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Picture Tests Used by Psychologists

Picture tests are used by psychologists to study the human mind. They are also used by psychiatrists and psychoanalysts seeking to help patients deal with psychological problems.Picture tests fall under the general banner of "projective" personality tests. This means they involve subjects responding to ambiguous images, thus revealing information about their internal psychological state.

  1. Rorschach Inkblot Test

    • The Rorschach inkblot test is perhaps the most famous of the psychological picture tests. It is a set of ten symmetrical inkblots, and was initially developed by the Swiss psychiatrist Hermann Rorschach. These ten tests are designed to discern details about a subject's personality by noting how the subject interprets the shapes made by the inkblots.

    Drawing a Person Test

    • The drawing a person psychological test was developed by the American psychologist Florence Goodenough. The objective of the drawing a person test is to evaluate the psychological condition of children and young adults. The test works by asking children to draw a picture of a man, a woman and themselves, each on separate pieces of paper. The drawing a person test is used to detect levels of cognitive development without being prejudiced by language or cultural factors.

    Thematic Apperception Test

    • The thematic apperception test is designed to discern an individual's pattern of thoughts, attitudes, emotional response and ability to observe. The thematic apperception test uses a set of standard ambiguous pictures. The subject is asked to tell a story about the pictures. By telling these stories to a psychologist, subjects reveal their expectations of relationships and how they think about themselves and those around them.

    Holtzman Inkblot Test

    • The Holtzman inkblot test was developed by Wayne Holtzman. It was developed as an improvement on the Rorschach inkblot test. The Holtzman test uses 45 inkblot pictures. The Holtzman test scores subjects on 22 different criteria that can be evaluated by statistical methods, rendering a more reliable interpretation of a subject's psychological state.

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