & unconscious traits
• Focus is clinical perspective - not
normative - but has developed norms
over the years
4. THE BENDER VISUAL MOTOR GESTALT TEST
More commonly referred to as the Bender-
Gestalt Test, became a “mainstay in the
assessment battery as an assessment tool in
appraisal of intelligence as a screening
technique for neuropsychological
dysfunction, as a clinical tool for sampling
visual-motor proficiency, and as a standard
projective technique in the assessment of
personality.”
5. Lauretta Bender,
M.D. (1897–1987)
She is best remembered for
her Visual Motor Test, a
neuropsychological exam
that became a world
standard. She also spent
many years researching the
Child neuropsychiatrist, cause of childhood
best known as the schizophrenia and was
creator of the Bender- responsible for studies on
Gestalt Test. child suicides and violence.
6. a. Gestalt Psychology Definition
Gestalt psychology finds its foundations
in German psychology. The word
“Gestaltism” literally means the essence
or the shape of an entity’s form. Gestalt
psychology is based on the principles
that the brain is holistic, parallel, analog,
and has a tendency to self-organize.
7. b. Gestalt Psychology Perception
The core of Gestalt psychology is founded
upon four main principles. Gestalt systems are
made up of emergence, reification,
multistability, and invariance. Each
of these principles explains perception from
the Gestalt point of view, rather than
traditional explanatory psychology.
8. • Emergence is, quite simply, the formation
of something complex, such as a pattern or
puzzle, from simpler and easier rules.
• Reification is the generative aspect of
perception. The experienced percept in
reification is based upon detailed spatial
information instead of the sensory
stimulus. Reification can be explained more
easily by referring to illusory contours.
9. • Multistability is a perception experience in
which the subject’s perceptions are moving
back and forth in an unstable manner creating
two possible interpretations.
• Invariance is the unique attribute that states
simple geometrical objects are recognized by
the perceiver independent of rotation, size,
lighting, colors, angles, deformations, and
other features of the object.
10. c. Gestalt Psychology Examples
III II IIII I
• You are likely to view this as four
separate groups, comprising three, two,
four and one members respectively, as
opposed to a line of ten different “I’s.”
This doesn’t only apply to visual
perception, but also music and how a
melody is perceived as a melody.
11. Bender Gestalt Test (The Bender Gestalt Test)
Used as a measure of visual-motor integration
and can be used as a screening tool for
neuropsychological impairment. The test
includes 16 stimulus cards consisting of
geometric figures. During this test the subjects
on a sheet of copy paper each of the nine figures,
and then draw them again from
memory. Significant errors in the figure (as seen
on the right in the figure, made by a person with
brain damage) may reflect some organic brain
dysfunction.
12. 4-Test Criteria correction Bender
a) The square the
circle or both are too
flattened or
deformed. b) disprop
ortion between the
size of the square and
the circle (one is
distortion of twice larger than the
the form other).
13. 4-distortion of the form
Five or more points scored in circles,
points or circles enlarged partially
filled circles are not considered.
14. Rotation
Rotation of the figure at 45 degrees
or more; rotation Blast Card but then
copied correctly in the rotated
position.
15. Rotation
Rotation of the figure or part
thereof in more than 45 °, rotation of
the card after being copied correctly
even in the rotated position.
Integration
Fails in the attempt to join the
circle and square, the circle and the
vertex of the square adjacent or
overlapping are separated by more
than 3 mm.
16. Distortion of the form
Five or more points scored in circles,
points or circles enlarged partially filled
circles are not considered for this scoring
item.
18. Change in shape
Five or more points scored in circles,
points enlarged.
19. Distortion of the form
a) Three or more curves replaced by
angles (if in doubt do not compute).
b) No curve in one or both lines,
straight lines.
20. Distortion of the form
a) disproportion between the size of the 2
hexagons, one must be at least twice
larger than the other.
b) The hexagons are excessively deformed;
adicón or omission of angles.
21. Distortion of the form
The hexagon or diamond excessively
deformed, angles added or omitted.
23. THE THEMATIC APPERCEPTION TEST
Widely used to research certain
topics in psychology, such as
dreams and fantasies, mate
selection, the factors that
motivate people's choice of
occupations, and similar
subjects.
