Personality correlates of Rorschach scoring determinants: hypotheses derived from structural analysis

A paradigm was presented whereby the meaning of some major Rorschach scoring determinants could be explicated in terms of a classification system based on Structural Analysis which indicates whether a response is intellectually or emotionally oriented and where it is located on a behavior-fantasy continuum. Implications of this analysis for resolving some interpretive issues and generating behavioral predictions were discussed.     

Personality Differences Between Stuttering and Non-Stuttering Children as Indicated by the Rorschach Test

Item analyses of the 30-item F Scale in a sample of 355 Ss, and proportionate selection from the nine inferential item clusters first specified for this measure, permitted development of a 15-item version that correlated .95 with the original scale. Application of the shortened version to 194 American and 311 Italian subjects produced nearly equivalent means, but greater variance in the Italian sample. Reliability coefficients were .83 for the American sample and .90 for the Italian. Five items revealed significant differences, interpretable in accordance with known cultural emphases and historical experiences. Testing time for the 15-item scale was approximately five minutes. Complaints about item content were less insistent than typically encountered with the 30-item scale.     

Personality Variables in Rorschach Scoring

Twenty-three clinical trainees scored a standardized list of 150 Rorschach responses and were administered the EPPS. Ten directional hypotheses were advanced which predicted certain personality attributes of those making scoring errors in various determinant categories. Results showed significant differences between high and low error groups on scores on several EPPS scales, supporting four of the ten hypotheses. Scoring errors in the color, human movement, texture, and vista determinant categories were related to scores on the Exhibition, Affiliation, Autonomy, and Abasement scales, respectively. Implications of these results are discussed regarding the reliability of Rorschach interpretations.     

Rorschach indicators of Multiple Personality Disorder.

The increase in reported cases of Multiple Personality Disorder underscores a great need to differentiate clearly this from other psychiatric disorders and from simulation of Multiple Personality Disorder. Two sets of Rorschach signs have been advanced as clinical markers by their developers, namely Barach and also Wagner, Allison, and Wagner. As the Wagner signs are prevalent in much of the research on Rorschach responses in Multiple Personality Disorder, the purpose of the present study was to evaluate these signs using Wagner's administration and the resulting Rorschach protocols of 16 Multiple Personality Disorder patients and 16 psychiatric controls. Analysis indicated that this system was deficient in correctly classifying these 32 protocols. A new marker, the Splitting Response, emerged, however, which was more useful. This response, in combination with at least one Dissociative response, produced an accuracy rate of 94%. These new criteria may be useful aids in the detection of Multiple Personality Disorder from Rorschach protocols. Replication is urged.     

The Effect of Hypophysectomy on Personality in Women with Metastatic Breast Cancer as Revealed by the Rorschach Test

This study tested the hypothesis that assertive and nonassertive people have different personality profiles and self-actualizing values. Results indicated that assertive and nonassertive groups differed significantly, in terms of their personality profiles based on the Personality Research Form, and their self-actualization profiles based on the Personal Orientation Inventory, supporting the tested hypothesis.     

Current Assessment Practice,Personality Measurement,and Rorschach Usage by Psychologists

The hypothesis under evaluation was that persons giving a larger number of M responses (minimum 5) would show greater ease in expressing themselves creatively than a group of persons giving low M in the Rorschach (0 to 2). Groups were matched on variables of age, education, and socio-economic status. Twenty-two high M and 21 low M persons were tested for creative expression by means of written and verbal TAT, drawings and Lowenfeld Mosaic Designs. Ability to be creatively expressive for high as compared to low M Ss was very great, reaching significance levels beyond .001 on all tests. Flexor and extensor quality of M appeared to be unrelated to ease of creative expression.     

The Rorschach in the Context of Performance-Based Personality Assessment

Twenty-eight normal and 28 learning disabled children were given the Bender-Gestalt Test under instructional sets of low (standard) attention or high attention. Results failed to support the hypothesis that high attention instructions would lead to differential recall performance of the diagnostic groups. Normal children produced better designs during recall than learning disabled children regardless of instructional set. The evidence suggests that standard Bender instructions should not be altered in an attempt to elicit recall performance differences.     

Personality correlates of assertive behavior

The present research studied the relationships between assertive behavior and two personality variables: extroversion and need for approval (nApp). Assertive behavior was measured in two role-play situations: an authority situation and an equal situation. It was found that extroverts behaved more assertively than introverts. nApp was negatively related to assertive behavior for females, while for males no correlation was found between nApp and assertive behavior in the authority situation and a positive correlation was found in the equal situation. It was concluded that extroversion and nApp are contributing factors in assertive behavior and that nApp moderates assertiveness differentially for males and females.     

Perceptual Consistency as Measured by the Rorschach

This article discusses the 5 previous articles (Fowler, this issue; Handler, this issue; King &; Pope, this issue; Potash, this issue; Strassle, McKee, &; Plant, this issue) in reference to creativity assessment, emphasizing the need to study children's play. There is a need for validity studies in the optimism paradigm described for the Thematic Apperception Test (Murray, 1938). I also question the wisdom of omitting hostile responses in the paradigm used to assess playfulness in the Rorschach.     

Personality correlates of attributional style

Previous research, much of it based on the learned helplessness model of depression, suggested that a wide variety of personality variables might be related to attributional style. The Attributional Style Questionnaire (ASQ; Peterson et al., 1982) and Comrey Personality Scales (CPS; Comrey, 1970) were administered to 329 subjects, and their scores were subjected to correlational and multiple regression analysis. The CPS scales were also factor analyzed, and the resulting scores were correlated with ASQ scores. Results indicated that a variety of personality variables have statistically significant relationships with attributional style, that these variables show significant positive relationships with internal, stable, and global attributions for positive events and significant negative relationships with these same attributions for negative events, and that an Activity-Extraversion-Stability factor demonstrates the strongest relationships with attributional style. Findings are interpreted within a revised theoretical framework, and emphasis is placed on understanding the personality correlates of attributional style for adequate interpretation of the concept.