Midterm 2 - Projective Personality Tests (Ch. 14 and Mihura et al.) Flashcards
What is the core hypothesis of the projective method? Where does this idea originate?
- responses to ambiguous stimuli permit access to unconscious needs and conflicts
- Freudian origins
What is a key difference btw empirical and projective personality tests?
- projective help identify causes/roots of behaviour, empirical just describe
What are the 3 main assumptions of projective tests?
- responses to ambiguous stimuli are determined by personality characteristics
- projective tests reveal characteristics beneath the surface
- projective tests provide broad coverage of personality characteristics
What are 3 advantages of projective tests?
- purpose of test is disguised
- might cut down on faking
- provides info outside of awareness
What is the Rorschach test? How is it administered?
- 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”
(T/F) the Rorschach test always uses a formal scoring process
FALSE, can also use informal process
What are 5 categories used in formal scoring of descriptions of cards in the Rorschach test?
- location
- form
- colour
- texture (shading)
- movement
What are the 7 scales/variables of the Rorschach?
- 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)
What are the 6 Rorschach indices (different from 7 scales)?
- 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)
Describe Exner’s Rorschach norm group
- 600 adults
- attempt to match 1970 US census
- 56% women
- equally represented 5 geographic regions
- partial stratification of SES (56% middle, 34% upper)
What do we know about reliability of the Rorschach?
- 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
How does the average validity of the Rorschach compare to the MMPI and the WAIS?
- Rorschach: .27-.30
- MMPI: .23-.28
- WAIS: .32-.36
Which Rorschach index has the highest validity? Which scoring category has the highest validity?
- perceptual thinking index
- FORM predicts psychotherapy outcome and differentiates psychotic vs non-psychotic patients
(T/F) almost no-one uses the Rorschach anymore due to poor validity
FALSE, remains a popular test
What are 6 issues with the Rorschach?
- 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…)
Mihura’s meta-analysis found that Rorschach validity for externally assessed characteristics was (weaker/greater) than for introspectively assessed characteristics
GREATER
What is the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)?
- created by Murray and Morgan
- cards depict ambiguous situations
- participants tell a story
What are 2 assumptions of the TAT?
- respondents interpret stimuli in accord w personality and life experiences
- respondents identify w “hero” of story
(T/F) there is a standardized way to administer the TAT
FALSE, but most endorsed method involves asking ppl who write a story w beginning, middle, and end
How many cards are typically used for the TAT? Norms are based on how many cards?
6!
(T/F) TAT scores tell us about an individual’s Big 5 traits
FALSE, Big Three Motives
What are the Big 3 Motives?
- nAch: doing well and being successful
- nPow: having impact on others
- nAff: spend time w others
How is the TAT scored?
- can use informal interpretation (themes, patterns, etc)
- can use formal scoring using manual (code stories)
Describe the TAT norm sample
- no good normative sample (no standard admin protocol)
- SO can’t interpret individuals’ scores
