Rorschach test

A psychological test involving inkblots. The inkblots are used to determine what a person perceives (reads into) in the enigmatic and highly ambiguous shapes. Ten standardized blots are shown one at a time to a subject and their responses are recorded. The Rorschach test became a common psychological test and is still in use in psychology and psychiatry. The test was created by Dr. Hermann Rorschach (1884-1922), a young Swiss psychiatrist. He published the test (also called the inkblot test) in 1921, not long before his untimely death.

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Rorschach test n a projective psychological test that uses a subject's interpretation of 10 standard black or colored inkblot designs to assess personality traits and emotional tendencies called also Rorschach, Rorschach inkblot test

Ror·schach 'rōr-.shäk Hermann (1884-1922)

Swiss psychiatrist. Rorschach was an early supporter of psychoanalytic theory. In 1921 he published his major work on psychodiagnosis in which he introduced his famous inkblot test. He based his findings on the testing of 300 mentally ill patients and 100 average people over a 14-year period. His work included a systematic analysis of his subjects' attention to the wholes or details of the symmetrical figures used in his test. Although controversial, his inkblot test has since been widely used for the clinical diagnosing of psychopathology.

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a test to measure aspects of personality, consisting of ten inkblots, half of which are in various colours and the other half in black and white. The responses to the different inkblots are used to derive hypotheses about the subject. The use of the test for the diagnosis of brain damage or schizophrenia is no longer generally supported. See also projective test.

H. Rorschach (1884-1922), Swiss psychiatrist

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Ror·schach test (rorґshahk) [Hermann Rorschach, Swiss psychiatrist, 1884–1922] see under test.