24. THE THEMATIC APPERCEPTION TEST
It is sometimes used in psychiatric
evaluations to assess disordered thinking
and in forensic examinations to evaluate
crime suspects, even though it is not a
diagnostic test. The TAT can be used to
help people understand their own
personality in greater depth and build on
that knowledge in making important life
decisions.
25. (Henry Murray )
Humanistic Personality
Psychology, 1920-1940)
“human personality,
because of its present sorry
state, had become the
problem of our time—a hive
of conflicts, lonely, half-hollow, half-faithless,
half-lost, half-neurotic, half-delinquent, not
equal to the problems that confronted it, not
very far from proving itself an evolutionary
failure.”
26. TAT is a projective personality test that was
designed at Harvard University in the 1930s by
Christiana D. Morgan and Henry A. Murray.
Along with the Minnesota Multiphasic
Personality Inventory (MMPI) and the
Rorschach inkblot test, the TAT is one of the
most widely used psychological tests . A
projective test is one in which a person's
patterns of thought, attitudes, observational
capacity, and emotional responses are
evaluated on the basis of responses to
ambiguous test materials.
27. • Preparation
There is no specific preparation necessary before taking the
TAT, although most examiners prefer to schedule sessions
(if there is more than one) over two days.
• Risks
The chief risks involved in taking the TAT are a bad "fit"
between the examiner and the test subject and misuse of
the results.
• Parental concerns
The TAT does not yield a score, so its results can be
difficult to interpret. It is important for parents to
remember that the results of a single personality test may
not accurately reflect their child's skills, talents, or
problems and that there should not be too much
emphasis placed upon the results of a single test.
28. Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) Examples
The young boy hated the violin so much
that even its silence was too loud for him.
He pressed his fingers into his ears.
29. All day long the horse went back and forth across the
huge grate, dredging the pit behind the barn for lost
books.
The younger woman sold them to a secondhand
bookstore in town.
30. "I bet my little sissy boy just can't wait to turn around and
bend over for my fat cock, can he?“
"No, ma'am!"
31. The Puerto Rican boys never
found out that when the
middle-aged woman
invited them to use her
pool, she stood by the
window the whole time
and watched them out of
the corner of her eye.
Her adult son hated when
the cat got fed before he
did.
32. Even though the graveyard was Despite all the acid they had
small, it was so crowded with taken, the muscular young man
crosses that the bald man was was scared when his friends told
having trouble finding the one he him to hang onto a rope tied to
wanted to piss on. the back of the car as they started
He couldn't hold it in much home from the beach.
longer. But for a second it was really fun.
33. The young man was already excited as he posed for his lover, who was
sketching the back of his head on the escort's hairless abdomen to use
as a target.
Then the three of them would take turns on the cavity left by the bullet.
34. This is a set of instructions for gaining
access to the unconscious thoughts
and feelings one has towards one’s
father.
Psychologically speaking, this game
has much in common with projective
tests like the Rorschach-test or the
Thematic Apperception Test
developed by Henry A. Murray. The
main difference in method is the
usage of a group, rather than an
individual, as the entity doing the
projection. In this game, three
persons use their unconscious and
conscious minds to create a tragic
story about one of the most
important things in a person’s life; the
relation to a husband or a father.
35. "This is the story of a little girl who is very disappointed. She’s
been struggling to learn to play the violin but she can’t do it. It’s
just too difficult. She’s upset and she’s going to tell her mother
and father she doesn't want to take violin lessons anymore. She
feels frustrated that she’s tried to play it and has failed. She’s
feeling discouraged about the whole thing."
38. The general goal of the test is to provide data
about cognition and personality variables such as
motivations, response tendencies, cognitive
operations, affectivity, and personal/interpersonal
perceptions. The underlying assumption is that an
individual will class external stimuli based on
person-specific perceptual sets, and including
needs, base motives, conflicts, and that this
clustering process is representative of the process
used in real-life situations.
39. Hermann Rorschach
(created the Rorschach inkblot test in 1921)
Hermann Rorschach was born on
November 8, 1884, in Zurich, Switzerland.
According to Ellenberger, young
Rorschach was raised "in an atmosphere of
extraordinary intellectual, artistic, and
cultural concentration."
