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Biomedical subjects

J E Exner

Publications and source records attributed to J E Exner.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

Rorschach changes following brief and short-term therapy.

Two groups of 35 patients each, one treated with brief therapy, averaging 14.2 sessions on a once per week basis, and the other group, treated with a short-term type of therapy, averaging 47 sessions on a once per week basis were administered the Rorschach and the Katz Adjustment Scales-Form S three times. The first administration took place before entering therapy. The brief therapy group was tested a second time at termination of treatment and again 8 to 12 months following termination. The short-term therapy group was tested the second time at therapy termination and the third time 10 to 12 months after termination. Each group reported substantially fewer symptoms at termination and continued to report about the same level of symptom reduction at the second retest. The Rorschach data seem to provide an ample basis from which to argue that considerable improvement occurred in the psychological organization and/or operations of both groups, and this appears to have some confirmation in the self-report data.

Adult

Rorschach changes in long-term and short-term psychotherapy.

Over a period of several years, repeat Rorschach testing was done with two groups of patients receiving outpatient psychotherapy, a long-term group (n = 88) engaged in intensive, dynamically oriented psychotherapy and a short-term group (n = 88) involved in behavioral or gestalt therapy. Rorschach protocols were obtained at the beginning of the treatment and on three subsequent occasions, 1 year, 2 1/2 years, and 4 years later, when most of the long-term and all of the short-term patients had completed their therapy. The findings demonstrate generally beneficial effects of psychotherapy, greater change in long-term than in short-term therapy, and the validity of the Rorschach for measuring these effects and changes.

Adaptation, Psychological

Comments on "the Rorschach M response: a return to its roots".

These comments address three interrelated issues posed in Kramer's article concerning Rorschach's definition of the M response and the criteria for M that is applied in the Comprehensive System, the possibility that M may be overscored by the criteria for the Comprehensive System, and the issue of whether the Rorschach is amenable to quantification and empirical scrutiny. Kramer has oversimplified and misconstrued statements by Rorschach, Beck, and Bohm; in reality, the criterion for the scoring of M responses in the Comprehensive System differs very little, if at all, from that suggested by Rorschach. The accumulated history of the test seems to confirm that it is amenable to quantification and empirical scrutiny.

Humans

Searching for projection in the Rorschach.

The issue of assumptions concerning projection and the Rorschach is discussed in relation to the Rorschach response process and the process of projection. Some data suggest that some minus answers may evolve because of projection, but the limited nature of the findings indicate that these types of projected answers will be difficult to identify in most cases. Findings concerning passive and aggressive movement responses, morbid content responses, and movement answers, coded using a new special score for positive cooperative interaction (COP) in human and animal movement responses, suggest that most projections will manifest in responses that depart from and/or embellish the stimulus field. Caution is recommended about attempting to interpret single answers tht appear to be projections, because most any might be the product of simple stimulus classification.

Adult

The Rorschach response process.

Five groups of subjects, consisting of 20 schizophrenics, 20 depressives, 20 nonpatient adolescents, and 40 nonpatient adults split at the median on the MMPI K Scale, were instructed to give as many responses as possible to each Rorschach card within a 60-second time limit per card. The average number of answers given by each group was dramatically greater than the mean number obtained under standard test conditions, with approximately two-thirds of all answers occurring during the first 30 seconds of card exposure. Evaluation of form quality shows no deterioration of goodness of it with the increase in R, that is, all groups, except the schizophrenics, consistently gave good form quality answers. After testing was completed, subjects in the four adult groups were asked to select their two "best" answers to each card. The high K nonpatients and depressive tended to select the greatest number of Popular answers while the schizophrenics selected the fewest Populars and picked a significant number of poor form answers. In a related study, 20 therapists recruited two each of their own patients for testing. Each therapist tested one of his own patients while the second patient was tested by another therapist. Results show that therapists and to obtain longer and more "revealing" protocols from their own patients. The findings of these studies are discussed in the context of stimulus assimilation, ranking of interpretations, and the issue of social desirability.

Adolescent

Some Rorschach data concerning suicide.

The Rorschachs of 59 effected suicides and 31 attempted suicides, all of which were collected within a period of 60 days prior to the critical event were categorized in terms of method used, and subjected to a computer scan to determine if any constellation of variables occurred with a greater frequency than in the protocols of three control groups, comprised of inpatient depressives, inpatient schizophrenics, and nonpatients. A constellation of 11 variables is reported, a composite of eight or more correctly identifies 75% of the effected group and 45% of the attempters while occurring with a relatively low frequency among controls. Data are also presented from a group of 33 records collected within five days after a suicidal attempt revealing that those records do not differ essentially from either of the two psychiatric control groups. The findings are discussed in terms of the problems of prediction, and in the context of the probable psychological structure of many suicide prone people.

Adolescent

Some psychological characteristics of prostitutes.

Ninety-five prostitutes, differentiated into five intra-occupational categories based on their method of operation, and an equal number of nonprostitute demographically matched controls, were interviewed and administered the WAIS Vocuabulary subtest, the MMPI, and the Rorschach. The data reveal that prostitutes on the upper end of the intra-occupational scale, such as call girls and those working in-house, are not significantly different from the nonprostitute controls. At the other end of the intra-occupational scale, street-walkers appear to be less mature and more dependent than their controls. Part-time prostitutes, such as housewives and drug dependent subjects, yield major indices of psychopathology.

Dependency, Psychological