Projective test

A projective test, in psychology, is a personality test designed to let a person respond to ambiguous stimuli, presumably revealing hidden emotions and internal conflicts. This is different from an "objective test" in which responses are analyzed according to a universal standard (for example, a multiple choice exam) rather than an individual psychiatrist's judgement.

The best known projective test is the Rorschach inkblot test, in which a patient is shown a drawing in ink, and asked to explain what they see; the response is then analyzed in various ways, noting not only what the patient said, but the time taken to respond, what aspect of the drawing was focused on, and how the response compared to other responses for the same drawing. If someone consistently sees the images as threatening and frightening, the psychiatrist may infer that he or she may suffer from paranoia.

Another popular projective test is the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) in which a patient views ambiguous scenes of people, and is asked to describe various aspects of the scene; for example, the patient may be asked to describe what led up to this scene, the emotions of the characters, and what might happen afterwards. The examiner then evaluates these descriptions, attempting to discover conflicts and hidden emotions within the patient, and work toward a successful psychoanalytic cure.

These tests have become less popular as psychology has advanced. Many within the field no longer adhere to Freudian principles; the idea of repression that underlies the tests has been dismissed as false, or outdated, by many. Other criticisms concern the nature of the tests themselves. For example, it is observed that they can only be effective if the examiner interprets the responses correctly. Because they depend so heavily on the judgements of the examiner, some see projective tests as unscientific. However, a number of psychologists still use them as a way to get introduced to the patient, as most people are familiar with the tests.