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Journal of Personality Assessment

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information:
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The Rorschach and Self-Understanding:

The Instruction-Insight Method
Molly Harrower
Published online: 10 Jun 2010.

To cite this article: Molly Harrower (1977) The Rorschach and Self-Understanding: The Instruction-
Insight Method, Journal of Personality Assessment, 41:5, 451-460, DOI: 10.1207/s15327752jpa4105_1

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa4105_1

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The s ~ t i - s rir indebted rc D a u ~E ~ ! w e r s2nd

l i i w r . Frnnei? f a r S c i ~ir. prep3ri;i.g :his nr;icir.
 452 The Rorschach and .Ye($ LT~derstaran'ing
The responses offered for Card I, d u r i ~ grhe years 1969, i 97G,and 197 1 , were:
j '369 I970
-.
1971
An urnar~enta1axe-head A ferriaie, standing naked A bat
A twirhg balieri~a Two figures o n either s d e , Three acrobats. They're
crclss bel.ween bar and bear excessively clothed. Two
o n the sides are support-
ing the one in the micidle.
A cross-eyed tax A jack-o-iant ern Ta o klmg's h e l ~ e r sciraggrng
central f ~ g u r e:a the kmg.
A peivic girdle T w o bailerinas, on one toe Boxrig gloves,
swmging her keg up.
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Responses t o Card S during the same years, 1969, i9'70,and 1971 :

1969
-- I970 I,I!I
p-
... .-

The ~ w pink
o figures I saw Two i ~ s p e c t balancing
s~ A rabbit with green fog
as bummir,g bircis. sorrrething. energlrag frcm his eyes
giving a green-Like quality

A grezt rree truck with Funny-faced x m ,yeliow A flower garder! m the earl)
bus3rs (gray tcpi. eqes, green mustazhe, pray spring.
nose. pink h a z , f:revarcrks
expiodmg around hm.

Ar, underwater scene wth

many dcllfferenl creatures.

RESPONSES 1 SCORIYG

S~l'bsequerit S ~ S S ~ C I ; S 2re c c n c e r ~ e d The discr;ss;o:l . .and expianation of the

with assignir:~:he correct scoring to t h e
ciass i ~ i o r d .with ~ ~ S C U S S ~ O Izs
IS
m e a n i ~ gof Locaticxs. tiete:m:nacts, the
vai-iety of cizntent, popxlar and origir~ai
responses. To these srazdard methods of
describicg a r e s p i s e , we have added
coi~jrnns w h i ~ h aiiow a dismssian csf
. .
sequence ariaiyns, sjmbolism. azd rhe
richness o: sparsity c:d a response, where
a p p p r i a f e (see Tzbie ! s.
d e l e r m i ~ a s t s1s a i w y s left 13 the iasf of
the these sessjons, since students are apt to
h a y nlipre d l f f j c ~ l twit:$~ :hew: 2nd by
rhe i'li'~!i sessic:n have become so:newhei
at home ir: d d l n g with :he cards, and the
f 3 m ~ :ai' arixiety a: the unfamliiai ma-.
teriai has subsided.
At tile Irif?h or s h t h session (classes
vary slighr!y 111 the rime needed rc feel at
borne with h x i c scoring) a psJ:chog:am is
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MOLLE- H A R R O W E R
 n z d e for the class prot.crcoi, the basic
ratim xi: recorded. The psvc!zr,gram for
the .....,-.
,t,,,,.d cf i iY7 is shcwr~ in
Figure :. b1it':thsc,or:ig. the basic rntjos
arid L ps:;c.!wgran to work with. interprr-
-L,+L.OZ
.ti cf tie class "persm" c a beg:n. I.:
is he quite canciid in discus-
slor: ;?i' his o: her :issets and possibk
dfficdries. Esch studecr has scme i ~ v e s l -
men: the record; but is r;oi entnelj.
responsible f ~ i:.r The prkcipies of icter-
p r e t s h ~tske zp the nexr rhree ciass
acrlods. I n rhe ten:!^ szssioi! students
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voted : 3 a ~ e c c ~~&icI: d each ~ r u d e r ; ~
mi;sr x h k i s t e r . score. acd then presenr
re the ciass, (An extra session is which
st:~dents administer :he test ZCI each
c?ther, has preceded this :iCnlicistrar~m:,f
the biors tc some seiected "subjec:.")
Then: using c u r scgred sad intcrprered
ckss record for. comparison, the studen:-
adxinisr,-red reccrd is prcscnied and dis-
cussed. Cspies fo: eve*.\( member of die
tiass must be provided by ih; sruden!
p:ese:-iting, w i h scoring and psychogram
as part af :he hand-out. The interpxts-.

