Rorschach test

Ror·schach test   (rôr'shäk', -shäKH')    n.  A psychological test in which a subject's interpretations of a series of standard inkblots are analyzed as an indication of personality traits, preoccupations, and conflicts. [After Hermann Rorschach (1884-1922), Swiss psychiatrist.]

Rorschach test [(rawr-shahk)]

A test for personality traits that relies on the subject's interpretations of a series of inkblots. The test was developed by Hermann Rorschach, a Swiss psychiatrist of the twentieth century.

Main Entry: Rorschach test
Function: noun
: a personality and intelligence test in which a subject interprets 10 standard black or colored inkblot designs in terms thatreveal intellectual and emotional factors called also Rorschach, Rorschach inkblot test
Roráschach /'rOr-"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 hisfindings 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 thesymmetrical figures used in his test. Although controversial, his inkblot test has since been widely used for the clinical diagnosing of psychopathology.