Freud wrote in his "Psychoanalysis": "We believe that culture has been created under the pressure of the necessities of life and at the expense of the satisfaction of human drives" and elsewhere: that "when a person enters civilization, he must renounce the satisfaction of some of his drives". Therefore, we must assume that in every man or woman there are hidden unconscious, less flattering desires and drives that are not acceptable in our civilization and that we cannot wish others to know about.
Tests like the Rorschach and MMPI are designed to dig deep into the human psyche, and will find Freud's repressed drives - at least some of them. Such tests are absolutely necessary, for example, in psychiatric hospitals in order to possibly cure the unfortunate people, who are admitted there.
They are also used to test people who are not assumed to have mental disorders - for example, to test whether parents are suitable to be parents - and in some private companies, for example in connection with recruitment.
We live in a free country and public authorities and companies can use the tests they deem necessary. But it should also be possible for potential test takers to prepare for such crucial events in their lives.
1. Sexual Responses
Almost all the blots have some features that can invite sexual interpretations, but it is wise to limit them. Some interpretation manuals indicate that more than four sexual responses out from the ten cards will indicate schizophrenia.
The 10 Rorschach cards with the most obvious options for sexual responses shown shaded.
Some psychologists believe that sexual feelings and interpretations are unconsciously present all time (Freud). Therefore it is wise to say something positive about blots, resembling a penis, vagina or breasts. For example, a red blob can resemble the female genitals, but one does not want to say wishing not to over-score the sexual responses. In this case, it is better to say that it resembles a butterfly than to say it looks like a crab, as butterfly is a more positive response. A not positive response to such potentially sexual motives may indicate some problems with the relationship with the opposite sex.
Left: An inkblot resembling a female genitalia, an orchid, or a microscopic aquatic animal.
Right: An inkblot resembling two seahorses kissing. Photo unknown origin.
If the test subject has too few sexual responses, it may indicate sexual frustration.
Traditionally, there are five response details that have often been associated with homosexuality. Namely, the test subject reports seeing: 1) buttocks and anus, 2) feminine clothing, 3) male and female genitalia, 4) human figures without male or female features, 5) human figures with both male and female features.
A large number of sexual responses would indicate schizophrenia. However, a complete absence of sexual interpretations would also be unusual, at least if the applicant is male. It is said that men think about sex up to 50 times a day.
2. Whole responses
If the test person takes an general overview of an image, it will, according to the Exner scoring system, be interpreted as intellectual potential and leadership qualities. It would, therefore, be wise to take a view of the whole image before saying anything.
Some test subjects will try to put the various elements of the image into a context, they try, so to speak, to connect the details by setting up a hypothesis or theory. Some psychologists say that whole response indicates abstract thinking and ambitions.
This is especially true of cards, which contain many elements, such as VIII, IX and X. For example, one might say that VIII is a coat of arms or a torso for medical instruction.
If the response given by the test subject includes the whole ink blot, it is called a "W-response" (W for whole). (All types of responses have such a letter designation.)
Adults test subjects score an average of 38% as "W-responses". They are usually in the range of 29% - 46%. The opposite is "D-responses" (D for detail), where the test person interprets only parts of the ink blot.
High "W" percentage also indicates creativity, while low "W" percentage indicates depression.
3. Division responses
A breakdown of an image into modules and sub-regions will reflect common sense. For example, one can subdivide card X into three areas of different colors.
4. Detail Responses
An attention to details can be interpreted as impulsivity or alertness, the ability to see what others are overlooking. However, if one looks at too many details, it will indicate a fascination with the mundane, rigid compulsive thinking and sometimes paranoia.
Left: The famous painting The Scream by the Norwegian painter Edvard Munch - It contains a scary detail in the center of the image.
Right: It may be difficult to detach from the face in the middle, but the outline may look like a rococo fountain. Interest in the detail in the middle will score on anxiety.
It is best to detach oneself from frightening or erotic details in the center of the picture and try to interpret the outline and the whole. For example, an inkblot may contain something resembling a face in the center, reminiscent of the Norwegian painting "The Scream". It is not good to start by responding to such a detail; it can score on anxiety.
5. Outline Responses
An interest in the outline of a blob would indicate rational properties. For example, one might say that the outline of card VI resembles a kind of stingray swimming across the bottom.
An interest in outline would resemble the whole view, as mentioned above. However, a whole view also includes the elements within the outline and can also describe the entire situation.
