Donald J. Viglione

A review of recent research addressing the utility of the Rorschach.

To address the utility of the Rorschach, the author synthesized a large sample (N = 138) of empirical, quantitative research published in the past 20 years. Longitudinal and behavioral criteria and ecological incremental validity beyond self-report and interview were emphasized because of their relationship with test applications. Methodological issues (temporal consistency, diversity, clinician judgment), applications (treatment outcome, schizophrenia, thought disorder, depression and suicide risk), and selected Rorschach variables are addressed. The evidence reveals that many Rorschach variables are efficient tools for clinical, forensic, and educational applications. The test is particularly useful in (a) individualizing case conceptualizations and interventions and (b) predicting and evaluating outcomes. These conclusions are consistent with using the Rorschach as a behavioral problem-solving test that illuminates the interaction among psychological, biological, and environmental factors.

The Rorschach: Facts, Fictions, and Future

A large body of empirical evidence supports the reliability, validity, and utility of the Rorschach. This same evidence reveals that the recent criticisms of the Rorschach are largely without merit. This article systematically addresses several significant Rorschach components: interrater and temporal consistency reliability, normative data and diversity, methodological issues, specific applications in the evaluation of thought disorder and suicide, meta-analyses, incremental validity, clinician judgment, patterns of use, and clinical utility. Strengths and weaknesses of the test are addressed, and research recommendations are made. This information should give the reader both an appreciation for the substantial, but often overlooked, research basis for the Rorschach and an appreciation of the challenges that lie ahead.

Refinements in the Rorschach Ego Impairment Index Incorporating the Human Representational Variable

The Ego Impairment Index (EII; Perry & Viglione, 1991) is a composite measure of psychological impairment and thought disturbance developed from the empirical and theoretical literature on the Rorschach. In this article, we summarize reliability and validity data regarding the EII. Our major goal was to present the rationale and empirical basis for recent refinements in the EII. Among the subcomponents of the original EII was the Human Experience variable (HEV), which has recently been revised and replaced with the Human Representational variable (HRV; Viglione, Perry, Jansak, Meyer, & Exner, 2003). In this study, we replaced the HEV with the HRV to create the EII-2. This was accomplished by recalculating the factor coefficients with a sample of 363 Rorschach protocols. We present additional validity data for the new EII-2. Research recommendations and interpretive guidelines are also presented.

Superiority of Form% Over Lambda for Research on the Rorschach Comprehensive System

Lambda is an important variable in the Rorschach Comprehensive System. However, because of the way it is calculated it has properties that can produce problems for parametric statistical analyses. We illustrate these difficulties and encourage the use of Form% (i.e., pure form responses/total responses) instead of Lambda in research. Form% is easy to calculate, and it is conceptually and mathematically comparable to Lambda. Because it is much more normally distributed, Form% is suitable to use in parametric analyses (e.g., t tests, analyses of variance, correlations, factor analyses, multiple regressions).

A method to optimize the response range while maintaining Rorschach comprehensive system validity.

Brief and lengthy Rorschach records have been identified as common problems in protocol administration. Clinicians have debated how to prevent overly short and long records, but they have been reluctant to alter standardized administration for fear of introducing bias. The present study examines a nonintrusive method for constraining responses by prompting for an extra response when only one is offered per card and by removing the card after four responses are given. Among patients who typically produce brief records, consisting of a residential sample of civil and forensic patients with a range of disordered thinking, the alternative administration method demonstrated improved Comprehensive System validity in assessing thought disorder and eliminated the need to readminister the test due to fewer than 14 responses. The findings have clinical implications for protocol administration with thought-disordered populations that typically produce brief records.

