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Inkblots and Neurons: Correlating Typical Cognitive Performance With Brain Structure and Function
Abstract
Like commonly used neurocognitive measures, the Rorschach is based on the person’s performance in a standardized problem-solving task. However, it differs from traditional neurocognitive tests in a key respect. While neurocognitive tests are best described as tests of maximal cognitive performance (i.e., tests that measure how well the person does when asked to do his/her best on a task with explicit requirements), the Rorschach is best conceived as a test of typical cognitive performance (i.e., a test that measures what the person typically does in more open-ended situations). This difference is related to the difference between having the ability to do something and the disposition to do so. For example, a person might be intelligent and cognitively sophisticated (maximal performance), yet not be disposed to put these abilities to good use (e.g., towards academic, occupational, or social/relational achievements), because of emotional or personality issues (typical performance). Although real life circumstances and performance measures are best conceived as being on a continuum between these two conditions, the maximal-typical dichotomy is a useful heuristic for thinking about the match between different types of performance tasks and real world contexts. This distinction, first introduced by Cronbach (1990), was later referred to in the literature in relation to questions of construct validity and case validity in assessment (Teglasi, Nebbergall, & Newman, 2012).
... Nonetheless, empirical evidence on neural activation in response to the different dimensions is still limited (Jimura et al., 2021;Muzio, 2016). A systematization of such research might help shed light on what is already known, what needs to be further explored, and the clinical utility of the findings. ...
... While a few publications partially described research correlating responses to the Rorschach test with neuroimaging findings (Meyer and Friston, 2022;Muzio, 2016), no comprehensive literature review was available to date. With the present review, we aimed to summarize the evidence on neural activation in response to Rorschach inkblots. ...
The Rorschach inkblot test allows access to psychological processes that usually do not emerge in self-report measures and it has been widely used in clinical psychological and psychiatric settings. Recordings of brain activity during the administration of the Rorschach inkblots test could provide information on neural correlates of the underlying perceptual-cognitive processing and potentially identify neuroimaging markers of psychopathology risk. The present paper offers a systematization of the available literature on the Rorschach inkblot test and neuroimaging research. The 13 selected studies had been conducted with healthy participants and using fMRI, EEG, and fNIRS to investigate the neural underpinnings of Rorschach inkblot test responses. The neural processes underlying the visual, social, and emotional processes described by the included papers are systematically summarized. Research on the neural correlates of the Rorschach inkblot test is promising and would further benefit from studies on clinical populations, broader samples, and younger age groups.
... Evaluating these changes is a complex but necessary task so that the aging population can be guaranteed quality of life, in order to subsidize means to intervene preventively against dementias. Considering the comprehensiveness of cognitive and personality assessment (Muzio, 2016), to attend to this need, the projective method of the Zulliger Comprehensive System (ZSC) can be a potential tool for assistance. ...
... However, research is insufficient (Cardoso et al.,2018;Grazziotin & Scortegagna, 2016b), partly because the legitimacy of the information obtained with psychological tests depends, among other things, on empirical research that certifies the quality of the instruments and their applicability to the intended purposes (Markus & Borboom, 2013). In addition to the self-report instruments, it is recommended to use selfexpression tools to deepen the understanding of the cognitive and psychic aspects (Contreras-Milián et al, 2016;Meyer et al., 2015;Muzio, 2016). ...
This study sought evidence of validity of the Zulliger method to evaluate cognitive processes in elderly and long-lived adults and to verify the relationship between cognition and external variables. Participated 142 subjects, aged between 18 and 96 years old. The Zulliger Comprehensive System (ZSC), Mini-Mental State Examination and sociodemographic protocols were used as of data collection. The older and long-lived adults presented a significant decrease in mediation (X-%, XA%, P) and abstract reasoning (M) when compared to young and middle-aged adults. Education and socioeconomic status (SES) demonstrated significant and positive correlations with cognitive processes (R, ZF, W, M, DQ+ and Intellectualization). The findings are fundamental to psychological practice and to directing measures for cognitive preservation in human aging.
... En la actualidad, se emplea como una prueba neuropsicológica y no sólo de personalidad, ya que se concibe como una tarea de resolución de problemas que muestra la actuación cognitiva habitual del sujeto (Erdberg, 2013;Muzio, 2016). Pietrowski fue el primer autor que en 1936 lo utilizó para diferenciar sujetos con alteraciones corticales orgánicas de otros individuos sin dicha lesión, observando 10 signos en el Rorschach que indicaban daño neurológico. ...