hepir; ti> &veic,!p own style of tjon of snlh s:udon?-~resented records,

icterpretatjoc m d write u p the ciass
person.
D~ri:ig thest: te:: scssiocs: as each new
Facet of the st:>ri:ig,, l;b&tinq a:ld i:ltc~-
pr.t.:ation is deal; ivi:.h m class, rhe stu-
&r,r wari;s ajc;~;.: wl:haul help discus-
sjon, OR :his <?w:ipe:sc~:zl record which lie
:ack during the 2rsf. sessi.cbr:.
The secmd ilaii' c1f :he quarter, that is
tht. ncxr 12 thrce-hnur scssjor~sare &-
I-ow-ve:., 1s done by the class as v whoie.
These presenrazims are haadled. sr he
:ne ~ns:rnc:nr, iri x a q ,
skggesti,::r: 3f "
diffexn: wa:t.s. T;:star: with, :he i k s s as
a whole coc~mentscn whar they consider
he the outstanding qualities (?f the
record mder cor~siderurion.On o c c ~ d o n s
st:~de:~t wil! spend i 5 ~ : i n n t e s or s:;
drafiing a couple of p:ir:ig:qh af inler-
~:ef2tr!Xi; which will I ~ C I - : be read to the

I . mm's prafile - heed silouhetted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . de

2. profile sf Richard Nixori . . . carroon ca:icatu:e . . . . . . . . . . . de
3. chesspiece . . . a h i @ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . S
4. airpisne and aerial view horn ahove . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . k'
5. two claw pincers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ;il
6. blue cheese ... ddrk is blue mold part an2 white is creamy
iighre: pa:t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ui
7. boy scour eagle emblem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D
8. ~ W Obreasts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . d
9. woman iyir,g ec side eE FiU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .a.
10. twa dogs wrh flappy ears: or a dog by a pool and his
refkctien in water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . D
11. food particle e~ckosedby an arnoba . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
IZ.smeke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . W
.*
i s. coiled sn&e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . di

14. child on sied, siecidi~g . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . di

Z5.puppet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . S
16. !8th c e c t ~ ~ woman
ry leading singing in Sundzy schooi . . . . . . D
19. bz'sy on beach playing with ball . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . d
18. a turkish lady dancing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . di
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 working order? Before perceiving the
bict as a whoie, howwe:: I first deai
with smali edge details. The t w o smali
hzad responses rindoubtedly :ei?ecr
my bpprehe~lsion a b o ~ t the testing
-
sit.,ucKlOn,
' . for ir: trireatening situzrions
I tend rn shrink my phenomenal pe:-
ceptions and tune icro m i n u ~ i aderzils
cf ehz e n v i r o n m e ~ t .I've notice6 this
n;any times . . . :ha!. in new glaces:
w h e t k t . ~academic or social, espeiiaily
where I'm co? sure what's expected of
me. it's ~mpossiblefor me t o [eel zt
ease enough to globally appraise w h a t
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1s happening. Rather. E car: analy-tjcally

dissect b!?s and pieces. something I'm
quiie good a t . As soon 55 1 feel
+.srcurf~-and comfortahie, however,
my W's and M s dc. emerge . . . tzrciily.
5r;r they d o arrive. E ~ e nin the nexr
respense where H venture to lake a
"gl?bal" viewl I've iiisrrnced myself
ans ir: dc.ing so. have given: myself
enough ro?e t o remove myseif quickly
.?y iigh;enicg in :he next response,
t~.o-&u.pirncers,"
One of the more interesting se-
qurnce cf responses on t h ~ card s - ;.he
n; followed by the A - clues me int c a
conf!rct bctweer. feei~ngfreely vs feei-
:fig afrald oi what's t o happer: wher,
I'n: riot ir: coctrot. Tkis emerges nicely
ir: tbLs response "food particle being
ecgdted by a s amoeba." Ever? now,
just in commenting aSout it? I feel
"queasy?' 3nd i: makes perfect?? good
sense !hat 1 am that parr.icIe being
amorphncsly engulfeii. This feeling of
being :iaerpon.ered indeed irrvokes
acxler!; as reflected in the hazy smoki-
ness of tke next respcnse. Following
the
. "smoke"'
. . . Iesponse,
. rhis uneasiness
IS ep:iom;zeo 11; the sexually sg-mbclic
scake - a dangerous anci iethsl penis
poised tc: strike??? Sexualiry is threat-.
ening t o me, b ~ It ~hlzli~ I ' Srelared to
s more global :"ear of' ietting go with
my feelings. I t is much easier and
'%saferw fc!r me rc deal with people o n
an in:eije:rual, rather than emotionaii
scxu;iI lwei. In the next response. I
esczpe by ~ e t r e a t i a gbehind the playfid
Innozence ef' a child.
AItkough my kfrespocses are not
inrrnedit?telp accessibie and take some
t:me before they emerge; they are
alive, albeit small d perceptions cf
people. mostly women and children,
dancing? singing, playing. hitially I am
soczewhzi struck thai. my entire record
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 The W~rscLla~~iLE
atid SeF- L ncier~rmdrng

is replete with lor&! womec (Who 2rt:
they?,) and thrr, I gisnzc arounri my
apartmect and see :hat ail 3 y paicr-
ings and prints acd wall hangrngs are
alse wemen . . . . I s m . sultry, mid. T o
i.: large extent, they are 2 p e r s o ~ a l
symbol cf how I see myself as being
aione and distaaced and offset. But: at
tire same time. : don't ideniify wirh
being ioneiy. Perhaps most interesting
wss my k i t i d oi:livmusness t o the
biggest M o n l i z i h card - a vminan
leading singirig Ir: Sunday School.
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Wkerlas the aione-rype women or: this
card and t h r ~ u g h o u : the r e s t is n e .
thls wo:nsc cer?ain!)i is not and it
ccmrs to x i n d tha:. she in:ght be my
niorher. rhe most devoutiy reiigious
person I kn:i-K. Hrr:mm.
In summary. this card nicely gleans
how: I rlghteri as a defensive maneuver.
for mai;~tainmycontrol under threat.
i ~ o wrile creepy anxious feeiings m s e
when I fee; overpowered, how I ziso
distance :xyself.

