New Directions in Rorschach Research: I. The Process-Reactive Differentiation

Abstract

Research has demonstrated that psychiatric diagnoses bear no relationship to certain important psychological variables, e.g., broad personality characteristics or even such clinically important issues as aetiology or prognosis (Frank, 1975). From that research, one dimension emerged which did yield information regarding aetiology and prognosis, viz., the process-reactive differentiation. As it seems important to examine this differentiation from a personological point of view, this review focused on the Rorschach performance of process and reactive schizophrenics. Essentially, the Rorschach studies suggest that process schizophrenics manifest more serious psychopathology cognitively than do reactives. Suggestions for further research were made.