... Pietrowski fue el primer autor que en 1936 lo utilizó para diferenciar sujetos con alteraciones corticales orgánicas de otros individuos sin dicha lesión, observando 10 signos en el Rorschach que indicaban daño neurológico. Desde entonces, se ha ampliado el campo de estudios empíricos que relacionan la prueba con las neurociencias y que muestran su relación con otras medidas neuropsicológicas estandarizadas (Acklin y Wu-Holt, 1995;Meyer, 2016;Muzio, 2016;Selma, 2016). ...
Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most prevalent disorders and it causes several problems in different areas. The main symptoms of the ADHD are hyperactivity, inattention and impulsivity, and the disorder has been related to other problems such as executive functioning deficit. This article aims to show the importance of making the correct diagnosis and the relevance of the Rorschach Inkblot Test to understand the complexity of the child with ADHD. We describe the main results that different research have found in the perceptive, cognitive, affective, interpersonal and internal functioning areas through Rorschach Inkblot Test in children with ADHD. The data confirm the deterioration of various components of executive functions in children with the disorder.
... It was dedicated to the Rorschach as a method capable of bridging the gap between neuropsychology and personality psychology. In the editorial, Muzio (2016) summarizes the single contributions, which range from studies correlating Rorschach performance and performance in neuropsychological tests to neuroimaging work on movement responses (as also discussed in Schott) and on the chromatic aspects of the inkblots. Methodological issues such as the application of resting-state functional connectivity analyses in connection with Rorschach response types are also discussed. ...
This historical note is a commemorial of Rorschach, the person, and Rorschach the test. Hermann Rorschach died 100 years ago, not quite a year after the publication of his book containing the 10 inkblots. These have reached an iconic status, but the "Rorschach Test" as used in psychiatry, legal organizations and aptitude assessments is not quite what Hermann Rorschach designed it for in the first line. A first section of this article introduces Hermann Rorschach as a man with very broad interests and an inclination to ask cognitive science questions that are still challenging today. A second section provides a critical summary of the fate of the ten inkblots after Rorschach's death - how they conquered the whole world in a time with a pronouced "psychometric attitude", and also how they failed in some attempts to measure personality traits in special populations. A final section focuses on recent research on one particular aspect of a testee's associations to the inkblots: "movement responses", i.e. the perception of implied motion. Here, neural and behavioral correlates have been demonstrated by modern neuroimaging techniques. One study, which set out to validate both the Rorschach as a personality test and the view that the two cerebral hemispheres correspond to divergent "personalities" is also summarized. The viewpoint concludes by suggesting that future work with inkblots should consider Rorschach's original intention to use inkblots to uncover basic laws of perception. Modern applications of computer-generated pseudorandom stimuli (random dot arrays or stochastic noise) would have been embraced by Hermann Rorschach as he appreciated the impact of visual noise for the study of vision and visual cognition.
... It was dedicated to the Rorschach as a method capable of bridging the gap between neuropsychology and personality psychology. In the editorial, Muzio (2016) summarizes the single contributions, which range from studies correlating Rorschach performance and performance in neuropsychological tests to neuroimaging work on movement responses (as also discussed in Schott) and on the chromatic aspects of the inkblots. Methodological issues such as the application of resting-state functional connectivity analyses in connection with Rorschach response types are also discussed. ...
ZUSAMMENFASSUNG
Vor 100 Jahren verstarb der Schweizer Psychiater Hermann Rorschach, nur ein Jahr nach der Geburt seines berühmt gewordenen Tests. Vorliegender Beitrag würdigt beide, Rorschach, den Menschen, und Rorschach, den Test. Herrmann Rorschach war Künstler, Arzt und Wissenschaftler. Das Deutenlassen von Zufallsformen war nur eines von vielen Forschungsinteressen, die er verfolgte. Zwar hoffte er, seine Tintenkleckse einmal diagnostisch einsetzen zu können, sah aber einen noch langen Weg wahrnehmungspsychologischer Experimente vor sich. Sein früher Tod ließ ihn den ungeahnten Erfolg seiner Klecksmethode nicht mehr erleben. Von Amerika aus verbreiteten sich die 10 standardisiert beklecksten Tafeln über die ganze Welt; der Rorschachtest avancierte zum populärsten projektiven Verfahren der Testpsychologie. Wenn auch gegen Ende des vergangenen Jahrhunderts eine Abnahme der Veröffentlichungen zur Rorschach-Diagnostik zu verzeichnen war, zeugen neurowissenschaftliche Arbeiten von einem Sich-Besinnen auf die ursprünglichen wahrnehmungspsychologischen Ziele Hermann Rorschachs. So aktivieren etwa Klecksassoziationen, die eine Bewegung implizieren, das Spiegelneuronensystem und bilden damit eine Brücke zwischen Sehen, Kinaesthesie und Einfühlung. Lateralisiert-tachistoskopische Stimulation der beiden Gehirnhälften mit Rorschachs Klecksen validieren seine „Psychodiagnostik“ und belegen gleichzeitig die Rolle hemisphärenspezifischer Verarbeitungsprozesse für die Persönlichkeitspsychologie.
