1. RORSCHACH INKBLOT TEST

2. INTRODUCTION The Rorschach inkblot test is the method of psychological evaluation. Psychologist use this test to try to examine the personality characteristics & emotional functioning of their patients. Projective testing & indeed modern clinical psychology starts with Rorschach. It is the most studied, used & argued over technique of clinical assessment.

3. INTRODUCTION Contd… Inkblot were used as a tool of psychological study. First in the mid 1800’s but it was not until Rorschach systematically studied then in 1921. He published his research & the result of his diagnosis in his classic monograph psycho diagnostic. He was a firm believer of psychoanalytic thinking & jungian thinking but his experiments have a strong empirical base.

4. INTRODUCTION Contd… By comparing response of many patients & people he tried to discover important personality dimensions which we can assess with the help of inkblot response. Rorschach was not able to continue his program regarding inkblot tests, he died in the year 1922 & his ideas were captured & research was carried on in Europe & D.M. Levy & Samuel.J.Beck in US. Since then there has been continuous & vigorous interest in inkblot testing.

5. CHARACTERISTICS OF RORSCHACH TEST The test consists of ten symmetrical inkblots. These are shown one at a time in same order. The subject is asked to give response regarding what the card is representing. The response can be categorized in 3 phases: 1. Free association 2. Enquiry 3. Testing the limits

6. CHARACTERISTICS Contd… In the free association phase the subject has to give his responses only. In the enquiry phase, each of the response is revised to clarify three points WHAT, WHERE & WHY 1. WHAT precisely was intended. 2. WHERE in the blot it was seen. 3. WHY it was seen means what stimulated to give a particular response.

7. CHARACTERISTICS Contd… The third phase testing the limits is to discover whether the subject is capable of giving more responses. His attention is drawn to particular areas & he is asked again & again to give responses & sometimes hints are also provided. There is no limit, it on the number of responses. The subject is free to give as many responses as he like to give.

8. CHARACTERISTICS Contd… But of 10 inkblot, 5 in black ink 7 in 2 blots red areas are added & 3 blots are multi coloured. The examiner records all the responses of the subject & later on have a session with the patient to do elaboration. Time is noted down for the first response Then time is noted down for the card. Overall & subtle behaviour is noted down

9. CHARACTERISTICS Contd… Incidental comments & visible feelings are also observed. The average record is 25 responses per subject. The number of responses tend to be higher among brighter people & those who have broad range of interest. The subjects who give small number of responses indicate low intellectual level inhibition or retardation

10. CHARACTERISTICS Contd… The subjects who are intellectually ambitious person & who want to show themselves off, they tend to give responses which are lacking in freshness & originality & the responses seem to be artificial & planned. In depressed persons sometimes such persons are also seen in those people who are too much concerned that there response should be perfectly correct. In each case quality of responses would differ.

11. SCORING & INTERPRETATION OF RORSCHACH RESPONSES Each response can be described by its what, where & why characteristics & it is at this point that Rorschach analysis & interpretation begins. Many specific scoring system have been developed & the most commonly used ones are those of Samuel.j.Beck & Bruno Klopfer.

12. SCORING & INTERPRETATION Contd… In all the scoring system scores for each response is given on the basis of the following characteristics: 1. Its location 2. The determinants used in forming the response 3. The level of accuracy 4. Its contents

13. SCORING & INTERPRETATION Contd… For e.g., if a patient says BAT to card 1 than it is coded WF+ AP here, W means the whole blot & F means form, + means accurate response, a means animal, p means popular response. Each response is conducting these dimensions & then total is obtained for each category.

14. SCORING & INTERPRETATION Contd… Each response represents a particular aspect of psychological functioning but the interpretation depends upon the responses & how they relate to each other. If there is a balance in first three categories i.e., location, determinants & accuracy it indicates the stable personality- cognitive characteristics of the patient.

15. SCORING & INTERPRETATION Contd… The responses given in Rorschach test are less controlled by our conscious & they are spontaneous & automatic responses & there is a less control of conscious mind. The area chosen indicates that the subject cognitive orientation it tells us whether the patient or the subject integrate the experience or segregate them.

16. SCORING SYSTEM SYMBOLRESPONSE WWhole blot DLarge & commonly aggregated areas dSmaller but usual details ddTiny or rare details SThe subject sees the card in reverse figure and background and respond towards spaces instead of inked area or black areas.

