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Rorschach Inkblot Method in India: Historical Review and Perspectives for

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 SIS J. Proj. Psy. & Ment. H e alth (2005) 12 : 61-78

Rorschach Inkblot T est in India : Historical

R eview and P erspectives for F uture Action
L. S a m S . Ma nick a m a nd B .L. D ub e y
Rorschach test has be en in use in India since 1947 and the volume of rese arch studies reve aled
that the test is being used with diverse population. Different scoring systems were followed and
the review of the studies indicated its popular use with clinical population. However, there was no
major and in-depth study undertaken on its adaptation or improvising the scoring pattern, or
comparison of different scoring methods. With the introduction of the Somatic Inkblot S eries, a
projective test available in different forms including the video series, there is incre ased rese arch
on SIS compared to Rorschach test. Though the studies suggested the usefulness of the test in
aiding diagnosis, understanding psychopathology and helping in therapy, the declining rese arch
interest on the test impels to revitalise the training and rese arch of the test in India. Efforts across
the country may be pooled in to develop norms for different indices including the content signs for
C aste and R eligion wise, C ulturally, Ethnically and Linguistically Diverse (C A R C E ALD) Indian
population.
The Rorschach Inkblot test that was developed in 1921(Rorschach, 1951) is the oldest
a nd th e most popular proje ctiv e te st in India a nd it is wid ely us e d in clinic al s etting
(Dube y, 1981; Kohli and K aur, 2002; V erma and Misra, 2002). Proje ctiv e te chnique s
had be en in use in India with diverse clinical population for the assessment of perception,
psychopathology, diagnosis and therapy. Among the projective tests, the Rorschach
test is extensively used since it is found to be a tool to une arth the de ep-rooted emotional
conflicts that are not manifested as overt behaviour (V erma, & Misra, 2002). V erma
(1980) reported that fifty percent of inpatient referrals and twenty percent of outpatient
referrals to the clinical psychologists, from the department of psychiatry at C handigarh
were me a nt for differe ntial dia gnosis a nd Rorsch a ch te st wa s inv aria bly a dministere d
for differential diagnosis. Diagnostic te sting remained the most demanded function of
clinic al psychologists in psychiatric s et ups or hospitals a nd R orsch a ch te st w a s
administered in majority of the cases referred for differential diagnosis (Arora, 1982;
Dubey, et. al., 1981; V erma & Misra, 2002).
In the initial phase of the introduction of the test in India, in the fifties and sixties,
re s e arch p a p ers relate d to R orsch a ch te st w ere publish e d m ainly in India n Journ al of
Psychology and Indian Journal of Psychiatry. At pre sent, primarily there are thre e
journ als publish e d from India- India n Journ al of C linic al P sychology, (1974), Journ al
of P ersonality and C linic al Studie s (1985) and SIS Journal of Proje ctiv e Psychology
and Mental H e alth (1993) that published articles related to Rorschach test and projective
psychology. With th e public ation of Journ als of psychology d e vote d to clinic al are a,
article s relate d to proje ctiv e psychology a nd clinic al psychology found pla c e in th e s e
Journals. In the s e thre e Journals the number of article s published using Rorscha ch
te st a s a re s e arch tool show e d a d e cre a sing tre nd in th e la st d e c a d e of public ation.
After th e introduction of th e S om atic Inkblot S erie s, a proje ctiv e te st with differe nt
v ersions, including th e Vid e o S erie s a nd C D (C a ss ell, 1980; C a ss ell & D ub e y, 2003;
L. S am Manickam, Ph.D. Professor D ept. of Cl.Psychology, S R Med. C ollege and R es. Inst.
P orur, C h e n n a i - 6 0 0 1 1 6 (In d i a ) T e l : 9 1-0 4 4-2 4 7 6 5 5 1 2 , C e ll : 9 1-9 4 4 7 0 0 9 0 3 2
E-mail : sammanickam @ sify.com and B. L. Dubey, Ph.D., D PM, F SIS, Director SIS C entre P. O .
Box 1107, S ector 15 P. O . C handigarh-160015 E-mail : sisdubey @ rediffmail.com
K ey Words: Rorschach, India, SIS, projective tests, C A R C E ALD population
62 Manickam