6. Movement Responses
Some interpretation manuals believe, that when a test subject sees movement in a still Rorschach card, it is an expression of imagination. Therefore, it may be wise to describe what is seen as something walking, running, dancing, flying, swimming, falling, and so on.
Some manuals prescribe that a movement response must be the test subject's first thought, when he sees the picture, otherwise it does not count as an indication of imagination.
It is also believed that when a test subject sees people moving, it is a sign of mature thinking, intelligence, and creativity - that is, provided that he can make the movement plausible. After all, the great achievement of Renaissance painters was that they were able to describe movement in an otherwise still painting.
Seeing animals in motion indicates a dynamic way of solving problems.
But when you see movement of inanimate things that shouldn't be moving, it reveals stress and anxiety.
7. Colour Responses
Interpretations that involve color will indicate emotions. Note that five of the cards are black and white, and five contain color. For example, if you say that the two people in card II are goblins because they are wearing red hats, you have given a color response.
Some interpretation manuals believe that color responses indicate a tendency to be aware of - and able to express - emotions.
A test subject studies a Rorschach card. Photo Twitter.
If a test subject first talks about the shape of an inkblot and then mentions its colors, that is a good sign. He has a clear picture of the real world, to which he appropriately adds emotions.
However, if he first responds to the colors and then mentions the shape, or he talks about colors without mentioning the shape at all, it will indicate that his emotions dominate rational thinking.
The Beck Rorschach interpretation manual believes that an immediate color response indicates an emotionally unbalanced person: "pure C (color response) in the Rorschach represents an individual, who is prone to uncontrollable impulses and rage, sometimes approaching psychotic episodes, in which there is a schism between emotions and intellect.".
The Rapaport manual believes that a pure color response indicates that this individual may experience a "short circuit" in his consciousness, which means that he ignores and skips all evaluative and deliberative processes in relation to reality.
A female test subject with psychosomatic problems responded without hesitation to the red colors in images II, III and VIII with the word "blood". She was characterized: "This is such a person - who seems to have a temperament like that of an individual who is prone to be too sensitive and accepting in relation to her surroundings."
If the test subject does not mention the colors at all, it may be an expression of his repressing his feelings.
Test subjects who hesitated before commenting on the colored cards - but not the black and white ones - were labeled by Rorschach himself as "pedants" or "ponderers". Colors represent emotions, and therefore he believed that such hesitation when faced with the first test card with colors indicated that they were repressing their emotions in a neurotic way.
8. Shade Responses
They are called inkblots, but Herman Rorschach did not randomly pour ink onto pieces of paper. He was a dazzling artpainter, who meticulously painted ten pictures, that we will never forget once we have seen them.
He used watercolors, which are very suitable for creating color shades, that is, gradual color transitions, mainly from light gray to gray, dark gray and then to black. He also painted color shades in the other colors.
Color shades in gray can be very expressive, we only need to think of black and white photographs. We call them grayscale.
Color nuance responses will be interpreted as expressions of stress, anxiety, depression and the feeling of loss of control.
Color nuance responses occur significantly more often among patients who have attempted suicide than among those who have not attempted suicide.
9. Surface Structure Responses
A particularly interesting type of colour shade response is surface-structure response. This is when the test subject considers an area of the ink blot and - based on color shades - imagines how this surface would feel, such as smooth, rough, sharp, hairy, or uneven.
Some psychologists believe that such responses are characteristic of people who are feeling the particular type of stress associated with loneliness and lack of human contact. People separated from loved ones tend to give more surface-texture responses than others.
Interest in surface-texture indicates a need for emotional connection with others. Many surface-texture responses will indicate a need for care.
Most test subjects - in fact 88% of adult males and 89% of adult females - have at least one surface structure response in their Rorschach report.
10. Cards I-X
Card I
All quizzes start with an easy question. The first card is easy, and one should be able to give an obvious answer quickly. The test taker can probably see a bat, a butterfly, a moth, a mask, a hollowed-out pumpkin with a light inside.
You can say that the central part of the blob forms a female figure. You should avoid saying anything unfavorable about it, for example that the female figure has four breasts and no head. It is just a torso, like the Venus of Milet.
Some interpretation schemes prescribe that the response, animal face, suggests paranoia.
The response "a dead bat" would be a clear negative response.
