Projective techniques in psychology: School of animals, Drawing of a family, Non-existent animal, Cactus, Tree

Projective techniques are a wonderful diagnostic tool for identifying a person’s personal characteristics. The high effectiveness of projective tests is based on the fact that it is a person’s free expression of himself through a drawing or text.

Fundamentals of projective diagnostics, purpose

The projective method is based on the creation of special situations in which there are many variations. This type of technique uses incentives. The subject independently develops and supplements them.

For example, he may be asked to complete a particular sentence or complete a drawing. In this case, the answer to the question is not right or wrong, but only allows the specialist to assess aspects of the subject’s personality.

Depending on how the person responds, the doctor identifies possible problems and can determine how to proceed with the patient. For the subject himself, the final goal of projective diagnostics is hidden, so he cannot consciously achieve the desired result.

General characteristics of projective techniques

The word “projection” itself was introduced by S. Freud. He used his techniques to define a type of psychological defense. When a person defends himself from his own hidden desires of an asocial type, he projects (or transfers) them onto the people around him.

Later, projection began to be considered more widely in psychodiagnostics. This concept means how well a person is able to reflect his desires, emotions, etc. Projection refers to behavior as well as views of the world around us.

However, projective techniques differ significantly from other psychodiagnostic tests.

First of all, these techniques:

• They allow you to fully characterize the patient’s personality, rather than highlight any one quality or property.
• The techniques are based on the patient’s experience, as well as on his associative thinking.
• The subject receives complete freedom in his answers.
• Very often creative tasks are considered that allow one to reveal a person’s potential.

Concepts of projection in the justification of the projective method

As already mentioned, the concept of “projection” entered projective methodology thanks to L. Frank, however, in his works projection was actually devoid of specific psychological content.

The main provisions of his concept can be considered only as the most general methodological principles; the task of actually identifying psychological patterns and mechanisms had yet to be solved. Subsequently, some researchers, mainly psychoanalytically oriented, turned to the concept of projection 3. Freud.

However, as a number of authors note, when trying to substantiate the projective method based on Freud’s concept, a number of difficulties arise, the most important of which are:

• Insufficient development, the ambiguity of the term “projection” in psychoanalysis, the variety of phenomena described;
• There is only a partial similarity between the phenomena denoted by this term in psychoanalysis and the processes occurring in projective research;
• Differences in types of projection in different projective tests. Let's take a closer look at the analysis of each of these points.

The term “projection” in its psychological meaning was first used 3. Freud in 1896 to explain the pathological symptoms of paranoia and later in 1911 when analyzing the “Schreber case”. In these works, projection was understood as attributing to others socially unacceptable desires that a person himself renounces. In this case, projection was seen by Freud as a defense mechanism against unconscious antisocial drives, especially homosexuality, which underlies delusions of paranoia. Subsequently, the so-called "phobic defensive projection" has been described as externalizing or externalizing fear and anxiety, which are actually endogenous in nature. In his later works, Freud introduces the concept of projection as a normal psychological process involved in shaping our perception of the external world, in addition to the concept of defensive projection as part of various pathological conditions. He interprets projection as the primary process of “correlating” the surrounding reality with our inner world. Such, for example, is the mechanism of the infantile and religious-mythological worldview. Thus, Freud spoke of two fundamentally different phenomena, at the basis of which he claimed to recognize the process of self-defense and the process of “assimilation.” What they have in common is the lack of awareness of the transformations to which the original drives undergo; Only the product of these transformations appears in consciousness. Over time, projection became such a general term that it became extremely difficult to distinguish it from identification, transference, and some other psychoanalytic phenomena. For example, projection is thought to occur in psychotherapy when feelings intended for another person are “transferred” onto the clinician; projection is said to identify the artist with his own work (Flaubert said “Emma is me”), as does “empathy” in a work of art; projection explains the existence of racial and ethnic prejudices.

Murshtein and Prior criticize the ambiguity and, therefore, insufficient development of the concept of projection and propose to distinguish several types of projection. Freud's classic defensive projection is supported by many observations. Attributive projection is the attribution of one’s own motives, feelings and actions to others (the meaning is close to Freud’s “likeness”). Autistic projection is the definition of perception by the needs of the perceiver; to illustrate this type of projection, the authors refer to the New Look experiments. Rational projection differs from classical “rational” motivation: for example, in one of the experiments, when students were asked to comment on the structure of the educational process, it turned out that habitual truants complained about the lack of discipline, and underachievers complained about the lack of qualifications of teachers. As with normal rationalization, subjects tended to blame external circumstances or other people for their failures rather than admit their own shortcomings.

