Explaining and Evaluating the Accuracy of the Rorschach Inkblot Test

Image of an inkblot used in the Rorschach Inkblot Test

Look at the image above. What do you see? What you see can be indicative of your personality and may even reveal underlying mental disorders. The above image comes from a test known as the Rorschach inkblot test. 

What is the Rorschach test?

The Rorschach inkblot test (also known as the Rorschach test) is a test created by a Swiss psychologist named Hermann Rorschach, hence the name of the test. This test was originally created to test for schizophrenia in patients as it was observed that such patients had a certain way of perceiving these inkblots that are different from others. 

The test consists of ten inkblots that are shown to the patient. (You can see all the inkblots on this website (Rorschach.org, n.d.).) Sitting beside the patient, the examiner would show each of the ten inkblots to the patient and ask what the patient sees. This test is conducted in an open ended manner so that the patient would not be restricted by the options given, and would be able to share what they actually perceive when they see the inkblots. 

This would serve as a basis as to how the examiner would observe how the patient responds to these inkblots- for instance, whether the colour of the inkblots cause the patient to act strangely, or if the patient struggles to answer when shown inkblots of certain shapes. The examiners would interpret these results and use them against a scoring system to determine the results of the patient. 

Evaluating the Accuracy of the Test 

This test is useful for diagnosing people with mental disorders like schizophrenia due to the differences in reactions between schizophrenic patients and other patients. Through using the test to gather a lot of empirical data in the past, Rorshach was able to observe patterns between patients with similar personalities or mental disorders (TED-Ed, 2019, 00:02:34). As the test “has an established evidence bank of identifying deficits in visual form perception” (Kimhy et al., 2007, as cited in Marino, 2022), this allows examiners to be able to identify and detect signs of schizophrenia early. Thus, the test can be accurate in the detection of mental disorders like schizophrenia. 

On the flip side, the very open-endedness of the test can also cause it to be inaccurate. As patients are allowed to speak freely of how they perceive the inkblots, this can cause different examiners to interpret the same results differently, which can result in inaccurate diagnosis of the patient. As such, the test results lack reliability (Mukherjee & Chatterjee, 2019 as cited in Cherry, 2024) due to human bias that can distort their observations and recordings of the patient’s responses. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, while the Rorschach inkblot test tends to be accurate in identifying disorders such as schizophrenia in patients, it relies heavily on the fact that the examiner is able to interpret the responses “correctly” to ensure the accuracy of the test. Hence, the test should be used alongside other tests when trying to diagnose any mental disorders or personality issues that the patient may have. 

Works cited 

Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2024). Rorschach test. [online] Encyclopedia Britannica. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/science/Rorschach-Test [Accessed 31 Dec. 2024]

Cherry, K. (2024). What Is the Rorschach Inkblot Test? [online] Verywell Mind. Available at: https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-rorschach-inkblot-test-2795806#toc-uses-of-the-rorschach-inkblot-test. [Accessed 31 Dec. 2024]

Marino, B.A. (2022). Assessing Perceptual Disturbances With the Rorschach. [online] Psychology Today. Available at: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-neurobehavioral-edit/202207/assessing-perceptual-disturbances-with-the-rorschach. [Accessed 1 Jan. 2025]

Rorschach.org (n.d.). Online Rorschach Inkblot Test. [online] www.rorschach.org. Available at: https://www.rorschach.org/. [Accessed 31 Dec. 2024] 

TED-Ed (2019). How does the Rorschach inkblot test work? - Damion Searls. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYi19-Vx6go&ab_channel=TED-Ed. [Accessed 31 Dec. 2024]