Perceptual integration on the Rorschach as an indicator of cognitive capacity: A developmental study of racial differences in a clinic population.

Rorschach protocols of 173 7-14 yr old Blacks and Whites who had been evaluated at a child guidance clinic were rescored with respect to developmental level of perceptual integration. Blacks had higher perceptual-integration scores in comparison to Whites. This finding, however, was accounted for by the higher performance of low-IQ (70-89) Blacks as compared to low-IQ Whites. No differences were obtained between average-IQ (90-109) Blacks or Whites. It is suggested that standard IQ tests may not adequately tap the cognitive capacity of some Black children and that use of the Rorschach from a developmental/structural perspective may provide a useful adjunctive measure of intelligence that would more realistically assess children's cognitive competence. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Field dependence-independence on the Children's Embedded Figures Test: Cognitive style or cognitive level?

Administered the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, the Rorschach, and the Children's Embedded Figures Test (CEFT) to 9- and 12-yr-olds in a 2 * 2 design which separated the effects of chronological age and mental age (MA, 9 and 12 yrs). 52% of CEFT variance was accounted for by its correlation with MA, and the strength of the relationship between the Rorschach and field dependence derived largely from the mutual correlation of the variables with the cognitive developmental level reflected in MA. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gamble's review of the Holtzman Inkblot Technique: Corrections and clarifications.

Corrects certain statements by K. R. Gamble (see record 1972-23034-001) regarding results obtained with the Holtzman Inkblot Technique (HIT) and the relationship of the HIT to the Rorschach technique. Previous results obtained for the HIT for the HIT Pathognomic Verbalization (V) score are clarified and the distinctions between Rorschach and HIT Human, Movement, and Color scores are presented. Some recent extensions of HIT research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Criterion-related validity of Rorschach analogues of dissociation.

The validity of Rorschach indicators of dissociation was evaluated using scores on the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) as the standard. Results indicated that participants with Rorschach indicators of dissociation scored significantly higher on the DES than did those without the indicators. Also, incremental changes from 0 to 1 and 1 to 2 Rorschach indicators were associated with increased dissociation as measured by the DES. Viewed from DES measurement of dissociation, Rorschach analogues of dissociation identified a distinctive group that is characterized by strong dissociative tendencies and did not tap the less intense dissociative phenomena common to general psychiatric populations and to nonclinical samples. The Rorschach indicators of dissociation were able to be scored reliably and remained stable at retest. As indirect measures, Rorschach indicators are less subject to distortions stemming from defensiveness or tendencies to manipulate. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Patterns of ego boundary disturbance in neurotic, borderline, and schizophrenic patients.

As part of a series of articles addressing unresolved conceptual and empirical questions regarding structural diagnosis and the borderline concept, this study examines differences in the representation of interpersonal boundaries among neurotic, borderline, and schizophrenic patients. Drawing on the contributions of Blatt and his colleagues, a Boundary Disturbance Scale was constructed by applying a developmental continuum of boundary representation to a traditional ego psychological analysis of thought disorder on the Rorschach. The results of the study support the hypothesis that severe borderline psychopathology can be conceptualized as a failure to maintain the inner-outer boundary, that schizophrenia involves a deficit in maintaining the distinction between self and others, and that meaningful developmental distinctions between diagnostic groups can be made on the basis of the Rorschach. The findings demonstrate the broad explanatory scope gained by a developmental object relations model in clarifying perplexing diagnostic and conceptual issues involving borderline phenomena on the Rorschach, specifically, (1) the representation of boundaries, (2) the cognitive disturbance involving the inner-outer boundary, and (3) the nature of the short-lived, circumscribed psychotic... (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development and validation of Perceptual Maturity Scale using figure preferences.

An attempt to develop a brief, objectively scored Perceptual Maturity Scale (PMS) to measure attributes similar to Rorschach genetic maturity scores is described. The PMS contains 72 paired items from the Welsh Figure Preference Test. Item analysis of child versus adult preferences was the basis of scale construction. Reliability is .90. Construct validity was shown by a positive relationship between PMS scores and chronological age from age 7 to adulthood. Using such criteria as teachers' ratings, psychiatric institutional status, and questionnaire scores, groups displaying behavioral immaturity obtained significantly lower PMS scores than matched age controls. (17 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality processes reflected in client vocal style and Rorschach performance.