40. He studied medicine in Zurich, Nuremberg,
Bern, and Berlin. Specializing in psychiatry,
Rorschach came into contact with and was
influenced by members of the psychoanalytic
community in Switzerland, including Carl Jung.
Jung had pioneered the study of word
association testing as a means of tapping
unconscious material, and Rorschach, too, had
experimented with this procedure.
41. THE INKBLOT TEST Popular responses
• Beck:
• bat, butterfly, moth
• Piotrowski:
• bat (53%), butterfly(29%)
• Dana (France):
• butterfly(39%)
When seeing card I, subjects often inquire on how they should
proceed, and questions on what they are allowed to do with the
card (e.g. turning it) are not very significant. Being the first card, it
can provide clues about how subjects tackle a new and stressful
task. It is not, however, a card that is usually difficult for the subject
to handle, having readily available popular responses.
42. Popular responses
THE INKBLOT TEST
• Beck:
• two humans
• Piotrowski:
• four-legged animal(34%, gray
parts)
• Dana (France):
• animal: dog, elephant,
bear (50%, gray)
The red details of card II are often seen as blood, and are the
most distinctive features. Responses to them can provide
indications about how a subject is likely to manage feelings
of anger or physical harm. This card can induce a variety of
sexual responses.
43. THE INKBLOT TEST Popular responses
• Beck:
• two humans(gray)
• Piotrowski:
• human figures(72%, gray)
• Dana (France):
• human(76%, gray)
Card III is typically perceived to contain two humans
involved in some interaction, and may provide information
about how the subject relates with other people
(specifically, response latency may reveal struggling social
interactions).
44. THE INKBLOT TEST Popular responses
• Beck:
• animal hide, skin, rug
• Piotrowski:
• animal skin, skin rug (41%)
• Dana (France):
• animal skin(46%)
Card IV is notable for its dark color and its shading (posing difficulties
for depressed subjects), and is generally perceived as a big and
sometimes threatening figure; compounded with the common
impression of the subject being in an inferior position ("looking up")
to it, this serves to elicit a sense of authority. The human or animal
content seen in the card is almost invariably classified as male rather
than female, and the qualities expressed by the subject may indicate
attitudes toward men and authority. Because of this Card IV is often
called "The Father Card".
45. THE INKBLOT TEST Popular responses
• Beck:
• bat, butterfly, moth
• Piotrowski:
• butterfly(48%), bat(40%)
• Dana (France):
• butterfly(48%), bat(46%)
Card V is an easily elaborated card that is not usually
perceived as threatening, and typically instigates a "change of
pace" in the test, after the previous more challenging cards.
Containing few features that generate concerns or complicate
the elaboration, it is the easiest blot to generate a good
quality response about.
46. THE INKBLOT TEST Popular responses
• Beck:
• animal hide, skin, rug
• Piotrowski:
• animal skin, skin rug (41%)
• Dana (France):
• animal skin(46%)
Texture is the dominant characteristic of card VI, which often
elicits association related to interpersonal closeness; it is
specifically a "sex card", its likely sexual percepts being
reported more frequently than in any other card, even though
other cards have a greater variety of commonly seen sexual
contents.
47. Popular responses
THE INKBLOT TEST • Beck:
• human heads or faces (top)
• Piotrowski:
• heads of women or children(27%,
top)
• Dana (France):
• human head (46%, top)
Card VII can be associated with femininity (the human
figures commonly seen in it being described as women or
children), and function as a "mother card", where
difficulties in responding may be related to concerns with
the female figures in the subject's life. The center detail is
relatively often (though not popularly) identified as a
vagina, which makes this card also relate to feminine
sexuality in particular.
48. THE INKBLOT TEST Popular responses
• Beck:
• animal: not cat or dog(pink)
• Piotrowski:
• four-legged animal(94%, pink)
• Dana (France):
• four-legged animal(93%, pink)
People often express relief about card VIII, which lets them
relax and respond effectively. Similar to card V, it represents a
"change of pace"; however, the card introduces new
elaboration difficulties, being complex and the first multi-
colored card in the set. Therefore, people who find processing
complex situations or emotional stimuli distressing or difficult
may be uncomfortable with this card.
