Projective tests

in
Clinical Psycho
lo g y

Presenter:
Naseem Ahmad
M.Phil (Clinical Psychology)

PsychologyChairperson:
Dr. U. K. Sinha
Department of Clinical
Psychology
 INTRODUCTION
TO PROJECTIVE TESTS
Outline of the Presentation:

 Introduction to Projective tests

 Background History
 Theoretical basis
 Types Of Projective Tests And Their Description,
Explanation And Examples
 Projective Technique as a Measuring Instrument
 Use of Projective Techniques as Psychotherapy
 Pros and Cons of Projective techniques
 Summary and Findings on Use of Projective Techniques
across 28 Studies (1995-2015)
 Do projective assessments have a future in Clinical Practice ?
 Conclusion
 Projective techniques

 Include a wide array of materials, instructions, and interpretative rules.

 Projective test is a personality test designed to let a person respond to
ambiguous stimuli, presumably revealing hidden emotions and internal
conflicts

 Designed to evolve highly individual ,variety response with less conscious

control
 Less dependent on the subjects willingness or ability to give personal
information
 Subjects are unaware of the purpose of the test and unable to judge how
particular responses are interpreted
 The Concept of Projection
Projection, A Defense Mechanism (Sigmund Freud)

• It is the unconscious act of denial of a person's own attributes, thoughts,

and emotions, which are then ascribed to the outside world, or to other
people.
 The projective hypothesis (Lawrence Frank, 1939):

“When people try to understand vague or ambiguous unstructured stimuli,

the interpretation they produce reflects their needs, feelings, experience, prior
conditioning, thought processes”

 Reduces temptation to fake

 Does not depend as much on verbal abilities

 Taps both conscious and unconscious traits

 Focus is clinical perspective - not normative - but has developed norms over

the year
Assumptions
 The more unstructured the stimuli, the more

examinees reveal about their personality.

 Every response provides meaning for personality

analysis.

 There is an "unconscious."

 Subjects are unaware of what they disclose.

 HISTORY OF PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES

 Francis Galton (1879): trials of word association method for measuring

intelligence

 Kraepelin (1892): Association method for studying effects of fatigue,

hunger etc.

 Carl Jung: The first to formulate a standardized word association

projective test.

 Hermann Rorschach (1921) published his famous work Psychodiagnotik,

concluding the researches he did earlier in 1916.

 Murray and Morgan (1935): Thematic Apperception Test in 1935 in USA.

 Szondi (1937): developed his own test in Europe.
 Sentence completion technique: flourished in 1920s, brought
into concern in 1950s. A stem of sentence was given and the
second part was free to fill in.
 Goodenough and Harris (1930s): ‘Expressed drawings’ as a
supplemental measure of intelligence.
 Buck (1949): House-Tree-Person Test, which should consist of
drawings of a house, a tree and some persons.
 Karen Machover (1949): Draw-A-Person Test for personality
assessment .
 THEORETICAL BASIS

Projective tests have their origins in psychoanalytic theory, which argues

that humans have conscious and unconscious attitudes and motivations

that are beyond or hidden from conscious awareness

 • Rorschach Ink Blot Test (Rorschach, 1912)
Types of Projective test Association • Word Association Test

Constructio • Thematic Apperception Test (Morgan &

Murray, 1935)
n • Draw-a-Person Test (Machover, 1949)
• House-Tree-Person Test (Buck, 1948)

• Washington University Sentence

Completion Association
completion Test (Loevinger, 1976)
• Rozenzweig Picture Frustration Study
(Rosenzweig, Fleming, & Clarke, 1947)

Choice Or • Szondi Test (Szondi, 1947)

Ordering • Luscher Color Test (Luscher & Scott, 1969)

• Projective Puppet Play (Woltmann, 1960)

Expression • Handwriting Analysis (Beyerstein &
Beyerstein, 1992)
 Types Of Projective Tests

Depending On The Type Of Task Involved ( Liindzey, 1961)

