Class 9

Question 1

Herman Rorschach did not think of the inkblots as a projective technique but rather as a _____

Answer 1

Cognitive perception test

Question 2

What is the Autocratic aspect of testing that Shafter discusses in the chapter from his 1954 book and how might it affect an assessor?

Answer 2

Voyeuristic, autocratic, oracular, and saintly

Question 3

From what did the Rorschach develop, in other words, what was the inspiration for?

Answer 3

Parlor game

Question 4

List the materials an examiner needs to come into the testing room with to administer the Rorschach.

Answer 4

Location sheet
Cards
Clipboard
Response sheet

Question 5

What does the examiner say/do if the examinee says she can’t see anything in a card?

Answer 5

Take your time
We’re not in a rush
You’ve got this!

Question 6

If a response is based on shape, human movement, inanimate movement, and pure diffuse shading, the determinant would be coded:

Answer 6

M m Y

Question 7

What are two ways one sees dimensionality (3D) that is based on form characteristics in order to code FD?

Answer 7

Perspective or something behind something else

Question 8

Depending on how it is used, “bumpy” might be coded any of the following except:

A. V
B. Y
C. F
D. T

Answer 8

B. Y

Question 9

What does an elevation on the M/MC indicator suggest?

Answer 9

Degree to which decisions and actions are guided by ideation vs. affect and reactivity

Question 10

What does an elevation on the PPD indicator suggest?

Answer 10

An index of negative internal forces working in one’s life, both disruptive concerns and dysphori

Question 11

What does an elevation on V-Comp suggest?

Answer 11

Vigilance Composite - High scores indicate guarded wariness to inflexibility in acute hyper-vigilance and distancing from others that could cross over to paranoid personality

Question 12

Standard Deviation

Answer 12

15 above or below the mean (so 115 and 85)

But we should be interpreting scores over 110 and under 90

Question 13

The Rorschach is performance assessment
Strengths that flow from this:

Answer 13

• Standardized, in vivo demonstrations of reality testing, problem-solving, perceptual processing and thinking, and interpersonal behavior
• Sensitive to characteristic representations of self, others, and interactions
• Samples salient concerns, meanings and preoccupations

Question 14

The Rorschach is performance assessment
Limitations that flow from this:

Answer 14

• It can be uninformative when respondents do not spontaneously engage with the task
  > Either intrinsic limitations or situational defensiveness
• It is inherently difficult to determine how and when implicit qualities will be expressed in overt behavior

Question 15

Integrating the Rorschach with the MMPI (Finn, 1996)

Answer 15

Multi-method assessment is foundational to good assessment

Rorschach and MMPI largely provide complimentary data

But there are some important differences to consider that can have significant ramifications

Question 16

Integrating the Rorschach with the MMPI (cont.)

Answer 16

Rorschach findings generally address implicit qualities

• Implicit qualities tend to be expressed in relatively unstructured situations where rules, social customs, or interpersonal expectations do not strongly dictate behavior that may not be part of a person’s explicit self-concept

MMPI findings usually reflect explicit qualities

• Explicit qualities reflect how people habitually see themselves, how they prefer to be seen by others, how they describe themselves on interview, and how they tend to act when making deliberate choices in line with their self-concepts

Question 17

Nature of the MMPI

Answer 17

Draws on intellectual mechanism

Is non-interactive

Generally reveals self-presentation and conscious view of self at the time of testing (however, empirical aspect can give unseen correlates)

Clients who use intellectual defenses, function well in structured, non-interpersonal situations, can look good on the MMPI and give benign profile

Question 18

Nature of the Rorschach

Answer 18

Interpersonal

Unstructured (more anxiety)

Reveals problems in cognition, perception, and affect that arise in unstructured, interpersonal, emotion arousing situations

Question 19

When the MMPI & Rorschach Agree

Answer 19

1. Convergent data that gives more confidence in findings
2. Still, each can enrich the findings of the other tests

Question 20

When the MMPI-2 shows pathology and the Rorschach does not

Answer 20

1. Malingering, exaggeration, cry for help

OR

2. Unrealistically good Rorschach due to shutting down (often have low R, hight F%):

a. too interpersonal
b. too regressive
c. too overwhelming

> Don’t engage in the test

Question 21

When the Rorschach shows pathology & MMPI does not

Answer 21

1. “Hidden pathology” -

a. Conscious of it:
» Trying to look good (e.g., custody cases, Ganellen’s pilots)
» With MMPI-2 client can use their intelligence conventionality, and desire to look good

b. Unaware of it
» Client may be truly puzzled over some problems
» Therapist may be stumped

> > Evidence of problem arises in situations that are:
- Interpersonal
- Unstructured
- Emotionally arousing/regressive

Question 22

Incremental Validity

Answer 22

Incremental validity over other tests is important to consider

> Rorschach taps a different level of functioning than other tests

> Don’t expect results to correlate highly with self-report

BUT Meyer (2000) found that if ou control for test-taking attitude, the correlations are reasonable

Question 23

Inference

Answer 23

Making meaning of data through reasoning

USE MULTIPLE METHODS
- Consider the nature of the data a particular methods provides

Be careful to consider the strength of the data (e.g., one item vs collection of items vs. composite scores)

Look for patterns (repeating elements)

Look for how the data fit together to provide meaning beyond what the individual parts mean themselves

Stay open to multiple possibilities

Continuously consider new hypotheses

Do not lightly disregard data that does not support a hypothesis, rather try to tweak the hypothesis to explain it

Capture the level of confidence in the language used in reporting the data (certainty to conjecture)