Inkblot test
The inkblot test is more properly known as the Rorschach test. The man who developed it at the beginning of the 20th century, Hermann Rorschach, was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst. The inkblots were used to assess the unrevealed parts of a person’s character through reactions to the test blots.
As a boy, Rorschach enjoyed making inkblot pictures, an occupation known as klecksography. His friends called him ‘Klex’, meaning ‘inkblot.’ A similar pastime can be observed in infant classrooms, with bright poster paint being substituted for ink and daubed or splattered on one half of a sheet of folded paper, and then the paper folded over to ‘repeat’ the design. It can be used to demonstrate symmetry, too. It’s simple and it’s fun.
The inkblot test was very popular in the 1960s in the diagnosis of some psychological conditions. It is still used as a means of understanding a person’s thought processes, but is considered too subjective to be dependable, as interpretation and scoring can vary between the people conducting the tests.
The subject being evaluated is shown a series of inkblots and asked to indicate what each blot represents. Answers are checked against established norms.
You can find out more here and frighten yourself to death with an online test. (!)
I think it says more about him that he liked the inkblots than what they can tell you about a person. It sort of reminds me of seeing things in clouds.
ReplyDeleteIt is rather like that. 😀
DeleteWhen I finished psychology, I also thought that the use of inkblots too subjective to be dependable. But now I think ALL inkblots, dreams, psychoanalyses, palm reading and tea leaves are very subjective - they mainly are useful for getting a patient talking free of hesitation and caution.
ReplyDeleteTo be empathetic and objective at the same time requires strict self-discipline , I think.
DeleteI don't think such a thing can be very dependable for diagnosing people, since each person and doctor would see things according to their own interpretation, which may or may not be wrong. Even if a patient sees blots and says "blood spatter" or "murder" which could indicate either a troubled person who needs to be watched, or simply one who watches a lot of forensic crime shows.
ReplyDeleteI think, also, that people can learn the 'correct' response, which would skew the results.
DeleteI loved doing symmetrical blob painting with my infants but I'm afraid all I can see in those test things is - well - symmetrical blobs.
ReplyDeleteObviously a very boring person indeed. xx
Just butterflies . . .
DeleteUsed to do these with the children and loved their imaginative explanations of the results. Never thought of it as a scientific experiment just a bit of fun.
ReplyDeleteIt is fun and should remain so . . .🤣
DeleteI love the randomness as an artwork, but as an analytical tool it all seems a bit hocus.
ReplyDeleteSurely it would depend on the current mood of the person being tested. On a sunny day, in a good mood, something simple and pleasant could be interpreted very differently to the same thing on a dreary day in a bad mood.
DeleteWell, Doctor jabblog, the first one is part of a skeleton, the pelvis I think. The second one is an angel in a tutu, the third is two children dancing together.
ReplyDeleteWill I need to be locked away now?
I think you're safe for now, JayCee. I can see the angel in a tutu - delicious!
DeleteWe did this in art school but with acrylic colors and then it was declared "modern art" ! Now I am curious to see what monster comes out of my ink creation !
ReplyDeleteDon't forget the show the rest of us!
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ReplyDeleteWhat a great art! Love the creativity of it
It's fun to do.
DeleteSo interesting! I see a pelvic bone, an alien and two puppies play boxing. I wonder what that says about me!
ReplyDeleteDo the online test and find out - maybe . . . 😀
DeleteThat's my sort of art 😉😍 x
ReplyDeleteAlison in Wales x
That's as good as it gets for me . . . 😗
DeleteMy interpretation of ink blots would leave scientist amazed by my simple mind, lol. Looks like a rabbit, looks like a cloud, etc.
ReplyDeleteSimple, meaning uncomplicated and not devious, is good, Lynn. 😀
DeleteHands reaching out, someone diving, two chickens squaring up to each other - does that make me a deviant?
ReplyDeleteI can see the hands reaching out, now. It's surprising how differently we see things. I don't think you're a deviant . . . are you?
DeleteYes, on my scientific psychology degree course, which included sufficient abnormal psychology to allow graduates to go on to train as clinical psychologists in the NHS which quite a few did, the Rorschach test was considered to be drivel.
ReplyDeleteIt certainly divided opinion.
DeleteAlthough I was aware of the Rorschach test, klecksography is a new term for me. I wasn't aware the Rorschach test was still used ... Still making up my mind whether to do that online test or not :-) xxx
ReplyDeleteOh, go on - it's so bland as to be useless.
DeleteI used to talk about inkblots in my art/design history classes, both as a creative exercise and as an example of pareidolia--the human tendency to see recognizable things in random visual formations. It's actually also a form of metaphor: seeing one thing as something else and creating meaning from it. So thanks for the history lesson (and for visiting the Farm)--and the very interesting visuals.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed 'creating' the visuals!
DeleteI remember being in the mental hospital years ago and having the ink blot test. They wanted you to see what they wanted and if you saw something else, the guy made a face. lol
ReplyDeleteOh, dear, didn't you conform? Tut, tut . . .
DeleteA fragment of a memory popped up. There was a movie or television show and two characters were arguing over a blot test: It's a bunny! It's a chicken!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure ink blots have been used in many ways. I can imagine such a scenario.
ReplyDeleteI can remember doing these inkblots with the children (they also did them at school) and it was fun listening to them as they explained what they thought the ink blot looked like.
ReplyDeleteI suppose it's a little like look at that cloud it looks like a ........ ?
All the best Jan
It's a way to stimulate the imagination and that's always helpful.
DeleteYou pick such interesting topics to write about, always interesting. Thank you and I wish you an excellent weekend.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Denise, and I hope your weekend is enjoyable, too.
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