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The Rorschach test is a psychological exam where the subject visualizes ten inkblots and discusses their perceptions. The Exener scoring system assigns numerical scores based on the subject’s responses. Controversy has arisen over the images being available on the internet.
The Rorschach test is a psychological exam in which the subject is asked to visualize a series of ten inkblots and then discuss the images they perceive. Originally developed by Hermann Rorschach in 1921, the test as it stands today includes scoring methods that were refinements of the original version. The Rorschach test is used to evaluate personality characteristics, thought patterns, and emotional function, and to detect possible psychotic thinking.
This test consists of ten standard inkblots on white paper. Five are done in black ink only, two are black and red, and three are multicolored. The test subject is shown each inkblot and asked what he sees in it. Then, the test subject is given each inkblot in turn to examine and explain why and how the image resembles what he saw. Evaluation methods are more focused on this explanation and on the subject’s thought processes than on the content of his interpretation of the image.
The Exener scoring system, the standard method in the United States, assigns the subject’s responses numerical scores based on their vagueness or specificity and the degree of mental organization that occurs, among other aspects. Mathematical formulas are then applied to the data to produce a summary of the results. Skeptics of the Rorschach test believe this approach to be deceptively objective, when in reality interviewer bias can never be absent from the test results.
Recently, controversy has arisen over the images of the Rorschach test that have appeared on the Internet. To purchase a set of inkblot papers, a person must have proof of a doctorate in psychology. This is because the test is only effective if the images are completely new to the subject. Since the body of work compiled on the Rorschach test since its development deals with the original ten images, creating new images for each test, for example, would not solve the problem. While the Rorschach test images are now in the public domain and therefore not illegal to reproduce, psychologists and others believe that making the images publicly available is unethical.
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