The Handy Psychology Answer Book. Lisa J. Cohen

mid-twentieth century, the Rorschach was interpreted essentially arbitrarily, according to the whim of the clinician who was administering the test. Claims for the power of the Rorschach were also overblown and poorly supported by empirical research. Because of that, the Rorschach has been harshly criticized as unscientific. It was further disparaged because of its strong ties to psychoanalysis, a discipline also criticized as unscientific. Like the Rorschach, psychoanalysis involves the identification of emotional meaning in ostensibly neutral material.

      How did Exner’s system improve the Rorschach’s scientific legitimacy?

      In 1974, John Exner published the Comprehensive Scoring System for the Rorschach, in which he reworked earlier scoring systems into a comprehensive and systematic approach. He also provided considerable empirical research for his results, showing perfectly respectable reliability and validity. His system has been revised and updated multiple times. While there are still criticisms leveled at Exner’s approach, many of them legitimate, he has undeniably provided a scientifically supported system with which to score the Rorschach.

      This ink blot design is very similar to those used in Rorschach tests. As an experiment, try to see what images you can find in the ink blot. What part of the blot do you use? Are your images based on the form of the blot, or the white space?

      How does the R-PAS update the Exner system?

      In 2011, the Rorschach Performance Assessment System (R-PAS), a new scoring system for the Rorschach, was introduced. The R-PAS builds on the prior accomplishments of the Exner Comprehensive Scoring system but also corrects some of its limitations. After four decades in use, there was a good deal of data on the Exner system, which permitted careful assessment of the construct validity of the many measures included in this older system. In this way, the variables that had not shown much clinical utility could be removed, creating a more streamlined and rigorously tested scoring system. Moreover, new norms for the scores were introduced based on extensive analysis of several large international datasets. This allows a tester to convert an individual’s scores into percentile ranks based on larger and more diverse samples than were used before.

      What is the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)?

      The TAT is another projective test, almost as well known as the Rorschach. The TAT was developed by Henry Murray in 1938. It consists of 20 cards with evocative and ambiguous drawings involving one or more people. Usually, only ten cards are administered at a time. Subjects are asked to tell a story about what is happening in the picture, what led up to it, and what will happen afterward. Subjects are also asked to say what the characters are thinking and feeling. Because the images are ambiguous, the subjects’ stories will reveal their personal ways of processing interpersonal relationships. Unfortunately, the TAT has not had the benefit of a John Exner to develop a modern scoring system. Therefore, without a reliable and valid scoring system, the TAT can only be used qualitatively and only in conjunction with other scientifically supported tests.

      What is the Minnesota Multiphasic Inventory (MMPI)?

      The MMPI is one of the oldest and best known self-report questionnaires. It measures various aspects of personality and psychopathology. The original version of the MMPI was developed in the 1940s. The second edition of the MMPI, known as the MMPI-2, was revised in 1989 and is still in use. Ten clinical scales are derived from 567 self-report items in a true/false format. These are: Hypochondriasis, Depression, Hysteria, Psychopathic Deviancy, Paranoia, Psychasthenia, Schizophrenia, Hypomania, Maculinity-Femininity, and Social Introversion. There are also a number of validity scales to assess response biases, such as under-reporting or over-reporting. Additionally, restructured clinical scales and subscales were added in 2003 and 2008. There is also a shorter MMPI-A for adolescents.

      INTELLIGENCE TESTING

      What is an IQ test?

      An IQ test is a test of cognitive skills that produces an IQ score. This refers to an intelligence quotient, which is an estimate of general intelligence. IQ tests have multiple subtests to tap different kinds of intellectual skills, such as memory, vocabulary, reasoning, attention, and copying skills. Tests therefore can include lists of vocabulary words to define, arithmetic problems, or drawings to be copied. All subtests have both easy and hard items, and the items become more difficult as the test goes on. The score is based on the number of items answered correctly.

      Some people question the usefulness of IQ tests because it is difficult to create a test that is not skewed somewhat by cultural biases.

      What does it mean to say that an IQ test is normed?

      Test norms allow comparison of any individual’s score with those of the general population. In other words, when a test is normed, it is possible to know the percentile rank of any given score, which means the percentage of people who scored below it. In order to establish test norms, the test is administered to a large sample of people. The average (or mean) score and the standard deviation are then calculated. The standard deviation measures how much the individual scores vary from the average score. Are all the scores clustered tightly around the mean or are they all spread out? If you know both the mean and the standard deviation of a test, you can determine the percentile rank of any score. Thus IQ scores reflect a person’s percentile rank according to the tests’ norms.

      What is the Wechsler Adult Intelligence (WAIS) IQ test?

      The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Test is the most widely used intelligence test. The first WAIS was published in 1958. The WAIS-IV, published in 2008, produces a Full Scale IQ based on scores from ten core subtests. These core subtests include Vocabulary, Similarities, Information, Arithmetic, Digit Span, Block Design, Matrix Reasoning, Visual Puzzles, Digit Symbol, and Symbol Search. Five supplemental tests include Comprehension, Letter-Number Sequencing, Picture Completion, Figure Weights, and Cancellation.

      What are the four index scores of the WAIS-IV?

      The WAIS subtests are grouped into four index scores, each measuring a specific cognitive skill. The Verbal Comprehension Index reflects the ability to express abstract ideas in words; the Perceptual Reasoning Index reflects the ability to process visual and spatial information; the Working Memory Index suggests the ability to hold and manipulate information in memory; the Processing Speed Index indicates the ability to process information rapidly. These indices show that intelligence, as measured by the WAIS, has several very different components.

      Does the WAIS measure intelligence?

      Whether any one test can measure a concept as complex as intelligence has been a topic of considerable controversy. What we do know is that the WAIS does a good job of measuring a range of cognitive skills that are indicators of other measures of intelligence, such as academic and occupational success. WAIS subtests are also well correlated with many other cognitive tests and with studies on brain activity. In other words, compared with those who have lower scores, people with high scores on the WAIS are more likely to perform well in school and in their work life and to score well on other tests of intellectual ability. They are also more likely to show greater activity in the areas of the brain associated with complex thought.

      Is there agreement on what intelligence means?

      There is some agreement that general intelligence does exist and that people vary in how much of it they have. Nonetheless, there is considerable disagreement as to the exact way to define intelligence. Loosely, we can define intelligence to refer to the ability to process information in a way that allows individuals to adapt to their environment.