... The standardization of the Rorschach Test by Exner (2003) facilitated further research and accumulation of data in this field. A large number of Rorschach studies have been conducted on patients with neurological disorders (Muzio, 2016), including head injury (Exner et al., 1996), and dementia of the Alzheimer's type (Muzio et al., 2001), and have repeatedly demonstrated the usefulness of Rorschach indices to detect cognitive dysfunction in organic brain disease. In one of the newest attempts to use Rorschach indices as neurocognitive markers, it was also shown that some of the Rorschach indices correlate with the level of neurocognitive skills (Meyer, 2016), which are impaired in neurodevelopmental disorders. ...
Recent progress in neuroscience has made it possible to use neurophysiological techniques to validate and deepen the interpretation of Rorschach variables. The aim of this article is to review the results from Rorschach studies using the neurophysiological approach to discuss the consistencies and inconsistencies between the different results, and then to consider the future direction of Rorschach research in this area. We also provide unpublished data to complement the picture from peer-reviewed studies. Two main approaches to neuropsychological studies on the Rorschach exist. One approach is to measure brain activities directly during the Rorschach administration; a series of studies using multiple neurophysiological methods revealed activation of the mirror neuron system with relation to human movement responses. Another possible approach is to investigate whether individual differences in Rorschach scores can be explained by neurophysiological measurements during the administration of another psychological task. This article reviews how these two approaches provide novel insights into the Rorschach Test.
... Esta situación obliga al examinando a seguir complicados procedimientos de selección y codificación del campo estimular, para finalizar en una toma de decisiones, de ahí que el Rorschach sea conceptualizado como una Centro para el Desarrollo de las Ciencias Sociales y Humanísticas en Salud prueba de resolución de problemas y se conciba como una prueba neuropsicológica, donde queda desplegado el actuar cognitivo cotidiano del sujeto. (15) El procesamiento de los datos se realizó mediante el SPSS/Windows, versión 22.La estadística utilizada fue de tipo descriptiva, expresada en frecuencias y por cientos, para reflejar las variables psicosociales presentes en la muestra; e inferencial, para determinar la bondad de ajuste de la muestra, en este sentido se usó la prueba de Shapiro-Wilks para verificar la distribución de normalidad de los datos; seguidamente, para la identificación de las variables implicadas en la TD, se usó el análisis de correlación de Spearman, estableciendo las posibles relaciones entre la TD y las variables del SCR (los valores discurren de (-1 a 1), siendo 0 el valor que indica no correlación, y los signos indican(+ ó-),la correlación directa o inversa. La correlación no implica causalidad o dependencia. ...
An applied research was carried out, with a quantitative approach, and a non-experimental cross-sectional / descriptive design. The study aims to identify the variables of the Comprehensive Rorschach System (SCR), predictive of the decision-making process. The sample, selected intentionally, not probabilistically, was made up of 50 adults. The empirical methods used were the interview, the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) or Gambling Task and the Rorschach Psychodiagnosis. The statistics used were the Shapiro-Wilks goodness-of-fit test, Spearman's correlation analysis (rho), and binary logistic regression. LAMBDA was the most important predictive variable of the variations found in the Gambling Task.
... In addition, the nature of the Rorschach task confers benefits in neuropsychological settings in particular, where questions have been raised regarding the degree to which results from maximum performance measures generalize to an examinee's real-world functioning (Chaytor & Schmitter-Edgecombe, 2003;Sbordone, 2008). Although we were unable to draw firm conclusions about maximum versus typical performance measures, findings of recent research (Annotti & Teglasi, 2017;Meyer, 2016;Muzio, 2016) are consistent with the idea that measures with verisimilitude, which mimic the conditions and cognitive demands of the examinee's environment, are likely to yield interpretations that are more representative of everyday cognitive functioning. As a typical performance measure, the Rorschach allows the examinee the freedom to establish task parameters, as he or she would do in his or her daily life. ...