Some turn it 90 degrees and see a battleship plowing through the water, with its reflection in the surface. It has a few bullet holes amidships. This may indicate that this person feels hurt, the person may feel vulnerable, but despite the wounds, he continues life as best he can.
A warship is ultimately a weapon, a negative response, and therefore this response can also indicate aggression and frustration.
The response battleship can also be understood as meaning that the person feels threatened and feels anxious. For example, a person may say: "I don't like this picture - it looks like a battleship."
The response "battleship" is a movement response, which also contains a mirroring response- which indicates imagination and egocentric self-overestimation, respectively.
Some interpret the card as an angel with spread wings. The interpretation "angel" always indicates innocence, goodness and purity. Perhaps the person has been involved in morally unacceptable events, but feels that she or he is innocent.
The response "A woman's body with outstretched arms and large breasts" - come to me - can be an erotic response. It can also express a longing for care. It can also be a woman's self-perception - as erotically attractive.
Some see two people attacking a third person in the middle. In that case, this would indicate frustration and aggressiveness or anxiety, depending on who the test person identifies with.
If the test person says that it looks like two people or animals attacking a woman in the middle, it would indicate that she is not satisfied with her own body image.
A minor girl, who had been sexually exploited, saw two people raising their hands at each other as they attacked each other (movement response). She saw bloodstains.
A man gave the response: "A group of miners drilling deep down to the center of the earth". This response represents a disregard for reality, because the card does not at all look like miners according to the psychologists, and therefore it indicates schizophrenia.
A male test subject gave the response that the torso in the middle was a woman with her back turned to him. This would indicate that he has problems in his relationship with women, or perhaps a specific woman.
You may see a vagina where the head should be, but - as I said - it is wise to be careful not to give too many sexual responses.
Card II
This card introduces color, even the most alarming one, which is the color red. If the test subject immediately gives a color response by saying that it is blood because it is red, or the figures are goblins because they are wearing red hats, this will indicate that his emotions may be taking over from his rationality.
It is important to be able to see that this looks like two human figures facing each other, women or goblins. If you cannot see this, it is a sign that you have problems with your interpersonal relationships.
The red areas invite a color response, but if the test subject gives it before other responses, he may score as an emotionally unbalanced person.
If one does not want to say that the red area at the figures' knees resembles a vagina, it is better to say that it resembles a butterfly than that it resembles a crab.
Where the figures' hands meet, one may see a penis.
The area between the figures may be a cave entrance or a jet fighter seen from above.
A response may be "two fighting bears - blood all over", which would in this case indicate a feeling of suppressed aggression, a defensive distance to a feeling of anger, an expectation of a personal confrontation or an expectation of being hurt.
It is almost unnecessary to mention that the response, "splattered insect on the windshield" will score on anger and frustration.
Some people see a face of a cat or a bear with blood on the face and around the mouth. In that case, it would be a negative response, scoring on anger, anxiety, and the like.
The response "two clowns" can score on "narcissistic mirroring" - "my happiness depends on your mirroring of my happiness". ("Contemporary Rorschach Interpretation" By J. Reid Meloy). At first glance, we would otherwise think that "clowns" is a fairly innocent and obvious response.
One test subject gave the response: "It reminds me of violence". Card II is said to be the card most likely to produce responses associated with violence.
A minor girl, who had been sexually abused, saw a vagina in the slightly darker areas, the red was blood flowing out of it.
One gave the response: "Two black clouds meet. It's like it's going to rain when there's a storm." Exner perceives the response drifting clouds as associated with "egocentric" with a "pronounced tendency to overestimate one's personal worth". Since it is also storm clouds, it will also score as a negative response and thus on suppressed aggression, frustration and anger.
Card III
This card will indicate the sexual orientation of the test subject. Most will see two human figures facing each other, surrounded by flowers, orchids, and a butterfly.
Three-quarters of test subjects say they see people in this card. If he or she does not see at least one human figure, it will be interpreted as an unusual reaction to social interaction.
Perhaps they are dancing around a drum, bending over a table, picking something, perhaps strawberries or mushrooms. They appear to have both breasts and a penis. If the test subject does not say anything about the gender of the persons, the psychologist will insist that he makes a bid.
If the test subject hesitates too long to respond to this picture, some manuals will interpret it as being cautious, neurotic, or lacking self-confidence in social situations.
Seeing the persons as men will suggest heterosexuality, regardless of whether the test subject is a woman or a man.
