The rorschach search for the borderline Holy Grail: an examination of personality structure, personality style, and situation

Much of the research on the use of the Rorschach to diagnose borderline disturbance has sought to discover a specific borderline pattern or Rorschach configuration. Given our increased understanding of borderline functioning representing a level of personality organization (or personality structure), this single pattern approach is excessively simplistic. It fails to consider the complex interaction between personality structure, personality style, and situational variables. An approach to the Rorschach assessment of borderline functioning is presented using a clinical example. The patient was tested at the onset of psychotherapy and then some 4 years into treatment. Results from the two testings were compared using Weiner and Exner's (1991) Rorschach variable clusters for assessing change in psychotherapy.     

Psychodiagnosis of personality structure: psychotic personality organization.

Recent developments in Rorschach psychology, including nomothetic approaches focused on scores, ratios, and indices and idiographic approaches focused on content emerging from psychoanalytic theory, offer the Rorschach clinician a rich and potent interpretive methodology. This article examines the structural diagnosis of personality organization with a focus on psychotic personality structure. Rorschach approaches to the differential diagnosis of psychotic personality organization are presented. The Rorschach is viewed as indispensible in the differential diagnosis of personality organization, especially in the so-called "borderline" cases.     

A Rorschach Study of Personality Development In Identical and Fraternal Twins

To determine whether identical twins show greater resemblances in their general personality make-up than fraternals, seven pairs of identical and eight pairs of fraternal twins were studied using the Rorschach Inkblot test. The results of the inter-twin correlations, on the various Rorschach categories indicated clearly striking similarity or resemblance in identical twins, but no similarity in the case of fraternal twins. This study also clearly demonstrated the usefulness of the Rorschach technique for the study of personality.     

Rorschach records of Nazi war criminals: a reanalysis using current scoring and interpretation practices

The Nuremberg trials focused worldwide attention on 22 Nazi war criminals. Rorschach Inkblot tests were administered to these Nazi leaders in an attempt to understand the Nazi personality. Past studies which have described and interpreted these Rorschach records have made at least two types of errors in their analyses. One is that of overinterpretation and excessive inference. A second common error has been the failure to detect meaningful distinctions between protocols that represent significant differences in personality style. This latter error is shown in repeated attempts to group all Nazi protocols into one distinct "Nazi personality." This investigation attempted to quantify the analysis of these Nazi Rorschach records, specifically those Nazi leaders who were sentenced to life imprisonment or execution for their war crimes against humanity, by utilizing Exner's (1985a) standardized Comprehensive Scoring System as well as computerized objective interpretation software based on the Exner system (1986). This modern analysis of the Rorschach records demonstrates that the Nazi war criminals cannot be grouped together into one specific mental disorder that would adequately characterize these diverse individuals. The varying degrees of psychopathology of the Nazi leaders are illustrated by analyses of individual Rorschach protocols.     

Jo-Jo, Josephine, and Joanne: a study of multiple personality by means of the Rorschach Test.

A comparison of three Rorschach protocols of a multiple personality case was presented. Basic features of the personality structures were examined with respect to the psychogram profiles. The evolution of the original personality into the successive ones was assessed both in terms of inter- and intra-protocol variations and thematic analysis. The implications of the Rorschach test findings for the treatment and theory of multiple personality syndrome were discussed.     

The future of Rorschach in personality assessment

This article considers the Rorschach and its prospects for the next century in the context of two broad issues in psychology, as well as some test specific challenges confronting those interested in the Rorschach and its applications. The broad issues are the matters of personality as a topic of study in psychology, and the relation of findings about personality to treatment planning. The specific issues concern the definition of the Rorschach, research about the test stimuli, and the expansion of information concerning the interpretive usefulness of some structural variables that are poorly conceptualized or for which interpretation may be overly generalized. Some recommendations concerning collaborative research efforts are also offered.     

Coping Style of Psychiatric Patients with Somatic Complaints

To investigate the impression that personality traits found to be characteristic of somatizing patients are related to the more basic personality dimension of “passive-coping style,” 17 matched pairs (one patient who presented himself with somatic complaints, and the other with psychological complaints), were administered the Rorschach Test during the process of intake. Rorschach variables found to correspond with coping style in prior studies, were used for evaluating the Rorschach records of the Ss. Statistical comparisons between the total coping scores of the somatizing and non-somatizing patients supported the initial hypothesis that the somatizers scored significantly lower on the variables of active coping. Tentative explanations for these findings were presented in the discussion.     

Alice in Rorschachland

Misconceptions and misuse of the Rorschach technique are parodied in this Alice in Wonderland story. Alice falls down a rabbit Whole and journeys through the Rorschach Plates until she is tried at an Inquiry on Card X. The story can be interpreted as critical of Rorschach practitioners who: search only for pathology, not health; ignore the free associative instructions to the client of test procedures; and restructure reality along Rorschach dimensions of personality and terminology.     

Monitoring psychotherapy with performance-based measures of personality functioning

In this commentary, I review a meta-analysis and three original research reports concerning the Rorschach (Exner, 2003; Rorschach, 1921/1942) and the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT; Murray, 1943) assessment in psychological treatment planning and outcome evaluation. The information in these four articles bears witness to the potential utility of performance-based personality assessment measures for this purpose. The strengths and limitations of the articles suggest several guidelines for future research designed to examine this Rorschach and TAT application including an emphasis on effectiveness studies, longitudinal data, integrated independent variables, observable dependent variables, sophisticated data analysis combining nomothetic and idiographic presentation, and the incremental contribution of performance-based measures to psychotherapy-related personality assessment.     

