ABSTRACT
Despite the easily recognizable nature of the Rorschach ink blot test very little is known about the history of the test in Britain. We attend to the oft-ignored history of the Rorschach test in Britain and compare it to its history in the US. Prior to the Second World War, Rorschach testing in Britain had attracted advocates and critiques. Afterward, the British Rorschach Forum, a network with a high proportion of women, developed around the Tavistock Institute in London and The Rorschach Newsletter. In 1968, the International Rorschach Congress was held in London but soon after the group became less exclusive, and fell into decline. A comparative account of the Rorschach in Britain demonstrates how different national institutions invested in the 'projective hypothesis' according to the influence of psychoanalysis, the adoption of a nationalized health system, and the social positioning of 'others' throughout the twentieth century. In comparing and contrasting the history of the Rorschach in Britain and the US, we decentralize and particularize the history of North American Psychology.
Subject(s)
Rorschach Test/history , Female , History, 20th Century , Humans , London , Male , Psychiatry/history , United Kingdom , United StatesABSTRACT
Seventy years ago, psychiatrists and psychologists had unusual access to the Nazi leaders awaiting trial by the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg. Early leaders in the field of psychosomatic medicine were instrumental in facilitating these interviews as well as arranging for the administration of psychological testing with the Rorschach inkblot test. These observations were kept under wraps for decades and there remains controversy even now about what these Rorschachs revealed-demonic psychopaths or just morally corrupt individuals.
Subject(s)
Antisocial Personality Disorder/history , Criminal Law/history , Criminals/history , Military Personnel/history , National Socialism/history , Psychoanalytic Interpretation , Rorschach Test/history , War Crimes/history , World War II , Antisocial Personality Disorder/diagnosis , Antisocial Personality Disorder/psychology , Criminal Law/methods , Criminals/legislation & jurisprudence , Criminals/psychology , Europe , Germany , History, 20th Century , Humans , Military Personnel/legislation & jurisprudence , Military Personnel/psychology , Observer Variation , Reproducibility of ResultsABSTRACT
Paul Lerner's contributions to the Rorschach test were rooted in a psychoanalytic approach to diagnostic testing that began with David Rapaport at the Menninger Clinic in the 1940s. This article reviews the work of Rapaport, Roy Schafer, and their heirs and shows how Lerner's career was devoted to advancing that tradition and assuring its continuing relevance.
Subject(s)
Rorschach Test/history , History, 20th Century , Hospitals, Psychiatric/history , HumansSubject(s)
Imagination , Mind-Body Relations, Metaphysical , Psychology, Applied/history , Rorschach Test/history , Color Perception , Emotions , Fantasy , History, 20th Century , History, 21st Century , Humans , Intelligence , Neurosciences , Psychoanalysis , Psychology, Applied/methods , SwitzerlandABSTRACT
The author provides a brief overview of the papers given at the Schafer Symposium in October 2012 by the following six presenters: Henry Schwartz, Richard Fritsch, Rosemary Balsam, Lucy LaFarge, Michael Feldman, and Jay Greenberg. He also highlights some important ongoing themes in Schafer's writing, including theory-about which Schafer takes a unique position-history, and ideas from other disciplines. Schafer prefers continuing explorations over arriving at conclusions, the author notes, and believes that students should remain faithful to their mentors' thinking-until it is time for them to move beyond it.
Subject(s)
Mental Disorders/diagnosis , Psychoanalysis/history , Psychoanalytic Theory , Psychological Tests/history , Female , Feminism/history , History, 20th Century , Humans , Male , Mental Disorders/history , Mentors/history , Professional Role/history , Psychoanalysis/methods , Rorschach Test/history , Uncertainty , United StatesABSTRACT
Behaviorism and psychodynamic psychology have been regarded as polar opposites. Contrary to popular belief, B. F. Skinner took an interest in Freud and many of his concepts, and agreed to be tested with the Rorschach method and the Thematic Apperception Test by Roe in her study of scientists (Roe, 1953 ). We looked for signs of creativity defined as complex responses, an intriguing emotional tone, novelty, and liveliness. Skinner displayed an enormous number of responses characterized by simplicity, an intellectualized tone, a driven quality rather than creative complexity, and a sense of strained social relationships and lack of liveliness. The findings are in line with Roe's study of other scientists. Skinner's intellectual productivity and high ambition fits well with the commanding figure history describes.
Subject(s)
Behaviorism/history , Creativity , Personality , Rorschach Test/history , History, 20th Century , Humans , United StatesABSTRACT
The Rorschach Test has been approached from 3 fundamentally different developmental perspectives: those growing out of the empiricist tradition, psychoanalysis, and the developmental psychologies of Piaget and Werner. In this article, I highlight the distinctive characteristics of each perspective, explore how they have shaped approaches to Rorschach theory and practice, and examine the contributions of Paul Lerner and John Exner in this context.