49. THE INKBLOT TEST Popular responses
• Beck:
• human(orange)
• Piotrowski:
• none
• Dana (France):
• none
Characteristic of card IX is indistinct form and diffuse, muted
chromatic features, creating a general vagueness. There is
only one popular response, and it is the least frequent of all
cards. Having difficulty with processing this card may
indicate trouble dealing with unstructured data, but aside
from this there are few particular "pulls" typical of this card.
50. Popular responses
THE INKBLOT TEST
• Beck:
• crab, lobster, spider(blue)
• Piotrowski:
• crab, spider(37%, blue),
rabbit head(31%, light green),
caterpillars, worms, snakes(28%,
deep green)
• Dana (France): none
Card X is structurally similar to card VIII, but its uncertainty
and complexity are reminiscent of card IX: people who find it
difficult to deal with many concurrent stimuli may not
particularly like this otherwise pleasant card. Being the last
card, it may provide an opportunity for the subject to "sign
out" by indicating what they feel their situation is like, or
what they desire to know.
51. Wayne Holtzman
(developed the inkblot
technique)
The HIT, developed by
psychologist Wayne Holtzman and colleagues,
was introduced in 1961. The test was designed
to overcome some of the deficiencies of its
famous predecessor, the Rorschach Inkblot Test.
Unlike the Rorschach, the Holtzman is a
standardized measurement with clearly defined
objective scoring criteria.
52. In summary, it can be said that the beginning
of inkblot use may be traced back to the fifteenth
century and that a sizable amount of work was
done towards the end of the nineteenth century.
53. • Inkblot procedures have been used for
studying imagination, thought processes,
reflex hallucinations, intelligence and
personality. Currently, they are being used to
understand the subject's psychopathology
and to hear his/her "inner cry." Currently the
work is going on in various International
Centers.
54. Ink Blot Testing
Ink blot testing is a projective technique
personality test. Ink blots look like blobs of
ink on paper however ink blots tell
psychologist's a lot of information about
the personality of a patient.
55. Significance
Ink blot testing assesses the private
world of a person's ideas, wishes
and fears which allows a
psychologist to assess the behavior
of a person's personality. Ink blots
are commonly used to test mental
patients in psychiatric hospitals.
58. A Blacky picture. Subjects would be asked to
create a story based on the picture.
59. The Blacky pictures were a series of
picture cards used by psychoanalysts in mid-
Twentieth century America and elsewhere to
investigate the extent to which children's
personalities were shaped by Freudian
psychosexual development.
60. • The drawings depicted a family of cartoon
dogs in situations relating to psychoanalytic
theory. The main character, 'Blacky', was
accompanied by Tippy, a sibling, and a
mother and father. Blacky's sex was decided
by the experimenter, depending on the
subject who was taking the test.
61. Draw-A-Person test
The Draw-A-Person test requires the subject to
draw a person. The results are based on
a psychodynamic interpretation of the details
of the drawing, such as the size, shape and
complexity of the facial features, clothing and
background of the figure
62. • As with other projective tests, the approach
has very little demonstrated validity and
there is evidence that therapists may
attribute pathology to individuals who are
merely poor artists. A similar class of
techniques is kinetic family drawing.
63. Smiling person
(combined head and body) age 4½.
The Draw-A-Person Test (DAP, DAP test, or
Goodenough-Harris Draw-A-Person Test)
is a psychological projective personality or cognitive
test used to evaluate children and adolescents
for a variety of purposes.
64. House Tree Person Drawings
The House-Tree-Person (H-T-P) projective
technique developed by John Buck was
originally an outgrowth of the Goodenough
scale utilized to assess intellectual functioning.
65. • Buck felt artistic creativity represented a
stream of personality characteristics that
flowed onto graphic art. He believed that
through drawings, subjects objectified
unconscious difficulties by sketching the
inner image of primary process.
66. • House interpretations are loosely based on
research and on the symbolic meaning of the
aspects of the house. They should hopefully
be nurturing places with normal levels of
detail and normal size.
67. • Tree interpretations: The trunk is seen to represent the
ego. sense of self, and the intactness of the personality.
Thus heavy lines or shadings to represent bark indicate
anxiety about one's self, small trunks are limited ego
strength, large trunks are more strength...
• Person intrepretations: Here, the idea is that the
person of the same sex is like you, and the person of
the opposite sex is what you may not admit is like
you.