Dubey, 2003) and the publication of the SIS Journal of Projective Psychology and
Me ntal H e alth from 1993, public ation of re s e arch relate d to proje ctiv e psychology in
India incre ased. However, the rese arch interest on Rorschach test appe ars to be
diminishing b a s e d on th e p erc e nta g e of article s publish e d in th e s ame journ al ov er th e
last ten ye ars.
T hough public ation in th e s e thre e journ als c a n b e consid ere d a s a pointer to th e tre nd
in rese arch with the Rorschach test, there are a number of rese arch studies that are
conducted in different centres of training that go unpublished. This could be due to the
p a ucity of th e a ppropriate journ als, a cc e ssibility of th e journ als a nd/or th e la ck of
enthusiasm on the part of the concerned rese arch student to complete the process of
publication. Moreover in India there is no funding agency, that promotes the rese arch
e xclusiv ely in th e are a s of clinic al psychology or psychology a nd la ck of fin a ncial
funding has thwarted the publication z e al of rese archers (Manickam, 2003).
T h e pre s e nt p a p er re views th e studie s conducte d in India using th e Rorsch a ch Inkblot
test since its introduction in the country. The article aims to provide historical perspective
on the use of the test in India, the application of the test in diverse settings, the scoring
methods followed, the different groups of population on which rese arch was conducted,
s alie nt findings, us e with differe nt clinic al population including th era py, re s e arch on
the test itself, consistency of the responses and future perspectives.
History of Rorschach Test in India :
T h e R orsch a ch te st w a s introduc e d in India prob a bly in th e pre-ind e p e nd e nc e p eriod
a nd th e e arlie st publish e d work a pp e are d in 1947 (Pra s a d a nd A sth a n a , 1947). S om e
e arlier re vie w ers (B h arg a v a & S a x e n a , 1995) of th e te st h a v e opin e d th at D os ajh
(1956) a nd J ain (1956) b eing th e pion e ers in using th e tool for re s e arch in India . T h e
study of Pra s a d a nd A sth a n a (1947) w a s a n e xp erim e nt a l on e from a ‘g e n era l
psychology p ersp e ctiv e’ wh ere in th e y look e d into th e signs of m e a ning on R orsch a ch
test. However H.S. Asthana continued his rese arch with Rorschach test and published
p a p ers in scie ntific Journ als a nd pre s e nte d p a p ers both in India a nd a bro a d in th e
fiftie s a nd e arly sixtie s (s e e refere nc e s). A sth a n a’s work sp a nn e d more th a n two
d e c a d e s a nd h e a dministere d th e te st to div ers e groups, d e v elop e d norms for India n
population (A sth a n a 1950 a , 1950b a nd 1971) a nd d e scrib e d th e p erson ality of social
organis ation of Indians using the tool (Asthana, 1956). His work on the perc eptual
d e v elopme nt of childre n (Asth a n a, 1965, 1966) le d to th e public ation of th e re port th at
looked into the scope of the Rorschach test as a rese arch tool to study the perceptual
framework of children (Asthana and Mohan, 1977). Another e arly re s e arch that went
unnotic e d by e arlier re viewers is th e work of R a y (1955) who us e d th e te st with trib al
population. Along with D os ajh (1956) a nd J ain (1956), B a gh (1955) h a d also us e d th e
te st with a dole sc e nt school childre n, almost h alf c e ntury a go. T h e oth er e arlie st
public ations include that of G upta, (1959), Julk a (1963), R a ychaudhari and Maitra
(1965 a) a nd all th e studie s w ere conducte d on div ers e stud e nt population in altere d
settings.
Probably Asthana (1963) was the first Indian rese archer to use the Rorschach test for
re s e arch in clinic al s ettings a nd brought out its clinic al utility in a ss e ssing differe nt
aspects of personality (Bhargava & S axena, 1995). Since then, clinicians in hospital
and clinic al s ettings had be en using the te st. With the introduction of the Diploma in
Medical Psychology (DMP; later titled as D.M.&S.P. and M.M.&S.P, currently M. Phil in
 Rorschach in India 63

C linic al P sychology) at th e All India Institute of M e ntal H e alth (pre s e ntly N ation al
Institute of Mental H e alth And N euro Sciences, NIMH A N S), B angalore, India in 1955,
Rorschach was introduced to the students of clinical psychology. And now the test
forms part of the curriculum of the clinical psychology traine es at the six training centres
in India. Moreover, the master level students who select a course in clinical psychology
are also given training in administration and glimpse of the interpretation of the test.
In the history of the use of the test in India, at different periods of time one or two
rese archers persisted with their interest and piloted administering the test as a rese arch
tool. While Asthana from the start in 1947 led the scene in fifties and sixties, R aychaudhari
a nd Kumar c arrie d th e b aton in sixtie s a nd e arly s e v e ntie s a nd it wa s ta k e n ov er by
Dubey in the seventies and eighties (se e references). S.K. V erma and D. P ershad also
contributed much in ke eping the test active in rese arch for more than thre e decades.
H ow e v er, in th e late nin etie s a nd in th e b e ginning of th e tw e nty first c e ntury, th e
re s e arch intere st a pp e are d to h a v e d e cre a s e d though more clinicia ns continu e to us e
th e tool for a ss e ssm e nt purpos e s. S hukla (1977) re vie w e d th e te st from a wid er
p ersp e ctiv e of th e proje ctiv e te chniqu e s in India a nd D ub e y, et. al., (1981, 1982),
a pprais e d th e status of th e te st in th e eightie s in a n e arlier re view.
Scoring Systems :
Though different scoring systems were developed in other countries, no effort has
b e e n ma d e so far to d e v elop a scoring system th at ma y b e a pplic a ble to th e India n
population. Also, there is no consensus regarding the scoring system to be followed by
th e clinicia ns in India. Prob a bly this refle cte d th e philosophy of clinic al training, wh ere
focus is on the clinical use of the test rather than on the rese arch utility of the Rorschach
test. C omprehensive System and its computerised scoring system (E xner, 1995; E xner,
2001) were not used in any of the six major training centres in the country except little
work in RIN P A S R anchi. The published papers showed that, Klopfer’s Method (Klopfer,
& D a vidson, 1962) b eing us e d by re s e arch ers (B a n erje e et. al., 1998) a nd E xn er’s
Methods were also used, with more preference to Klopfer’s method. B eck’s (B eck, &
Molish, 1967) scoring system was also used (Kumar & P atel 1990; Kohli and K aur,
2002). Some re s e archers us ed the spe cific signs lik e the Piotrowski’s organic signs in
Rorsch a ch among e pile ptics (V a gre ch a a nd S e n, 1974) or th e Th eis e ns’ P attern on
psychotic disord ers ( C h a udhury & S und ari (1996). Piotrowski’s alph a dia gnostic
formula and its clinical utility was yet another are a of investigation (Prabhu, 1970).
The oldest and one of the major training centres of clinical psychology is the department
of clinical psychology at the N ational Institute of Mental H e alth and N euro Sciences,
(NIMH A N S) B angalore and the Rorschach test forms part of the curriculum. The scoring
method taught at this institute was based on the manual developed by Arthur D e Vos
(D e Vos, 1973), which is closely related to the Klopfer’s method. Since this scoring
method was not followed elsewhere, the data collected using this method, could not be
compared with the rese arch findings from other centres. However, rese arch students
who use the test as a rese arch tool got trained in one of the established scoring system
for analysis of the rese arch data and Klopfer’s method was the preferred one (K aur
and K apur, 1983; Pratap and K apur, 1984; R ama chandra, 1994).
P ershad and P are e kh (2001) prepared a protocol manual for the te st. Though the
authors specified that the objective of the manual was to popularise the test using the
‘ made it e asy manual’, the scoring approach it had taken may confuse the students
64 Manickam

