Nomothetics and Idiographics as Antonyms: Two Mutually Exclusive Purposes for Using the Rorschach

Abstract

Use of the Rorschach raises a basic disagreement between those who advocate interpretation against the background of statistical norms and those who emphasize a freer interpretation on the basis of clinical theory. It is proposed that the purpose for which the Rorschach is used sets the context within which the evaluation of any Rorschach approach should be done. The distinction between idiographic and nomothetic applied by Aronow, Reznikoff, and Moreland (1995) to distinguish between different approaches to Rorschach analysis should also be applied to distinguish between different purposes of use. Nomothetic purposes are those concerned with specific and well-defined questions that in order to answer it is desirable to adopt standardized criteria having known psychometric characteristics. Idiographic purposes concern phenomenological description of experience. The validity of nomothetic methods is claimed to be in many cases cited out of context. The rigidity of nomothetic methods when applied for idiographic purposes is demonstrated. Ascribing objectivity to meaning derived from nomothetic systems is suggested to have a potentially constraining influence on clinicians. The relevance of the distinction between hermeneutics and natural sciences to the field of diagnostics is discussed.