Bruno Klopfer: a Rorschach pioneer

Bruno Klopfer is perhaps best known for his pioneering work on the Rorschach Inkblot Test. His efforts in developing and popularizing projective techniques were to have a profound impact on the development of psychological personality testing. In fact, prior to the introduction of Exner's comprehensive Rorschach scoring system, the Klopfer scoring system was the most popular among practicing clinicians (Exner & Exner, 1972, p. 13). Professionals in clinical psychology and psychiatry are certainly very indebted to Bruno Klopfer.     

Bruno Klopfer: A Rorschach Pioneer

Bruno Klopfer is perhaps best known for his pioneering work on the Rorschach Inkblot Test. His efforts in developing and popularizing projective techniques were to have a profound impact on the development of psychological personality testing. In fact, prior to the introduction of Exner's comprehensive Rorschach scoring system, the Klopfer scoring system was the most popular among practicing clinicians (Exner & Exner, 1972, p. 13). Professionals in clinical psychology and psychiatry are certainly very indebted to Bruno Klopfer.     

Bruno Klopfer,A Measure of the Man and His Work: A Review of Developments in the Rorschach Technique: volumes I,II, and III

This article reviews Bruno Klopfer's life and his contributions to the Rorschach, especially as they are represented in his three volume series: Developments in the Rorschach Technique, volumes I, II, and III. It emphasizes Klopfer's many contributions to Rorschach administration and interpretation, as well as his superior teaching and organizational abilities. Klopfer organized what eventually became The Society for Personality Assessment and began the journal that eventually became the Journal of Personality Assessment. His legacy is reflected in much of Exner's system of administration and scoring.     

The Significance of the Rorschach Method for Consulting Psychology

Abstract

A round-table discussion of the Rorschach test was held at Albany, New York, on May 8, 1937, in connection with the eighth annual meeting of the Association of Consulting Psychologists. There were 32 persons present at this conference with Dr. Bruno Klopfer, of Teachers College, Columbia University, presiding. Dr. Klopfer opened the discussion with a brief survey of the development of the Rorschach method. He presented figures to show the growth of the Rorschach Research Exchange which started with 14 subscribers in the Summer of 1936 and has now reached a total of more than one hundred subscribers in the United States and Europe. He then introduced the various speakers.     

Masters of shadows

The interchange of views between Hans Binder and Bruno Klopfer regarding their evaluation and scoring systems for shading responses is traced and their single personal meeting much later is described.     

Artists versus Nonartists: Rorschach Determinants and Artistic Creativity

A clear differentiation between artists and nonartists was found in both formal quantitative and informal qualitative analyses. The results of the present study lend statistical support to the discriminatory power of the Rorschach in identifying artistic creativity. Artists and nonartists were carefully matched as to sex, age, verbal intelligence and education. The Rorschach Group Method was utilized to compare the two groups on all formal scoring categories of both the Klopfer and Beck systems. In addition to formal scoring, possible discriminating aspects in the verbalization of responses were analyzed qualitatively.     

Prediction of differences in Rorschach protocols from the Personality Assessment System

The Personality Assessment System (PAS) is derived from certain subtest scores on any Wechsler test by rather simple calculations. It purports to measure, among other personality attributes, developmental changes in the Internalized-Externalized (I-E) dimension of personality, which is akin to the Introversion-Extroversion construct reflected by some Rorschach measures. PAS scores from a tightly defined sample of normal adults were contrasted with Experience Balance (EB) and Body-image (B) scores derived from Rorschach protocols by "blind" scorers. Significant relations were found between EB ratios produced via the Exner and Klopfer scoring systems and the primitive (early childhood) I-E scores from the PAS. The B scores produced by the Body Image scoring system were related to the basic (adolescent) I-E PAS scores. Although significant, the PAS-Rorschach correlations were relatively poor, in part because it was difficult to define the center of the internalization-externalization continuum in terms of the Rorschach protocols. It is, nevertheless, provocative that traditional scorings of the Rorschach responses of adults assess differences not only in this personality trait, but also in its development, as determined from scaled scores on Wechsler subtests.     

