Projective Tests: Psychology

If you’ve seen a psychologist show their client inkblots in a TV show or movie or even participated in an inkblot test yourself, you’re already familiar with projective tests. A projective test is a type of psychological assessment where ambiguous stimuli are presented to a participant, allowing their responses to reveal underlying aspects of their personality. A projective test evaluates the associations a participant makes with various types of stimuli to uncover information about that individual's personality. The stimulus can be an image, a sentence, or another ambiguous prompt meant to evoke a response. While projective tests are not as commonly used as they once were, they are still administered by many mental health professionals as a way of understanding an individual’s personality. Below, we’re going to discuss projective tests, their various forms, and how a test can be used to uncover useful information in personality assessment.

What are projective tests?

Many projective tests are a form of examination meant to provide insight into an individual’s personality, behavior, and feelings through associations with different images, tableaus, words, or other stimuli. This personality test is largely the product of psychoanalysis, which seeks to uncover unconscious desires and feelings.

Testing process

The overall goal of a projective test is to give mental health professionals insight into the individual’s psyche through their responses to ambiguous stimuli. Each test consists of its own protocols and steps for administration.  For example, in a Rorschach test, the professional may ask the individual to describe what they see in an inkblot. Based on the participant’s responses, the way they formulate their answer, and other factors, the test administrator can make certain assessments. Other projective tests don’t always include a response to an image—they may also ask an individual to respond to a word, draw a person, or fill in a blank in a sentence. After you have completed your test, your test provider may share your test results with you and discuss the next steps.

According to the father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, our unconscious mind impacts our behaviors, thoughts, and feelings. Freud believed that our everyday lives are in large part dictated by our unconscious, which we are unable to evaluate ourselves. According to the principles of psychoanalysis, understanding how our conscious and unconscious minds relate can help us address mental health concerns. 

With projective tests, psychology experts, therapists, and other professionals see the unconscious to better understand the individual. For instance, someone who struggles in their interpersonal relationships may take a projective test and learn that an underlying event from their childhood is influencing their present interactions. Once this connection with their unconscious has been identified, the individual can then work through their feelings about the past and improve their relationships in the present.

Types of projective tests

Projective tests can take several forms, each of which may provide unique insights into different aspects of an individual’s personality. The following are common types of projective tests.

Also known as the inkblot test, the Rorschach inkblot test is a well-known projective personality test. It is typically administered by showing an individual a series of inkblots and asking them to describe what they see. The administration of the inkblot test is standardized, but numerous variations have been created to help evaluate the responses. Generally, the person administering the Rorschach inkblot test will look at the content of the response, the demeanor of the respondent, and several other factors to uncover more about their personality when interpreting responses. 

Sentence completion tests usually ask the participant to finish a stem (typically a declarative sentence) with words that they believe best represent their beliefs. For example, a stem could be: “Going to work makes me____”. Most sentence completion tests have several stems that the participant will finish. The different ways the respondent completes the sentences are thought to be indicative of various aspects of their personality. Sentence completion tests are used not only in psychology but in a variety of other settings, including market research, career counseling, and human resources. 

Often used to evaluate children, the draw-a-person test is thought to provide insights into several different facets of personality and has even been used to assess intelligence, though its validity in that regard has been questioned. Typically, respondents are asked to draw three different people—themselves, a woman, and a man. Each human figure is then evaluated by a professional, who will look for various details that may reveal the individual’s attitude and motivations.

The idea behind the thematic apperception test, TAT, is that a respondent’s storytelling process can uncover information about their personality, in addition to beliefs and conflicts they have regarding social situations. During a thematic apperception test, the test’s administrator typically asks the respondent to describe an ambiguous scene (usually a social interaction) depicted on a card. The respondent is often asked to tell a full story about the lead-up to this scene, what the characters are feeling and thinking, and how the scene resolves. By examining the respondent’s description of the tableau, a professional may gain apperception into what drives them, how they feel, and what personality conflicts they may experience. 

Similar to the draw-a-person test, the house-tree-person test asks the participant to draw figures, this time a house, a tree, and a person. Once the exercise is complete, the administrator will ask a series of questions (e.g., “Who lives in the house?”; “What kind of tree is that?”) that help provide additional insights into the individual’s personality. 

Advantages of projective tests

Projective tests can be especially helpful when working with children, who sometimes have trouble answering direct questions. The ambiguity of the stimuli in a projective test can make a child feel more comfortable by allowing them to draw or answer with less structured, more open-ended responses. 

Disadvantages 

Projective tests came into use in the first half of the 20th century, but they started to fall out of favor in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Much of this decrease in popularity was due to research showing that the tests lacked validity. Researchers have found the projective techniques to be too subjective and lacking in evidence that supports their utility. For example, one study found very few versions of thematic apperceptions tests, Rorschach tests, and drawing tests that were backed by scientific evidence. 

One of the most notable cons is that projective tests can be influenced by the environment or even by the administrator’s demeanor. Another drawback associated with projective tests pertains to their evaluation. Due to how ambiguous the images and subsequent responses from patients are, the therapist can misinterpret an answer, which may impact projective measures and results. In addition, projective tests require the therapist to remain extremely aware of the patient’s demeanor at all times.

Applications outside of psychology

Projective tests are not only used by mental health professionals but anyone who wants to understand the associations people make with different stimuli. They are often used in marketing to find out respondents’ attitudes toward certain products and services. Individuals may be asked to describe how certain images or advertisements make them feel. Market research focus groups often administer word association tests or sentence completion tests that provide insight into the attitudes of potential buyers. These tests are also becoming common tools for human resources departments. Career seekers who undergo projective tests are often asked to tell stories based on common workplace situations. While an objective test may lead to responses that don’t reflect a person’s true attitudes, the open-ended nature of projective tests could give hiring managers a more accurate idea of a potential hire’s personality.

There is a growing amount of evidence pointing to online therapy as a helpful method of care for mental health concerns identified through psychological testing. In a broad-based review of 92 studies on online therapy, researchers concluded that it was as effective as in-person therapy, mentioning cognitive behavioral therapy, specifically, as a beneficial modality. Cognitive behavioral therapy techniques help individuals reframe unwanted thought patterns, such as negative or intrusive beliefs that may be revealed by a projective test like the thematic apperception test or the house-tree-person test.

An online therapy platform like BetterHelp can connect you with valuable tools and support as you navigate your psyche. Working with a licensed online therapist, you can learn more about your thoughts, motivations, and behaviors from the comfort of home, through video call, voice call, or in-app messaging. You’ll also be able to reach out to your therapist outside of sessions. If you want to clarify a point made during therapy or ask a psychology-related question, you can send your mental health professional a message, and they’ll get back to you when they’re able.