• Association Technique: Ask The Subject To Tell What Is Suggested By A

Verbal, Visual, Or Auditory Stimuli
– Word Association, Rorschach Ink-blot Test

• Construction Technique - Creating Of An Imaginable Production for which

The Test Materials Provide A Frame Work
– Thematic Apperception Test-TAT, Fairy Tale Test
• Completion technique : completing a statement or story- more
structured procedure (called semi-structured)
• Rosenzweig Picture-frustration Test, Sentence Completion Tests

• Choice Or Ordering Technique: arranging material in story telling

sequences, in order of choice, etc., often with no verbal elaboration
• Tomkins-horn Picture Arrangement Test, Szondi

• Expressive technique do not depend on test stimuli, but rather ask the
subject to perform an artistic or creative action
• Finger Painting, Psychodrama
 RORSCHACH INKBLOT TEST
Historical aspects

• DEVELOPED by SWISS PSYCHIATRIST

HERMANN RORSCHACH IN 1921
10 bilaterally symmetrical
inkblots on separate cards:
5 black and white.
2 black, white, and red.
3 multicolor.
 Inkblots: Initial administration
 “What might this be?”
 Record response verbatim:
 Include time until first response.
 Position of card, spontaneous statements, nonverbal gestures or
body movements.
 No discussion of examinee’s responses.
 Inkblots: “The inquiry”
 “What made it look like _____?” or “How do you see ____?”
 Clarify initial responses and determine which aspects of inkblot
were most influential.
 Determine if examinee remembers initial responses and if original
response is still seen.
 Ask about “any new perceptions?”
 Inkblots:
Scoring Categories
 Location:
 Part of inkblot utilized:
 Content:
 Entire blot, large or small  Human figures, animal
section, minute detail, white
space. figures, blood etc.
 Determinants:  Form:
 Qualities of the inkblot:
 Form, color, shading,  How accurately examinee’s
movement. perception matches the
 Popularity of response
 Frequency of response.
corresponding part of the
inkblot.
 Inkblots:
Interpretation of scores

 Generate hypotheses based on patterns of response, recurrent

themes and interrelationships among scoring categories:

 Whole responses - conceptual thought processes.

 Form - reality testing.
 Human movement - imagination.
 Color - emotional reactivity.
 Inkblots:
Psychometric Properties
 Norms:
never been adequately normed (Wood et al., 2003). Although
Exner was given credit for establishing the Rorschach’s first
reliable, nationally representative norms, many clinicians
now use Exner’s revised norms.

 Convergent validity: .41:

 WAIS - .62
 MMPI - .46
Reliability:

 Split-half and test-retest methods are not feasible.

 Inter-scorer reliability (with respect to categories) is acceptable.

• Viglione and Taylor (2003) examined the issue related to the reliability
using the Comprehensive System- reported that in their own study,
among 84 raters evaluating 70 Rorschach variables, there was a strong
inter-rater reliability, particularly for the base-rate variables. Most of
the studies reported reliabilities in the range of 85% to 99%.
• Exner reported reliabilities from .26 to .92 over a 1-year interval
considering 41 variables; four of them were above .90, 25 between
.81 and .89, and 10 below .75.
(As cited by Thomas F. Callura in his paper entitled, “
Rosachach- Reliability and Validity”)
 The Rorschach Ink Blot:
 Still widely used clinical instrument:
 Most frequently used projective test;
 Most frequently taught projective technique in counseling
psychology programs and practicum sites.

 Extensively used as a research instrument:

 82% of clinical psychologists administer the Rorschach at least
“occasionally” and 43% report frequently or always using it
(Mental Measurements Yearbook.).
 A recent estimate place the number of Rorschachs administered
each year at 6 million, William P. Wattles (2008).
 TAT: Thematic apperception test
• a projective test consisting of a series of pictures in which the examinee is
requested to create a story about the picture.

• method of revealing to the trained interpreter some of the dominant

drives, emotions, sentiments, complexes and conflicts of personality.

• Apperception – refer to the process of projecting fantasy imaginary onto an

objective stimuli.
• 1960 – Mrs. Uma Coudhary developed Indian Adoption of TAT

• Human Potential Movement

– encouraged psychologists to use TAT to help their clients
understand themselves better and stimulate personal growth.
 General Conditions:

• to be administered in an interpersonal setting.

• TAT materials consists of 20 cards on which pictures are presented.

