What is a Rorschach Test?

A Rorschach test is an inkblot on paper that psychiatrists or psychologists generally use to find out more about a person who he or she is treating. The person looking at the inkblot test will tell his doctor what he sees in the inkblot, where he sees it within the inkblot and what it is about the inkblot he is looking at that makes him think he is seeing that specific item or object. The psychiatrist will then take this information and use it to analyze the person who viewed the inkblot.

What the Rorschach Tells You

If used appropriately, the Rorschach can tell a psychologist or psychiatrist a lot about a person. A psychologist will determine how each person given the test views the world he lives in and how he goes about living in that world. This is referred to as a hypothesis. The doctor will use the patient's cognitive ability, how he handles stress, how their relationships with others are, his emotional state, and how that person views himself to make his hypothesis. Generally each person administering a Rorschach test follows the same protocol.

Inkblots

During a Rorschach test there are 10 inkblots used. Five inkblots are black and white on white paper, two are red and black on the same colored paper and three are colored in a variety of colors. A psychologist will show each inkblot to a patient one at a time. Once the person has seen all of the papers, he will be allowed to look at them one more time and give some thought on them. The person delivering the Rorschach will then ask the patient what he sees and where he sees it. The psychologist or tester will write down everything the patient is saying during this time about each specific Rorschach inkblot shown. The patient can even manipulate the tests by turning them however he wants to look at them.