Holmes, summarizing the results of his many years of research, considers it necessary to distinguish between two “dimensions” of projection. The first dimension concerns what is projected: Whether the subject perceives its own properties or those that are not inherent to it. The second dimension asks whether the subject is aware of the possession of the projected property or not. The combination of these dimensions allows us to classify all known types of projection as follows.

Classification by principle of use

Projective techniques in psychology are relatively new and very diverse. The most detailed classification was presented by L. Franclon. He identified 8 types of techniques.

Thanks to such a variety of types of techniques, psychologists have a huge arsenal of different tests. However, projective techniques are considered quite controversial by some.

The role of the “New Look” in the development of projective methods

Numerous New Look experiments have shown that the perception of emotionally significant, but socially forbidden material (“taboo words”, plot images) can be subject to significant variations in conditions of the technical complexity of the process of their identification. This applies to both the recognition threshold and the perceived content. To explain these phenomena, three mechanisms of perceptual selectivity have been hypothesized.

The principle of resonance - stimuli that correspond to the needs and values ​​of the individual are perceived more correctly and quickly than those that do not correspond to them.

The principle of protection - stimuli that contradict the expectations of the subject or carry information potentially hostile to the ego are recognized less well and are subject to greater distortion.

3rd principle of sensitivity - Stimuli that threaten the integrity of the individual and can lead to serious disturbances in psychological functioning are more likely to be recognized than others.

After Bruner's work explicitly pointed out the closeness of the New Look experimental design to the projective exploration paradigm, Eriksen and Lazarus published data on the effects of perceptual defense and sensitization in the Rorschach and TAT tests. According to these authors, the noted perceptual phenomena represent a special case of psychological defense mechanisms previously described by clinical psychoanalysis. Experimental data have shown the existence of individual differences in reactions to stressful material. Thus, we can talk about “repressors,” people of the hysterical type, for whom repression is the main form of defense. Their behavior in life, the nature of relationships with peers, their cognitive processes have a number of common features: Avoidance of emotionally charged situations, “forgetting” events associated with their own failures, ambivalent feelings towards parents, sexual problems and social phenomena, high levels of anxiety, rigidity of thinking and perception, etc. People with such character traits most often demonstrate the phenomenon of perceptual defensiveness. Another type of behavior characterizes people who tend to isolate or rationalize. In conflict situations, they do not avoid the threat, but neutralize it, painlessly interpreting it; they are proactive in their relationships with the social environment; they can understand and accept themselves as they are, etc. Lazarus, Eriksen and Fonda showed that subjects of this type identify negative affective stimuli earlier than others, that is, they turn on the sensitivity mechanism.

Since the 40-50s, new psychological categories have begun to be used to substantiate the projective method, among which “control” and “cognitive style” can be particularly distinguished. The introduction of the concept of “defense” in the context of projective methodology meant a shift in emphasis to “secondary” cognitive processes of the ego. However, in the context of the concept of a defensive reaction, it remained unclear how adaptation to reality occurs when the individual is still more focused on his affective states than on their objective properties. It was necessary to assume, firstly, the existence of processes that serve adaptation, and, secondly, the mechanisms by which this adaptation is achieved. Hartman and Rapaport's provisions on “conflict-free ego functions” and control mechanisms served as a theoretical basis for research in this direction. According to Rapaport, ego development is characterized by two types of processes: the gradual liberation of cognitive functions from the influence of primitive affects, on the one hand, and the differentiation of the affective structures themselves, their autonomization from basal drives, on the other. The result is not only the elimination of the distorting influence of “drives” and conflicts on cognitive processes, which are thus transformed into 8 “conflict-free functions - Self,” but also the emergence of more advanced mechanisms for their regulation. One of these mechanisms is control. Control is arbitrary from basal drives, it is, as it were, a product of their secondary “latency” and can be considered as a motivational structure of a higher order in relation to them. At the same time, control is a function of the ego, and its purpose is to direct the energy of drives in accordance with the requirements of objective reality. Consequently, control mediates the individual’s relationship with the environment in such a way that the needs of the individual himself and the objective properties of stimulation are simultaneously taken into account.

Advantages and disadvantages of projective techniques

Projective techniques in psychology have many positive aspects. Projective surveys and tests can significantly reduce the patient’s anxiety level and diagnose children who cannot yet read. Also, such techniques help to determine a person’s hidden motives, even if he himself is not aware of them.

But some specialists categorically refuse to use projective diagnostics. They argue that such tests give too vague results.

Projective techniques in psychology. Advantages and disadvantages

In such surveys and other applications of the methodology, there is no standard scale that would allow the results to be assessed and classified. The surveys themselves are conducted in an uncontrolled manner. When assessing the results, a specialist, especially if he is inexperienced, may be biased.