-”M” for males, “F” for females
-”B” for boys, “G” for girls
-”BM” for boys/males, “GF” for
girls/females.
• The selection of cards may be idiosyncratic to the patient’s presenting
problem.

SEQUENTIAL NUMBERING SYSTEM (SNS)

a) administered to females and males in exact order : 1, 2,

3BM, 4, 6BM, 7GF, 8BM, 9GF, 10, 13MF.
b) administered to any males: 1, 2, 3BM, 4, 6BM, 7BM, 11,
12M, 13MF.
c) administered to any females: 1, 2, 3, 3BM, 4, 6GF, 7GF,
9GF, 11, 13GF.
 Instructions:
• The examiner will show some pictures one at a time, and the subject will
be making up as dramatic a story. 50 minutes for 10 pictures. The following
story structure must be obtained:

a) current situation ; what is happening at the moment?

b) thoughts and feelings of the character (s); what the characters are
feeling and thinking?
c) preceding events; what has led up to the event shown in the picture?
d) outcome ; what was the outcome?
 TAT Interpretation
 TAT interpretation is based on Murray’s concepts:

 Need - determinants of behavior arising from within the individual.

 Press - determinants of behavior arising from within the environment.

 Thema - interaction between need and press.

 TAT: Interpretation (cont.)
The 3 Levels of Interpretation suggested by Bellak & Abram, 1997 are:

•Descriptive Level- it is the mere repeat of the story.

•Interpretative Level- It extends the descriptive level by an alteration of

it.[E.g. if one does the X, then the outcome will be Y.].

•Diagnostic Level- It is the further extension that an inference is

made about the client.

 Psychometric properties of TAT
 Reliability:  Validity:
 Split-half, test-retest, and alternate-  Conflicting opinions regarding the
form reliability measures are not validity of the assumptions and
appropriate. the interpretations.
 Although Gruber and Kreuzpointner
(2013) developed a new method for
calculating internal consistency using
categories instead of pictures and
achieved an adequate Cronbach's
alpha scores up to .84
 Inter-rater reliability is acceptable.
 Variations of the TAT

 Thompson TAT 1949:  CAT - H:

 Use with African  Humans instead of animals.
Americans.  Blacky Pictures Test 1950:
 CAT 1949 (3-10):  Used Blacky the dog and
 Pictures of animals. his family and friends.
 Sentence Completion Test
 provides respondents with beginnings of sentences, referred to as
“stems,” and respondents then complete the sentences in ways that are
meaningful to them.

 uses - personality analysis, clinical application, attitude assessment,

achievement motivation and measurement of other constructs- also used
in several disciplines.
 History
 Herman Ebbinghaus(1879)-credited with developing the first sentence
completion test - used as part of an intelligence test - used to study his
interest in the development intellectual capacity and reasoning ability in
children.

 The beginning of using the formal sentence completion method for

personality assessment was in 1928 with Arthur Payne -for guidance
purposes in asylums and institutions and to assess career-related personal
traits (Schafer, Rotter, Rafferty, 1953).
 History (contd…)
• Alexander Tendler used the method to study emotional reactions. With his
tests, all his sentences began with I and revealed something about
annoyances, fears, aversions, like, interests, and attachments,(Schafer et
al, 1953).
 History (contd…)
 One of the most popular of these tests is Rotter Incomplete Sentence
Blank (RISB). The original version of the test was developed in 1950 by
Rotter and Rafferty (Hersen, 2003).

 Dr. Joseph M. Sacks and other psychologist of the New York Veterans
Administrative Mental Hygiene Service developed a sentence completion
test designed to obtain significant clinical material in four representative
areas of adjustment namely:
 Sack’s Sentence completion test

• was designed to obtain significant clinical information in four

representative areas such as
– Family,

– Sex,

– Interpersonal relationships,

– And self – concept.

 • My mother and I …,
The family
area • my family threats me like…………..

• Includes three set of attitudes, those towards mother, father and family
unit.
• Each of these is represented by four sentence completion items
 • I think most girls
……….. ……..
THE SEX AREA

• Includes attitudes towards women and towards heterosexual

relationships.

