Make Your Point > Archived Issues > RORSCHACH TEST
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pronounce
RORSCHACH TEST:
Several ways are correct. I prefer "ROAR shock test."
To hear it, click here.
connect this word to others:
Ah, Rorschach test. It smells so psychological.
So do three of the bold words below! Can you find them? The other three smell mathematical. Which are which? (To review any, just give them a click.)
cipher
fremdscham
groupthink
idée fixe
incongruous
quantifiable
definition:
Courtesy of Wikipedia, here's an ink blot used in the Rorschach test, made by the Swiss psychologist Hermann Rorschach in 1921:
Is it a demon? A cooked turkey? A lovely pile of leaves?
Who knows? And that's the point. The test was supposed to be perceptive, showing how people visually interpret objects. But other psychologists turned the test into a projective one, trying to determine personality types by analyzing what people "saw" in the ink blots. Of course, the analysis was totally subjective. And no scientist takes the Rorschach test seriously anymore as a measure of personality or visual perception.
But we still use the term! Figuratively speaking, a Rorschach test is a thing that gets interpreted in different ways by different people, giving us an understanding of how they think.
grammatical bits:
Part of speech: noun, the countable kind, and the proper kind (meaning you always capitalize the R): "it provided a Rorschach test," "they served as Rorschach tests."
Other forms: just the plural, "Rorschach tests."
how to use it:
Refer to something as a Rorschach test, often for some diverse group of people: "a Rorschach test for modern Americans."
What kinds of things can be called Rorschach tests? Anything open to interpretation, such as an event, a crisis, a result, a document, a statement, a photograph, a video, a song, a work of art or literature, etc.
examples:
"The accelerating climate crisis is a Rorschach test, with everyone responding differently to the inkblot of planetary trauma. Hard deniers (a shrinking group) believe...that established science is not real; softer deniers may understand the problem on some osmotic level but choose not to engage. Others react with outrage, terror, or gallows humor..."
— Rachel Riederer, The New Yorker, 17 October 2019
"The average black family earns about half as much as the average white family... This kind of evidence is like a political Rorschach test that looks very different to liberals and conservatives. What looks to liberals like evidence of discrimination looks to conservatives like evidence of racial disparities in hard work and responsible behavior."
— Keith Payne, Scientific American, 18 July 2019
has this page helped you understand "Rorschach test"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "Rorschach test" without saying "projective test" or "way of seeing how different people interpret the same thing."
try it out:
"People choose their story line," writes Peter Baker in the New York Times, and there are "competing versions of reality." He goes on to call the president of the United States a "Rorschach test."
Following Baker's example, talk about another famous person, from the past or present, who seems like a Rorschach test. What are some of the different reactions we have to this person? What do those reactions reveal about us?
before you review, play:
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
Our game this month is "Subject Line Crosswords."
We'll revisit some of the email subject lines from 2019 issues, using them as a tool for recall.
Each day this month, see if you can complete the mini-crossword with words we studied last year. If you need extra clues, look below the puzzle to view definitions and parts of speech. And I'll share the answers in the following issue. Enjoy!
From the previous issue:
Extra clues:
ACROSS
2. noun or adjective meaning "(someone who is) cold, hard, overbearing, and way too focused on facts, especially numbers"
3. noun meaning "an uncertain state or status, usually somewhere in between two well-defined states"
DOWN
1. noun meaning "anything that seems so large, so impressive, and so solid and permanent that it reminds you of a grand building"
Answers:
If you like, you can review the words Gradgrind, limbo, and edifice.
Try this today:
Extra clues:
ACROSS
1. adjective meaning "creepy, spooky, or sinister in a way that seems to suggest that something bad will happen"
3. adjective meaning "hopeful and confident in a cheerful way"
DOWN
2. noun meaning "a link, a connection, or an intersection"
review this word:
A. A WAY WITH WORDS.
B. A UNIVERSAL TRUTH.
C. A SPIRIT OF EXCELLENCE.
2. In the graphic novel miniseries Watchmen, one of the ironies of the character named Rorschach is _____. And, in a twist that's surprisingly appropriate, many fans of this miniseries _____.
A. the fact that he's a total nutcase .. refuse to believe that Rorschach is fictional
B. the ugly but symmetrical mask covering his face .. theorize that Rorschach's true face is handsome
C. his absolutism: his black-and-white thinking .. debate hotly whether Rorschach is the hero or the villain
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
Ah, Rorschach test. It smells so psychological. Courtesy of Wikipedia, here's an ink blot used in the Rorschach test, made by the Swiss psychologist Hermann Rorschach in 1921:
Part of speech: noun, the countable kind, and the proper kind (meaning you always capitalize the R): "it provided a Rorschach test," "they served as Rorschach tests."
Refer to something as a Rorschach test, often for some diverse group of people: "a Rorschach test for modern Americans."
"The accelerating climate crisis is a Rorschach test, with everyone responding differently to the inkblot of planetary trauma. Hard deniers (a shrinking group) believe...that established science is not real; softer deniers may understand the problem on some osmotic level but choose not to engage. Others react with outrage, terror, or gallows humor..."
Explain the meaning of "Rorschach test" without saying "projective test" or "way of seeing how different people interpret the same thing."
"People choose their story line," writes Peter Baker in the New York Times, and there are "competing versions of reality." He goes on to call the president of the United States a "Rorschach test."
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
Extra clues:
If you like, you can review the words Gradgrind, limbo, and edifice.
Extra clues:
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