Using the Rorschach properly in practice and research

Proper use of the Rorschach Inkblot Method (RIM) in practice and research requires (a) well-founded expectations concerning what the RIM should be expected to do, and (b) appropriate methods for examining its validity in achieving the purposes for which it is intended. The RIM is a personality-assessment instrument, and its validity should be judged from its substantial correlations with observed behaviors that are conceptually linked to personality processes. Knowledge about personality functioning gleaned from Rorschach data may contribute to diagnostic formulations, but associations between Rorschach indices and psychometrically shaky DSM diagnostic categories have little bearing on the utility of the instrument for achieving its intended purposes. Adequate conceptual formulation of this kind is as necessary as solid empirical verification in the development and use of psychological assessment instruments.