Rorschach test

plural Rorschach tests

1. human sciencesA method of psychological evaluation that uses a person's interpretations of inkblots or similar images to discover information concerning his or her personality, emotional functioning, or unconscious mind.

   Psychologists have dozens of projective methods to choose from beyond the Rorschach Test, the TAT and figure drawings.

   2001 May 28, Scott O. Lilienfeld, James M. Wood, Howard Garb, “What's Wrong with This Picture?”, in Scientific American, →DOI, →PMID, page 85

   Synonyms: blot test, inkblot test, Rorschach, Rorschach inkblot test

2. broadlyAny test of an individual's perception of phenomena.

   She demurely took out a piece of paper with an ink blot on it, a Rorschach test . […] Poe said he had been saved by Desmond FitzGerald, the patron saint of knuckledraggers, who sent him away from headquarters to keep him from getting […]

   1996, Roger Warner, Shooting at the Moon: The Story of America's Clandestine War in Laos, Steerforth Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 84

3. figurativelySomething which reveals the intent or belief of a person.

   Because Irvine asserts that the earlier case law interpreting section 2280 was incorporated into Probate Code section 15401, but offers inconsistent interpretations of the law, it has become a Rorschach test for the parties.

   2004, Scott A. Huscher, Appellant, v. Wells Fargo Bank, as Trustee, etc., Respondents (Huscher v. Wells Fargo Bank), Court of Appeal of California, Second District, Division Eight, Docket #B168103

   2 more examples

   And indeed, many of Mr. Trump’s supporters watch the same videos from Minneapolis and find in the sometimes murky images details that to them vindicate the shootings, actions by Ms. Good or Mr. Pretti that appear more threatening than what many others see. In effect, the videos have become a national Rorschach test for American polarization.

   2026 January 25, Peter Baker, “For Trump, the Truth in Minneapolis Is What He Says It Is”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC

   The chatty bots became the talk of Silicon Valley and an elaborate Rorschach test for belief in the current state of A.I. According to countless posts on the internet and myriad interviews with The New York Times, many saw a technology that could make their lives easier.

   2026 February 2, Cade Metz, “A Social Network for A.I. Bots Only. No Humans Allowed.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN