Are you another Picasso, or a serial killer in the making?
Rest assured, I would like to believe that I am not the latter. In most Rorschach figures, instead of seeing animals, humans, or anything really, I see nothing? They are just ambiguous blots of ink (that are quite intimidating, mind I add… because when I squint my eyes really hard, I think I see mutated insect-like Ninja Turtles). However, because I cannot seem to use my creativity and see nothing, does this mean I am an emotionally blunt person? After all, the Rorschach test is meant to assess my personality and emotional functioning. But were I to give it another try, I would be afraid to appear insane and tame down my responses. Holly molly, I may be diagnosed with something because I cannot provide typical answers? I mean, today, I see a bunch of bug-like inkblots, but tomorrow, I could see a whole new world.
A Rorschach test, under the guise of a projective test, is used to assess personality traits and emotional functioning. It is often used to diagnose underlying thought disorders because the subjects’ hidden feelings are (supposedly) projected onto the test through their responses.
Ten select bilateral symmetrical inkblots are shown to individuals for them to assess. First, there is a free association phase in which subjects are required give their responses. Second, there is an inquiry phase in which the examiner interacts with the subject by probing. Analysis of the responses can be performed with the help of complex mathematical calculations and psychological interpretation. The results are then compared to research data on personality characteristics that have been associated with different types of responses. As meticulous as this method appears to be, how valid and reliable is the Rorschach exactly?
Controversy surrounding the Rorschach and its validity has been around for many decades. Hermann Rorschach himself meant for this test to examine schizophrenia, so there have been issues with it being used to assess personality. In most cases, I would also be skeptic about how reliable these assessments are because were I to retake the test, I could come up with a completely different answers. Not to mention the raters themselves would have their own interpretation of my responses, which would influence inter-rater reliability.
My rambling aside, Rorschach tests could have their use in helping psychologists explore and understance their patients, and in providing assistance to therapy sessions if these tests are indeed valid and reliable as they claim to be.
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