Responses t o Card IX

I . rnerlins playing viaiins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D H

2 . p e k k bcne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D F' Hznal
3. cannons h n g . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iJ FCC fire
4.pethead ......................................... W F Ad
5. aninlall horse breathing Ere out nostrils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mi RIi4,C A,fire
6. uromar?chasiag girl . . . or gir: be:ng f o l l ~ w e dby shadow
enlarged behinci, her . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D Jf. C" 11
7, k'egj: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . h' CF $a
8. wat.er; lake, beach, trees against horizon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 2s FCJK fitr
9. two sicinny parents !loIdicg skinny kid . . . i'rox Americarl
Gethic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. & itf 13
H 0. mal?en lava . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . du CF' kke
I I . back of porc.upine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . de Fc .4d
17. D m Quixote on horse and Pancho feeding ir . . . . . . . . . . . . . . d_r M,E% f1,A
13. persm on Barge pogo stick pogoing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D A1 H
14. person draggrng anorher by hair. Tarzzn-lane rjlpe . . . . . . . D M M
1 5 . walruses snoozing in sun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6% Fd A
E 6. hunter w t h hst e a t k g apple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . d M ld
1'7. radratno~of iight fmm nngsren car1 fdamen? . . . . . . . . . . . . . iSs FC' hght
18. Sleedmg madras piad material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . k' CF cloth
19. birth . . . symboirc emergence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . hi Csym sym
20. nbmillzr) bociies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . di FC' anat
t h ~ srs my f ' a r o r ~ t rof all cards znd I
I'm very much aware t h a t I have fmaiiy understand why.
and am having such tremendous diffi- i was irrltlaily draw2 to the t o p
ci&y ic analyzing n y color ::srds. detail ilf the card with the mythicz!
And, this sroS-';'iy bespeaks as muck merlins piaying their vioiins. I seemed
ro the diff'icslty I have in accepting. t o have recovered s ~ r n e w h ~from
t rhe
understanding, 2nd expressizg my fee!- e m o t j o r d shock of the las; card and
ings as the responses then;,seh7es in&-. a t l e m p ro more cons?ructiueiy chan-
,,te. Before Seginn:ng. let me say that
,.- nel my m i s r responses. Thzrr arc
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t f O l t ' r HARROWER
 The Rorsc hack and Se!F ;ilL'n$ersrtanding
sicn. Whik I can be very bclciabk and I n s g l t h l e m d rhm cdn be preseated m
party-going-ish. this happens o ~ l y one mrcie. For instame, some ef the
b : d1, d-..,
sp".L, ~ ~ d i i y .h!lhc.ugh I don't see
ropics w h c h h ~ v eriet been touched or:
myself s s being a very dependent a r c Are :hex differences berwzen the
persor,, ii is in;pcrtunr for ms to be
a r o ~ s dorher. people. Times when I've Self-Evduatnon and rhat 5) an olitslde
lived rotaily aicne and isolated, 1 tend Ewiuato;? Czn careers be ccanged f r o x
to get bugged down in my DdSs. I deeper se!i^-uncerstandlng? How do the
need significant o;.her fi:Iks around i o experienceci worlds of the Introvert, Ex-
k i p me define 2nd vaiidare reality at travert and hmbr-Equal responders LiXer
times. Reixzcd to my copious resporse one frsm the otherT TG what exterit do
output is my mosr "horrible ioncep:" reiorSs taicen $on members of a closely-
belag bored. 1 think :his z p s my knrl famIuiy. allow umque insrghrs?
ccr:npuisivix)- more than :he Rorschach
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per s r . Being &raid rha! I won'r be

sbie to intcresr mysrif ir. iife probabiy Reference
zompeis me t o geaeraie h t s of gobble- Harrower, RC. Clinical psycimiogisis at work. Br,
djrgook. Wher. I werir through m y B. Vvoinlar: (Ed.). Handbook of climcai
ps?drniogi:. K e n York: McGxw-HiLI. 1965.
zcltiai '"identity crisis.'" it struck me
zhat the world wasn't intrinsically
Interesting and tkal l had t o make ir
so. And the strjctzre I pltceci on
myseif is avcrdmg t h e mundane and
chvinus. w5i.h probabiy explaics why
my d o r ; ~ i n ~ r ,wc);
i cf ciewing thz
wcrld is DdS,

there is much more $0 the h s ~ r u c t i ~ n -Revrsed. March 12: 1971