Prognostic validity of the Rorschach

Fifty adult stutterers entering therapy at the UCLA Psychology Clinic were administered the Rorschach, with a Klopfer method inquiry, scoring, form level rating, and calculation of scores on the Rorschach Prognostic Rating Scale (RPRS). On the basis of independent clinician ratings of attitudinal or psychotherapeutic improvement, subjects were divided into groups of Improved Most (n = 21) and Improved Least (n = 29). Subjects were also divided into Continued (n = 43) and Dropped (n = 7). Logistic regression was employed to compare groups on the following Rorschach dimensions: Prognostic Score (RPRS); Human Movement; Animal Movement; Inanimate Movement; Shading; Color; Form Level. The Improved Most group was significantly higher in M, FM, Shading, and Productivity. The finding that M and FM discriminates between improvement groups corroborates results obtained in a previous study (Sheehan et al., 1954). The Rorschach movement variables, particularly M and FM, seem to be stable indicators of capacity for improvement in psychotherapy.     

A Trial of Psychopharmacologic Measurement with Projective Techniques

An interactive computer program was developed in the BASIC language to present the performance and inquiry phases of the Rorschach Inkblot Test. As the subjects handled the traditional cards they entered their perceptions into the computer database, guided by instructions presented on the computer display. No assumptions were made about the percepts, but the Klopfer scoring questions were asked directly by the computer during the inquiry. The program scored the test as the subject answered the scoring questions on the keyboard. Thirty subjects were assessed using a test-retest design. One subgroup was tested first by a psychologist, and the other was tested first by the computer. The determinants of the psychologist and computer testing situations were found to be correlated and overall not significantly different except in location and time scores where the media differed.     

John Exner and the book that started it all: a review of The Rorschach Systems

This article is a review and a reassessment of Exner's (1969) The Rorschach Systems. The book reviews the history of the development of the Rorschach, primarily in the United States, including a detailed analysis of the progressive development of systems devised by Klopfer, Beck, Piotrowski, Hertz, Rapaport, and Schafer. The final versions of each system are compared with each other, and with Rorschach's own system. The development of the book is linked to Exner' s personal relationship with Klopfer, Beck, and Hertz. The book is described as the basic forerunner of Exner's Comprehensive System.     

The development and evaluation of an online computer-assisted Rorschach Inkblot Test

An interactive computer program was developed in the BASIC language to present the performance and inquiry phases of the Rorschach Inkblot Test. As the subjects handled the traditional cards they entered their perceptions into the computer database, guided by instructions presented on the computer display. No assumptions were made about the percepts, but the Klopfer scoring questions were asked directly by the computer during the inquiry. The program scored the test as the subject answered the scoring questions on the keyboard. Thirty subjects were assessed using a test-retest design. One subgroup was tested first by a psychologist, and the other was tested first by the computer. The determinants of the psychologist and computer testing situations were found to be correlated and overall not significantly different except in location and time scores where the media differed.     

John Exner and the Book That Started It All: A Review of The Rorschach Systems

This article is a review and a reassessment of Exner's (1969) The Rorschach Systems. The book reviews the history of the development of the Rorschach, primarily in the United States, including a detailed analysis of the progressive development of systems devised by Klopfer, Beck, Piotrowski, Hertz, Rapaport, and Schafer. The final versions of each system are compared with each other, and with Rorschach's own system. The development of the book is linked to Exner' s personal relationship with Klopfer, Beck, and Hertz. The book is described as the basic forerunner of Exner's Comprehensive System.     

Misuse of Computer Software to Detect Faking on the Rorschach: A Reply to Kahn,Fox, and Rhode

Kahn, Fox, and Rhode (1988) made several errors in their article comparing human judgment versus computer scoring in detecting malingering in Rorschach protocols. The Rorschach interpretation software was designed to make hypotheses based solely on unusual findings among structural variables. It does not make diagnoses concerning psychosis nor is it designed to detect malingering. In claiming that the computer program made such diagnostic statements, Kahn and his associates were attributing to it capacities it does not have. Other problems with their study are discussed in areas of wrong application of Rorschach methodology and poor research design. Given that their study has so many flaws, their results and implications are not valid and can be misleading.     