sinc e it doe s not adh ere to a ny p articular scoring system nor ha d tried to de v elop a
scoring system b a s e d on India n e xp erie nc e. Howe v er it h a s ta k e n into consid eration
th e div ers e population of India in relation to some of th e indic e s a nd conte nt.
Different Groups :
The test was used with diverse groups of Indian population. At the time of introduction
of the test in India, the test was widely used with student population in educational
s e tting (B a gh, 1955; D os a jh, 1956; J a in, 1956; G upt a , 1959; Julk a 1963; a nd
R a ych a udh ari & M aitra , 1965 a) a nd later it w a s us e d with th e clinic al population
(Asthana, 1963).
Epilepsy and Mental Retardation :
In clinic al situ ation, R orsch a ch w a s us e d with e pile ptic p atie nts in n e urologic al s etting
at a very e arly period in the seventies. After that there were no efforts to explore the use
of the test from a neurological setting. Somasundaram, et. al., (1971a) explored the
utility of the test in patients with epilepsy. Somasundaram, et. al., (1971b) also studied
the popular responses of patients with epilepsy. O ther studies that involved patients
with e pile psy w ere conducte d around th e s a m e p eriod (V a gre ch a & M ajumd ar, 1974).
V a gre ch a a nd Majumd ar (1975) e v alu ate d th e dia gnostic us efuln e ss of Piotrowski’s
signs in Rorschach responses of epileptic patients. Interestingly, the test was used
with persons with mental retardation too (Upadhyaya & Sinha, 1974; O jha, 1975).
Physical Illness :
Though the test was used with people with different physical illness in the initial period,
it was not used later with the physically or psycho somatically ill population for rese arch.
T his could b e du e to th e fa ct th at th e clinicia ns who work e d in th e m e dic al or g e n eral
hospital setting were less in number. E ven the low number of professionals who worked
in medical set ups might have other professional functions as their priority that dissuaded
them from exploring the worth of the test. Moreover, psychological intervention for
p atie nts with differe nt physic al illn e ss e s are not giv e n du e importa nc e in th e me dic al
s etting by oth er sp e cialists. T h erefore , th ere might h a v e b e e n le ss referral to th e
psychologists for evaluation that led to the less output in rese arch with the test from
medical setting. Ardhapurkar, et. al., (1967; 1974) and Dutta, et. al., (1976) evaluated
the Rorschach responses of patients with physical illness. Ardhapurkar, et. al., (1967)
evaluated the profile of patients with ischa emic he art dise ase. Ardhapurkar, et. al.,
(1974) in a noth er study a pprais e d th e R orsch a ch te st re spons e s of p atie nts with
bronchial asthma and Dutta, et. al., (1976) investigated patients with peptic ulcer.
Children and Adolescents :
E ven in the e arly stages of the introduction of the test, B agh (1955) using the test
rese arched adolescent school children. Asthana, (1965; 1966) evaluated the perceptual
d e v e lo p m e nt of c hildr e n a n d J ulk a (1 9 6 2) a ls o c o n d u ct e d r e s e a rc h with c hild
population. Using th e indic e s of a ggre ssion a nd mala djustme nt R a ych a udhuri, et. al.,
(1969) comp are d th e norm al boys a nd boys with b e h a vioural proble ms. Dixit (1964)
conducted a developmental study of the response pattern of children and adolescents.
Jos eph and Pillai (1986) differentiated the cre ativ e students into high and low cre ativ e
group using c ertain indic e s. B h arg a v a a nd S a x e n a (1995) studie d th e d e priv e d group
of a dole sc e nts a nd Pra k a sh (1977) re porte d th e profile of institution alis e d orph a n
childre n. S h a nk ar (1956) a nd R a ych a udhuri & M aitra (1965 a) also e x a min e d th e
 Rorschach in India 65

re spons e s of th e young off e nd ers. S h a nmug a m, (1969) corre l a t e d y e t a noth er