• The eight items in this area allow the subject to express himself
 • “When I am not around, my friends …………………….”
The area of
• “When I see the boss coming ………………”,
interpersonal
relationships • “The people who work for me ………..”

• and “At work I get along best with ……………….

• Includes attitudes toward friends and acquaintances, colleagues at work or

supervisors, and people supervised.

• The sixteen items in this area afford an opportunity for the subject to
express his feelings
 • “I wish I could lose the fear of ……………”
• “My greatest mistake was ……………….”
• “I believe I have the ability to ……………”
• “When I was a child …………….,”
Self-concept
• “Some day I ………….,”
• “What I want most out of life ……….”

• involves fears, guilt feelings, goals, and attitude towards one’s own
abilities, past, present and future.

• Consists twenty four items

 Method of administration
• The subject is asked to respond to half-structured items by completing the
other half of the sentence with their own word.

• SCT can be administered individually or to a group and requires from 20 to

40 minutes completing the test.

• It is emphasized that responses should consist of the first spontaneous

reaction to each stimulus item, and that the subject should not stop to
think of a logical completion.
 Scoring and interpretation
can be interpreted in two different ways:
• subjective-intuitive analysis of the underlying motivations projected in the
subject's responses,

• objective analysis by means of scores assigned to each completed

sentence.

Multiple themes can occur in a short test, which gives the examinee multiple
opportunities to reveal underlying motivations about each topic during data
analysis.
• By evaluating the items of each area and their sub – areas qualitatively
and quantitatively.
• And coming to the conclusion that what kind of attitudes, conflicts the
person has in each of those areas
 Validity and Reliability
• Reported that inter-rater agreement coefficients range from .48 to .57 and
“77% of the statements were rated in close agreement with clinical
findings” (Sacks & Levy, 1950).

• Compared to positivist instruments, such as Likert-type scales, sentence

completion tests tend to have high face validity .
 Expressive techniques
 In expressive techniques, respondents are presented with a verbal or visual
situation and asked to relate the feelings and attitudes of other people to the
situation.

 It is similar to construction technique but emphasis is on the manner in

which he does this ,the end product is not important.

 The subject express his needs, desires, emotions ,and motives through
working with , manipulating ,and interacting with materials ,including other
people ,in a manner or style that uniquely express his personality.
 Doll Play Expressive Technique

 In this the child is brought into the presence of a verity of toys ,he may be
told that a set of dolls is a family and that he should play with them and
tell a story about them. Or he may be put into a planned situation with
one or two children and told to play with them.

 Doll play seems well situated to research with young children , probably
be cause it seems so easy and natural for children to project themselves
into the dolls
Role Playing :

 It holds considerable promise as an experimental method and an observation

tool of behavior research .

 Respondents are asked to play the role or assume the behavior of someone

else.

Finger painting:
 It is a rich expressive method .
 The subject is given post of a special type of paint and told to draw what he
likes with the paints, using his finger and hands
 Choice Ordering Technique
 These method require simple responses: the subject chose from among several
alternatives , as in multiple choice item test, the item or choice that appear most
relevant , correct, attractive ,and so on.

 Frequently used in quantitative studies, this technique is also used informally in

qualitative research.

 The subjects have to explain why certain things are most important¨ or least
important¨, or to "rank" or order¨ or “categorize” certain factors associated with a
product, brand or service.
 PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES AS MEASURING INSTRUMENT

It creates an ambiguous situation in which people being tested are encouraged to

express themselves in such a way that the basic structure and dynamics of their
personality will be revealed.

As Anne Anastasi (1982) has said, "Projective techniques are likewise characterized by
a global approach to the appraisal of personality. Attention is focused on a composite
picture of the whole personality, rather than on the measurement of separate traits.
Finally, projective techniques are usually regarded by their exponents as
especially effective in revealing covert, latent or unconscious aspects of
personality.’”.

It is understood that the projective test materials will serve as a screen on

which the subject will project his characteristic thought processes, needs,
anxieties and conflicts. The respondent's personality will be projected as a
whole unit.
Guildford (1961) says, ‘“Distinguishing the techniques from other
personality testing tools# projective techniques are distinguished from
other methods of assessment by the way of unstructured tasks and
ambiguous materials.

