Constructivism and the Projective Assessment of Meaning in Rorschach Administration

Abstract

Constructivist perspectives on the Rorschach are outlined. I discuss ways in which constructivism complements and adds to existing Rorschach methodologies. It is suggested that the constructivist emphasis on personally and socially constructed meanings is very consistent with many of the ways the Rorschach has been used and resonates with recent emphases on the Rorschach as a representational task. Furthermore, constructivist perspectives on Rorschach also provide an opportunity to supplement Exner's (1993, 1995) efforts to standardize and norm the Rorschach in a way that maintains the instrument's historic and admirable attention to relational elements of assessment and psychotherapy. I present a variety of meaning-based techniques for conducting Rorschach assessment, incorporating both the constructivist and social constructionist perspective.