The MMPI and the Rorschach Inkblot Technique - Coursework Example

A man called Hermann Rorschach started it in the year 1921. Psychologists use it to examine emotional functioning as well as a person’s personality. The Rorschach test is about knowing people’s spontaneous verbal responses when it comes to vague ink blot pictures. In terms of comparing and contrasting the two tests, it is evident that there are similarities and differences between them. Despite the fact that both tests are widely used, they are each administered to different kinds of people and for different reasons.

The Rorschach test helps make sense of the way people react to ambiguous inkblot pictures while the MMPI helps determine how people react to true or false questionnaire (Martin, 2002). Patients suffering from schizophrenia are the ones the Rorschach test is intended for. Currently, the test is administered to small children, adolescents who are emotionally disturbed, crime suspects and trauma victims. The only comparison is that both tests are used on individuals to check individual’s health in order to try administering the correct medication for their illnesses.

A scenario where the Rorschach test could be used to help the individual being tested would be that of children. The Rorschach test is able to cover a person’s lifetime personality in a very extensive manner (Dombeck, 2013). Thus, clinicians can use it to help children identify their personalities. By using, the Rorschach variables all the way from childhood, adolescence up to adulthood can help monitor the child’s growing ability to adjust their behavior when emotions are involved (Berghout et al 2013).

A scenario whereby a child is monitored all the way to adulthood helps control the person’s character and shape them once they get out of line. Another scenario whereby it would help a person is to gauge how traumatized he is especially after going through a horrific incidence. The diagnosis will help determine what kind of treatment to administer to the trauma patient to help them get better. A scenario where the Rorschach test would hurt the individual is administering the test on a crime suspect and just because his or her answers seem to show deviance he is branded a criminal while he or she may be innocent.

The Rorschach test up to today is used in court proceedings and for this reason should the clinician find the suspect Rorschach tests to be inconsistent, it may end up hurting him especially in a criminal case where he gets convicted. For both the MMPI and the Rorschach a clinical interview might influence the interpretation of tests results in different ways. For the MMPI, the clinical interview can determine the test results interpretation in that there is certain validity scales used to assess and interpret the results.

For the MMPI the person undergoing the test may feel intimidated by the clinical interviewer for whatever reason especially when it comes to dealing with criminal cases. The person may be inclined to lie, be defensive or decline to answer. If the person being interviewed does not feel comfortable with the interviewer the interpretation of the results may turn out different. For the Rorschach ink block test, a clinical interview might also influence the test results because the person being tested may say what he or she thinks the clinical inte