We examined associations among cognitive processing measures that varied on a continuum from maximum to typical performance tasks in the context of an ego depletion study. Our intent was to replicate and extend the findings of Charek, Meyer, and Mihura, which showed that ego depletion had an expected effect on selected scores from the Rorschach inkblot task. We hypothesized that Rorschach variables indicative of cognitive sophistication would correlate with neuropsychological measures of cognitive ability and that Rorschach variables theoretically unassociated with cognitive processing would not correlate with those criterion measures. These hypotheses were supported, providing evidence of convergent and discriminant validity. We also hypothesized ego depletion effects on all measures; however, none were evident. Methodological considerations and implications of the findings are discussed.
Typical visual perception includes an attention bias toward right hemisphere mediated global, holistic cortical processing. An atypically local, detail-oriented focus of attention is characteristic of left hemisphere processing and is often observed in patients whose field of attention is restricted by certain types of neurocognitive impairment. We designed the present pair of studies to induce a local attentional focus to observe its consequences on neurocognitive measures of visuospatial processing. In Experiment I, participants wore glasses mimicking simultanagnosia, a disorder of visual attention, to induce a narrowed, atypical attentional style while they completed visual neuropsychological tasks. This simulation impaired participants’ capacities to visually synthesize and efficiently reproduce Complex Figure stimuli as measured with the Boston Qualitative Scoring System (BQSS), and it induced an atypical attentional style on Rorschach Performance Assessment System (R-PAS) responses. In Experiment II, participants wore glasses designed to provoke differential hemispheric activation, also hypothesized to influence style of visual attention; but this manipulation did not influence neurocognitive task performance. We discuss implications for the interpretation of BQSS and R-PAS scores and offer directions for future research.
Despite advances in neuroscience, the field of personality assessment has not yet taken full advantage of the progress in neuroimaging techniques. Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) is one of the most widely used neuroimaging techniques and allows the detection of brain processes and their anatomically detailed correspondences. In the last fifteen years, few studies have developed research designs using the Rorschach test in fMRI settings, analyzing the relationship between Rorschach variables and brain neural circuits. Although their findings were promising, some methodological issues related to fMRI research design have been outlined. Recently, personality neuroscience is emerging as a new field of research that attempts to deepen and refine neurobiological and psychological theories of personality using fMRI in resting state conditions. Recent studies report that resting state networks show a direct relationship with psychological traits. The aim of the present article is to propose a new research design that employs resting-state functional connectivity analyses to explore the brain’s functional architecture in relation to psychological constructs of Rorschach variables related to perceptual styles and personality traits.
This study uses an archival data set to correlate Rorschach scores with measures of cognitive functioning in youth, and extends the literature in three ways. First, although Wechsler-based scales of intellectual ability are criteria in the primary sample, correlates with specialized measures of neuropsychological functioning are provided in smaller subsamples, with a focus on tests of perceptual accuracy and perceptual synthesis. Second, absolute levels of cognitive ability are examined, rather than age-adjusted scores, in order to match with the non-age adjusted Rorschach scores. Third, the results expand the relevant research literature on Comprehensive System scores and provide novel data for scores in the Rorschach Performance Assessment System. Findings showed an expected pattern of correlations for Rorschach scores of organizational activity, synthesized responses, perceptual accuracy, conceptual complexity, and complex perceptual representations. The Rorschach scores most correlated with neuropsychological perceptual synthesis skills were those related to perceptual accuracy and those requiring complex perceptual representations, although Rorschach scores tended to be more strongly associated with verbal abilities than with perceptual organizational skills. These data provide further evidence for the validity of selected Rorschach scores and contribute to an understanding of the cognitive characteristics linked to various types of Rorschach responses.
