The Problem of R in the Rorschach: The Value of Varying Responses

Abstract

A subject's freedom to give different numbers of responses to each inkblot has always been part of the Rorschach tradition. However, frequency of response (R) as a variable rather than a constant requires special attention when using the Rorschach psychometrically and when making clinical evaluations based in part or entirely on normative scores. In this article, I discuss the Rorschach tradition; the distinctiveness of the procedure; and the complexity of the technical, methodological, and theoretical problems. issues related to the integration of the empirical and conceptual approaches are discussed.