Rorschach Inkblot Test
The Rorschach Inkblot Test was designed in the 1900s by Herman Rorschach. The assessment consists of 10 inkblots formed by putting ink on sheets of paper and folding the sheets of paper in half. Half of the set of inkblots are in black or gray while the other half is in colour. Though it can be used by persons of age five years old and above, majority of the users are usually adults. This assessment necessitates close administering. The examiner should sit beside the examinee to reduce nonverbal messages. The assessment also uses free association process, where the examinee identifies to what object can he or she associate the inkblot.
It is a given standard that the examiner responds to the questions or inquiries of the examinee in a non-directive manner. The examinee may also choose to give more than one answer to a specific card. However, the card may also be rejected or ignored by the examinee. All of the ten cards should also be presented to the test-taker in a uniform or consistent manner.
To interpret the responses to the assessment, the examiner uses a scoring guide. The scoring guide provides key points for interpretation. The scoring criteria interpret according to the perception of the test-taker. Important details including the location of the percept on the blot, the feature of the blot that is closest to the percept, the percept itself, and the originality of the test-taker’s response, compared to others who have taken the test are also taken into consideration during interpretation.
Despite the interesting appeal of the Rorschach Inkblot Test, critics have argued that the reliability, validity and clinical application of the assessment are questionable. The assessment was initially devised for psychiatric diagnosis, psychotherapy, detection of suicidal tendencies, and formulation of personality profiles. Some psychologists also disagreed that the assessment should even be classified as a test. It should only be regarded as a method to extract personality information.