Rorschach's inkblot test was a projective test developed by Hermann Rorschach to determine the personality of individuals.

1. ALKA V.
III B.SC. PSΨCHOLOGY
KURIAKOSE ELIAS COLLEGE
RORSCHACH’S INKBLOT TEST

2. Hermann Rorschach
 Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst.
 His education in arts helped in the invention of the inkblots.
 He continued developing his inkblot tests until his premature death
at the age of 37.
 He is the author of the book Psychodiagnostik.

3. Rorschach Inkblot Test
 Using interpretations of ambiguous designs used to be a game in
the late 19th century. Its an idea that goes back to Leonardo da
Vinci, and Botticelli.
 It was not originally intended to be a projective personality test.
 It was meant to produce a profile of people with Schizophrenia.
 Rorschach was sceptical of his test being used as a projective test.

4. Rorschach Inkblot Test
 Is a psychological test in which subject’s perception of inkblots are recorded and
interpreted.
 It is used to determine the personality of subjects.
 Uses inkblots on paper as test material.

5. Rorschach Inkblot Test
 It is a widely used projective test.
 Projective tests are personality tests designed to let people respond to ambiguous
stimuli, which reveals inner emotion and turmoil.
 It is used to determine thought disorders. Especially when the subjects are
reluctant to share their thinking processes.

6. Rorschach Inkblot Test- Cards
 Consists of 10 bilaterally symmetrical (mirrored images) inkblots
 5 achromatic inkblots
 2 black, red, and white cards
 The remaining 3 – multi-coloured.
 Reliability: internal reliability of .85 or higher.
 Validity: has been found to be moderate to low (.30).

7. Rorschach Inkblot Test- Cards
 The cards are thick and rectangular cardboards of the size 6 5/8 inches by 9 1/5
inches.
 The cards are generally kept secret to the public so that there is a spontaneous
reaction from the test participant.
 The psychologist sits in an informal setting, giving the participant one card after
another.
 Notes are taken on anything the psychologist thinks would help in decoding the
results.

8. Administration
 Free association phase
 The cards are shown to the subject
 The subject is asked to tell what is on each of the cards
 Inquiry phase
 The examiners tries to determine which aspect of the inkblot played a role in
the perception of the image by the subject
 What made it look like a (percept)? Is it the mainly the shape? How important was the
colour?

9. Administration
 Testing the limits
 Asks specific questions, identify confusions and misunderstandings
 Determining whether the subject can refocus percept when given a new
frame of reference.

10. Scoring
 Includes 15 special scores for responses such as unusual verbalizations and
aggressive movement.
 Features
 Location: part of the inkblot that was utilized in forming the percept
 Determinants: the qualities of the inkblot that determines what the individual
perceives. (shape, colour, texture)

11. Scoring
 Content: content category of the response. (whole human, human detail,
animal, food)
 Popularity: frequency of response.
 Form: how accurately the individual’s perception matches the corresponding
part of the inkblot.

12. Location
 Where?
 Entire blot
 Common detail
 Unusual detail
 Use of white space

13. Determinants
 Why?
 Ex. Shape, colour, texture
 Form
 Colour
 Human movement
 Animal movement
 Texture response …

14. Content
 What?
 Human
 Animal
 Human anatomy
 Animal anatomy
 Object
 Blood
 Fire
 Plant

26. 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 and
intelligence, or creativity.

27. References
 Groth, G., Marnat. (2003). Handbook of psychological Assessment. (4th edition). Canada:
Wiley.
 NCERT. Textbook for class 12. New Delhi: Ncert.