The examinee is given a minimum instruction and within the limits of the
testing situation and kind of material, he is free to go in his own directions
and to give his own unique responses. It is hoped to us to obtain
information concerning his personality by the fact that he projects himself
into his responses.**.
 PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES AS PSYCHOTHERAPY

More recently, there seem to be indications that Rorschach’s test and

other methods of psychological analysis are no longer considered as
simply diagnostic, but rather as an integral part of the therapeutic
process(33 49 5).

Analysis of the pertinent literature suggests that the various techniques

are never employed deliberately as therapy; therapeutic results -such as
catharsis and establishing better rapport-are gratefully received by-
products.
• Projective techniques, by bypassing the conscious resistance of anxiety
and defenses, elicits information about the hidden side of perception and
thoughts processes, personality, emotions, and psychodynamic processes.
They thus enable an assessment of ego strength and the patient's ability
to face unconscious content.
• The aims of psychotherapy similarly disclose the psychodynamics of
symptoms formation and conflicts and help the patient to face them. In
some respects the test administration procedure is analogous to the
psychotherapeutic process. This makes test administration useful not only
for diagnosis, but also as a therapeutic tool, especially in brief
psychotherapy and when sharing the results with the patient.
• The therapist, by translating the results, stimulates the gradual gaining of
insight and self-awareness at the patient's own pace. Sharing results may
allay paranoid suspicions and fears concerning the test administration and
the patient-therapist relationship. The meeting with one's own deep
feelings acts as a catalyst in the therapeutic process and saves valuable
time. Projective results are especially useful when the interpretations are
juxtaposed with content arising in the therapeutic session.
 Pros

1. Projective Testing allows for partial interpretation of the person’s

personality in reaction to stimuli.

2. Projective Testing allows for immediate assessment of personality.

3. Projective Testing is more beneficial for those who are not as fluent
with the language or construction of the test.

4. Projective Testing allows for assessment of issues that are currently

present to the client unlike systematic assessment.

5. Projective Testing allows the client the freedom to choose to help

eliminate misdiagnosis.
 Cons
1. Projective tests are found to be more subjective than objective.

2. Projective tests can easily be misinterpreted by the clinician and

test taker

3. Projective tests have been found to have poor reliability and

validity.

4. Projective tests are not used cross culturally.

5. Projective tests have a high chance of being unethical.

 Pro’s Rebuttal to the Con’s

• Although projective testing is more subjective, this is beneficial

because it allows clinicians to explore multiple diagnoses with
patients rather than computer answers.

• Projective tests do come with standardized answers for the tests and
are based on comparative norms.
• Not only have certain projective tests been found to have low reliability and
validity, so have certain objective measures, like the ACT (American College
Test) for instance.

• Although projective tests aren't normally used cross-culturally, they can be

used to assess some clients that have commonalities with the norms.

• Projective tests aren't unethical because they do come with standardized

results and are compared with norms.
 Con’s Rebuttal the Pro’s

• Projective testing use ambiguous stimulus to elicit an unstructured

response to the person's personality.

• Projective testing allows for immediate assessment of personality, but

it is not necessarily an accurate assessment of a person's personality.
• Projective testing uses stimuli that may have different meaning to different
cultures.
•

• Projective testing does not determine what issues are current in a persons
life or from the past.

• Projective testing is more conducive to misdiagnosis because each

individual will respond differently to the same stimuli.
Pro’s Rebut to the Con’s Rebuttal

• It is the depth and openness of the unstructured response that leads

to the freeness and total expression of the client, which objective
testing cannot reach due to its structured form and sometimes
ipsative questions.

• Although there is immediate assessment of the test, there are still

standardized test answers to eliminate the test administrator from
misinterpreting the responses.
• Researchers can study the different cultures they want to research to find what
the norms are before they apply the test to these cultures.

• Projective testing is relevant to what is going on in a person's life currently

because they have the opportunity to test, and retest over time. This allows
researchers to focus on what a person's diagnosis is at a current time.

• While each participant has the chance of responding differently, there are still
standardized norms for these tests.
Con’s Rebut the Pro’s Rebuttal

• If the patient went to another clinician, and did a projective test,

there would be a lack of consistency among the clinicians
diagnosis's.