interesting variable, the lunar signs (stars) and the responses of adolescents. Though
th ere were div ers e a nd e xciting e xp erime nts with th e te st on childre n in th e initial
phase, there were not many innovative attempts in the later period. B ased on the
experience of using the test with different groups of children, Asthana and Mohan
(1977) recommended the scope of the Rorschach test as a rese arch tool to study the
percept of children more than thre e decades ago; but there were not many takers for it.
Psychiatric Disorders :
T hough th e te st wa s us e d with g e n eral population initially, more numb er of studie s
e m erg e d from hospital p atie nts who w ere dia gnos e d a s h a ving psychotic disord er or
n e urotic disord er (Mishra a nd Dwiv e di, 1997). More ofte n th e Rorsch a ch te st wa s
a dminist ere d to p a ti e nts who a tt e nd e d th e psychi a try out p a ti e nt d e p artm e nt to
undiffere ntiate d groups of p atie nts (Kohli a nd K a ur, 2002) for eith er e sta blishing a
dia gnosis or differe ntial dia gnosis.
Probably P. Kumar (se e references) was one of the e arly rese archers other than B.L.
Dubey (se e references) to have done extensive work using Rorschach test with the
clinical population. Kumar evaluated the profile of the patients with different psychiatric
disorders, and compared it with the normal control group. Among psychotic disorders,
Kumar (1961b) inv e stigated the profile of patients with schizophrenia, and v erified the
differences with that of a normal control group (Kumar, 1963). B agadia, et. al., (1971)
on a larg e s a mple a n alys e d th e re spons e s of p atie nts with schiz ophre nia disord er.
Dubey, (1977) and Dubey, et. al., (1977) studied the psychiatric population, focusing
on schiz ophre nia a nd comp are d it with n e urotic a nd oth er disord ers. Mujta b a a nd
Mujtaba, (1985) and Prasad, et. al., (1987) also evaluated the groups of patients with
schizophrenia and other disorders. D eviating from the common trend, Malaviya (1973)
studie d th e R orsch a ch signs of suicid e on a group of schiz ophre nic p atie nts who h a d
attempte d suicid e.
E xclusive rese arch on patients with affective disorder was undertaken by Kumar (1960b)
a nd provid e d a profile of th e p atie nts with m a nia, a nd comp are d it with a control group
(Kumar, 1965). Similarly he also analysed the profile of patients with depressive disorder
(Kumar, 1962b) and compared it with a normal control group (Kumar, 1962a). Almost
a d e c a d e later, B a g a dia , et. al.,(1973) on a larg e s a mple d e scrib e d th e profile of
patients with depressive disorder. Pratap and K apur (1984) studied patients with mania
and more recently Kumar, et. al., (2003) compared the Rorschach test and SIS-I indices
of the manic patients.
Kumar (1960a) studied the response profile of the test of patients with different neurotic
disord ers a nd comp are d it with g e n eral population (K um ar, 1961 a). W hile D ub e y, et
al., (1979) studied the patients with neurotics disorder, Akhtar, et al., (1975) studied the
patients with obs e ssiv e-compulsiv e disorder. R ama chandra, (1994) compared the
profile of a group of patients with neurotic disorder with that of cre ative artists and non-
cre ativ e group.
Sexual Disorders :
Probably K apur and K apur (1967) had pione ered the evaluation of the profile of patients
with sexual disorder. Though Rorschach has diagnostic indicators of sexual dysfunction,
only Dubey (1977) has later used the tool to assess the signs and evaluated its usefulness
66 Manickam

in th era py. R a ych a udhuri a nd Mukh erje e (1970) e xplore d th e W h e eler a nd S h afer
signs of homos e xuality in male prisoners.
Prison Population :
E arly a s w ell a s later studie s focus e d on prison population. A s e arly a s in 1956
S h a nk er (1956) a pprais e d th e profile of juv e nile d elinqu e nts. R a ych a udhuri a nd
M aitra (1965 a) comp are d norm al convicte d a nd incipie nt d elinqu e nt a dole sc e nts.
Mukh erje e, (1965, 1966, 1968) conducte d a s erie s of studie s on differe nt groups of
prison population. M ajumd ar a nd Mukh erje e (1969) e x a min e d som e of th e ratios of
the Rorschach test profile of the prisoners who were convicted and Sharma, (1969)
compared the colour pyramid and the responses on Rorschach test of recidivists.
R a ych a udhuri a nd Mukh erje e (1970) e xplore d th e homos e xu ality signs of R orsch a ch
test indices. But S ethi, et. al., (1971) appraised the psychopathology of murderers
using the test. O n the other hand, Y adav (1977) described the profile of prisoners who
were convicted for rape, decoity and murder.
Miscellaneous Groups and Indices :
Dub e y (1979, 1981) conducte d s e v eral re s e arch studie s on military p ersonn el both
clinic al a nd norm al population (D ub e y a nd D os ajh, 1979; D ub e y, 1981). H e also
studied, executives in different set ups (Dubey, 1988; 1989). While Hussain, et. al.,
(1976) a pprais e d th e profile of unwe d moth ers, Kumar a nd P atel (1990) comp are d th e
profile of m artially high a nd low a djuste d wom e n.
Cre ativity is a noth er signific a nt are a th at h a s b e e n look e d into. R a ych a udhuri a nd
M aitra (1968) e x a min e d th e le v el of cre ativity using th e mov e m e nt re spons e s of
Rorsch a ch a nd found signific a nt a ssociation. R a ych a udhuri, (1971) in a noth er study
e xplore d th e correlation of cre ativity a nd g e nd er. R ama ch a ndra, (1994) comp are d
the indices of cre ative artists, neurotics and non-cre ative group. Interestingly even at
th e b e ginning ph a s e of introduction of th e te st, R a ych a udhuri (1963) studie d th e
re spons e s of the Indian musicians. Hostility and aggre ssion a s me a sured through the
test was also subjected to enquiry (Shivadasani, 1971; R angaswami, 1982; G upta, et.
al., 1989). Julk a (1962) K undu (1969) a nd Singh (1975) a pprais e d th e profile of trib al
population. Kundu (1969) d e scrib e d th e re spons e p attern of trib al young offe nd ers
and Singh (1975) studied the effect of modernisation on the response pattern of the
tribal population. Probably, Malaviya’s (1973) rese arch is the only contribution towards
understanding the signs of suicide on the Rorschach test.
Findings on the Rorschach Test :
A comprehensive compilation of the findings is beyond the scope of this article. However
some of the k e y and s alient obs erv ations are mentioned here to generate more inquiry
of the studies conducted so far and to initiate further rese arch.
Norms :
D ub e y a nd D os ajh (1979) found th at th e a v era g e re spons e w a s 14 (13.76) a mong
army personal serving in other ranks but Kumar (1962c), Prabhu, (1967), Asthana
(1971) and Somasundaram, et. al., (1971b) found that the average number of responses
for th e norm al population w a s in th e ra ng e of 18-33. Singh (1975) also found th at th e
numb er of re spons e s giv e n by trib al population th at h a d more ‘culture conta ct’ a nd
 Rorschach in India 67

