Midterm 2 - Projective Personality Tests (Ch. 14 and Mihura et al.)

Question 1

What is the core hypothesis of the projective method? Where does this idea originate?

Answer 1

• responses to ambiguous stimuli permit access to unconscious needs and conflicts
• Freudian origins

Question 2

What is a key difference btw empirical and projective personality tests?

Answer 2

• projective help identify causes/roots of behaviour, empirical just describe

Question 3

What are the 3 main assumptions of projective tests?

Answer 3

• responses to ambiguous stimuli are determined by personality characteristics
• projective tests reveal characteristics beneath the surface
• projective tests provide broad coverage of personality characteristics

Question 4

What are 3 advantages of projective tests?

Answer 4

• purpose of test is disguised
• might cut down on faking
• provides info outside of awareness

Question 5

What is the Rorschach test? How is it administered?

Answer 5

• 10 inkblot cards (5 B&grey, 2 B&grey&red, 3 colourful)
• first free association phase “what might this be”
• then inquiry phase “help me see it as you did”

Question 6

(T/F) the Rorschach test always uses a formal scoring process

Answer 6

FALSE, can also use informal process

Question 7

What are 5 categories used in formal scoring of descriptions of cards in the Rorschach test?

Answer 7

• location
• form
• colour
• texture (shading)
• movement

Question 8

What are the 7 scales/variables of the Rorschach?

Answer 8

• control & situational stress (coping style, mental ability, types of stresses)
• affective features (emotional style)
• interpersonal perception (representations of others/relationships)
• self-perception (self-view)
• information processing (mental operation complexity)
• cognitive mediation (perception conventionality)
• ideation (thinking quality, organization, style)

Question 9

What are the 6 Rorschach indices (different from 7 scales)?

Answer 9

• Perceptual Thinking Index (disturbed thinking/perceptions)
• Depression Index
• Coping Deficit Index (interpersonal/emotional deficits)
• Suicide Constellation (suicide risk)
• Hypervigilance Index (interpersonal vigilance)
• Obsessive Style Index (obsessive info processing)

Question 10

Describe Exner’s Rorschach norm group

Answer 10

• 600 adults
• attempt to match 1970 US census
• 56% women
• equally represented 5 geographic regions
• partial stratification of SES (56% middle, 34% upper)

Question 11

What do we know about reliability of the Rorschach?

Answer 11

• interrater (Exner): 88-97% (relatively high!)
• internal consistency: not high
• test retest 1mo (Meyer): .50-.77 (much lower vs Exner)
• test retest 1y (Exner): .74-.91
• test retest 3y (Exner): .70-.87

Question 12

How does the average validity of the Rorschach compare to the MMPI and the WAIS?

Answer 12

• Rorschach: .27-.30
• MMPI: .23-.28
• WAIS: .32-.36

Question 13

Which Rorschach index has the highest validity? Which scoring category has the highest validity?

Answer 13

• perceptual thinking index
• FORM predicts psychotherapy outcome and differentiates psychotic vs non-psychotic patients

Question 14

(T/F) almost no-one uses the Rorschach anymore due to poor validity

Answer 14

FALSE, remains a popular test

Question 15

What are 6 issues with the Rorschach?

Answer 15

• can be scored reliably but clinicians don’t always follow standardized practices
• serious problem w norms
• limits on validity evidence (hard to generate, esp given huge # of variables)
• questionable tool for making diagnoses
• time intensive
• unclear if gives useful information (prob easier ways to tell if someone is psychotic…)

Question 16

Mihura’s meta-analysis found that Rorschach validity for externally assessed characteristics was (weaker/greater) than for introspectively assessed characteristics

Answer 16

GREATER

Question 17

What is the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)?

Answer 17

• created by Murray and Morgan
• cards depict ambiguous situations
• participants tell a story

Question 18

What are 2 assumptions of the TAT?

Answer 18

• respondents interpret stimuli in accord w personality and life experiences
• respondents identify w “hero” of story

Question 19

(T/F) there is a standardized way to administer the TAT

Answer 19

FALSE, but most endorsed method involves asking ppl who write a story w beginning, middle, and end

Question 20

How many cards are typically used for the TAT? Norms are based on how many cards?

Answer 20

6!

Question 21

(T/F) TAT scores tell us about an individual’s Big 5 traits

Answer 21

FALSE, Big Three Motives

Question 22

What are the Big 3 Motives?

Answer 22

• nAch: doing well and being successful
• nPow: having impact on others
• nAff: spend time w others

Question 23

How is the TAT scored?

Answer 23

• can use informal interpretation (themes, patterns, etc)
• can use formal scoring using manual (code stories)

Question 24

Describe the TAT norm sample

Answer 24

• no good normative sample (no standard admin protocol)
• SO can’t interpret individuals’ scores

Question 25

What is the reliability of the TAT?

Answer 25

• interrater: .80-.90
• internal consistency: .30-.40 (expected, cards are v diff)
• test retest over several weeks: .30, .61 if allowed to tell same story

Question 26

What validity evidence do we have for the TAT?

Answer 26

• some evidence suggests that:
• nAch predicts occupational success, income (.22)
• nPow predicts kind of career
• nAff predicts time engaged in social activities

Question 27

(T/F) there is lots of evidence to suggest that projective tests access information that is otherwise hidden/not accessible

Answer 27

FALSE, evidence it might be more useful to just ask people directly instead of using ambiguous stimuli

Question 28

When using Exner’s Rorschach Comprehensive System, examinees are required to give at least __ responses per blot and a minimum of ___ responses across set of 10

Answer 28

1, 14