A discussion of the Rorschach's validity as a diagnostic tool seems most manageable when validity is addressed not in terms of global personality descriptions, but rather in terms of specific subquestions. This paper investigates the Rorschach's usefulness as an indicator of cognitive functioning in preadolescent children. Within a developmental framework and focusing primarily upon the cognitive theories of Jean Piaget, predictable stages of the child's intellective growth are described with an emphasis on Rorschach response patterns which seem to best chronicle that growth. Empirical data from both clinical and educational spheres are offered as supportive evidence for the Rorschach as a cognitive correlate. An additional area of focus involves special administrative, scoring, and interpretive considerations of the Rorschach with young children. Though less documented by empirical data, these three areas have been extensively addressed by clinicians via theoretical assumptions and clinical observation. Halpern's theoretical assumptions regarding the development of the child's cognitive skills as well as the traditional scoring systems of Klopfer and Beck will be review. Ledwith's longitudinal study of children's Rorschach responses provides substantial normative data regarding specific scoring categories, and the relationship of certain response patterns to age. In a composite sense, then, the Rorschach emerges as an effective correlate of cognitive functioning in children, and may in fact tap certain cognitive processes in limited populations even more adequately than traditional standardized measures of I.Q.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ucf.edu/oai:stars.library.ucf.edu:rtd-1395 |
| Date | 01 July 1979 |
| Creators | Barber, Patricia Parry |
| Publisher | University of Central Florida |
| Source Sets | University of Central Florida |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Retrospective Theses and Dissertations |
| Rights | Public Domain |
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