The status of the Rorschach in clinical and forensic practice: an official statement by the Board of Trustees of the Society for Personality Assessment

This statement is intended for psychologists, other mental health professionals, educators, attorneys, judges, and administrators. Its purpose is to present a summary of the issues and evidence concerning the Rorschach. This statement affirms that the Rorschach possesses reliability and validity similar to that of other generally accepted personality assessment instruments, and its responsible use in personality assessment is appropriate and justified.     

Differentiation of Satisfactory and Unsatisfactory Employees at Goodwill Industries with the Hand Test

This study examines the legitimacy of thinking that certain perceptual contents in the Rorschach are pathognomic indicators. Group Rorschach responses, sociometrics, and scores on a personality measure constituted the primary data. Five data collections are reported, sampling 562 pre- and post-pubescent Ss residing in different areas of the country and coming from different socio-economic levels. The findings indicate that most young people in the age range of 11 to 18 years give at least one so-called unhealthy response per ten to the Rorschach, and, where this relative frequency increases it is either of no consequence or probably a healthy sign. Both popular Ss and those who score high on personality test dimensions suggestive of adequate to good personal adjustment report notable amounts of content considered pathognomic in the general Rorschach literature.     

The Rorschach and MMPI: toward a more scientifically differentiated understanding of cross-method assessment

Reasons for Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and Rorschach disagreement at the nomothetic level are explored. Building on an understanding of measurement distinctions from other sciences, it is proposed that the Rorschach and MMPI procedures are differentially sensitive to unique manifestations of personality. By necessity, each method is then also recognized as having a limited scope of effectiveness, such that neither can provide a complete picture of personality in its full complexity. Drawing on the more extensive self-report literature, the idiosyncracies and limited scope of the self-report method are documented. Finally, an ideographically rooted, cross-method, configural model is proposed for validation research in personality assessment. Several examples consistent with this approach are drawn from the assessment literature and discussed.     

On the Rorschach M response and monotheism

The Rorschach human movement (M) response has recently been debated (Exner, 1991a, Kramer, 1991a, 1991b) with additional wider implications for Rorschach psychology. The objective of this discourse is twofold: (a) to elaborate on the contributions of perceptanalysis (Piotrowski, 1957) to this debate and (b) to develop the thesis that diversity is desirable for the long-term advancement of the field of Rorschach psychology and personality assessment. These motifs are illustrated with an interpretation of a clinical case example and with rationale from the theoretical literature and implications for interpreting short Rorschach protocols. The conclusion is proffered that some degree of diversification is more beneficial than requiring the adoption of a single Rorschach approach (i.e., monotheism).     

Personality Dimensions in Two Types of Learning-Disabled Children: A Rorschach Study

Children referred for psychoeducational assessment of learning disabilities (LDs) commonly receive the Rorschach test. Yet little is known about the impact of LD on Rorschach response patterns. This study investigated Rorschach response patterns in two groups of 9- to 12-year-old children (n = 41) classified by their respective intellectual abilities. Another group of 9- to 12-year-olds (n = 143) served as a nonclinical comparison group. Rorschach variables indicative of personality dimensions failed to discriminate between the two LD groups. Compared to the nonclinical group, the LD group exhibited several Rorschach characteristics—including problems in perceptual accuracy, inefficient visual scanning and problem-soving strategies, and avoidance of affect-laden stimuli—having implications for successful socioemotional adaptation.     

The Rorschach and MMPI: Toward a More Scientifically Differentiated Understanding of Cross-Method Assessment

Reasons for Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and Rorschach disagreement at the nomothetic level are explored. Building on an understanding of measurement distinctions from other sciences, it is proposed that the Rorschach and MMPI procedures are differentially sensitive to unique manifestations of personality. By necessity, each method is then also recognized as having a limited scope of effectiveness, such that neither can provide a complete picture of personality in its full complexity. Drawing on the more extensive self-report literature, the idiosyncracies and limited scope of the self-report method are documented. Finally, an ideographically rooted, cross-method, configural model is proposed for validation research in personality assessment. Several examples consistent with this approach are drawn from the assessment literature and discussed.     

On the Rorschach M Response and Monotheism

The Rorschach human movement (M) response has recently been debated (Exner, 1991a, Kramer, 1991a, 1991b) with additional wider implications for Rorschach psychology. The objective of this discourse is twofold: (a) to elaborate on the contributions of perceptanalysis (Piotrowski, 1957) to this debate and (b) to develop the thesis that diversity is desirable for the long-term advancement of the field of Rorschach psychology and personality assessment. These motifs are illustrated with an interpretation of a clinical case example and with rationale from the theoretical literature and implications for interpreting short Rorschach protocols. The conclusion is proffered that some degree of diversification is more beneficial than requiring the adoption of a single Rorschach approach (i.e., monotheism).     

MAPI code types in an inpatient crisis-unit sample

Limited data is available concerning the use of the Millon Adolescent Personality Inventory (MAPI; Millon, Green, & Meagher, 1982) and high-point code combinations of its personality style scales. Our study reports on the frequency of high-point codes in an inpatient crisis-unit sample. Data analyses comparing personality style codes using MAPI expressed concerns scale elevations and Rorschach data are reported. Results comparing the personality style codes and expressed concerns scales were consistent with the findings of Millon et al. (1982). Analyses comparing Rorschach and MAPI data revealed only the presence or absence of vista responses as having any appreciable relationship to MAPI codes or personality scales.