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The Role of Inkblot Location Use in the Assessment of Psychosis on the Rorschach

Berry, Benjamin A, Berry
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3227-1334
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1513193574804375

Abstract Details

, Master of Arts, University of Toledo, Psychology - Clinical.
As a performance-based measure of personality and psychopathology, and as a task mediated by visual perception and verbal communication, the Rorschach inkblot task is uniquely suited for the measurement of disordered thought and perceptual disturbances that are characteristic of psychosis. One of the Rorschach variables with strong validity in the measurement of psychosis is Form Quality (FQ). This variable is an index of an object’s visual fit with the inkblot contours and the frequency with which the response object is reported by people. Currently and historically, FQ variable calculations have not taken into account the inkblot location at which a response occurs, such that any two perceptual distortions produced by a respondent are assigned the same weight, even if one occurs at a location that is used frequently and one at a location that is uncommonly used. Given the visual diversity of the inkblot stimuli and the degree to which different inkblot locations are suggestive of particular percepts, incorporating location data into the measurement of FQ was hypothesized to improve the prediction of psychotic criteria. Thus, this study was designed to examine whether inkblot location use frequency data can contribute usefully to the validity of FQ measurement. This conceptual hypothesis was tested in two ways. First, alternatives to the existing measure of distortions given to common locations, the WD-% variable, were calculated using updated location frequency data and several different location typicality cutoff points. These variables were termed Common Location distortions (CL-% scores). It was hypothesized that these would have greater validity in predicting psychotic criteria than the existing WD-% variable. Second, possible protocol-level location typicality scores were calculated. These location typicality scores were hypothesized to moderate the relationship between FQ-% and psychotic criteria, such that FQ- scores at more common inkblot locations would be more predictive of psychotic criteria than those at less common inkblot locations. The results generally did not support these hypotheses. The CL-% scores correlated with psychotic criteria at rates statistically equivalent to those of the existing WD-% variable. The CL02-% variable (i.e., percent of minus responses given to locations used in at least 2% of all responses), was almost perfectly correlated with the existing WD-% variable (r = .97). Together, these findings indicate that location typicality can be updated to more accurately reflect contemporary location use without any loss of validity. The protocol-level location typicality score was shown to moderate the relationship between FQ-% and psychotic criteria, but in the opposite of the hypothesized direction. Given these results, it is likely that Rorschach FQ measures already include adequate location-specific information, given that they are based in part on how frequently an object is identified at a specific location. However, replication is indicated to determine the generalizability of the non-hypothesized interaction effect. These results are discussed along with implications for future research.
Gregory Meyer, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Joni Mihura, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Wesley Bullock, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
55 p.
Clinical Psychology

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Berry, Berry, B. A. (2017). The Role of Inkblot Location Use in the Assessment of Psychosis on the Rorschach [Master's thesis, University of Toledo]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1513193574804375

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Berry, Berry, Benjamin. The Role of Inkblot Location Use in the Assessment of Psychosis on the Rorschach. 2017. University of Toledo, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1513193574804375.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Berry, Berry, Benjamin. "The Role of Inkblot Location Use in the Assessment of Psychosis on the Rorschach." Master's thesis, University of Toledo, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1513193574804375

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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This open access ETD is published by University of Toledo and OhioLINK.