Proposed vocal style as a useful variable with which to classify groups of clients in order to study the differential effects of various therapeutic maneuvers. Relationships between voice quality ratings in early psychotherapy interviews and pretherapy Rorschach and MMPI scores were investigated in order to explore the nature and generality of this variable. For 52 clients in time-limited, client-centered psychotherapy, significant relationships were found between 3 of the vocal styles and Rorschach variables developed to measure qualities commonly observed in creative individuals. Vocal styles were substantially unrelated to MMPI scores. Implications for differential prognosis are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessing transitional phenomena with the transitional object memory probe

Winnicott's concept of transitional relatedness has captured the interest of psychoanalysts because it provides an understanding of the dialectical process occurring between inner and outer reality, and by extension, between analyst and analysand. Clinical observations related to transitional phenomena have led the authors to develop a projective early memory probe that assesses transitional phenomena. The transitional object early memory probe was tested both for its empirical validity and for its clinical utility in psychodynamic psychotherapy. Construct validity was assessed by comparing memory scores to the Rorschach Transitional Object Scale, as well as to therapist ratings of patient behaviors. Results demonstrated moderate correlations between early memory scores and Rorschach scale scores. Equally important was the finding that early memory scores were significantly correlated with therapist ratings of key behavioral patterns in therapy. A case vignette highlights the clinical application of the transitional object probe in assessing the capacity for transitional relatedness. In this case, the data gleaned from the patient's memories provided the therapist with a sharper focus on their role in the patient's growing capacity for more vital and creative contact with reality.     

Mothers' fantasy representations and infant security of attachment: A Rorschach study of first pregnancy.

Studied the relationship between pregnant women's fantasy representations on the Rorschach test and later attachment status of their 1-yr-olds. The Manual for Assessing Primary Process Manifestations in Rorschach Responses (R. R. Holt, 1968) was used to score Rorschach protocols gathered from 25 women during their 1st pregnancies. Later, the 1-yr-olds and their mothers were videotaped in the Strange Situation to assess infant attachment behaviors. Findings support the hypothesis that primary process integration during pregnancy is significantly and positively related to infant security of attachment. Results also suggest a relation between empathic maternal behaviors and dimensions of mothers' unconscious mental representations measurable prior to the infant's birth. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prestage versus defensive splitting and the borderline personality: A Rorschach analysis.

This paper reviews theoretical contributions by Kernberg (1975) and by Stolorow and Lachmann (1980) regarding defensive modes of splitting and suggests possible Rorschach manifestations for a variety of levels of defensive organization among borderline patients. Defensive operations vary among patients with different levels of severity of borderline psychopathology. Specifically, it is proposed that some borderline patients rely on splitting as an active attempt to mitigate the experience of intense ambivalence conflicts toward others, as described by Kernberg; another group of borderline patients is seen as having pathology that revolves around a weakly integrated representational world, poor self-object differentiation, and prestage developmental levels of defense, as described by Stolorow and Lachmann. The Rorschach is a valuable diagnostic tool in distinguishing between psychopathology involving defenses against structural conflict and psychopathology based on an arrest in development at the level of prestage defensive operations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship of hostility to authoritarianism.

A manifest hostility scale, consisting of items drawn from the MMPI, and the Elizur Rorschach Content Test were given to groups differing in degree of authoritarianism. Statistical analysis of the relationship between the manifest hostility scale and authoritarianism indicated that groups high on the dimension of authoritarianism have greater overt hostility than groups lower on this dimension. Results relevant to the relationship between the Rorschach Content Test and authoritarianism indicated a less certain tendency for groups low on the dimension of authoritarianism to have greater covert hostility than groups higher on this dimension. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Thought disorder and boundary disturbances in psychosis.

Based on developmental cognitive and psychoanalytic theory, 3 types of thought disorder on the Rorschach (contaminations, confabulations, and fabulized combinations) were conceptualized as indicating different degrees of disruption of boundaries. 11 groups of 10 patients each who illustrated each of the types of boundary disruptions were compared on a wide range of psychological test data and reports of clinical course. Consistent and significant differences were found between level of thought disorder based on degrees of boundary disruption and impairments of complex cognitive functions, deterioration of reality testing, indications of difficulty with affect modulation, distorted human representations on the Rorschach, involvement in interpersonal relationships, and the response to therapeutic intervention. Degrees of boundary disruption appear to be useful criteria for assessing the extent of pathology, particularly within the psychotic range. (64 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rorschach and MMPI-2 indices of early psychotherapy termination.

This study was an investigation of the differences between 97 patients who had prematurely terminated psychotherapy (M?=?1 session) and 81 who had participated in individual psychotherapy for at least 6 months and 24 sessions (M?=?18 months/72 sessions) on selected Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) and Rorschach variables. None of the between-group comparisons using the MMPI-2 proved to be significant. However, a multivariate analysis of variance of 9 Rorschach variables in 3 conceptual categories, (1) interpersonal relatedness, (2) psychological resources versus resource demand, and (3) level of psychopathology, proved to be significant at p?=?.008. The Rorschach scores from the interpersonal-relational category proved to be the most robust in differentiating the 2 groups. The theoretical implications of interpersonal variables are discussed in relation to the termination and continuation of patients in psychotherapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive style and defenses: A longitudinal study of intellectualization and field independence.

Investigated the long-range stability of the defense style of intellectualization (assessed by ratings of Rorschach protocols), and its relation to an analytic field-independent cognitive style (assessed by scores on the Rod and Frame, RFT, test). 28 male Ss had been administered the Rorschach and the RFT at age 14, 17, and 24 (1/2 of the sample was tested at age 10) and the Wechsler-Bellevue at age 17, as part of a broader longitudinal study. Results indicate that individual differences in Rorschach ratings of intellectualization tend to remain stable from childhood to young adulthood. Intellectualization ratings were also positively related to field independence and IQ. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ego boundary impairment and thought disorder in frequent nightmare sufferers.