‘le ss culture conta ct’ wa s b elow th e normal ra ng e re porte d from a bro a d. Singh (1975)
opin e d th at th e group h e studie d w ere “not p erc e ptu ally re sponsiv e a nd not re c e ptiv e”
to th e world outsid e a nd g a v e le ss numb er of popular re spons e s.
Human responses (H) accounted for 9.66 percent (Singh 1975) and it was contradictory
to th e findings re porte d by Pra bhu (1967) a nd K um ar (1962c), but w a s in a gre e m e nt
with the report of Asthana (1971) and Somasundaram, et. al., (1971b) that found H in
the range of 7 to 10 percent.
Mental Retardation :
In on e of th e e arlie st studie s on clinic al population, U p a dhy a y a , & Sinh a , (1974)
administered the te st to mentally retarded adults with high and low intelligenc e (IQ
a bov e a nd b elow 40). T h e lower IQ group showe d more d e scriptiv e th eme s, poor
verbal productivity, less interaction, perceived environment as more thre atening, gave
less shading and colour responses, had lower me an range of content and less popular
re spons e s on Rorscha ch. V agre cha, & S en, (1974) studied patients with epilepsy and
found the use of 5 or more signs on Rorschach T est to be of lesser relevance for
org a nic group th a n th e Piotrowski’s findings.
Schizophrenia :
Dwivedi, et. al., (1995) found that schizophrenics gave less number of responses and
more responses with anatomy and sex content. In a study on 25 active schizophrenics
a nd 25 re cov ere d c a s e s, S a ndhu (1978) obs erv e d th at th e re cov ere d schiz ophre nics
showed improvement in the form level, re ality orientation, emotional control and decline
in anatomy content. P ershad et. al., (1979) evaluated the profile of ‘the difficult to
dia gnos e c a s e s’ a nd found th at 26.5% g a v e at le a st on e of th e p ath a gnomonic signs
th at Brar, (1970) sugg e ste d-n a m ely, loos e ning of a ssociation, te nd e ncy to ov er-
g e n eralis e, la ck of re ality conta ct a nd pursuit of on e’s or p erson al me a ning to common
symbols. When ta k en s eparately 20% of the protocols had one or more re spons e s of
confabulation, 11% had contamination and 6% had position responses. Dubey, (1977)
also found signs on Rorschach that differentiated patients with schizophrenic disorder,
n e urotic disord er normal group. Dub e y, et.al., (1977) comp are d th e ov er inclusiv e
thinking patients with different psychiatric disorders. Prasad, et. al., (1987) compared
patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder with that of schizophrenics.
Mujtaba and Mujtaba, (1985) studied 20 Whe eler’s signs of homosexuality of paranoid
a n d n o n-p a r a n o i d s c h i z o p hr e n i c p a ti e n t s . T h o u g h b o t h t h e gro u p s h a d t h e
homos e xu ality signs, th e p ara noid group h a d signific a ntly high er numb er of th e signs.
W hile th e p ara noid group h a d 9.4 signs, th e non-p ara noid h a d only 4.15, a s liste d by
Whe eler. But the presence of homosexuality signs, they suggested, may not be taken
as the ‘sign’ to diagnosis individual cases. Prasadrao, et. al.(1987) compared obsessive
compulsiv e disord er a nd schiz ophre nia a nd signs th at differe ntiate d th e group w ere
W%; D%; P; F +%; R; Anatomy; S ex and M:C .
S andhu (1978) compared Rorscha ch te st re spons e s of patients with schizophrenia
disord er a nd thos e who h a v e re cov ere d from th e disord er. T hough loc ation a nd
movement determinants could not differentiate betwe en the two groups, the recovered
patients showed indices suggestive of re ality orientation, emotional control and decline
in anatomical contents.
68 Manickam

Affective Disorder :
Prata p a nd K a pur (1984) studie d hospitalis e d p atie nts with m a nic disord er a nd found
th at th e group h a d incre a s e d indic e s lik e total numb er of re spons e s, re spons e s on
cards VIII, IX and X, re action time to achromatic cards, average response time, location
d etails a nd d etermin a nts comp are d to a control group of normal subje cts. C onte nt
re spons e s a nd popular re spons e s a s w ell a s F + a nd F- F orm level ratings differed
significantly in the two groups.
Substance Abuse :
R orsch a ch te st could differe ntiate alcoholics from non-alcoholics. Arora , (1982)
obs erv e d th at on 6 c ate gorie s, n a m ely, + C >3, M< C , W ater re spons e s, F a buliz e d
responses>1, F %<65% and W%<20, differentiated alcoholics from non alcoholics.
Similarly, B anerje e et. al., (1998) examined seven indices of the test- Human, Animal
(A), Anatomical, Atypical, Popular (P), R ejection (R) and S ex (S) responses of heroin
addicts using Klopfer’s method. O ut of that, four indices namely, A, P, R and S significantly
discrimin ate d th e h eroin a ddicts from th e control group.
Prison Population :
Y adav, (1977) observed that the Rorschach protocol of criminals convicted for rape,
decoity and murder were under productive, rejected more cards, showed casual interest
to test situation, gave few movement, W and P responses and low intellectual efficacy
of responses. R angaswami, (1982) studied the hostility me asure of the test on thre e
groups of prison population a nd found th at th e hostility me a sure on Rorsch a ch wa s
positively correlated to the hostility me asure of the Hospital Hostility Q uestionnaire.
The test could differentiate the thre e groups of convicts who were diagnosed to be
schizophrenics, non-convicts who were schizophrenics and control group that consisted
of persons with no psychiatric disorder.
Anxiety Disorders (Neuroses) :
R ama chandra, (1994) studied 30 cre ativ e artists, and equal number of neurotics and
non-cre ativ e group, using Klopfer’s method. Th e cre ativ e group h a d a v era g e numb er
of re spons e s, quick re a ction time, and he althy emotional relationship with others and
good ego strength. The experimental group of cre ative artists had the ability to view
th eir proble ms obje ctiv ely a nd incisiv ely a s e vid e nc e d by th e indic e s. H ow e v er th e
quality of responses suggested a ke en perception and disposition to do things differently
from th at of th e oth er two groups. K a ur a nd K a pur (1983) using Klopfer’s method
studie d p atie nt group with conv ersion a nd dissociativ e disord er (hysteric al n e urosis).
The experimental group of patients with ‘hysteria’ gave fewer responses, took more
time, and gave more d and less S responses. The percentage of F c, F C ’, C ’ F and F C
were low comp are d to th e normal group. Th e conte nt a n alysis showe d th at th e group
gave more responses with mythological human responses, animals, nature, clouds,
s e x a nd unusu al re spons e s th a n th e normal group. G upta, (1977) us e d Rorsch a ch
ranking conformity test and found no correlation betwe en normal subjects and a group
of patients with neurotic disorder. But the study had a small sample siz e of 25 in e ach
group.
Other Groups :
Using the hostility me asure on Rorschach test, Singh, & K apur, (1984) studied 150
school childre n in th e a g e group of 11-14 y e ars a nd found a ssociation with locus of
 Rorschach in India 69

