Q: 7 What is the rational behind using projective tests of personality? How TAT and Rorschach Ink Blot test are different in terms of their structure and psychometric qualities?

Personality: Organization of individual distinctive characteristics, habits and attitudes.

Introduction: personality word originates from “persona” greek origin which refers to the mask that the greek actors wore. every individual has certain likes,dislikes, different thinking pattern and habits which distinguish and differentiate one individual from another. personality may be assessed by:

• Non-projective tests: generally comprise of observer scales and self-report questionnaires. The scoring is based on some scales. for e.g MMPI.CPI,16PF and EPPS.
• Projective tests: projective tests are widely used to determine the personality of an individual. These tests are based on ambiguous stimulus and it is assumed that individuals vent out inner conscious and unconscious feelings through responses to the stimulus. For e.g TAT ,rorshach, HTP,WAT,RISB etc.

TAT (THEMATIC APPERCEPTION TEST): it was originally designed by henry murray in 1936 and later revised in 1938.

Process of TAT: it consists of 31 cards in form of three sets comprising of 10 cards each and one blank card. The cards are shown to the subject and he is asked to write a story on it. He is allowed to view the card for whatever time period and in whichever suitable angle. On the basis of the characteristics of the story, individual’s personality is assessed.the determination is primarily based on the “thema”.this thema is based on individual’s feelings, desires, conflics etc.
The story may be written or oral. if it is oral, then it is recorded by the psychologist in tape and if written, it is kept as a record in the files.

Assessment of TAT: Initially, the criteria used for the assessment of TAT was rigorous and time consuming. Nowadays, a new criteria is designed which focuses on:
I. Language, consistency ,focal point of the story.
II. Subject matter or theme of the story
III. Repetition of events
IV. Underlying sexual indications
V. Relationship of main character with others.

RORSCHAH INK BLOT: the test was designed by a swiss psychiatrist Hermann rorschah.

Design and process: in Rorschach ink blot test, there are ten cards with ink blots on them.5 of the cards are black and white ,while three are red, and 2 are of other colour they are formed by placing an ink spot in the middle of the paper and folding and refolding it. The cards are presented to the examinee in a certain order and he is asked to respond to them. The characteristics of his response determine his personality. The content of response, the focal point of response and consistency of response is considered.

Criteria of assessment:
• Location : it is considered that which part of the card is the basis of response. whether a part of the blot or the whole blot. People who focus on part of blot are concluded to be stubborn,while those with focus on whole blot are more integrative in their approach.
• Content : the content of response is given due consideration
• determination: response generated is assessed by determining the focal point of the examinee.

Assessment of personality
Mental health: this test is more than often used to determine the mental health of individuals particularly psychotic patients.

Emotional health: the responses generated are assessed to evaluate the emotional health of people.Individuals who view movement tend to be more expressive, while those who do not are viewed as being more passive and flat in emotions.

Critical analysis: projective and non-projective tests are widely used to determine the personality of individuals. Among projective techniques, TAT and rorschah ink blot are the most often employed methods. However,due to lack of objectivity they are often criticized.