If one sees the figures as women, it will be a homosexual response, as one is thereby assumed to acknowledge the hermaphroditic nature of the figures.
Another possible response is "two dogs in a circus balancing something on their heads", which is a positive response.
The red colors invite a color response, but if it comes first, it may indicate emotional instability.
A test subject saw "two women fighting over something they both wanted" - a rare response that suggests rival contention in the person's life.
A man gave the response: "Two men beating a woman on the head". The two men are acceptable, but the woman's head represents a disregard of reality; it does not look like a woman's head according to psychologists, they see something that is not there, and the response therefore indicates schizophrenia.
The response "two dancing girls standing on the shoulders of a man wearing a bow tie" is a seemingly innocent response, but it is nevertheless classified as a negative one, because the girls are much smaller than the man, and therefore there is something handicapped and crippled about them.
Card IV
This is the "father card", which is supposed to test ones relationship to authority.
After a few seconds, most people can see that it can depict a giant seen from below in perspective. It is common to interpret it as a man in a big coat, an animal skin or a gorilla. It can be a dragon with big feet, coming running towards you, seen from above, or a dragon sticking its head out of its cave. At the top you can see a vagina.
The test subject's response will be interpreted as his relationship with his father, manager and other authorities. If the test subject is a woman, it can show her relationship with men.
Homosexual men are more likely than others to see a monster in this card.
The giant's third leg with a dragon head can resemble a giant penis. If a man sees his father's gender so clearly, it will suggest a strained relationship with his father and authority figures in general, and it will make him less suitable for a career in a large organization, a psychologist would say.
If one see a dragon's head, it must be a friendly dragon, as it is a potential sexual motif.
The third leg can possibly be interpreted more neutrally as a kind of loincloth hanging in front.
If you interpret the figure as an attacking dragon, bear, monster or gorilla, it will score on anger or anxiety.
It has also been interpreted as a tree with a slightly odd appearance, perhaps a Christmas tree.
A woman gave the response: "Ducks sticking their heads out of a bush in opposite directions". It is a protection-seeking response, representing anger and alienation.
Card V
This card is intended to show the test subject's relationship to reality. Is he able to see the obvious, is he practical and down to earth, can he call a spade a spade? If so, he will easily see that it is a bat, a swallow or a butterfly.
Rorschach himself believed that this card is the easiest picture to interpret.
If he sees crocodile heads at the tips of the wings, it is a sign of hostility. If you see the antennae or the swallow's tail as scissors, it suggests a castration complex.
But it is also true that this card does not generally elicit as many responses as most others. There are not as many responses to this card in the literature either.
Therefore, some psychologists have concluded that if a person gives more interpretations to this simple picture than to the preceding and following ones, numbers IV and VI, it may be a sign of schizophrenia. They obviously believe that this card does not "contain" as many images and associations as the other cards, so if anyone thinks they can see anything else, they must be ignoring reality.
Some may see two animals butting their heads together - a motif characterized by struggle and strife and therefore a negative response.
Homosexual men are more likely to see creatures - half animal and half human - on this card.
Let's imagine a test subject, who looks at this card for a long time, turns it a little and then says: "That's a difficult one". He will definitely score for depression because, firstly, he takes too long to answer, and secondly, this is the easiest card, and it should therefore be easy to give a quick response.
Card VI
This inkblot is considered by many to be the most obvious sexual motif. It resembles the female genitalia with labia, clitoris and hair. A penis including hair can also be seen at the top. The sexual interpretation is hard to avoid. If you can't see it, it's a sign that you have sexual problems.
It could also be two theater masks or faces with long noses and horns on their foreheads, each looking in a different direction. You could turn the image 180 degrees and interpret it as an animal skin hung on the wall; the tail hangs downwards. It could be a seashell adorned with a flower. It could be a ray swimming above the bottom.
You could also turn it 90 degrees and say that it looks like a ship or a surfaced U-boat in calm water with its reflection. In that case, it would be a mirror response, indicating egocentric self-overestimation. A submarine is also a weapon, and it will symbolize a feeling of anger and aggression.
A woman gave the response "mountain", if it is in the sense of "difficult to climb" it may indicate anxiety. The response "island" suggests fear of being isolated, alone or cut off.
A teenage girl said: "It looks like a woman, her dress flying in the wind". Which is a movement response, however somewhat related to drifting clouds and thus indicates self-overestimation. She says woman instead of just person, which scores on gender narcissism and identification.