17. SCORING & INTERPRETATION Contd… It tells us about his abstract knowledge or is the limited to conventional categories. It also tells us whether he gives importance to trivial & unusual details. If the subject gives sufficient & accurate W response then he shows a capacity for abstract thinking & integration. Rorschach analysis & interpretation depends not only on particular score but its relation to other variables, quality of the response are also taken into consideration.

18. SCORING & INTERPRETATION Contd… A healthy record should show an over all balance among the location score. If there is a shift in subject style of giving response it must be considered as an emotional response to a particular card. If a subject is selectively not attending to particular position of a card & if that is of affective & sexual significance that shows the area of conflict.

19. SCORING & INTERPRETATION Contd… Gross thinking disorder can be seen in confused or confabulated responses such as DW response. This tendency is seen in impulsive people & usually found in schizophrenia. Another confabulated response is PQ it means that the subject has given response keeping in mind only the position on the card.

20. DETERMINANT It tells what aspect is responsible for our responses such as form, colour, movement, shading alone or in combination. The major categories are: 1. Movement 2. Shading 3. Form 4. Colour

21. CATEGORYFEATURES 1.Movement MSeen in human figure FNIf the movement is seen in an animal figure MIf the movement is seen in an inanimate object 2. Shading CTexture KFor three dimensional effects 3. Form FIf the response are based on the basis of the form of the object 4. Colour CIf the response is based purely on the basis of colour

22. DETERMINANT Contd… If in a response both form & colour is being used then it is being which is more dominating. The accuracy of the response is being marked by giving the symbol + or – In this category the examiner can get the variety of responses & here his judgement is the most important.

23. FORM The responses related with form tell us about an individual concern with external realities. The responses related to form also shows ego control. High proportion of F responses indicates that the person is literal, factual & colourless & has little capacity for spontaniety, emotional warmth & fantasy.

24. FORM Contd… If the F responses are well in extreme than it shows a person who is rigid & who does not show feelings. If a person has given very low perception of F responses & if they are inaccurate- also then it shows that the person is impulsive. It shows emotional dominance & has low capacity of logical thinking. If a well integrated person the three quarters of the F responses are the accurate ones.

25. COLOUR Colour response are related to the emotional life of the individual. If the subject has given FC response it means that his affects are modulated & socialized If the responses are pure this shows lack of intellectual capacity, impulsive, hyper stimulant, minimal logic & to person can leap into action without minimal thought & logic.

26. COLOUR Contd… The balance between the FC, CF & C is the focus of interpretation as well as the relationship of all the C responses to F & M is also evaluated. Some subjects are proved to colour shock whenever they are first confronted with colour blots with tendency is seen in neurotic individuals. Shading responses are often related with anxiety & the use of achromatic colours.

27. MOVEMENT The movement responses are of particular interest because the responses are immobile. M is scored when the subject experience movement regarding a human being or animal or inanimate object. M is a measure capacity for fantasy & inner reflection. If M responses are M+ means it indicates creative thinking

28. MOVEMENT Contd… M indicates delusion. High M score indicates that a person is imaginative well equipped intellectually, capable of delaying action & giving more weightage to fantasy rather than a particular thought or an action.

29. CONTENT The score describe in this category that what is the content of the response such as human, part of human, animal, part of animal, nature, object, clothing, anatomy, sex, food etc. To a lay man the content is most obvious & most important quality of the response or for the examiner it is of the least concern. Content scores are related with educational, cultural, vocational & other background factors.

30. CONTENT Contd… The analysis of content score give us a some score about personality structures, personal interest, concerns & conflicts of the subject. The richness of content give us an idea about variety of interest of the subject in various issues & topics & stereotypes. Contents can result from limited intelligence, experience, anxiety, inhibition, rigidity, or conflict of the patient.

31. OTHER ASPECTS OF RORSCHACH INTERPRETATION While interpreting the Rorschach score sequence analysis is another aspect which is equally important as well as changes in the behaviour of the subject while giving responses are also noted down. While analyzing the sequence of the response the following things are noted down: A. Whether the subject moves from the whole card to the part of the card in an organized way.

32. OTHER ASPECTS Contd… B. Whether he builds up the responses from small to larger details or he gives his responses here & there or haphazardly without considering any sequence. C. The sequence is studied within a particular card & between card also.

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