Q.Explain how projective techniques assess personality. Which projective tests of personality are widely used by psychologists?

Projective techniques were developed to assess unconscious motives and feelings that direct methods cannot uncover. They rest on the assumption that when a person is shown a relatively unstructured or ambiguous stimulus or situation, she will project her own feelings, desires and needs onto it; these projections are then interpreted by trained experts. In such tests the stimuli are vague, the purpose and scoring are hidden from the subject, there are no right or wrong answers, each response is taken to reveal a significant aspect of personality, and scoring is lengthy and often subjective. …

How projective techniques assess personality

Direct techniques (self-report measures) rely on information obtained from a person who clearly knows her personality is being assessed; people then become self-conscious, hesitate to share private feelings, and often respond in a socially desirable manner. Moreover, psychoanalytic theory tells us that a large part of human behaviour is governed by unconscious motives, which direct methods cannot uncover. Projective techniques were developed precisely to assess these unconscious motives and feelings.

They are based on the assumption that a less structured or unstructured stimulus or situation will allow the individual to project her or his feelings, desires and needs onto that situation. These projections are then interpreted by trained experts. A variety of stimulus materials are used — some require reporting associations with words or inkblots, some involve story-writing around pictures, some require sentence completions, and some require expression through drawings or choices from a large set of stimuli.

All projective techniques share these features:

1. The stimuli are relatively or fully unstructured and poorly defined.
2. The person is usually not told the purpose of assessment or the method of scoring.
3. The person is informed that there are no correct or incorrect responses.
4. Each response is considered to reveal a significant aspect of personality.
5. Scoring and interpretation are lengthy and sometimes subjective, requiring rigorous training; they cannot be scored objectively.

Widely used projective tests

• The Rorschach Inkblot Test — developed by Hermann Rorschach; consists of 10 symmetrical inkblots (five black-and-white, two with red, three in pastel colours). It is administered individually in two phases: performance proper (the subject tells what she sees) and inquiry (a detailed report of where, how and on what basis each response was made). Interpretation requires extensive training.
• The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) — developed by Morgan and Murray; a little more structured. It has 30 black-and-white picture cards and one blank card, each depicting people in situations. The subject is shown cards one at a time and asked to tell a story — what led to the situation, what is happening, what will happen, and what the characters feel and think. (Uma Chaudhury made an Indian adaptation.) …