The response "run over cat on a highway" or similar will generally indicate suppressed anger, frustration and aggression.
Some give the response "a jellyfish eating an insect".
If one think it looks like a stingray swimming across the bottom, you have given an outline response and a movement response at the same time.
Japanese people often give the response "musical instrument" to this card.
Card VII
This is the "mother card." The subject's response to this image is supposed to show how he or she really feels about his or her mother.
If he interprets it as two witches, gossips, fighting women or schemers, it suggests a bad relationship with the mother.
A male testperson interpreted it as two people "looking at each other, glaring at each other - as if they had had an argument and could no longer stand to say anything." Such a statement clearly indicates some unresolved problems between the subject and his wife.
The image may resemble two women, who are very narrow around the waist - with somewhat peculiar hairstyles.
It is said that some subjects can see thunderclouds, in which case this would indicate anxiety. Some see the image as two feathered Indians putting their heads together to make an agreement.
If it is turned 180 degrees, it could be a boulder bridge over a ravine.
The white field between the two girls can be seen as an oil lamp or similar. Some psychologists believe that only schizophrenics can see this.
A female test subject gave the response: "The female genitalia opened, as if it were pulled apart". This response is not very positive and represents a feeling of damaged femininity.
The response: "A little girl looking at herself in a mirror" is a clear indication of narcissistic self-absorption.
Card VIII
This card measures the test subject's relationship to reality and his possible leadership qualities.
If he cannot see the two four-legged animals on either side of the figure, which stand clearly and obviously in front of him, it will indicate a mental defect.
It is obvious to divide this card into sub-elements and sub-areas and thus score on common sense. For example, you can subdivide the card into areas of different colors.
If he answers that the whole picture looks like a coat of arms, he have shown a sense of the whole and indicated good organizational skills. It can also resemble a plastic torso, which shows the human internal organs, lungs, liver, kidneys, etc. with the spine in the middle. This response will also be a "whole" response and indicate good organizational skills.
The gray-green triangle on top can represent a tree. The blue area in the middle can be a flying dragon. The lower orange area resembles a vagina, or a butterfly.
The card can be turned 90 degrees and become a panther on a rock, reflected in a river. Since it is a horizontal reflection response, it will produce the interpretation "egocentric self-overestimation."
The response: "Two animals flee for their lives to avoid the flames of hell below" symbolizes fear of life-threatening forces over which the test subject has no control - perhaps feelings of guilt over past actions that cannot be changed.
Card IX
This card is intended to indicate possible tendencies towards anxiety and panic reactions.
The image can be interpreted as a fire or an explosion with green, black and yellow smoke.
It is said that paranoid people will notice the mushroom cloud enclosed by the yellow in the top center.
You can see fighting men or monsters in the yellow area at the top, which would be a sign of poor social adjustment.
It can be interpreted as a rocket launch with the flames at the bottom, the black and green smoke higher up and the slender rocket in the middle. It could be a multi-colored flower. Both would be holistic responses that scores on leadership.
When one rotate it 90 degrees, you can see a face in both the pink areas at the bottom and in the green areas.
One can score on common sense by subdividing the image into three areas by color.
If you give fewer interpretations to this image than the ones before and after, you will avoid suspicion of schizophrenia.
Card X
The purpose of this inkblot may be to test the person's emotional openness and tolerance as well as organizational skills.
One can find blue crabs or spiders, gray crabs and shrimps, orange fruits, green larvae, red sea cucumbers and brown mice. The test subject is expected to name all of these.
But he must also be able to see the whole. That is, the whole picture may resemble the crawling life on the seabed, a look at amoebas under a microscope or carnival in Paris with the Eiffel Tower in the background.
If you see the gray mice or shrimps in the top center as two animals eating a stick, it indicates castration anxiety, as the gray stick is assumed to symbolize a penis, even if the test subject does not say so.
Some test subjects can, after extended response time, see something disintegrating, collapsing, falling down or exploding, or they see a volcano erupting. This may indicate the following:
- 1. The test subject may have obsessive thoughts that he is physically or mentally deteriorating, or on the verge of deteriorating.
- 2. The test subject is depressively preoccupied with aging or loss of function - especially for older people.
- 3. Loss of self-control and risk of destructive and inappropriate behavior.
This article is a contribution to the debate about personality tests and Dalum Hjallese Debate Club assumes no responsibility for any use of the article's content.
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