Novice psychodiagnosticians do not agree with these shortcomings. They claim that working with such methods is very simple, and thanks to the huge variety of tests, their information content also increases.

Recommendations for the use of projective techniques

Projective techniques are not fundamental in research, even though they are such a powerful diagnostic tool. But if this kind of tests becomes the subject of choice, you need to take into account the features of using projective techniques:

• it is important to comply with all prescribed conditions for the test;
• interpretation must be carried out by at least 3 competent specialists;
• properly selected incentives;
• the chosen methods must correspond to the stated objectives of the study.

Features of application

Projective techniques are widely used in various fields: surveys, pictures and other methods have proven to be very effective in conducting forensic psychiatric examinations. Projective methods are often used when counseling not an individual patient, but a whole group of people; they are often used in employment centers or during personnel changes.

In the process of work, the specialist must take into account the patient’s age and emotional characteristics. The psychologist also pays attention to the mental data of the subject, his social status, marital status and many other factors.

For adults

If an adult is diagnosed, he deliberately tries to choose the best answers. That is, the patient tries to predict the psychologist’s behavior. Thanks to projective tests, it is impossible for a person to determine the best answer, since it does not exist. In the process of work, the doctor can diagnose phobias, frustrations and other deviations.

For children

Projective techniques used in psychology are applicable to children. In this case, images and other types of graphic techniques are used. The psychologist can also invite the patient to draw any animal that comes to the child’s mind. It is much easier to work with such patients, as they behave as sincerely as possible.

For group diagnostics

When working with a large group of people, all diagnostic options are applicable. For example, you can use graphic images and conduct surveys. In this case, the work is carried out according to the principle of a sports team, work or student group. Patients can draw together. Such methods can reduce aggression when working with other people.

Review of basic techniques

Rorschach blots

The projective method of personality research, published in 1921 by the Swiss psychiatrist and psychologist Hermann Rorschach.

A person is given 10 pictures of spots. After this, he is asked to describe what he sees. Next, the specialist interprets the results of the answers and draws a conclusion about the mental state of the subject.

Read more about the methodology in this article: Psychological Rorschach test: interpretation of results.

Drawing "Man in the Rain"

In this method of psychodiagnostics there are no restrictions in choosing an answer and assessing the test subjects’ answers as “correct” or “wrong”.

The test will help diagnose personal reserves and characteristics of a person’s defense mechanisms and his ability to overcome difficult life situations.

Using this test, you can track a person’s adaptation to a new team.

It is recommended to perform this technique for children over 9 years of age, as well as for adults. You can draw with any tools:

• with a simple pencil;
• paints;
• felt-tip pens;
• colored pencils;
• crayons, etc.

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What to do? Draw two pictures:

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Read more about the methodology and analysis of the test results in the article: Test “Man in the Rain”: interpretation and examples.

Constructive drawing of a man from geometric shapes

The Libin psychographic test is a diagnostic system that combines any image of a human figure with an unconscious semantic (notional) determination of the meaning of the geometric shapes of the drawing.

The test is used for psychological diagnosis of personality, character traits, interpersonal relationships and characteristics of the nervous system. After analyzing its results, we can say that there are 8 personality types.

This technique provides interpretation at seven levels, but there is also an online version of the test. But only two of the seven levels are already applied there.

How to pass the test? Draw a ten-element human figure on an A4 quarter sheet of paper using triangles, circles and squares.

Read more about how to take the test and interpret the results in the article: Psychogeometry: how to determine character from drawings of geometric shapes.

Projective technique “Tree Drawing”

The “Tree Drawing” test was founded by a female psychologist from the USA, F. Goodenough. She dealt with problems of children's psyche. After her, Karen Machover created a system of criteria that help evaluate personality traits using this test.

Examples of projective methods

There are several most applicable and popular diagnostic methods.

Rorschach technique (Ink Blot Test)

This technique was developed by the famous Swedish psychiatrist G. Rorschach. She began working on the Ink Blot Test back in the 1920s. This is a projective test, which consists of asking the patient to look at 10 cards on which blots of different shapes are depicted. The images are symmetrical.

The patient must say what exactly he sees in the pictures, more accurately describe what the blots look like. This is an extremely simple and quick test that takes much less time than questionnaires that can have up to 100 questions. The Rorschach test requires a person to give a monosyllabic answer.

The doctor evaluates him according to five main criteria:

• Popularity or originality. Most people see the same thing in the pictures. If 9 subjects say that they see a butterfly, and 10 see a skull, then his answer is considered the most original.
• Content. This is what exactly a person sees in the image: a butterfly, a bird, a fantastic creature, etc.
• Localization. It is necessary to determine the area that the patient was looking at at the time the image was described. Perhaps the subject concentrated on one element of the picture or looked at it in general terms.
• Determinant. We are talking about shape, color and other details that the subject was able to see.
• Form level. It is necessary to assess how well what a person sees corresponds to the image.