• With projective tests, anyone could come up with “standardized

answers” that can be far fetched and even test takers may not
agree with.
• The main concern for projective testing is that one clinician’s diagnoses for one
patient will not be suitable for the general population.

• The idea of projective tests is to bring out the specifics of a person’s personality.
These projective tests are not designed to pick out the commonalities of a
persons personality with other people. This is why projective tests can not be
used cross culturally.

• Projective tests are unethical because even though they have “standardized
results” those results are based upon the clinicians opinions and not facts.
Summary and Findings on Use of Projective Techniques across 28 Studies (1995-2015)
Findings
Study Country Sample

50 practicing H-T-P ranked 2nd; DAP 7th; SCT 8 th;

Hong
Chan & Lee (1995) psychologists in TAT 12th; MAPS Test 16th; CAT 18th;
Kong
1993 Rorschach 29th
HFDs ranked 3rd; SCT 4th; H-T-P 5 th;
School
Kennedy et al. (1994) USA KFDs 7th; TAT 9th; CAT 12th; Rorschach
psychologists
13th
412 clinical SCT ranked 4th; TAT 5th; Rorschach
Watkins et al. (1995) USA
psychologists 6th; H-F-Ds 8th; CAT 16th
33% of practitioners, in court-
102 forensic
Borum & Grisso mandated competency evaluations,
USA psychologists/
(1995) use projective tests; 30% rely on the
psychiatrists
Rorschach; other PT used infrequently

100 forensic
Lees-Haley et al. SCT ranked 10th; Rorschach 23rd;
USA neuropsycholog
(1996) Figure drawings 26th
y experts
Practitioners in
Ackermann &
USA court-related Rorschach ranked #2; TAT #4; SCT 5th
Ackermann (1997)
settings
 Findings
Study Country Sample

Surveyed 487 mental health

Frauenhoffer USA SCT ranked 5th; H-F-Ds 6th; Rorschach
practitioners (psychologists,
et al. (1998) 9th; TAT 12th
counsellors, social workers)
Tests considered most important to
137 practitioners in National practice: Rorschach ranked 3rd; TAT
Piotrowski et USA
Register of Health Service 5th; HFDs 12th. Also, 20% of
al. (1998)
providers in Psychology respondents felt that the Rorschach
& TAT are no longer used
Spain,
Muniz et al. Portugal, & Test use by Practicing Rorschach ranked 3rd; DAP 8th; TAT
(1999) Latin psychologists 10th
America
Boccaccini & 40% of sample use the Rorschach-
80 practicing forensic
Brodsky USA ranked 5th; only 10% use TAT-ranked
psychologists
(1999) 11th
Camara et al. 179 practitioners, mostly Rorschach ranked 4th; TAT 6th; SCT
USA
(2000) clinical psychologists 15th; CAT 16th
Archer & Rorschach ranked 2nd; SCT 3rd; TAT
346 psychologists, working
Newsom USA 4th; H-T-P 7th; KFDs 11th; Roberts
with adolescents
(2000) Apperception Test 19th
 Findings
Study Country Sample

Boothby & Correctional (prison) Rorschach ranked 5th; Projective

Clements (2000) USA psychologists drawings 6th
European (Spain, Objective psychometric tests
Muniz et al. UK, Holland, 3,455 professional predominate; Rorschach listed among
(2001) Slovenia, Croatia, psychologists use Top 10 in Spain, Belgium, & Slovenia;
Belgium) psychological tests TAT & CAT popular in Belgium.
84 psychologists,
assessment practices Rorschach ranked 3rd; TAT 6th; SCT 8th.
Bow et al. (2002) USA with parents in child Projective drawings were used most
custody disputes with children.
64 Diplomate-status
forensic Tests considered unacceptableí by at
Lally (2003) USA psychologists, test least 50% of sample: Projective
use in court-related drawings; Rorschach; TAT; SCT
evaluations
Practitioners in
Foxcroft et al. South Africa psychological Both objective and projective tests are
(2004) assessment acceptable clinical instruments