control, intelligence and P E N scores. Bhargava & S axena (1995) examined the profile
of d e priv e d group of a dole sc e nts a nd th e y found th at th e group differe d from th e
control group on longer R T, R T chromatic and achromatic cards.
K um ar a nd P atel (1990) found th at th e R orsch a ch te st differe ntiate d high m arital
a djuste d a nd low a djuste d wom e n. T h e highly a djuste d group g a v e more a v era g e
number of re spons e (28.73), where a s the lower group ga v e only 18.60. The R T a s
well a s T R wa s le ss for highly a djuste d group. Howe v er th e study wa s conducte d only
on a sample of 15 e ach and the low adjusted group was not scre ened for the psychiatric
status.
Usefulness in Diagnosis :
Kohli a nd K a ur, (2002). Administere d Rorsch a ch a nd P E N to 125 p atie nts atte nding
the psychiatry department of the Post Graduate Institute of Medical E ducation and
R e s e arch, C h a ndig arh (India). C a s e s were referre d to P sychology Unit for ruling out
psychotic illn e ss. T h e v aria ble s of th e qu e stionn aire did not show a ny signific a nt
correlation with R orsch a ch indic e s. T h e R orsch a ch profile show e d signs of g e n eral
disturbances and propensity to psychosis rather than cle ar-cut pathognomic signs.
Mishra & Dwiv e di, (1997) comp are d th e dia gnostic indic e s of R orsch a ch on a s a mple
th at compris e d of 50 norm al subje cts, 50 n e urotics a nd 50 schiz ophre nics. T h e
Rorschach test indices discriminated the normal subjects and paranoid schizophrenics.
However the Rorschach indices better discriminated patients with depressive disorder
(neurotic depression) and undifferentiated schizophrenic patients.
How far th e re s e arch findings obs erv e d on Rorsch a ch te st is h elpful in und ersta nding
a p atie nt or p atie nts in clinic al situ ation is a p ertin e nt qu e stion. T hough th ere are
re s e arch re ports on v arious indic e s in div ers e p atie nt population, to wh at le v el th e
indices can be considered significant is still a perturbing question for the Indian clinician.
A careful analysis of the available rese arch findings from different corners of the country
and an e xpert compilation of the re s e arch data ma y prov e handy. The compiled report
ma y also help initiate a well-planned and co-coordinated multi-c entred re s e arch of the
Indian population using the te st.
Test Improvising :
R ese arch on improving the scoring methods or evaluation of studies related to the test
h a s not b e e n und erta k e n. O n e e xc e ption is th e critiqu e of P ersh a d a nd Dub e y (1977)
that was published more than a quarter century ago on the productivity of the test and
it’s scoring. In order to study the productivity on Rorschach protocol, they suggested
th e n e e d to differe ntiate b etwe e n low, me dium a nd high numb er of re spons e s from
homog e nous group for re s e arch comp arison th a n focusing on low a nd high numb er of
responses. Dubey (1985) analysed the discriminating capacity of the test regulating
th e numb er of re spons e s a nd D ub e y a nd P ersh a d (1978b) controlle d th e re spons e s
of the test to observe the shift in clinical significance. Apart from these, there are no
other attempts made to improve upon the use of the test either as a rese arch tool or as
a clinic al aid.
Consistency and Validation :
A comprehensive test- retest is not reported with one exception. Dubey, et. al., (1994)
administered the Rorschach test to a client before and after 6 months period and
70 Manickam