After clarifying these criteria, the doctor must interpret the results obtained with the utmost precision. Such a test should only be carried out by a qualified psychologist who has the necessary experience and skills in working with patients.

Cactus

The main purpose of this test is to identify the emotional state of the child. The doctor determines how aggressive he is and to what extent his dissatisfaction is manifested. This diagnostic test is applicable when working with patients over 4 years of age. For the test you need a sheet of paper and a pencil. The psychologist asks the patient to draw a cactus, the way the child imagines it.

After this, the doctor asks the subject a series of additional questions. He should not rush the child; there is no time limit for this test. During the conversation, the psychologist asks what kind of cactus the child drew: wild or growing at home. The patient must tell what the plant will be like when it grows, whether it can be touched, and how to properly care for it.

If a child draws a cactus with a large number of needles, which are long and extend far from the trunk of the plant, then this indicates aggressiveness. If the lines are broken or the patient has been making too much use of the pencil, then this characterizes him as a rather impulsive person.

A self-centered person will draw a large cactus located in the center of the leaf. And if, on the contrary, the plant is very small and drawn in the corner of the sheet, then the child will show dependence and self-doubt. Bright colors in the picture indicate optimism, while dark colors indicate hidden anxieties. If the cactus is located in a flower pot, then this is a sign of the need for protection.

Sondi test

The official name of the test is Szondi-test. This is a type of project technique that was developed by L. Szondi in 1939. During testing, the doctor asks the patient to look at 6 series of photographs, 8 pictures each.

The cards depict the faces of people who suffer from certain mental disorders or diseases. The subject must choose from each series two images that seem least attractive to him.

If a patient selects 4 or more images that demonstrate the same disease, then it is highly likely that he himself suffers from such a deviation. In this case, it does not matter whether the subject has a negative or positive attitude towards such pictures.

Tree

Projective techniques in psychology are predominantly graphic. The Tree test is one of them. It was developed by E. Juckert. The patient is asked to draw a tree, which in psychology is often called a “frozen gesture.” This test has been changed several times over the years.

To complete the test, you must ask the subject to draw any tree that he likes. After this, the doctor also conducts a conversation with the patient, asking questions about the drawn tree. For example, you can specify the type of tree, its age, and height. After this, the specialist tries to evoke associations in the patient.

He asks who the tree looks like. You can even clarify his gender. The tree may have dreams, desires, or, on the contrary, it will be dead for the subject.

The doctor also evaluates the drawing itself. For example, a patient drew a spruce tree with a lot of details, branches, and the needles are very clearly drawn, then this indicates a tendency towards dominance.

Drawing test “Non-existent animal”

This test is recommended when working with teenagers and high school students. This is a fairly simple but very informative test. To do this, the patient needs to be given a piece of paper, a pencil and asked to draw some animal that does not actually exist.

In this case, the patient should not take as a basis the characters of fairy tales or what he saw in a science fiction film. It is important that he comes up with the character himself. The patient must also come up with a name for this animal.

When assessing a drawing, the psychologist also determines its size, location and other factors. For example, the type of lines can indicate a person’s energy. If he presses hard on the pencil, then he is very active, but barely noticeable lines indicate that the patient is constantly suffering from a lack of energy.

It is worth paying attention to the size of the character's head. The greater it is, the more attention the patient pays to the reasonable regulation of his behavior. If he drew an animal with a very small head, then he is guided by fleeting desires, bodily urges.

School of Animals

A similar test is performed when working with children who are just going to school. At this stage, the child experiences problems, but he is not yet able to get out of difficult situations on his own. To work, you need to prepare colored pencils or crayons and a sheet of paper. After this, you need to invite the child to imagine himself in a forest clearing on a sunny day.

In this clearing he should try to see the “School of Animals”. After this, you should ask him to draw all the students and tell them what they do. Next, you need to clarify with the patient what kind of animal he sees himself in this unusual school. At the same time, the child is limited in time. He must determine while the specialist counts to 10.

Having received the answers, the psychologist also evaluates all the drawings and conducts a conversation.

Projective technique “Sentence completion” (for egocentrism)

This technique allows you to assess the level of egocentrism in the patient. This is a study that must be conducted according to accepted standards in psychology. At the same time, the specialist receives a lot of information.

It is worth considering that egocentrism is not a diagnosis, but only an indicator of deeper personal problems. In fact, egocentrism is a symptom of many disorders, such as neurosis or psychopathy.