This article introduces a new scientific paradigm that might allow the investigation of the neurological correlates of the Rorschach test without using expensive and time consuming tools such as the fMRI or the EEG. Based on the literature on the Mozart effect, we anticipated that preactivation of a given brain network before exposure to the Rorschach cards would associate with the increased production of responses (or determinants) presumed to be associated with that same network. To pilot test this hypothesis, we focused on the postulated link between human movement (M) responses and mirror neuron system (MNS) activity, and investigated whether preactivation of the MNS would associate with the increased production of M responses. Specifically, 30 students were administered a subset of Rorschach cards immediately after watching three short videos aimed at activating the MNS at three different levels (no/low/high activation). Although no statistically significant differences among the three conditions were found, a linear trend in the expected direction (p = .107), with medium effect size (ν2 = .087) was observed. In addition to providing information on the M response, this article introduces a new scientific paradigm to investigate the neurological correlates of the Rorschach.
In order to investigate the effects of color stimuli of the Rorschach inkblot method (RIM), the cerebral activity of 40 participants with no history of neurological or psychiatric illness was scanned while they engaged in the Rorschach task. A scanned image of the ten RIM inkblots was projected onto a screen in the MRI scanner. Cerebral activation in response to five achromatic color cards and five chromatic cards were compared. As a result, a significant increase in brain activity was observed in bilateral visual areas V2 and V3, parietooccipital junctions, pulvinars, right superior temporal gyrus, and left premotor cortex for achromatic color cards (p < .001). For the cards with chromatic color, significant increase in brain activity was observed in left visual area V4 and left orbitofrontal cortex (p < .001). Furthermore, a conjoint analysis revealed various regions were activated in responding to the RIM. The neuropsychological underpinnings of the response process, as described by Acklin and Wu-Holt (1996), were largely confirmed.
Despite a conceptual link between the Rorschach Coping Deficit Index (CDI) and a loss of cognitive and functional capacity, no published study has explored whether or how the CDI relates to these characteristics as measured by other neuropsychological test instruments. We examined the relationship between the CDI and neurocognitive abilities of language skills, perceptual organization, memory, and executive functioning separately in adolescent psychiatric inpatients (n = 267), as well as in adults with first episode schizophrenia or severe affective disorder (n = 117), and healthy adults (n = 94). We found a significant link between the CDI and limited cognitive capacity. Impaired comprehension predicted the elevated CDI in adolescents whereas perseveration tendency and impaired delayed memory in adult patients and impaired memory functions in healthy people predicted the elevated CDI. The CDI seems to include neurocognitive aspects, and may reflect persistent deterioration associated with neurocognitive dysfunction.
Clinical assessment relies on both construct validity, which focuses on the accuracy of conclusions about a psychological phenomenon drawn from responses to a measure, and case validity, which focuses on the synthesis of the full range of psychological phenomena pertaining to the concern or question at hand. Whereas construct validity is grounded in understanding causal influences of a distinct phenomenon on responses to various measures and life contexts, case validity encompasses the joint influences of multiple phenomena on individuals' responses. Two sets of distinctions essential to understanding psychological phenomena, hence to understanding construct validity, are (a) implicit and explicit versions of personality constructs and (b) ability and personality as versions of constructs measured by performance tests presenting maximal and typical conditions, respectively. Since both implicit and explicit versions of constructs interface with maximal or typical performance conditions, case validity requires systematic inclusion of these distinctions in assessment protocols.
This article presents an understanding of the Rorschach Technique in terms of emergent models from cognitive science. We propose a linkage between cognitive psychology and neuropsychology in understanding the operations that underlie the Rorschach response process. Contemporary information processing models are described. The Rorschach Technique is conceived of as a complex process involving all areas of the cerebral hemispheres, encompassing various aspects of visual attention and perception, object recognition, associative memory, language production, and executive functioning. Exner's model of the response process is delineated, including both Association and Inquiry phases, in terms of requisite underlying neuropsychological abilities and anatomical substrates. The question of the Rorschach Technique's status, utility, and potential as a neuropsychological assessment, tool is discussed. Understanding the Rorschach in terms of contemporary cognitive psychological and neuropsychological models heightens appreciation of the technique's complexity and provides a heuristic and conceptual foundation for empirical research.
The Rorschach (Comprehensive System) is used to assess personality functioning of a group of elderly women with dementia (n=10) hospitalized in a clinical gerontology unit, and a control group of women with good cognitive functioning (n=10). Significant differences between the two groups include accessible psychological resources and the capacity of mentalization (EA<3), reality testing (X-%>.29), and the tendency to present illogical reasoning (ALOG>0) as well as severe impairment in thinking processes (Sum6>4, Wsum6>15, CONTAM>0). Other important aspects of the psychological functioning of the group of subjects considered are also presented. The utility of the Rorschach in psychological and neuropsychological assessment in clinical gerontology is emphasized.