Scoring the Rorschach: a constructive critique of Exner's Comprehensive Rorschach System

John Exner's rationale for scoring the Rorschach and his decision to score "blend" responses by assigning equal weights are critically reviewed. The resultant exclusion of new responses made during the Inquiry of the Free Association responses is viewed as a major deficiency in the Comprehensive Rorschach System. A change to Klopfer's "Main-Additional" scoring method is recommended as a corrective.     

Construct validation of scales derived from the Rorschach method: a review of issues and introduction to the Rorschach rating scale

I suggest the main goal of Rorschach validation should be a refined understanding of what each score means. Toward this end, I review general issues in construct validity, hurdles unique to the Rorschach, and general limitations with validation criteria. I then recommend two approaches for improving criteria so they can begin approximating the gold standards that are necessary for a refined understanding of what scores actually measure. The first is a method for improving expert clinical judgment, and the second is a method for aggregating data across diverse judges. Finally, the Rorschach Rating Scale (RRS) is presented as a criterion tool to be used with either of these approaches to validation. The RRS is a fairly comprehensive summary of the constructs thought to be measured by various Rorschach scoring systems. The utility of the RRS for research and training are discussed, as are other practical, theoretical, and psychometric issues in its application.     

Construct Validation of Scales Derived From the Rorschach Method: A Review of issues and Introduction to the Rorschach Rating Scale

I suggest the main goal of Rorschach validation should be a refined understanding of what each score means. Toward this end, I review general issues in construct validity, hurdles unique to the Rorschach, and general limitations with validation criteria. I then recommend two approaches for improving criteria so they can begin approximating the gold standards that are necessary for a refined understanding of what scores actually measure. The first is a method for improving expert clinical judgment, and the second is a method for aggregating data across diverse judges. Finally, the Rorschach Rating Scale (RRS) is presented as a criterion tool to be used with either of these approaches to validation. The RRS is a fairly comprehensive summary of the constructs thought to be measured by various Rorschach scoring systems. The utility of the RRS for research and training are discussed, as are other practical, theoretical, and psychometric issues in its application.     

Sidney Blatt's Contributions to Personality Assessment

Over a long, distinguished career, Sidney Blatt contributed to theory and research in personality development, personality assessment, and psychotherapy. Best known for his 2-configurations model of personality and author or co-author of more than 250 articles and 18 books and monographs, Blatt was also a master clinician, a psychoanalyst who was awarded the 1989 Bruno J. Klopfer Award by the Society for Personality Assessment (SPA) for his contributions to both self-report and performance-based assessment. He was also the president of SPA from 1984 to 1986. This special series contains papers by writers who participated in all aspects of Blatt's contributions to personality assessment, both self-report and performance-based. Topics covered include Blatt's 2-configurations model of personality, development, and psychopathology; boundary disturbance and psychosis in performance-based assessment; the interaction of gender and personality on narrative assessments; and the Object Relations Inventory and differentiation relatedness, especially as these relate to therapeutic outcome.     

Six-month prognostic norms derived from studies of the Rorschach Prognostic Rating Scale

The Rorschach Prognostic Rating Scale (RPRS) was introduced in 1951 by Klopfer. Kirkner, Wisham, and Baker. The predictions of Klopfer et al. are compared to the outcomes in four studies of the RPRS. The originalinterpretation is shown to predict higher percentages of success than revealed by the empirical studies. A second interpretation of the scale is proposed on the basis of the experimental data. This interpretation relates RPRS scores to the chance for substantial improvement within 30 weeks of once weekly therapy by client-centered, rational-emotive, desensitization, aversion, or traditional methods. For any given RPRS score, the chance for substantial improvement is approximately the same for every type of therapy, and increases as the RPRS score increases. The second interpretation is proposed in both tubular and algebraic forms as a stimulus to further research and clinical applications.     

The enduring Rorschach contributions of David Rapaport

David Rapaport's contributions to the Rorschach are highlighted and placed within the context of his significant impact on psychological testing and psychoanalytic theory. After a brief biographical sketch, I examine the essence of Rapaport's lasting Rorschach contributions and summarize some of the strengths and limitations of the Rapaport Method.