Introducing a Bayesian Approach to Determining Degree of Fit With Existing Rorschach Norms

Effects of Covid-19 Emergency and Associated Lockdown Policies on the Normative Expectations for the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) and the Rorschach Performance Assessment System (R-PAS)

Standardized personality tests compare the test taker's scores to those of a large sample of individuals representing normative expectations. However, what is psychologically normal in one historical context may not be similarly normal in another, so the recent spread of a new coronavirus, SARS-Cov-2 (COVID-19), may have implications for what should normally be expected of a nonclinical person taking a personality test shortly after this dramatic event. To address this research question, we administered the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) and the Rorschach Performance Assessment System (R-PAS) to 60 nonclinical volunteers from Italy and compared their scores with the official normative reference values of the two tests, which had been established before COVID-19. The results of a series of two-sample t-tests indicated that our newly collected sample appeared somewhat less psychologically healthy compared with normative expectations, and these discrepancies were more pronounced on the PAI than on the R-PAS. Implications and future perspectives are discussed.

Only an inkblot? A literature review of the neural correlates of the Rorschach inkblot test

The Rorschach inkblot test allows access to psychological processes that usually do not emerge in self-report measures and it has been widely used in clinical psychological and psychiatric settings. Recordings of brain activity during the administration of the Rorschach inkblots test could provide information on neural correlates of the underlying perceptual-cognitive processing and potentially identify neuroimaging markers of psychopathology risk. The present paper offers a systematization of the available literature on the Rorschach inkblot test and neuroimaging research. The 13 selected studies had been conducted with healthy participants and using fMRI, EEG, and fNIRS to investigate the neural underpinnings of Rorschach inkblot test responses. The neural processes underlying the visual, social, and emotional processes described by the included papers are systematically summarized. Research on the neural correlates of the Rorschach inkblot test is promising and would further benefit from studies on clinical populations, broader samples, and younger age groups.

Legal Admissibility of the Rorschach and R-PAS: A Review of Research, Practice, and Case Law

The special issue editors selected us to form an "adversarial collaboration" because our publications and teaching encompass both supportive and critical attitudes toward the Rorschach and its recently developed system for use, the Rorschach Performance Assessment System (R-PAS). We reviewed the research literature and case law to determine if the Rorschach and specifically R-PAS meet legal standards for admissibility in court. We included evidence on norms, reliability, validity, utility, general acceptance, forensic evaluator use, and response style assessment, as well as United States and selected European case law addressing challenges to mental examination motions, admissibility, and weight. Compared to other psychological tests, the Rorschach is not challenged at unusually high rates. Although the recently introduced R-PAS is not widely referenced in case law, evidence suggests that information from it is likely to be ruled admissible when used by a competent evaluator and selected variables yield scores that are sufficiently reliable and valid to evaluate psychological processes that inform functional psycholegal capacities. We identify effective and ethical but also inappropriate uses (e.g., psychological profiling) of R-PAS in criminal, civil, juvenile, and family court. We recommend specific research to clarify important aspects of R-PAS and advance its utility in forensic mental health assessment.

Introducing the concept of neurobiological foundation of Rorschach responses using the example of Oral Dependent Language

We introduce the concept of "neurobiological foundation" of Rorschach interpretations as an extension of the concept of behavioral representation as a foundation for interpretation of R-PAS variables. Here, we propose that if there is a parallelism between the mental, verbal and perceptual behaviors occurring within the microcosm of the Rorschach task and those occurring in the external environment [behavioral foundation], then the same brain regions engaged by the test-taker when producing of a given code, should be engaged also when reproducing, in the external environment, the same psychological processes underlying that specific Rorschach code [neurobiological foundation]. To investigate this concept, we used archival, fMRI data and tested whether producing Oral Dependency Language (ODL) responses would associate with increased activation in brain regions associated with dependency-related, psychological processes. Results from a sample of 21 non-clinical volunteers partially confirmed our hypothesis, providing some support to the neurobiological foundation of the ODL code.

Reassessment (after 15 Years) of Non-Patient Adults by the Rorschach Method

The investigation of personality using the Rorschach Method has been historically established, however, its proper use requires continuous study, especially in regard to reliability, validity and normative references. This study's objective was to verify stability indicators of Rorschach (French Approach) through a reassessment (after 15 years) of non-patient adults previously addressed in the normative study by Pasian (1998). A total of 88 adults, aged between 34 and 69 years old, of both sexes, with different socio-economic and educational levels, were reassessed in 2013 in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The responses were independently rated by different judges, with adequate precision. The average results obtained collected in 1998 and 2013 were analyzed to determine if these two sets of data were significantly different from each other (Student's t test, p ≤ .05) and the following variables were compared: Productivity indices, Apprehension Modes/Location, Formal Quality, Determinants, Contents and Banality. The overall stability level in these variables is considerable (mean r = .28, ± SD = 0.21). We discuss the theoretical approach of the Rorschach method regarding structural aspects of personality and developmental issues in personality assessment.

Rorschach Performance Assessment System (R-PAS) and vulnerability to stress: A preliminary study on electrodermal activity during stress

This study investigated the predictive validity of the ten Rorschach Performance Assessment System (R-PAS) variables from the Stress and Distress domain, by testing whether they predicted increased sympathetic reactivity to a mild, laboratory-induced stress, occurred one week after Rorschach administration. A relatively small student sample (N=52) contributed to this research: During a first meeting (T1) participants were administered the Rorschach task according to R-PAS guidelines; about one week later (T2) their electrodermal activity (EDA) was recorded during exposure to a mild laboratory stress-inducing task. Based on literature indicating that exposure to stress tends to increase physiological vulnerability/reactivity to stressful situations, we anticipated that Stress and Distress R-PAS variables measured at T1 would positively correlate with increased sympathetic reactivity to stress at T2, as indicated by greater EDA changes from baseline to stress and recovery. Results partially confirmed our hypotheses: (a) the mean of and (b) the majority of the Stress and Distress R-PAS variables were significantly correlated, in the expected direction, with medium and medium to large effect sizes.

The Effects of Using the International Versus Comprehensive System Rorschach Norms For Children, Adolescents, and Adults

Currently, there is some debate about whether to use Comprehensive System norms (CS; Exner, 2003 ) or the Composite International Reference Values (CIRV; Meyer, Erdberg, & Shaffer, 2007 ) when interpreting Rorschach Inkblot Method (RIM; Rorschach, 1921 ) protocols administered with the CS method. The goal of this study is to assist clinicians in making this decision by providing information about the effects of choosing one option or the other. Accordingly, this research evaluates the effects of using the CS versus CIRV norms with children, adolescents, and adults. First, we identified 43 variables for which the CS and the CIRV for children and adolescents differ from each other by at least a Cohen's d value of .50. Next, we evaluated whether these divergent variables are the same as those previously identified as divergent for the adult population. Results showed that for both children and adolescents, as well as for adults, relying on CS norms versus CIRV would result in interpretations that are more pathological in terms of (a) perception and thinking, (b) psychological resources and cognitive and emotional abilities, and (c) representations of human relationships. A discussion on the clinical effects of using one versus the other set of norms follows.