The Rorschach test, of common use in psychological and psychiatric assessment for children and adults, is also of great interest in geriatrics. Administered, scored, and interpreted according to Exner's Comprehensive System, this test of global assessment of personality structure and functioning is scientifically validated and of use for questions of differential diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of psychiatric, as well as neuropsychological disorders. To illustrate it's interest, we take the example of it's possible contribution to the diagnosis of dementia of the Alzheimer's type (DAT). We believe in fact, as the Rorschach literature on dementia suggests, that there exist Rorschach markers of DAT. In a first stage of confirming this hypothesis, we compared the frequency of 7 hypothetical Rorschach markers (one marker identifying a breakdown in adaptive psychological resources, and 6 cognitive markers) in the protocols of 10 patients with probable DAT [mild to moderate according to the CDR scale (33), DSM IV (34) and NINCDS-ADRDA criteria (35)] and 20 patients without altered cognitive status (MMS>25). (9) There were no significant differences between the two groups in mean age, years of education, and total number of responses on the Rorschach test. The results show significant differences in frequency between the two groups for 6 of the 7 hypothetical markers, enabling us to propose a DAT index identifying 8/10 of the DAT patients and only 3/20 of the patients from the control group. In conclusion, the possible diagnostic implications of the results are discussed, perspectives for future research suggested, and other possible contributions of the Rorschach test in geriatrics briefly presented.
Objective: To date no studies have investigated the personality functioning underlying patients diagnosed with polycystic lipomembranous osteodysplasia with sclerosing leukoencephalopathy (PLOSL) using the performance-based Rorschach test.
Methods: We scored and interpreted the Rorschach protocols of eight carefully diagnosed PLOSL patients according to Exner's Comprehensive System. The structural variables in the Rorschach are organised around the seven dimensions of personality functioning that they assess: coping style and resources, organising information, perceiving events, forming concepts and ideas, handling of emotions, self-perception and interpersonal perception.
Results: As a group PLOSL patients had many personality liabilities when contrasted with typical avoidant non-patient adults. A majority of patients showed an avoidant coping style (Lambda > 0.99), low productivity and poor verbal output in the low number of responses and few Blends. Also, they showed limited available resources to cope with problem-solving test. Problems in organising information efficiently, and perceiving events realistically as well as signs of disturbed thinking and concept formation were observed in many patients. Handling of emotions was characterised by avoidance of emotional stimuli but at the same time poor affect modulation. Capacities to view themselves and others were thoroughly limited.
Conclusions: PLOSL tends to have repercussions throughout the personality functioning. In line with clinical findings and later neuroradiological and neuropathological examinations the Rorschach revealed personality features typical for frontal type of dementia.
This paper presents two neuropsychological approaches to using the Rorschach test with patients diagnosed with Dementia of the Alzheimer Type (DAT). The first approach examined Rorschach variables from the Comprehensive System (CS) within the context of the cardinal neuropsychological deficits. The second approach illustrated a "process approach" to scoring linguistic errors and perseverations on the Rorschach test via the introduction of a new scale. DAT patients were significantly different from normal comparison participants on selected CS variables but were not significantly different on CS measures of deviant verbalization and perseverations. Significant differences between the two groups were observed for linguistic errors and perseverations when the Rorschach protocols were rescored using the new scale. Furthermore, the types of linguistic and perseveration differences observed on the Rorschach test might be specific to the characteristic deficits of DAT. The findings are interpreted within a neuropsychological framework and are offered as support for the use of the Rorschach as a neuropsychological problem-solving test.
Since the 1920s, the Rorschach test has been widely used for the study of neurological populations. However, advances in the field of neuropsychology in the 1960s made it cease to be considered appropriate in this context. More recently, with the development of Exner’s Comprehensive System and its cognitivist problem-solving paradigm, a number of authors have reconsidered the test in light of contemporary neuropsychology, not only as a cognitive neuropsychological tool, but also as a useful instrument for the study of relationships between cognitive functioning and affect, and as an instrument capable of transcending theoretical and paradigmatic shifts and trends in neuropsychology and personality psychology.
This article presents some Rorschach data for 60 adult closed head injury (CHI) patients who were tested between 3 and 6 weeks after the trauma. The data are discussed in terms of the apparent assets and liabilities frequently found among CHI patients and the importance of these findings in the context of management and rehabilitation.