This investigation examined the proposed relationship between nightmare frequency and ego boundary impairment (Hartmann, 1984) in a sample of female college students. Thirty frequent nightmare sufferers (at least one attack per week) and 30 controls (maximum of one nightmare per year) were compared. In order to measure ego boundary impairment, the Rorschach inkblot test was administered and scored for barrier and penetration responses (Fisher & Cleveland, 1968) and indices of thought disorder (Blatt & Ritzler, 1974). An ego boundary questionnaire developed by Hartmann and colleagues (Hartmann, 1989; Hartmann et al., 1987) was also administered. Although barrier and penetration scores did not discriminate, the frequent-nightmare subjects demonstrated more disordered thinking on the Rorschach (p     

Intrapsychic and behavioral correlates of the phenomenon of imaginary companions in young children.

This study employed behavioral and Rorschach Test data to examine eighteen 4- and 5-year-olds with imaginary companions. We hypothesize that the imaginary companions served these children as an adaptive resource in handling conflictual interpersonal experience, thereby enabling them to function without overt symptomatology. As measured by the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) all the children did perform within the normal range. Their Rorschach protocols, when compared to normal, comparably aged children as reported by Ames, Metraux, Rodell, and Walker (1974), were characterized by a markedly larger number of human, animal, and inanimate movement scores and poorer form level. This Rorschach pattern suggested excellent imaginal resourcefulness and thus provided another demonstration of these children's remarkable capacity for symbolic representation. An analysis of the content of these responses using the Mutuality of Autonomy (MOA) Scale (Urist, 1977) revealed a contrast between autonomous, benign human interactive percepts and malevolent animal and inanimate movement interaction. We viewed the use of the human movement response as a buffer against more conflictual fantasied representations. This perspective is parallel to previous clinical studies that stressed the reparative... (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Home environment and cognitive development in the first 3 years of life: A collaborative study involving six sites and three ethnic groups in North America.

Attempted to examine the generalizability of environment/development relationships among 3 ethnic groups across the first 3 years of life. Social status did not show a consistent relationship to either quality of home environment or children's developmental status across the various groups. Results indicated a fairly consistent relationship between HOME scores and children's developmental status, although there were some ethnic and social status differences in the relationship. Measures of specific aspects of the child's home environment, such as parental responsivity and availability of stimulating play materials, were more strongly related to child developmental status than global measures of environmental quality such as SES. When the child's developmental status and early home environment were both very low, the likelihood of poor developmental outcomes was markedly increased compared with cases when only one was low. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rorschach correlates of time estimation.

This study was designed to test the hypothesis that Rorschach scores which have been suggested as measures of the ability to delay gratification of needs are related to the manner in which the passage of time is perceived. 51 men and women were given individual Rorschachs and then were asked to estimate the lengths of various time intervals. Correlations between the Rorschach scores and time estimations revealed that Ss with low % M and high Sum C overestimated the time intervals to a significantly greater extent than those with high % M and low Sum C. Time estimation scores were not related to % FM or % m. These findings appear to support the hypothesis that M is inversely related to the motivation for the rapid passage of time while C is positively related to the same motive. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Illusory correlation and subjective judgment.

Conducted a study with 120 male college students to extend L. Chapman and J. Chapman's (see record 1969-13004-001) finding that judges report popular invalid signs (illusory correlates) on the Rorschach as being valid indicators of homosexuality. As predicted, when Ss were tested both before and after 2 different kinds of training, in which various relationships between cues (Rorschach responses) and symptoms were presented, extremely strong a priori expectations were found for the illusory relationship between anal responses on the Rorschach and the symptom of homosexuality. In cue-symptom conditions where both the illusory and nonillusory cues were paired randomly with the symptom of homosexuality, a substantial decrease in illusory correlation occurred as a result of training. Little change occurred either when both the illusory and nonillusory cues were paired validly with homosexuality, or when illusory cues had a random relationship but nonillusory cues had a valid relationship. Different modes of feedback and different symptom base rates did not produce differential effects in posttraining estimates of the illusory relationship. (27 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Object relations development and psychotherapy dropout in borderline outpatients.

Used Rorschach object relations measures to identify patterns of object representations in borderline outpatients that would distinguish those at risk for premature termination from those likely to continue in expressive psychodynamic psychotherapy. Existing data from the Borderline Psychotherapy Research Project (O. Kernberg et al, 1989) were used. Ss were 12 women, aged 21–39 yrs, with borderline personality disorder. Ss who dropped out showed a predominance of narcissistic themes in their Rorschach responses at the outset of treatment, as scored by the Rorschach Separation-Individuation Scale (S-I Scale), and produced almost 4 times as many narcissism as rapprochement themes on the S-I Scale as Ss who continued treatment. Overall findings lend support to the salience of developmental themes related to separation-individuation within the population of borderline patients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)