Thursday, February 23, 2006

Now that's good psychology...

CC got a Rorschach test today (long story.)

When I came home, I was telling theCSO about it. I ended up pulling up the site that helps you cheat on your Rorschach test* (No, I don't know what the world is coming to either, but thanks for asking...) and showed him the plate that looks like a frustrated penguin wearing a bowtie. (Plate three, upside down)

The CSO and I saw a lot of different stuff. I liked how on the "mother plate," I saw women in silly hats. As a kid, I had a big argument with my mother over a hat that she loved but I thought unattractive.

Of course, I saw the plate about my dad as a giant plush racoon mascot, so maybe I was having an off day.

CC


*If you read the whole thing, you violate any future Rorschach test you might take. I made sure not to read it until tonight.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Interesting site, CC. This Rorschach test seems utterly unreliable. It reminds me of the debate over IQ tests and SATs, whether they discriminate against people who don't come from the social/cultural background of the test creators.

TheCSO said...

I think it can give an interesting perspective; however, it is clearly NOT suitable for judging or categorizing someone. The website CC linked to is specifically opposing the use of Rorschach tests in custody evaluations - and I agree that it has no place there. It also has no place in, say, a hiring process.

But as a framework for observing how someone approaches thinking about unfamiliar or ambigious things, I think it can be quite valuable. That doesn't mean it should be used to draw conclusions about character.

Plus, it's kind of fun to run through when there's no pressure to get it "right"..

Anonymous said...

I was once interviewed by a Unitarian-Universalist minister for a job at a UU church. Among the questions I was asked was what my Myers-Briggs personality type is. I didn't blink and the interview proceeded just fine, but I did wonder if this was a valid question to ask a potential hire. On the one hand, I think it is a generally more reliable test that Rorschach. But that doesn't mean I think it's reliable. The minister was actually a great guy and I don't hold the question against him--he was trying to assemble a good team of churchworkers, not diagnose mental illness--but I'm unsure if it's legal to ask these kinds of questions.