Assessing the "epileptic personality"

This article traces the historical development, conceptualization, and assessment of the theory of the epileptic personality, with particular attention to the contributions of Hermann Rorschach, Françoise Minkowska, and Leopold Szondi. The theory of the epileptic personality characterized individuals with epilepsy by heightened emotionality, difficulties in social adaptation, egocentricity, sexual deviance, increased aggression and violence, and, in many cases, pronounced susceptibility to religious experience. As a rich and long-standing component of 19th-century medical thought, the theory of the epileptic personality continued to exert influence well into the 20th century, including its impact on the development of personality assessment tools. Rorschach and Szondi explicitly assessed the notion of the epileptic personality through their respective tests. Subsequent research has, however, demonstrated that neither instrument measures a personality uniquely linked to epilepsy; rather, both capture broader psychodynamic patterns. The historical persistence of the theory of the epileptic personality reflects the influence of constitutional frameworks and their potential for stigmatization, offering enduring insights into the complex interplay among psychiatry, psychology, psychometrics, and medical and social perceptions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).