Bekhit et al. 158 British clinical 50% of sample use projective drawings,
(2005) England psychologists but only informally in the assessment
process.
 Findings
Study Country Sample

TAT ranked #1; CAT-Human 4th;

de Oliveira et Brazil 35 professional psychologists Rorschach 5th; CAT-Animal 7th;
al. (2005) HFDs 15th
About one-third (38%) use
projective assessment; (in rank
Hojnoski et al. USA 170 school psychologists reported order) sentence completion tests, H-
(2006) use of projective tests T-P, Kinetic Family Drawing, DAP, TAT,
Rorschach, and CAT
152 forensic psychologists use of About 30% of respondents use the
Archer et al. USA projective techniques in court- Rorschach; about 20% use the TAT,
(2006) related assessments SCT, and projective drawings.
SPA members held more favourable
215 psychologists, members of the views toward the Rorschach;
Herzberg & Brazil APA or Society for Personality Moreover, the RIM continues to be
Mattar (2008) Assessment (SPA) views on the used despite continuing criticism
Rorschach (RIM) levels against this test.
404 members of the International
Neuropsychological Society or The TAT and Rorschach were used
Smith et al. USA National Academy of (to some degree) by about 32% of
(2010) Neuropsychology surveyed on the respondents.
personality assessment practices
 Findings
Study Country Sample

Members of the Norwegian Older psychologists use fewer tests than

Vaskinn et al. Psychological Association younger cohorts; Psychometric
(2010) Norway (n=6246) surveyed on use & credibility of individual tests is a major
opinions on psychological tests concern.
150 professionals who conduct Overall, projective techniques were
Donoso et al. USA vocational rehabilitation seldom used; Projective drawings
(2010) evaluations ranked 13th; Rorschach 15th; TAT 18th
213 forensic psychologists
Ackermann & surveyed on Tests used with 50% of sample use the Rorschach,
Pritzl (2011) USA parents in child custody ranked 4th; 40% use SCT, 5th; 30% use
evaluations TAT, 8th; 27% use H-F-Ds, 10th
926 counsellors (clinical mental
Peterson et al. health, school, occupational) H-T-P ranked 17th, H-F-Ds 21st , DAP
(2014) USA rated tests of all types regarding 35th, TAT 40th, KFD 47th , Rotter ISB
usage 54th, & Rorschach 57th
The current findings, based on objective survey data worldwide,
indicate that although there has been a tepid decrease in use of
projective tests over the last two decades, Weiner’s contention has
not been invalidated - to the dismay of opponents of projective
techniques.
Does projective assessment have a future in Clinical
Practice ?
It seems to have led a bifurcated existence over the past decade, i.e.,
attitudes toward projective tests have been blatantly negative in professional
training settings yet guardedly positive in clinical practice (Hardwood et al.,
2011).

However, very recent survey data seem to indicate a rather precipitous

decline in practitioner reliance on projective assessment across a variety of
mental health settings (Neukrug et al., 2013).
• At the same time, despite recent scholarly rebuttals to the avalanche of
criticisms levelled at projective methods (Mihura et al., 2015), the
probability of changing the minds of skeptics is rather doubtful.
• Finally, it must be noted that it is unclear how recent attention in the
assessment field devoted to empirically-validated testing will impact
assessment practices and training (Beck et al., 2014; Youngstrom et al.,
2015); such perspectives can only limit the overall use of projective
techniques.
• Thus, based on the current professional sentiment toward projective
techniques, the following predictions are being offered :

a) academic/internship coverage of projective assessment will become

non-existent in clinical psychology training and selectively emphasized in
school psychology programs;
• b) will continue to be part of the assessment armamentarium in a small
minority of mental health settings and

• c) attitudes toward and use of projective assessment will remain in high

regard overseas, at selected universities and in professional practice
across many nations around the world—this is based on reviews of survey
studies (Piotrowski, 2015) and unpublished reports from countries like
Japan and Peru. Thus, proponents of projective methods will become a
rare, but not dying breed.
 Conclusions:

• Effectiveness Will Always Be Questioned.

• More Research Is Needed.
• Clinicians Must Follow Standardization Procedures.
Adhere to Exner’s (1983) System
Follow Strict Ethical Guidelines
THANK YOU