To carry out the diagnosis, the doctor gives the patient a sheet with 10 incomplete sentences. The subject must complete these sentences as quickly as possible and try not to think about what he is writing. For example, a person must tell what happened several years ago.

When studying the answers, the doctor pays attention to how many times in 10 sentences the patient wrote “I”, “me”, “mine” and other personal derivatives. If the patient uses such words no more than 1-3 times, then he does not have serious problems. Those people who write to themselves in almost every sentence (and this is not the purpose of the test) have great egocentrism.

Projective technique “My holidays”

Projective techniques in psychology allow you to work with patients of almost any age. This test is used by professional psychologists to determine the type of emotional orientation of the patient. The results must be assessed very carefully, so this test is not suitable for beginners. This technique is performed for patients over 10 years of age.

The test is given 15 minutes. During this time, the subject must imagine that all the holidays have disappeared. Now he must come up with a new holiday for every month, 12 in total.

In this case, you cannot use those activities that already exist. That is, the patient must come up with his own holidays and arrange them by month. At the same time, from the name of the holiday it should be clear what exactly is being celebrated, for example, “Dinosaur Day.”

After this, the doctor excludes those options that are too similar to real holidays. The remaining options are evaluated, and the specialist determines the emotional orientation of the subject’s personality using a point system. For each original holiday, the specialist gives 2 points. If multiple holidays fall into the same category, points will be deducted.

Family drawing

This is a test that combines several methods to assess intrafamily relationships. In this case, the images are also evaluated; the work is carried out mainly with children.

This diagnostic technique was first considered by K. Machover in 1949. After that, this testing was constantly refined. Today this technique is also called Wolfe drawing. According to this test, the child is asked to draw sequentially all the members of his family.

The doctor pays attention to the location of people in the picture. The fact that the subject did not draw someone from his family is also taken into account. According to the proportions of the people depicted, you can determine who in the family is the greatest authority for the child.

However, in his works, Wulf did not give a clear formulation and definition of each feature of drawing. Most of all, he paid attention to consistency. That is, the one whom the child drew first is the most important person for him.

This graphic testing system was modified by V. Hules. He suggested analyzing not only the sequence and the finished result, but also the drawing process itself. He paid attention to what emotions the patient experienced while drawing family members.

The most modern version of this research method is based on the graphic quality of the image. The specialist takes into account the lines, the pressure on the pencil, how accurately the drawing is made. It is also important on which part of the sheet the child draws his family: in the middle of the sheet or somewhere in the corner. After this, the formal structure needs to be assessed.

The specialist examines the dynamism of the drawing. The next step is to evaluate the content itself. The doctor may ask the child clarifying questions. For example, he can find out why the patient decided to draw his mother much taller than his father, although in reality the opposite is true.

Additionally, professional psychologists recommend asking provocative questions. The specialist's task is to encourage the child to reveal his emotional state and attitude towards parents, brothers and other family members. To do this, a psychologist can ask who the child is considered the best and worst in the family. Experts also often ask so-called sociometric questions.

This means that the answers to them can only be negative or positive. For example, you can ask your child what he thinks if there is no room in the car for everyone in his family, which members of his family will have to refuse the trip. Ultimately, the psychologist must clearly determine what the child depicted and what the hierarchy in his family is in his opinion. It's important to pay attention to detail.

Modern design techniques are often discussed in psychology. Although some experts do not recommend using such tests, there are those who believe that these techniques are very effective and easy to use. However, in any case, resorting to such diagnostic measures can only be done by studying these methods and their varieties in detail.

Classification of projective techniques and their varieties

The history of the development of the projective approach to psychodiagnostics shows that it does not exist outside the concept of personality measurement; however, the relationship between the projective method and theoretical ideas about personality is not unambiguous and unchanging. As a rule, projective tests - for example, the Thematic Apperception Test, the Zondi Test and other projective techniques allow one to obtain information that goes beyond theoretical models and reveal personality characteristics that are more complex than theoretically determined. At the same time, the information obtained with their help often does not have theoretical support, and, as a result, is not used for further scientific and psychological research. Therefore the study

Let's consider one of the earliest, and at the same time, meaningful attempts to streamline projective methods, proposed by Lawrence Frank. In 1939, he published the monograph “Projective Methods for Studying Personality.” This work was the first scientific attempt to standardize projective testing and generalize the approaches existing at that time. Unfortunately, it was not supported at that time - most projective tests were intended for the needs of clinical practice, so specialists were satisfied with the possibility of carrying out informal research.