reported consistency of 4 responses on two cards, card IV and VI, and slight change in
two other cards. Mathur and P ais (1963) correlated the ‘extratensive’ and ‘introtensive
balance experience’ as me asured by Rorschach test with that of the scores on S ack’s
S entence C ompletion T est. R aychaudhuri and Maitra (1965b) attempted to validate
th e te st using th e d e v elopme nt sta g e s a nd Rorsch a ch indic e s. R a ych a udhuri a nd
Mukh erje e (1969) also trie d to v alid ate mov e m e nt re spons e s b a s e d on e xpre ssion of
a gitate d impulsivity. Mukh erje e. a nd R a ych a udhuri (1970) e v alu ate d th e correlation
betwe en the Rorschach indices and structured me asures of personality with the clinical
rating. Prata p a nd F ilella (1966) in a n e arly atte mpt e xplore d th e correlation b etw e e n
the test indices and the scores on manifest anxiety scale. B anerje e, et. al. (1998)
investigated the significance of the salient fe atures of SIS me asure with that of the
subtle and common indices of the Rorschach test. However their objective was to
validate SIS indices rather than that of the Rorschach test.
Therapeutic Use :
There are not many studies that looked into the therapeutic usefulness of the test,
though clinicians tend to make use of the findings of the test for selection of patients for
psychotherapy or setting the limits in psychotherapy. However, C assell and Dubey,
(1996) narrated the usefulness of the test in rele asing somatised grief.
Rorschach Test – the Current Scenario :
In the initial phase of the test in India, studies focused on general population, especially
students. After re alising its potential with the clinical population the number of studies
using the test with the normal population diminished except for the assessment of the
normal subjects as control group. However, Singh and K apur, (1984) used the test
with 150 school childre n in th e a g e group of 11-14 y e ars to correlate th e R orsch a ch
me asure of hostility scores with that of locus of control, intelligence and P E N scores.
Mishra & D wiv e di, (1997) comp are d th e dia gnostic indic e s of th e SIS-II with th e
Rorschach test in normal subjects but the objective was to study the indices of the SIS
II and was not me ant to validate the indices for Rorschach.
K aur & V erma, (1998) administered Rorschach test and SIS-II to 32 psychiatric patients
in order to assess the inter-relations on selected variables. Both the scales showed
som e d e gre e of ov erl a p with signific a nt corre l a tion b e tw e e n th e two sc a l e s on
Mov e m e nt, H um a n, A nim al a nd P opular re spons e s (r= ra nging b etw e e n 42 to 58) but
insignificant correlations for Anatomy, sex, F + and Total response.
In India, as stated e arlier, the recent studies using the tool compared the SIS projective
test and Rorschach test. Mishra & Dwivedi, (1997) compared the diagnostic indices of
the SIS-II with the Rorschach test in Normals, N eurotics and Schizophrenics on a
sample that comprised of 50 normal subjects, 50 neurotics and 50 schizophrenics.
The results suggested that the diagnostic confidence certainly which is achieved by
the SIS II and the Rorschach in diagnosing the neurotics and schizophrenics compares
well. The study further suggested that both the tests provided support to the theory that
SIS-II provide s c ertain additional diagnostic information that are not a v ailable through
the Rorschach. The results also suggested that the SIS – II indices as compared with
that of Rorschach test, discriminated the normal subjects and paranoid schizophrenics.
H ow e v er, th e R orsch a ch indic e s could discrimin ate th e d e pre ssiv e n e urotics a nd
undifferentiated schizophrenics.
 Rorschach in India 71

R eviewing the studies conducted on different groups it appe ared that some of the
re s e arch w a s conducte d du e to th e e a sy a cc e ssibility of th e s a mple rath er th a n
a nsw ering or e xploring a p ertin e nt re s e arch qu e stion. H ow e v er R orsch a ch t e st
continue s to be us ed a s a tool for personality a ss e ssment and diagnosis of different
types of mental disorders (Kohli, & K aur, 2002; V erma, & Misra, (2002).
Future Perspectives :
1. Norms for Caste and Religion wise, Culturally, Ethnically and Linguistically Diverse
(CARCEALD) Indian population :
Th e div ersity of th e India n population re quire s no sp e cial me ntion. Th e C a ste a nd
R eligion wis e , C ulturally, E thnic ally a nd Linguistic ally Div ers e (C A R C E A L D) India n
population is too complex and cumbersome for a psychologist to work with (Manickam,
2004). It may be an unattainable task in the ne ar future to develop norms even for the
more commonly used tests than the projective test. And unlike other me asurement
tools, d e v eloping norms for proje ctiv e te sts is not a n e a sy ta sk, e sp e cially for th e
C A R C E ALD India n population. T hough Rorsch a ch te st stimulus c a n b e consid ere d
culture fre e, the response pattern is influenced by culture. Singh (1975) reported the
difference in the responses of tribal population from two types of culture contact are a.
Administering the test to 100 tribal population of G adeba living at K arapat, in Orissa
State to two groups, one with more culture contact and the other with le ast culture
contact, the number of responses given by both the groups was observed to be below
the average. The content of the responses also showed significant diversity. D’N etto
et. al., (1974) found the average response of the army personnel to be 16+(-) 6.5 and
it is significantly lower than Kolpfer’s- 20-45 and that of Prabhu (1967) (28.5 + (-) 9.71).
H e nc e th ere is a gre at n e e d for d e v eloping norms for th e C A R C E A L D population.
Howe v er s e v eral clinicia ns a nd oth er re s e arch ers h a v e attempte d to d e v elop “India n”
norms of Rorschach responses. The e arliest attempt was by Asthana (1950b) and he
a l s o ( A s t h a n a 1 9 5 0 a ; 1 9 6 3; 1 9 7 1) pro v i d e d n orm s f or gro u p s o f p o p u l a ti o n .
S om a sund ara m, (1964) atte mpte d to d e v elop norms for th e population in K erala .
Pra bhu (1967) also provid e d norms of som e of th e indic e s for th e a dult population.
S everal studies focused on reporting norms of specific indices rather than that of the
complete profile . J ain a nd Pra k a sh (1967) e xplore d th e lin e ar correlation b etw e e n
Sum R a nd oth er indic e s in ord er to e sta blish norms a nd Kumar (1962c) liste d th e
popular re spons e s on R orsch a ch for differe nt groups of population.
Apart from the findings referred above, several other studies used samples of general
population as control group. But no concerted effort had gone in to pool in the data that
would give sample siz e enough to draw statistically significant conclusions. Training in
C omprehensiv e System (G uarna ccia, et. al., 2001) ma y also help e a s e the burden of
clinicia ns by re sorting to computeris e d a n alysis of th e profile a nd e a sy compilation of
th e d a t a from a cross th e country M a nick a m (2003) obs erv e d th a t th e re s e arch
psychologists in India refrain e d from communic ating with e a ch oth er a bout th eir
re s e arch a nd shy a w a y from publishing th e re s e arch findings a nd th at re sulte d in
much w a sta g e of th e re s e arch don e on C A R C E A L D population in India .
2. Content Analysis :
T hough diff ere nt a uthors studi e d th e re spons e p a tt erns, indic e s a nd th e profil e ,
systematic rese arch on content analyses is yet to be undertaken. C ontent wise, D’N etto
72 Manickam