This article examines the relationship between cognitive-neuropsychological abilities and related psychological disturbance, as measured by the Rorschach and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). Psychiatric patients typically have a long-standing history of emotional disturbance as well as neuropsychological dysfunction, but how the two domains are integrated is not clearly understood. We hypothesized that, through the use of factor analysis, indices of neuropsychological and personality assessment would form distinct, but not orthogonal, constructs. The historical roots, past research, theoretical formulations, and implications for future research in the area of neuropsychology of personality assessment are presented.
Human movement (M) responses to the Rorschach are related to cognitive sophistication, creativity, and empathy. Recent studies also link Ms to EEG-mu suppression, an index of mirroring activity in the brain. In this article, we further investigate the link between Ms and mu suppression by testing some clinical interpretative distinctions. Previously collected EEG data recorded during the administration of the Rorschach were reanalyzed. We hypothesized that (a) among several responses investigated, only M would be associated with mu suppression, and (b) Ms with active movement, ordinary form quality, or whole human figures would be most strongly associated with mu suppression. Hypothesis 1 was fully confirmed, thus supporting that the traditional interpretation of M has a neurobiological foundation. Hypothesis 2 was partially confirmed; that is, active Ms were associated with mu suppression more strongly than passive Ms (p < .05), but no other significant differences emerged. Clinical implications are discussed.
Unique and unusual responses to inkblot stimuli evoked by emotionally vulnerable psychiatric patients have been considered as examples of interference of emotion with perceptual processes. However, few studies have investigated the interaction between emotion-related and perception-related neural circuits during performance of the inkblot test. In our recent studies using the inkblot stimuli, enlargement of the amygdala was revealed in association with frequent production of unique responses to the inkblot stimuli. Additionally, our studies demonstrated right temporopolar activation associated with the production of unique responses, as well as left anterior prefrontal and bilateral occipitotemporal activation associated with the production of typical responses. On the basis of these results, we hypothesized that the amygdala is involved in modulation of the connectivity among the frontotemporal regions identified in the activation analysis. To address this issue, we performed a functional connectivity analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging data, using physiophysiological interaction implemented in Statistical Parametric Mapping 2 (SPM2). This analysis revealed that the amygdala imposed a positive modulation on the connection from the anterior prefrontal region to the temporopolar region, and a negative modulation on the connection from the temporopolar region to the occipitotemporal regions. These results suggest that interference of emotion affects perception during the inkblot test.
Interference by amygdalar activity in perceptual processes has been reported in many previous studies. Consistent with these reports, previous clinical studies have shown amygdalar volume change in multiple types of psychotic disease presenting with unusual perception. However, the relationship between variation in amygdalar volume in the normal population and the tendency toward unusual or unique perception has never been investigated. To address this issue, we defined an index to represent the tendency toward unique perception using ambiguous stimuli: subjects were instructed to state what the figures looked like to them, and "unique responses" were defined depending on the appearance frequency of the same responses in an age- and gender-matched control group. The index was defined as the ratio of unique responses to total responses per subject. We obtained structural brain images and values of the index from sixty-eight normal subjects. Voxel-based morphometry analyses revealed a positive correlation between amygdalar volume and the index. Since previous reports have indicated that unique responses were observed at higher frequency in the artistic population than in the nonartistic normal population, this positive correlation suggests that amygdalar enlargement in the normal population might be related to creative mental activity.
This study investigated Rorschach Inkblot Test response patterns in a group of children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and compared them to matched samples of clinical control and normal control groups. The findings indicated that the ADHD and clinical control groups both demonstrated markedly limited coping capacities, an avoidance of affect-laden stimuli, difficulties with self- and interpersonal perceptions, problems in perceiving reality accurately, and a vulnerability to depression. The ADHD group demonstrated significantly more intense feelings of isolation and discomfort, less social involvement, avoidance of decision-making, and more dependence, while the clinical control group demonstrated a significantly higher level of psychological disorganization and thinking problems.
Rorschach protocols from 24 boys with Asperger's Disorder matched by age to 24 boys with other emotional or behavioral disorders (the contrast group) were compared to each other and to Exner' s (1995) normative data. Eight variables based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed. [DSM-IV]; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) criteria and a review of the literature for Asperger's Disorder were predicted to discriminate between groups with the Asperger's group having more extreme scores. Five variables (COP, CDI, H, M, and EA) were significantly different from the contrast group and T and WSumC were significantly different from the normative data in both the Asperger's group and the contrast group.
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