Scales in Development

These scales are coding criteria currently under development by various research teams. These are not formal R-PAS variables but rather experimental scales with preliminary evidence of validity and reliability. Published studies have utilized these criteria, and some may eventually be integrated into the R-PAS system. We make these resources available to support ongoing research and to encourage replication and validation efforts across independent samples.

Breaking the Card Boundary (BCB)

Developed by Gregory J. Meyer, Ruam P. F. A. Pimentel, Giselle Pianowski, and Maarten Vanhoyland

Document: Breaking the Card Boundary (BCB) Coding Criteria.pdf

Brief Explanation: Criteria for coding responses that extend beyond the physical boundaries of the Rorschach cards. When respondents treat the response as if it were real (a subcomponent of DR responses), this may reflect perceptual-cognitive processes relevant to thought disorder, reality testing, or feigning.

Best for: Psychosis research, cognitive processing studies, feigning and malingering

Papers using these guidelines: 

Kiss, A., Mihura, J.L., Meyer, G.J., Pimentel, R.P.F.A, Kletzka, N., (2023). Comparing Committed Forensic Inpatients to Nonpatients Instructed to Feign Insanity or Not Using Scores from the Rorschach Task and Self-Report. Psychol. Inj. and Law 16, 141–157. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12207-023-09473-5

Grandiosity and Narcissism Variables (GNVs)

Developed by Gregory J. Meyer, Emanuela S. Gritti, David P. Marino, and Larson E. Sholander

Document: Coding Criteria for Rorschach Grandiosity and Narcissism 02-16-21.pdf 

Brief Explanation: Systematic criteria for identifying grandiose and narcissistic themes in Rorschach responses. Developed to assess pathological narcissism through specific response characteristics.

Variables in this document:

• OMP (Omnipotence): Claims of unrealistic powers, specialness, or inflated worth; includes using "editorial we," asserting task is easy/obvious, lecturing examiner, or using intellectualized verbiage to display alleged knowledge.
• IDL (Idealization): Identifying unrealistic, all-good, or powerful objects; describes humans, animals, or objects in excessively positive terms (handsome, magnificent, grand, heroic) or perceives enhanced/spectacular forms.
• PER (Personal Knowledge Justification; from the Manual): Referring to personal knowledge or experience to justify or bolster a response in a defensive way (e.g., "It's a tulip. I know they look just like that; we grow them in the backyard").
• EPR (Expanded Personal Reference): "Everything relates to me" - seeing oneself in the card, putting oneself into responses, expressing personal feelings about percepts, or referencing personal experiences.
• EMS (Elevated Mood States): Positive affective states - figures described with fun, pleasure, happiness; objects with elevated/hypomanic mood; or respondent expressing positive, elevated, or euphoric mood.
• NDV (Narcissistic Devaluation): Narcissistically invested or positive objects that are simultaneously devalued or denigrated (e.g., "an ugly flower," "a stupid giant").
• NDF (Narcissistic Deflation): Objects missing key identity parts, possessing deflated/impotent parts, or dying/decaying; imagery of inadequacy, incompleteness, and shame (e.g., "a bird without wings").
• NDN (Narcissistic Denial): Preserving positive perception by denying or minimizing weakness, vulnerability, or unattractiveness (e.g., "This person is not desperate," "She's crying but just acting").
• EXH (Exhibitionism): Objects designed for or on display to an audience - performers, show animals, costumes, or objects in contexts of exhibition.
• MAG (Magic): Magical figures (wizards, witches, sorcerers) and objects associated with magic (wands, amulets) or attributed with magical/supernatural power.
• r (Reflection; from the Manual): Object and its symmetrically-identified mirror image or reflection; may suggest need for mirroring affirmation or self-centered processing.