et. al., (1974) obs erv e d th at military p ersonn el g a v e re spons e s relate d to military
e nvironm e nt. In clinic al situ a tion, th e ‘cont e nt’ of th e re spons e s do influ e nc e in
formulating the differential diagnosis and is of much assistance to predict the outcome
of psychotherapy and its prognosis. Though there are manuals available based on the
findings a bro a d, studie s from C A R C E A L D India n population is n e gligible . C linicia ns
d e p e nd on th e conte nt a n alysis provid e d by th e re s e arch ers a bro a d. R e spons e s lik e
Xmas father (C ard II), Xmas tre e C ard VIII, cross, (C ard VI) vampire (C ard I, IV, V) court
of alms (C ard VIII) ‘after math of S eptember 11’ (C ard IX) responses are given by
subje cts who are Hindus by faith a nd h aile d from urb a n, multi religious b a ckground.
Subje cts from C hristian and Islamic faith orientation also ga v e re spons e s lik e ‘temple
tower’ (C ard II) and ‘lamp that is used in temples’ (C ard II, C ard VII). O ne exception is
that of Tripathi and Julk a (1960). Howe v er, a comprehensiv e and consolidated report
is y et to b e d e v elop e d on this clinic ally v alu a ble v aria ble. With computeris e d scoring
system a nd a n alysis, it might b e much more e a sier to conduct studie s on conte nt
analysis. A multi-centred study to elicit the content profile of both clinical and non-
clinic al C A R C E A L D India n population m a y b e initiate d.
3. Profile of Children and Adolescents :
It is surprising to observe that the tool in its e arly stage of entry into the rese arch in India
in th e 1950’s focus e d on e xploring differe nt v aria ble s relate d to differe nt groups of
children. But the same momentum was not found in the later part of the last century.
Moreover, rese arch related to the child and adolescent clinical population also appe ars
to b e a signific a nt omission. With more re s e arch ers focusing on child population in
India a nd th e dia gnostic c ate gorie s h a d und ergon e s e a ch a ng e ov er th e la st couple of
decades, it would more useful for the clinicians to have the Rorschach profile of clinical
child population in India .
4. Profile of Disadvantaged Population :
The tool was used with the different groups of population- normal subjects, different
diagnostic groups, age groups and other special groups including tribal group. However,
only S h a nk er (1968) e xplore d th e c a ste fa ctor, oth er th a n th at of th e trib al group.
S h a nk er (1968) inv e stig ate d th e correlation b etw e e n th e e duc ation al le v el a nd th e
affe ctiv e fa ctors on Rorscha ch among D alits (H arijans). In ‘ C E R ALD’ population, it
would be worth investigating the precepts of different caste groups.
5. Assimilation of Data :
O ne of the ways to improve the data bank on Rorschach test is to encourage the
rese arch students or a faculty member at the training centres to assimilate the Rorschach
test profile of the psychometric case records that are submitted to the department as
part of the training. A considerable amount of data on Rorschach test that are supervised
by a n e xp erie nc e d fa culty m e mb er are a v aila ble a nd it is e a sy to compile th e d ata a nd
develop at le ast one report from e ach centre a ye ar. The compiled report from six
c e ntre s could provid e a good d ata sourc e for refining th e und ersta nding of th e India n
‘psych e’.
6. Resource Book on the Rorschach Test :
Books were published e xclusiv ely on Rorscha ch Inkblot from India. The e arlie st book
on the test was ‘Rorschach Psychodiagnostic. An Indian case study’. (Kundu, 1980).
 Rorschach in India 73

D ub e y (1982) compile d his e xte nsiv e work a nd oth er contributions a nd brought out
the book, ‘.A Pragmatic view of Rorschach Ink Blot T echnique’ . ‘Rorschach T est:
Theory and Practice’ (Mishra et. al., 1996) is yet another book. The latest one was ‘A
protocol manual for the Rorschach T est’ (P ershad & P are ekh, (2001). C omprehensive
review of contributions of several rese archers across the country could bring out a
resource book on different diagnostic categories of psychiatric patients that would be
a valuable source for the students, clinicians and rese archers. Professional associations
and/or institutions could take the le ad to this venture to make the effort comprehensive
and more me aningful to the C A R C E ALD context.
Conclusion :
It may appe ar paradoxical to observe that the rese arch related to the test flourished till
clinical psychologists “took over” it and after that it showed a declining trend. O ne of the
fa ctors for this ph e nom e non m a y b e th e attra ction of young clinic al psychologists
tow ards th e e m erging scie nc e of n e uro psychology a nd b e h a vioural interv e ntion
strate gie s within th e a mbit of clinic al psychology in India. T his le d to sid e lining of
psychodynamic psychology and to the “unconscious” rejection of the psychodynamic
process of the clients. With that the projective tests altogether and Rorschach test in
particular slipped into a dormant phase. It is also likely that with the introduction of SIS,
clinicians and rese archers prefer to use SIS, which is less complicated and found more
us eful th a n th e Rorsch a ch te st (C a ss ell et.al. 2001, 2003; C a ss ell a nd Dub e y 2003,
2004; Dubey et. al., 1994).
Clinical psychologists in practice are using the test but rese arch output from the clinicians
is v ery minimal. T h e pra cticing clinicia ns ma y b e e ncoura g e d to publish c a s e re ports
on the clinical utility of the test similar to those articles published on SIS (C assell, et. al.,
2000; Manickam & Suhani, 2003; Manickam, et. al., 2004).
Whether the Rorschach test would remain a ‘blot’ in the repertoire of the rese archers in
India while clinicia ns continu e to us e it with th e ‘tra dition al fla vour’ or it would g e n erate
more rese arch in understanding the different psychodynamic factors and help identify
th e p athognomic signs of differe nt groups of th e C A R C E ALD population d e p e nds on
more concerted effort from the fraternity of psychologists in India.
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