Rorschach Responses at Four Exposure Levels

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to further clarify the role of stimulus exposure time as a variable which affects responses to projective material. Presentation of the standard Rorschach cards over a series of exposure times, ranging from .03 sec. to unlimited exposure, constituted a systematically controlled range of perceptual conditions with stimuli known to have rich and useful personality correlates. In an earlier tachistoscopic smdy Stein (1949) demonstrated different patterns of response as a function of exposure time of Rorschach cards; however, the small sample used (17 Ss who responded under ascending exposure order) limited the generality of his results, and no evaluation of perceptual modes, independent of the experimental conditions, was reported. Stein's study explored the clinical usefulness of a tachistoscopic Rorschach technique by applying it to the analysis of several individual cases. A later study by Stein and Meer (1954) pointed to the usefulness of the tachistoscopic Rorschach technique in discriminating between Ss of high and low creative ability. In the view of chis author, the experimental design used in the present study invites consideration of what perceptual processes may accompany the physically manipulated conditions of minimal and sustained exposure of the stimulus. When an external stimulus is exposed very briefly, the opportunity for the perceiver to base his reactions on an interaction with the stimulus is relatively limited, and he is thereby forced to rely largely upon subjective factors and his immediate, brief perception of the stimulus. Some of the contributing factors which the perceiver may bring to the experimental situation are those of cognitive structure, personality structure, motivational states, and past learning. As exposure time of the external stimulus is increased, more time is available during which interaction between perceiver and stimulus can occur. As there is increased opportunity to investigate the stimulus at slower tachistoscopic speeds, more information can be obtained from the sc~mulus, and there is more time for corrections in perception. While the experimental situation thus varies systematically in the opportunity for interaction, it does not of course follow that all Ss will respond equally to the increased possibilities for interaction with the stimulus at longer exposure times. The present article will be limited to a report and discussion of the more formal aspects of Ror'This article is based upon a doctoral dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Education of New York University, 1956. The author is indebted to Professor John 1. Sullivan for his direction of the research. An abridged account of the study was presented at the Sixty-Sixth Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, 1958.