Subject(s)
Models, Theoretical , Rorschach Test/history , History, 20th Century , History, 21st Century , Humans , Male , Psychoanalysis/historyABSTRACT
This article is a draft of a speech given as the recipient of the 2008 Bruno Klopfer Memorial award. I review some important details of the life of Bruno Klopfer, his contributions to the scoring and interpretation of the Rorschach (Exner, 2003), and his emphasis on the use of phenomenology in the process. I then focused on Klopfer's flexible scoring method and his use of Testing of the Limits techniques on the Rorschach, emphasizing their application to therapeutic and collaborative assessment. I illustrate my own application of Testing of the Limits using case vignettes. Finally, I present selected parts of two 1959 radio interviews of Bruno Klopfer.
Subject(s)
Practice Patterns, Physicians' , Psychometrics , Rorschach Test , Teaching , Awards and Prizes , History, 20th Century , Humans , Portraits as Topic , Psychology/history , Rorschach Test/historyABSTRACT
This article shows the main characteristics of the Rorschach test, as well as the utility of this psychological exam as a clinical diagnostic instrument. It is reviewed the historical evolution and controversy that has grown with it, the clinical dimensions and also, some specific clinical applications. This paper promotes an interdisciplinary concept exchange by providing the language and criterion needed to understand it. It is explained the utility of this test in differential diagnosis between bipolarity, schizophrenia, unipolar depression and personality disorder.
Este artículo expone las principales características del Test de Rorschach en tanto instrumento de apoyo al diagnóstico clínico. Su evolución histórica, los motivos de controversia, las dimensiones que estudia y sus aplicaciones a la práctica clínica. Pretende facilitar el intercambio interdisciplinario, aportando los criterios, lenguaje y conceptos que permitan la adecuada comprensión de esta prueba. Destaca su utilidad en el diagnóstico diferencial de Bipolaridad con respecto a Esquizofrenia, Depresión Unipolar y Trastorno de la Personalidad.
Subject(s)
Diagnosis, Differential , Rorschach Test/history , Clinical DiagnosisABSTRACT
Se ofrece un breve recuento histórico del método de Rorschach. Se narran los cambios que ha presentado la prueba a partir de diversos enfoques que han dado lugar a que existan varios sistemas Rorschach y no un solo método de Rorschach como muchos profesionales creen. Se hace referencia a los cinco sistemas de Rorschach de la Escuela Americana y a la integración de estos en el Sistema Comprehensivo con mayor nivel científico
Subject(s)
Psychoanalysis , Rorschach Test/historyABSTRACT
Se ofrece un breve recuento histórico del método de Rorschach. Se narran los cambios que ha presentado la prueba a partir de diversos enfoques que han dado lugar a que existan varios sistemas Rorschach y no un solo método de Rorschach como muchos profesionales creen. Se hace referencia a los cinco sistemas de Rorschach de la Escuela Americana y a la integración de estos en el Sistema Comprehensivo con mayor nivel científico(AU)
Subject(s)
Rorschach Test/history , PsychoanalysisABSTRACT
Hermann Rorschach, brilliant creator of the projective test called after him, worked from the beginning to the middle of 1914 in a sanatorium near Moscow. Recently discovered letters to his brother Paul reveal his motives for abandoning his initial plan to settle in Russia. Apparently the impossibility of scientific work was of great importance. Additional letters complement our knowledge of Rorschach's personality.
Subject(s)
Correspondence as Topic/history , Emigration and Immigration/history , Health Resorts/history , History, 20th Century , Humans , Rorschach Test/history , RussiaSubject(s)
Psychology/history , History, 20th Century , Humans , Rorschach Test/history , United StatesABSTRACT
The present article comments on a classic study by Garfield (1947) then reviews research on the Rorschach and psychiatric diagnoses. Despite a few positive findings, the Rorschach has demonstrated little validity as a diagnostic tool. Deviant verbalizations and bad form on the Rorschach, and indices based on these variables, are related to Schizophrenia and perhaps to Bipolar Disorder and Schizotypal Personality Disorder. Patients with Borderline Personality Disorder also seem to give an above-average number of deviant verbalizations. Otherwise the Rorschach has not shown a well-demonstrated relationship to these disorders or to Major Depressive Disorder, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), anxiety disorders other than PTSD, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Dependent, Narcissistic, or Antisocial Personality Disorders, Conduct Disorder, or psychopathy.