At the same time, the classification proposed by L. Frank allows us to confidently classify the majority of modern projective techniques. It is based on the specificity of the subject’s reaction to stimulus material: experiences, actions, feelings that reflect the nature of perception of the stimulus material. L. Frank identified the following categories of projective techniques:

1. Constitutive . The procedures included in this group are characterized by situations where the subject gives structure, shape or configuration to an unspecified material. Such activity can be: a) objective in nature - the subject acts with his hands - using an amorphous, plastic substance (for example clay, paints, plasticine, etc.);

b) figurative nature - the subject observes unstructured stimuli (spots, blots, drawings, collages, etc.).

The most famous constitutive technique is the Rorschach test, which studies the characteristics of perception through 10 stimulus tables with images of symmetrical inkblots (see Fig. 2).

In addition to the Rorschach test, other tests have been developed that have similar subject matter and stimulus material. Thus, in the Holtzman test (1969)[112], the subject is presented with 45 tables, in the Zulliger test - 6[113].

Rice. 1. Stimulus material from the Rorschach (a), Holtzman (b), Zulliger (c) methods.

Constitutive research methods make it possible to characterize the characteristics of the perception of stimuli, and through discussion of ideas, to study the thinking style and personal characteristics of the subject. These methods are being actively standardized by specialists, which is reflected in the development of new schemes for processing results and interpreting the data obtained. The methods have significant clinical prospects and, despite the fact that they are used to a greater extent for the purpose of assessing difficulties and problems that lie in the field of perception, various researchers are considering the possibilities of their use for professional selection (Zulliger's technique), the study of creative abilities (Holtzman test) .

2. Constructive . In a study using the constructive projection method, the respondent is provided with specially prepared material in the form of specific objects: human and animal figures, models of cars, trees, etc.

The diagnostic task for the subject is to order objects in accordance with their internal ideas. For example, the subject is offered the task of building “his own world” (the instruction is present as a task of some structure of experience of a general nature, and in the future it has no independent meaning).

Due to the fact that the proposed objects symbolically represent elements of a wider space - life, activity, they have certain stable meanings. Thus, the house figure becomes the “native” or “parental” house, the male figure embodies “father”, “friend”, “boss”, the female figure becomes “mother”, “wife”, “sister”, etc. Symbolically expressing his ideas through figures, a person projects a real picture of relationships, problems, and conflicts. This is how the subject forms an image of social space—an objective, complete form.

Rice. 2. Projective technique - “The world in my dreams”

Note: in a special box with sand, the interviewee places figures symbolizing the objects of his world - home, work, place of rest.

The main task of the psychodiagnostician in this case is to analyze this projective structure and study its parameters. During the survey, it is necessary to clarify all the elements of this arrangement, clarify the meaning of each of them, and ask for an explanation of possible conflicts and contradictions between them. It is important for the specialist to maintain the symbolic connection between the subject and the construction he represents by asking about the history of the relationship between these figures.

During the interview, you should pay attention to the personal traits of the person being examined. Since in this case the process of projection is carried out through the representation of semantic relationships between real objects, as a result, some hidden, latent, unrealized needs of the individual should appear.

3. Interpretative . This name was given to a category of methods in which the subject independently tells what this or that stimulus situation means for him. The subject explains his idea of ​​the situation, the stimulus. It is assumed that analyzing the interpretation of images given by the subject, or composing stories based on the proposed pictures, provides an opportunity for a deep understanding of the feelings, motives, values ​​and interests of the subject himself.

The most common interpretive projective technique in modern psychodiagnostics is the Thematic Apperception Test, developed by Henry Murray in 1935. It is used to study the motives, needs and goals of the subject, to determine existing interpersonal conflicts, as well as intrapersonal experiences.

The complete set of TAT consists of 31 tables, one of which is a blank white field. Other tables consist of black and white images with some degree of ambiguity. It is important that in many cases uncertainty lies not only in the semantic component of the situation, but in the depicted object itself.

The survey kit includes 20 tables. They are selected depending on the gender and age of the subject. TAT can be used when working with people over 14 years of age. Please note that when working with minors (ages 14 to 18), the set of tables will differ to some extent from the standard set for working with people over 18 years of age. Other tables that directly address the theme of aggression have been excluded and replaced.

A complete examination using this method takes about 1.5 – 2 hours.

Figure 3. Samples of stimulus material of the Thematic Apperception Test

The subject must complete a task for each of the paintings presented to him. They are divided into two groups (from the first to the tenth and from the eleventh to the twentieth). The stories of the first group (the first ten pictures) reveal the public layer of the personality, the stories of the second series express the symbolic layer of tendencies and complexes. During the interpretation process, it is necessary to ask questions to the interviewee, following a certain plan:

1. Definition of the main character (Who is the main character in this image?).

2. Characteristics of the main character (Who is he, what is his character, whether he is a good or a bad person, what he is doing in general and at the moment in the image, etc.).

