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Hermann Rorschach (1884 - 1922)
His Early Life
Rorschach was born in Zurich/Switzerland in 1884. His father was a painter and
Hermann considered the same career before he made up his mind for psychiatry.
While he was a young child he enjoyed an activity called "Klecksography", the
making of pictures by using ink blots, but he was not the first one who did
this; among his famous forerunners are Leonardo da Vinci and Justinus Kerner. So
much so that he was nicknamed "klecks" (inkblot) by his friends. It would become
his life's work. When he was finishing high school he was torn between medicine
and art. In the end he choose to study medicine in University. This, together
with his interest in inkblots, would lead to a fascinating new way of exploring
the psyche of people.
His Excitement in the Science Community
It was an exhilarating time to be studying science. Freud was developing his
psychoanalysis and Carl Jung was also coming to the forefront. It was this
background that would lead Rorschach to delve further into his own ideas.
Together with a friend he began showing inkblots to schoolchildren, noted their
reactions and analyzed them. They wanted to see if those gifted at art were more
imaginative with their interpretation of the inkblots. Unfortunately for us the
results of these tests and the inkblots used were lost. However this was his
first significant use of inkblots in an analytical fashion.
His Professional Life
Having received his M.D. in 1912 he worked in Russia before returning to Zurich
to work in mental hospitals there. At this time he stepped up his research. He
tested 300 patients and 100 'normal' people. In 1921 he published, his now
famous, "Psychodiagnostics". It set out his methods and how he used inkblots to
probe the unconscious. This work is nowadays regarded as one of the great
classics of psychiatry and psychology, but Hermann Rorschach himself never
experienced any success with it. He had difficulties finding a publisher for it,
and it was not well received when it finally came out.
His Death
Less than a year after completing his treatise Rorschach developed severe
abdominal pains. He had a severely infected appendix but did nothing about it.
He finally went to hospital but it was too late. Despite being operated on he
died of peritonitis. He was only thirty-seven years old.
The Rorschach Test
It consisted of ten cards, each containing inkblots. Five were in colour and the
remaining in black and white. The subject is shown each card and asked what they
see and the response is recorded. They are then shown the cards a second time
and are asked to explain any ambiguous responses and point out what part of the
part of the inkblot prompted their reaction. The interview notes all social
behaviour, e.g. do they feel challenged or intimidated. The tests are evaluated
using the following criteria:
1) Location
Does the subject respond to the whole inkblot or specific parts of it?
2) Quality
Does the subject respond to the colour, shade, or what they perceive as
movement?
3) Content
Does the subject perceive animals, humans, and animate or inanimate objects?
4) Conventionality
How do the responses compare statistically with average responses?
Psychologists and psychiatrists in Europe and elsewhere soon saw the inkblot
test as a useful tool. Using it they could explore the fantasy life of their
patient without direct questioning, thus reducing the time for psychoanalysis.
Repeated testing could check a patient's progress and the development of
children. It also has been used to assess the severity of clients' emotional
problems.
References
Ellenberger, H.:
The Life and Work of Hermann Rorschach (1884-1922). Bulletin of
the Menninger Clinic, 18 (1954), 172-219. Reprinted many times; e.g. in Beyond
the Unconscious. Essays of Henri F. Ellenberger in the history of psychiatry
(ed. M. Micale, Princeton UP 1993), 192-236.
Rorschach, H.:
Psychodiagnostik (Bircher, Bern 1921; later editions are Huber,
Bern, including the English translation, Psychodiagnostics).
Links
- Rorshchach Interpretation using the comprehensive system of Exner
http://faculty.pepperdine.edu/shimels/Courses/Files/RorsChart.pdf
- A simplification of Klopfer's system (The Rorschach Techniques: An
Introductory Manual, by B. Klopfer and H. Davison, 1962)
http://www.psychology.ex.ac.uk/docs/courses/2028/rorschach-handout.pdf
- ROR-SCAN - It is a computer software, most often used by psychologists in US
for their work in personality assessment.
http://www.ror-scan.com/Tour6.htm
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