The relational psychology test

Introduction:

In this first project of Psychological Testing, we are going to analyze and critically evaluate a pop-online non-psychological test ( questionnaire ) which is focusing as the title of the test said to Relational Psychology Test but in practice it is a psychodynamic personallity test. Unfortunatelly the Publishers name and the year of publication is unknown and cannot be found via the website that the test is stored. The aim of this test is to make individuals to visualyze a scene in their brains and type down the FIRST thing that comes to their mind. Our task is to evaluate his/hers test and see if the test is standardize, if it is valid and reliable and to restate the questions and the analysis to make the test more reliable and more valid, which in my case is a qualitative analysis. Finally, we will write our critique of the current work of the person who conducted the test and discuss using research evidence, if the theories ( if used ) are correct or not.

Literature Review:

Firstly, we are going to explain what a projective test is. When we reffere to projective tests we are talking about a type of personality test in which every individual is responce to some words or images that he/she sees. Those tests have their roots in psychoanalytic school of thoughts, which states that every person have unconsciously thoughts or urges which cannot be told. Moreover, those tests have as a goal to uncover those hidden-unconscious desires that are struggling in order to remain hidden from conscious awareness.

Those tests are working with a specific way. Participants aare shown some words ( phrases ) or some images and they had to responce with the first thing that comes to their mind. They key to those tests is in the way that the question or the images are presented to individuals.

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According to Freud’s and Jung’s theories, who first created projectives tests, clearly defined questions should result in answers that comes from conscious minds and that is not the point. In order to find out the unconscious answers that are hidden, projective tests should provide to the participants questions and images that are not clear.

There are several projectives tests that are focusing in personality and in uncounscious messages, so we are going to present some well-known ones which are used up until nowadays. Starting off, Rorscharch Inkblots test, which was the first of projective test created by Hermann Rorscharch, a Swiss psychiatrist, in 1921. Rorscharch Inkblot test consist of ten different cards that are shown some inkblots, the participant is shown one card at the time and is asked to describe with the first thing that comes to his/her mind what he or she sees. Gestures, tone of voice when the answer is given and all the reactions must be also noted. Results/scoring of the test vary depending on which scoring system the researcher is using. Another projective test is the Thematic Apperception Test ( TAT ) which is a projective test in which the participant is asked to look at a series of scenes. Then, the individual is asked to create a sotry from those scenes, including what is happening, the feelings of the characters and in the end, how will the story ends. Scoring for this test is based to motivations, anxieties and needs, which the participants imaging and tell, of main character and finally how the participant will turn out the story.

In conclusion, projective tests have also strengths and weaknessess. Benefits that comes from projective tests are that therapists are able to qualitative learn some informations about the individual and also, another benefit is to use projective tests as icebreakers to encourage the individual to talk to therapists and discuss issues and thoughts. Finally, some weaknesses of projectives tests are the way that individual responce to answers, because they can be heavily influenced from the therapists attitude and a main limitation is the scoring of projective tests which is highly subjective, so interpretation of answers can vary from therapist to therapist.

Discussion:

1. You are walking in the woods. Who are you with?
2. You are walking in the woods. You see an animal. What kind of animal is it?
3. What interaction takes place between you and the animal?
4. You walk deeper into the woods. You enter a clearing and before you is your dream house. Describe its size.
5. Is you dream house surrounded by a fence?

   Yes No

6. You enter the house. You walk to the dining area and see the dining room table. Describe what you see on and around the table.
7. You exit the house through the back door. Lying in the grass is a cup. What material is the cup made of (ceramic, glass, paper, etc.)?
8. What do you do with the cup?
9. You walk to the edge of the property, where you find yourself standing at the edge of a body of water. What type of body of water is it (creek, river, ocean, etc.)?
10. How will you cross the water?

Analysis of test given by the site:

1. The person who you are walking with is the most important person in your life.
2. The size of the animal is representative of your perception of the size of your problems.
3. The severity of the interaction you have with the animal is representative of how you deal with your problems (passive, aggressive)
4. The size of your dream home is representative of the size of your ambition to resolve your problems.
5. No fence is indicative of an open personality. People are welcome at all times. The presence of a fence is more indicative of a closed personality. You would prefer people to not drop by unannounced.
6. If your answer did not include food, people, or flowers, then you are generally unhappy.
7. The durability of the material with which the cup is made is representative of the perceived durability of you relationship with the person from question 1. For example, Styrofoam, plastic, and paper are disposable; Styrofoam, paper, and glass (ceramics) are not durable; and metal and plastic are durable.
8. Your disposition of the cup is representative of your attitude toward the person from question 1.
9. The size of the body of water is representative of the size of your sexual desire.
10. How wet you get in crossing the water is indicative of the relative importance of your sex life.

This is the questionnaire and the analysis that we are going to analyze and critic. According to literature review that we made there are some questions which are correct and follow up the templates of projective tests, but also there are questions that are incorrect and need some modification in order to be correct and make the therapist use them. We are going to make a critical evaluation for all ten questions and also a critical evaluation about the analysis that this pop-online test gives, but because projective tests lack the validity and reliability variables that all the tests have, because projective tests are qualitative ones, we will make the critique based on what other projective tests measure and analyze and try make them more simple.

Starting off with the first question, we see that the focus of this question is to the walking into the woods. Woods basically is imagines by people like a dark and scary place that doesnt want togo alone, this is why the question is that who are you going to be with. The person that accompany you to the woods are the person which you feel more relax and secure with. This question and analysis is correct according to previews questionnaires that has been made. Moving on to the next question we found out that the focus is on what animal you encounter inside the woods. The animal is translate from therapist like the fear of the problems you encounter in your everyday life. Also the analysis that the site gives about this question is also correct but we notice that the use of English is not so good because there is a bad comprehence. On the third question the focus can be seen at the interaction that the person has with the animal. The interaction in those tests is the problem sollutions that a person found in everyday life in order to deal or even avoid a problem. Site’s analysis is correct expect the fact that the author use the word ” Severity ” which does not fit with the projective tests template. The forth questions seems to be fine at the start of the question and the focus is on the dream house that every individual imagine and how they describe it. As far as the question is consern the way which is expressed is right but as for the analysis it is not, because site gives a genarally analysis about the dream house but Freud and Jung focus more on the way the person expressed his desire to ” decorate ” , ” size of house ” and ” windows and doors ” that this dream house has. The analysis is some what correct which tells that the dream house is the desire and the ambition of every people to resovle the problems they have. Moving on to fifth question which is the most problematic one. The fifth question has to do with the fence that the house has or has not. The question is expressed correctly and the emphasis is on the fence which is correct according to literature review but if we move on to analysis we found critical points that are incorrect. Site’s description/analysis about the fifth question is that if the person answer that there is no fence there are open personalities and if they answer that there is a fence then there are closed personalities. Here is the critical point, what is an open and closed personality ? This has never be seen in any projective test so far, open and closed personality has nothing to do with projective tests or even if they have the words that the author use are not correct, also the explanation that the author gives for open and closed personality and lack in every way that we see them. The sixth question is a more