3. Determination of the motives, tendencies and feelings of the characters (What is happening, what the main character feels, what he thinks about, experiences, what is the strength of his feelings and thoughts).

4. Determining the influence on the main character (Who surrounds the main character, are they sociable, friendly or hostile, are they aggressive, do they dominate him, do they influence him, etc.).

5. Determining the results of the story (How will the situation depicted in the picture end? Is strength required to overcome it? Does the hero act or obey circumstances? Will the hero become happy, will he receive a reward or punishment?).

6. Clarification of the topic (What is the topic of this situation: success, conflict, competition, love, crime, etc.).

7. Determining the interests of the characters (What interests and relationships do the characters in this picture have?).

The average length of stories for each painting is approximately 300 words; stories of less than 140 words indicate low motivation and unwillingness to cooperate. It is important to note that stories contribute to higher detection and validity of interpretations, which is enhanced if in most of the pictures the hero is of the same gender as the subject.

4. Cathartic . In this case, the subject of the diagnostic examination is the process in which the subject discharges an emotion or feeling to a specific stimulus situation, while finding emotional relief. A given situation is realized in the context of the manifestation of affect reactions in relation to life circumstances, which are embodied in a stimulus situation, for example, in the process of playing with clay or toys.

The most famous psychodiagnostic technique is the method of J. Moreno. In psychodrama, the subject is offered the role of a certain character in a game. The content of such a game is based on his problems. With this approach, a person can freely express his feelings in improvisations guided by a psychologist. Other actors play the roles of the main characters who exist in his real life.

Moreno was based on the fact that every person has a natural ability to play, and while playing various roles, he gets the opportunity to experiment with possible realistic and unrealistic roles in life. In such conditions, there is an opportunity to creatively work on one’s own problems and existing conflicts.

When acting out a situation, conditions are created for spontaneity, creativity, a genuine emotional connection between the participants in the situation, catharsis that contributes to the achievement of creative activity, and the possibility of insight. Such diagnostic methods as “Garbage Bin”, “Magic Shop” are described.

When performing all psychodrama exercises, session participants carefully monitor current events and relate them to their personal difficulties. Psychodrama has not only diagnostic, but also serious psychocorrectional potential.

5. Refractive . The refractive projection procedure focuses on the characteristics of a person's speech activity. The key idea of ​​refractive approaches is that handwriting and speech patterns largely characterize personality traits and hidden motives[114].

For example, in graphology, handwriting is understood as a visually observable projection of various manifestations of a person’s individuality, recorded in handwriting. It is assumed that involuntary changes that are made to handwriting reveal the psycho-emotional state and some stable personality traits.

Indeed, from a functional point of view, handwriting is a complexly coordinated activity of the muscles of the arms and hands, which is determined by the activity of the human neuroendocrine system and the corresponding psychophysiological mechanisms.

In this aspect, the psychological interpretation of handwriting is based on the assessment of the motor components of handwriting - the degree of deviation of the writing of letters from the sample (copybook), curvature/straightness of writing letters, pressure, speed of writing, etc.

Rice. 4. Handwriting sample for studying the psychological properties of a person

Modern methods of handwriting analysis are aimed at assessing forms of social adaptation, the degree of criminality, social maturity, the nature of interpersonal relationships, the direction of social relationships, and methods of regulating behavior. The main disadvantages of handwriting studies are: a high level of subjectivity in assessing handwriting, insufficient standardization of criteria for identifying handwriting elements, systematicity and consistency of interpretation.

6. Expressive . The methods under consideration are aimed at studying personality traits based on the results of creative activity. It can be a drawing on a free or predetermined topic.

The classic method of this group of projective tests is the “House - Tree - Person” method (J. Book, 1948). During the study, the subject is asked to draw three objects: a house, a tree and a person. Next, a survey is conducted based on the developed plan. The technique is designed to study the personality characteristics of children aged 5 years and older; the test is also applicable to adults.

Currently, there are several versions of this test, suggesting significant differences not only in the way the results are processed, but also in the measurement procedure.

Rice. 5. Sample drawing “House – tree – man”

For example, R. Bern, when using the DDH test, asks to depict a tree, a house and a person in one drawing, that is, within the same scene. Researchers believe that the interaction between the house, the tree and the person represents some kind of visual metaphor.

The results of research in recent decades in the field of psychodiagnostics leave no doubt that drawing is an important source of information about the human psyche. However, as in the case of working with other projective methods, the ease of conducting and interpreting graphic tests is imaginary. Drawing can be a very sensitive diagnostic tool only in the hands of a competent specialist who is well aware of the possibilities, limitations and pitfalls of using drawing psychodiagnostic methods.

