The high score approach to scoring two Rorschach measures of cognitive development.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Rorschach tests are widely used to assess cognitive development.
• Existing scoring methods for developmental measures like Developmental Level (DL) and Developmental Quality (DQ) have varying validity.
• The High Score (HS) approach is a proposed alternative scoring method.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate and compare the validity of the High Score (HS) approach for scoring Rorschach's DL and DQ.
• To examine the relationship between HS-scored DL and DQ (HSDL, HSDQ) and age and WISC-R intelligence indices.
• To compare the HS approach's validity with the previously validated Wilensky (W) approach.

Main Methods:

• Scored DL and DQ using both the HS and W approaches on 134 children aged 5-16.
• Analyzed HSDL, HSDQ, WDL, and WDQ scores in relation to age and WISC-R indices.
• Compared correlations between HS and W scores and WISC-R indices.

Main Results:

• HSDL and HSDQ scores demonstrated expected relationships with age and IQ, supporting the HS approach's validity.
• HSDL and HSDQ showed higher correlations with WISC-R indices than WDL and WDQ.
• The HS approach slightly reduced DQ's discriminatory power for IQ levels, but not DL's.

Conclusions:

• The High Score (HS) approach is a valid method for scoring Rorschach measures of cognitive development (DL and DQ).
• The HS approach offers improved correlations with intelligence measures compared to the Wilensky (W) approach.
• While generally effective, the HS approach may impact the differentiation of DQ scores across IQ levels.