Projective Tests

1
Projective Tests

• Present neutral stimuli on which psychopathology
  can be projected
• there is no wrong answer
• Normative responses
• Originate in psychoanalytic theory
• Clinical Interpretations
• Reliability and validity issues
• Standardization issues

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Rorschach Inkblot

• Subject asked to state what they see in inkblot.
• Multiple answers per card
• Overall Quality
• Normative responses
• Explain why they saw it
• Exner system location form, movement, color,
  white-space, theme, animal-human

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Any volunteers?
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Some sample responses and what they might mean

• Nothing Defensive, Uncooperative, Cynical,
  Unintelligent (give IQ test to verify/rule out)
• A beetle/bug/insect Good, normative response.
  If its the only response, lack of imagination.
  Concrete perceptions.
• A beetle/bug/insect (why do you see that) Because
  it is black Huh? Explanation is bad, suggest
  poor logic, confusion, low contact with reality
• A man, a king perhaps looking out of a picture
  Less normative but okay response. Human
  good, movement (looking) good, form good
• A face staring at me angrily Has good qualities
  of above, but with some paranoia, if reoccurring
  theme, could be bad.
• Two hands, fingers, reaching for my throat (using
  white space as finger) Use of white space bad.
  Suggests psychosis. Paranoid theme also bad.
• A man who has blasted his brains over the wall
  with a revolver Not good. Suggests suicidality,
  especially if a reoccurring theme
• A tiger crawling out of the stomach of a diseased
  Nazi spy Uh-huh.

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Thematic Apperception Test

• Uses neutral pictures to elicit stories
• Beginning, middle end
• Look for common themes
• Again, looking for normative reponses
• Relationships/motivations

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Any more volunteers?
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Themes

• Certain cards designed to elicit specific themes
• Maternal/paternal relationships, achievement,
  stressful choices, abandonment, sex, etc
• Does response match theme well
• Do certain responses reoccur?
• Childhood versions of the TAT
• MSI girl example

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House/Tree/Person

• Just like it sounds
• Purported to identify a range of issues from peer
  relations, defensiveness, to sexual abuse
• Has never been empirically demonstrated to
  identify a dang thing
• Still popular though
• Can be useful to build rapport (its fun for kids)

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Example

• Sun parents, dependency in women
• Clouds anxiety
• Dark lines tense, organic impairment
• Figure in profile withdrawn, evasive,
  relational problems
• Small door rely on others, give impression of
  social access

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Another example

• Arms like wings schizoid
• Feathers schizophrenia
• High detail obsessive compulsive
• No eyes guilt over voyeuristic fantasies
• But, this profile does not comment at all on the
  likelihood this person drew a priest?

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Using HTP to diagnose sexual abuse in children

• Still common method
• Knotholes, chimney smoke, lack of gender
  differentiation, long hair, genitalia
• No empirical evidence
• Limits on use

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Rotter Incomplete Sentences

• Incomplete Sentences
• The thing I most remember about my father is that
  he_______________________
• If I could only__________________
• I think Girls____________________