The Rorschach and psychopathy: toward a more accurate understanding of the research findings

In this article we present the reader with an understandable essay on the relation between the Rorschach and psychopathy. Some degree of sophistication and applied knowledge of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (Hare, 1991) and the Rorschach (Rorschach, 1921/1942) are necessary to wade through the literature, weigh the relative merits of arguments made by proponents and detractors of Rorschach assessment, and meaningfully interpret the findings of relevant studies. Often studies reviewing the Rorschach's utility in assessing Antisocial Personality Disorder (American Psychiatric Association, 1994) and psychopathy exhibit a flawed or superficial understanding of essential theoretical and methodological issues. Argument derived from a suspect or specious premise, such as the notion that the Rorschach was designed or aspires to correspond with formal diagnosis based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 1952, 1994), vitiates conclusions based on such a premise. In this article, we discuss theoretical and methodological issues that can aid the reader or reviewer in achieving a more accurate understanding of this body of research.