The Rorschach in Forensic Practice

ABSTRACT The Rorschach is one of the most widely used, openly accepted, and frequently requested tests in forensic psychology practice (Piotrowski, 1996; Meloy, 1991; Weiner, Exner, & Sciara, 1996). Well-trained psychologists with a sophisticated understanding of the individual, psychological constructs, base rates, and conditional probabilities, derive information from the Rorschach beyond what is available from diagnosis, self-report, and interview. The Rorschach helps us describe the complex interaction among psychological, biological, environmental and behavioral domains (Viglione & Perry, 1991). Despite its favorable status in both clinical and forensic settings and a substantial body of literature attesting to its reliability and validity (Weiner, 1996), the Rorschach has been targeted for attack by a small group of “academic” psychologists. Rather than science, the rhetoric and tactics of these detractors has been likened to “advocacy” or politics (Weiner, 2001, p. 7). This bias against the Rorschach is not new. It has existed since the 1920s among American academic psychology departments, despite the research in support of the Rorschach. As a result of this attack, biased articles find their way into publication and eventually into the courtroom. While they do little to promote scientific study (Meyer, 2000) and provide little useful information to the trier of fact, they do present another avenue for challenge when opposing attorneys search for weaknesses in psychological testimony. Forensic psychologists need to prepare for this additional challenge. In this article we summarize some key issues that can aid in defending the Rorschach.

Mu suppression and human movement responses to the Rorschach test.

Electroencephalographic &mgr; wave suppression was investigated using all 10 static, ambiguous Rorschach stimuli. In an earlier study using four Rorschach stimuli, the two stimuli that elicited feelings of movement were associated with &mgr; suppression. In this study, we replicated this relationship using all 10 Rorschach stimuli while overcoming a number of other earlier limitations. The results strongly support the hypothesis that internal representation of the feeling of movement is sufficient to suppress the &mgr; rhythm even when minimal external cues are present. This outcome increases the generalizability and ecological validity of this approach and gives support to the traditional interpretation of the Rorschach human movement responses as being associated with cognitive functioning, empathy, and social cognition.

The Rorschach Human Experience Variable, interpersonal relatedness, and object representation in nonpatients.

W. Perry and D. J. Viglione (1991) combined human representational variables from J. E. Exners (1993) Comprehensive System in their Ego Impairment Index to create the Human Experience Variable (HEV). To validate the HEV 105 nonpatient women completed the Bell Object Relations Inventory (M. Bell, 1991) and the Rorschach. Their spouses also rated the quality of these womens interpersonal relatedness by completing a modified Bell Object Relations Inventory and the Emotional Maturity Rating Form (H. Bessell, 1984). The HEV was significantly related to the quality of interpersonal relatedness, after considering Rorschach measures of psychopathology and nonhuman Rorschach images. Results indicate that representations of self and other accessed through the Rorschach account for unique variance in the prediction of the quality of interpersonal relationships, thus supporting the validity of the Rorschach and the concept of object relations.

Modifying the Rorschach Human Experience Variable to create the Human Representational Variable.

The Human Experience Variable (HEV; Perry & Viglione, 1991) provided information about interpersonal perceptions not previously available within the Comprehensive System (CS; Exner, 1993). Research data suggests that it was related to interpersonal functioning and as a result, psychological impairment and health. In this article, we present the rationale and empirical basis for recent psychometric refinements to the HEV, consequently renamed the Human Representational Variable (HRV). Research addressing the reliability and validity for the HRV is summarized. Based on data and experience with the HEV, this study summarized some small modifications to the original algorithm. The refined variable, the HRV, has been added to the CS (Exner, 2000). Data presented here suggest that the HRV has improved psychometric properties compared to the HEV and that it is simpler to understand. Research recommendations and interpretive suggestions are also presented.

An Inter-Rater Reliability Study for the Rorschach Performance Assessment System

Based on available research findings, the Rorschach Performance Assessment System (Meyer, Viglione, Mihura, Erard, & Erdberg, 2011) was recently developed in an attempt to ground the administration, coding, and interpretation of the Rorschach in its evidence base, improve its normative foundation, integrate international findings, reduce examiner variability, and increase utility. This study sought to establish inter-rater reliability for the coding decisions in this new system. We randomly selected 50 Rorschach records from ongoing research projects using R-Optimized administration. The records were administered by 16 examiners and came from a diverse sample in terms of age, sex, ethnicity, educational background, and patient status. Results demonstrated a mean intraclass correlation of .88 and median of .92. Overall, the findings indicate good to excellent inter-rater reliability for the great majority of codes and are consistent with previous findings of strong inter-rater reliability for alternative Rorschach systems and scores.