ADSactly Health - Uncovering our hidden personality: let's play with Rorschach test

"Tell me what you see and I will tell you who you are". I think almost everyone has seen at least one time an inkblot test going on in a film, TV series or stuff like that. This test is called Rorschach test and it is a projective personality assessment in which individuals are asked to describe what they see in a series of inkblots. Projective personality tests are supposed to be able to measure areas of your unconscious mind such as personality characteristic, fears, doubts and attitudes.

So what about doing a little game using the inkblots to assess your hidden personality traits? But first, let's read a bit more about this test.

The origins of the Rorschach Test

The test takes its name from its inventor, Hermann Rorschach; it all started when he was still a child and he used to play a game called "Blotto" or "Klecksographie" (famous in the Germany and in the Switzerland of the 19th century) which consisted in throwing some ink on a sheet, then fold it and find out which particular images came out. Rorschach became so passionate about this game that collected all the figures that came out of it and created poetry. At the age of 20 he decided to devote himself to psychiatry and he continued his studies in Zurich, where he met Carl Jung, founder of the analytical psychology. At the beginning of his career he looked for innovative methods to use on patients, something like a "game" where people had to say anything that came to mind but without thinking about it for too long. When he started using the inkblots for this purpose, he noticed they were a good material to have the "entire picture" of the person's mind and so he started to carry out his research.

After a while he understood that subjects with a rather similar personality all saw in the inkblots the same images; moreover, patients with psychiatric or schizophrenic disease all saw similiar images in the inkblots too. Initially inkblot boards were 40 even if Rorschach usually used only 15 of these; due to some publishing problems Rorschach selected the actual 10 boards: 5 of them are with black ink on white, 2 are made of black and red ink and 3 are made of many colors. These images need to be seen in a certain order, one at a time, with only 10 seconds available to look at the board and say, without much thinking, what we see.

Tell me what you see and I will tell you...

The purpose of the test is to uncover hidden aspects of the personality based on what we could perceive from the inkblots. For example, the number of human figures saw could determine how we relate to the others; if we perceive an ongoing fight it could mean we are an aggressive person or moreover, if perceive the picture as something offensive, it could relate to self-esteem problems. There were also cards that showed what kind of relationship there could be with one's father or mother.

It must be said that Rorschach was not the first one to suggest the use of ambiguous pictures; Leonardo Da Vinci did it before him, even though Rorschach's one was a more systematic approach. However, Rorschach test is not considered a real psychological test because to be considered as such, it should present more psychometric qualities. Anyway, it is still used in the clinical setting, especially to define interpersonal relationships. Despite it's usefullness, the Rorschach test become popular in the United States only after his death.

Let's play a game

WARNING: this test is not used to make diagnosis of mental illness of any sort. It could confirm or suggest some personality traits of each of us. The results of the test depend on many factors like the answers reaction time, the context in which the subject is, previous experiences in private life and the results of all 10 tables.

The rules are simple: look one image at time for 10 seconds and then write down everything it comes in your mind. Do this for each image. Try to "see" what every inkblot hide, even rotating the image itself.

The meaning of each inkblot will be reported at the end of this post. To avoid any influence in your assessments, I recommend to not read the results before you partecipate to the test. Feel free to share your doubts, results and tought about this test in the comments!

Results

TABLE 1

In this table most people see an animal like bat, a moth, a butterfly or something more different live a carved pumpkin. If you see a female figure with and something offensive came to your mind, it can be a symptom of self-esteem problems. On the other hand, if you see a mask or an animal face, you could be a little paranoid. some people may see a battleship: this denote anxiety or fear. Again, if you see an angel, it indicates purity and innocence.

TABLE 2

In this table, unlike the first one, there is a new color, the color of the blood. The red symbolizes aggression and impulsivity. The most common answers to this inkblot are "two women" or "goblins". It describes the relationships you have with others; if these figures are not perceived, you may have problems relating to other people. If you see a fight, it could mean that you could be violent when they make you angry. On the contrary, if you see their hands have joined a sign of peace, it means that you are a very peaceful, sweet person that does not want to hur anybody, even if they are meany to you. Another type of common interpretation is "an entrance of a cave" or a butterfly. In some pathological cases, the patient could project aggression on the image or one the psychiatrist because he showed him this figure. For those who do not see anything in this image, you can have an attitude to escaping due to the denial of their aggressivity or for the fear of aggression by other people.

TABLE 3

This is the board that should express your sexual orientation, in fact you can perceive two female or male figures; here, some ink stains can determine sexual preference. If you find it difficult to perceive human figures or puppets, it may be a sign that you do not feel confident about others, particularly strangers.

TABLE 4

This is also called the "father table". It represents authority: it can be your own boss, the government or your own father. When Rorschach proposed it in the 1920s, the paternal figure was seen differently from today: maybe it was feared more in past century and its authority was greater. In general, this table could represent something threatening and the feelings you feel when looking at it, represent what you feel towards authority.

TABLE 5

This table, according to Rorschach, is the simplest. It is also called the "table of reality". We tend to see mostly a butterfly or a bat (all images seen in previuos tables). If you had to see crocodile heads on the ends of the wings, you could be hostile towards others. If you do not see animals or take too long to see something, it's a bad sign: it could mean you are a bit away from reality.

TABLE 6

The secret of this paper is to rotate by 45 ° or 80 °, as you prefer. This card could detect sexual attitude on a subconscious level. If you see an animal skin, you like tactile sensations; if you see a boat or man, it means that you have a dominant and active sexual role. You could also see a submarine on the surface or a carpet. In the latter case you may find it difficult to stay alone and you need to be engaged in a relationship.

TABLE 7

It is also called the "mother's table" and usually symbolizes something welcoming. Most people see two girls or two women. This image tells the relationship you have with your mother. If you see stormy clouds, it could mean that the relationship with your mother is not optimal and it can be a symbol of anxiety.

TABLE 8

In this figure, the most common answer is to see a four-legged animal, whatever animal it is, the important thing is to see that it is four-legged. But if it took you a while to see it, it means you may have difficulty processing information. If you feel uncomfortable seeing this card It could mean you are anxious. Basically this table evaluate the ability to adapt and affectivity. Other common positive responses are a tree, a rib cage or a Christmas tree.

TABLE 9

It is also referred to as the table of sublimation. In this picture, the less answers you give, the better. In any case it is normal to work a little to find something. Usually most people see an explosion of fire, a rocket or even a flower. If you see green mushrooms it could be a sign of paranoid. Fighting men or monsters in the yellow area above could be be a sign of social maladjustment.

TABLE 10

Finally we have the tenth table, which usually gives a sense of familiarity. Here it is very positive if you see so many things; it should make you think of an image of marine life, for example the presence of seahorses, fish or spiders, caterpillars. If you have seen them all means that you are satisfied with your life and you have full control.

_{Rorschach was used to diagnose schizophrenia in past decades. Actually, all mental disorders have a well know organic origin and are diagnosed with different criteria, this is why Rorschach test is not reliable anymore but it could be still used to assess one's personality.}

Cautions!

People with serious psychiatric problems usually tends to see almost all the "moving" images, like flying animals or people moving. Moreover, they do not see the presence of any human figure in all the tables. There are several interpretations of this test, but in current clinical practice it's not used anymore. So, if you don't suit yourself with the traits revealed, don't be afraid. Mentall illness is a really serious problem, and current diagnosis tool are way less subjective than this test. Still, this one could give us a good insight on how we are in the deep. At least, it could make us think about ourselves. If you saw anything that is not described above, please report in comments, I will try to give an answer to your results!