Having knowledge of the specifics of working with drawing techniques, it is possible to identify the degree of development of the subject’s motor skills, his individual typological and age characteristics, the specifics of his emotional state, the level of intellectual development, the state of interpersonal relationships, self-esteem, and personality orientation. However, expressive tests do not have sufficient validity to measure the needs and motivation of the respondent.

7. Impressive . The methods of this group are based on studying the results of choosing the proposed stimuli. The subject chooses the most preferred and desirable ones.

The most famous technique of this type is the Luscher test. It allows you to assess a person’s psychophysiological state, his activity, resistance to stress and communication skills, and find out the causes of psychological stress.

Rice. 6. Sample stimulus material of the Luscher test

In its abbreviated form, the technique consists of 8 colored squares (incomplete set). The subject is asked to choose the most pleasant color for him from the tables laid out in front of him. It cannot be correlated with the color of the clothes (for example, does it suit the face), with the upholstery of the furniture, or with anything else. The choice of color should be based on how preferable it is to others at the moment. The procedure is repeated with the remaining colored squares until a row is finally formed in which the colors are arranged according to their attractiveness. The psychological interpretation comes from the symbolic meaning of color.

The technique does not have a serious theoretical justification, hints of which appeared only in the later works of both Luscher himself and his followers. The interpretive approach of the methodology is based on the socio-historical symbolism of flowers, elements of psychoanalysis and psychosomatics. The experience of using the Luscher eight-color test in domestic conditions has confirmed its effectiveness.

8. Additive . These techniques require the subject to complete a beginning sentence, story or story. The very first mention of such tests dates back to 1897. The first to use them in his work was the German experimental psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus. He used this test to determine the intelligence of one of his patients. Methods of this kind are characterized by the thematic focus of sentences, and their sentence structure determines the form of expression of thought. The subject is asked to carry out speech activity (written or oral speech). The form of completion will be the sentence, as well as the position of its author.

One of the common methods is the Sack-Levi test of unfinished sentences (from English - SSCT - Sack's Sentence Completion Test, 1950). It allows you to determine the behavioral characteristics of an individual and the nature of his relationships with the outside world, as well as with himself.

Rice. 7. Sample stimulus material of the Sachs-Levy test

Based on the results of the Sachs-Levy test, it is possible to create a psychological portrait of the respondent and determine those areas of his public and personal life, interaction with the outside world, in which positive, negative or neutral attitudes prevail. The test can also reveal whether the subject has a tendency towards mental disorders.

In general, the classification of projective methods with later proposed changes and additions most fully characterizes modern projective technology. All types of projective tests are widely used in the activities of psychologists in the field of education, professional relations, medicine, sports and other industries. The main types of projective tests are constitutive, constructive, interpretive, cathartic, refractive, expressive, impressive and additive tests.

The theory of projection in the context of psychological theories of measurement has its own path of development, independent of projective measurement tools. Its potential is not limited to the area of ​​measurement; it can enrich the theory of personality, social perception and other areas.

To conclude the presentation, it is necessary to characterize the potential of the projective measurement method. The key circumstance that distinguishes the projective method from other research methods is a weakly structured stimulus that allows for an unlimited variety of possible answers. In addition to the stimulus, the source of information is the subject himself - an interview with him regarding the perception of the stimulus is used in a number of projective methods. Therefore, projective techniques are poorly formalized - they do not have information about the validity, reliability and standardization of results. These circumstances seriously limit the possibilities of their use in assessment and expert practice.

Projective measurement is unstable and subjective and needs to be supplemented by objective tests, standardized self-reports, and other sources of information. One should be careful about the results of psychological research, which is based on information obtained through the use of projective tools.

When interpreting the results, it is important to take into account that each projective technique is based on the theoretical concepts of classical psychoanalysis, Gestalt psychology or empirical patterns caused by illusions of perception. These ideas do not always agree with general psychological theories of personality and activity. A researcher starting to measure using projective methods needs to clearly understand the capabilities of this instrument, the limitations it has, and critically evaluate the prospects for using the information obtained.

Control questions

1. Is it advisable to use the projective technique without supplementing it with an objective test or subjective questionnaire?

2. What ideas about projection formed the basis of psychodiagnostic techniques?

3. What differences between the autistic projection and the complementary one determine its psychodiagnostic potential?

4. Is dialogue with the subject part of the projective method?

5. What are the features of the associative test by K.G. Jung allow us to classify it as a projective method?

6. What was G. Rorschach’s contribution to the development of the projective diagnostic method?

7. What constitutive projective tests do you know?

8. What details should be obtained from the subject when diagnosing him using the “Thematic Apperception Test” method?

9. Is it possible to study personal motivation using the method of expressive projection?

10. What limitations in using the projective method should be taken into account when interpreting its results?