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The Rorschach Inkblot Method

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences

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Definition

A performance-based psychological test (formerly called a “projective test”) that requires respondents to provide open-ended descriptions of ten bilaterally symmetrical inkblots; responses are scored for content and structure to assess aspects of the individual’s personality, self-concept, and interpersonal style.

Introduction

Although Hermann Rorschach initially developed his inkblots to assess personality dynamics and refine psychiatric diagnoses, he conceptualized these stimuli primarily as a measure of perceptual style and cognitive organization (i.e., as a way to assess people’s characteristic ways of perceiving and processing information). The range of constructs measured by the Rorschach Inkblot Method (RIM) expanded following Rorschach’s death in 1922, with Beck (1937) adhering closely to Rorschach’s initial emphasis on perceptual and cognitive processes, and Klopfer (1937) emphasizing the psychodynamic aspects of inkblot responses, developing rules for scoring and...

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Adelphi University, Garden City, NY, USA

    Robert F. Bornstein

Authors
  1. Robert F. Bornstein
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Robert F. Bornstein .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Virgil Zeigler-Hill

  2. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, USA

    Bradley A. Green

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Bornstein, R.F. (2017). The Rorschach Inkblot Method. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_941-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_941-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8

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