Best for: Personality pathology research, narcissistic personality disorder studies

Papers using these criteria: 

Gritti, E. S., Marino, D. P., Lang, M., & Meyer, G. J. (2017). Assessing narcissism using Rorschach-based imagery and behavior validated by clinician reports: Studies with adult patients and nonpatients. Assessment, 0, 1-19. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1073191117715728

Gritti, E. S., Meyer, G. J., Bornstein, R. F., Marino, D. P., & Marco, J. D. (2020). Narcissism and reactions to a self-esteem insult: An experiment using predictions from self-report and the Rorschach task. Journal of Personality Assessment. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223891.2020.1848854

Hinrichs, J. (2016). Inpatient therapeutic assessment with narcissistic personality disorder. Journal of Personality Assessment, 98, 111-123. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00223891.2015.1075997

Pleasant or Appealing Expressions (PAE)

Developed by Gregory J. Meyer, Giselle Pianowski, Ruam P. F. A. Pimentel, & Ana Carolina Zuanazzi

Document: Pleasant or Appealing Expressions August 27, 2024.pdf

Brief Explanation: Code emotionally positive expressions that are antithetical to depressed moods. Complements the EMS scale by capturing instances where respondents describe the task or cards as pleasant or appealing, without necessarily reflecting elevated mood states in the percepts themselves.

Best for: Studies examining depression, positive affect expression, and task engagement

Papers using these criteria: [In development]

Self-Critical and Helpless Behavior (SCHB)

Developed by Gregory J. Meyer, Ana Carolina Zuanazzi, André Gonçalves, Giselle Pianowski, & Ruam P. F. A. Pimentel

Document: Self-Critical and Helpless Behavior August 27, 2024

Brief Explanation: A three-level scale assessing manifestations of self-criticism and helplessness during Rorschach administration. Captures dependency-based and self-critical depressive expressions, including reassurance-seeking, concerns about meeting standards, and expressions of inadequacy.

Best for: Depression research, particularly anaclitic vs. introjective depression subtypes

Papers using these criteria:  [In development]

Scales of Problematic Communication and Thinking (SPCT)

Developed by Gregory J. Meyer, Emily T. O’Gorman, Joni L. Mihura, Donald J. Viglione, & Maarten Vanhoyland

Document: SPCT Coding Guide - 06-10-23.pdf

Brief Explanation: Anchored rating scales for quantifying problematic communication and thinking expressed in Rorschach responses.

Variables in this Document:

• DCC (Disorganized and Confusing Communication): Oddities in describing a response - ranges from clear communication (0) to incomprehensible speech (5). Includes confusing phrases, tangential statements, neologisms, and digressive speech.
• IVJ (Illogical Verbal Justification): Oddities in justifying a response - ranges from logical reasoning (0) to severely flawed/preposterous logic (5). Includes overly concrete reasoning, excessive certitude, and bizarre causal links.
• IPC (Incongruous Perceptual Combinations): Oddities in combining visual images - ranges from logically structured objects (0) to impossible visual structures with bizarre elements (5). Includes objects with incongruous attributes, actions, or implausible relationships.

Best for: dimensional thought-disorganization research

Papers using these criteria: [In development]

Trauma Experience Index (TEI)

Developed by Joni L. Mihura, Kim Görner, & Emily Meadows

Document: https://osf.io/xjsy4/

Brief Explanation: The TEI codes verbal and behavioral signs that may reflect trauma re-experiencing (and related avoidance) during a Rorschach administration. It includes two components, each with two severity levels. Only one component can be coded per response, though both can occur in the same response.

Components:

• DTR (Distressing or Trauma-related Recollection): It captures when a response is explicitly or implicitly linked to a personal traumatic recollection (e.g., reminders of a scary/damaging event or reporting a flashback).
• AER (Aversive Emotional Reaction): It captures a fear/anxiety-related emotional reaction to the inkblot/percept (including clear avoidance behaviors such as covering or turning the card away when tied to an aversive reaction). 

Best for: trauma/PTSD process research, trauma intrusions and avoidance during testing, IPV and abuse-history validation studies

Papers using these criteria: 

Mihura, J. L., York, D. J., Boyer, S. M., Ausman, E. M., Meadows, E. A., & Meyer, G. J. (2025). Behavioral signs of trauma on the Rorschach: Development of the Trauma Experience Index. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy. Advance online publication. https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/tra0001924 

Ui Hwang, C., & Kim, E. Y. (2025). MMPI-2, BDI-II, and Rorschach in the Assessment of PTSD: A Study of First Responders in South Korea. Rorschachiana. https://doi.org/10.1027/1192-5604/a000204