PROJECTIVE

TECHNIQUES
Discussby:
Merto,AngelitoG.
BSEValuesEducation

DEFINITION
These technique are based on the

phenomenon of projection.
In these technique quite unclear and
unstructured stimuli are provided to the
subject and he or she is asked to structured
them in any way they likes.
In doing so they unconsciously projects
their own desires, hopes, fears,
reserved, wishes etc.

1. Projection
Psychological technique to get answers

without asking a direct question.

Participants project their unconscious
beliefs into other people or objects.
Reduces threat of personal vulnerability.
Consists of a stimulus and a response.

2. Associations
Uncovers a brands identity or product
attributes.
Word association for a product/brand.
Draw brands as people.
Test Examples;
Word Association Test

3. Construction
Process allows participant to
construct meaning.
Participant constructs a story or picture
from a concept.
Bubble drawings or cartoon tests ask
participant to construct a dialogue.
Test Examples;
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
Bender Gestalt Visual and Motor Test

4. Completion
For insight into participants
need value system.
Sentences, stories or conversations are
completed.
Ex. When I think of beer..
Test Examples;
Sach Sentence Completion Test
Rosenweig Picture Frustration Test
Roters Incomplete Sentence Blank (RISB)

5. Expressive
For situations when participants
cannot describe their actions but
can demonstrate them.
Participants role play or act out a story.
Themes are developed based on
participants personal interpretations of
pictures.

6. Choice Ordering
Useful for rank ordering
characteristics associated with a
brand, product or service.
Participants lists benefits from most to
least important.
Used with probing techniques to gather
insight into consumer benefit choices.

SACH
Sentence Completion Test

DEFINITION

Sentence completion methods are presentations of

the beginning of sentences which then requests that

the subjects complete the sentence any way they
would like.
This method is based on the idea that it will reveal
more about thoughts, fantasies, and emotional
conflicts than testing with direct questions (Weiner &
Greene, 2008).

DEFINITION

Tests are developed to be as vague as possible so

the most amount of projection as possible can occur.

If the questions or instructions are too clear they will
not promote freedom of expression and the results
will say nothing.
For example, a sentence beginning with The worst thing about
growing old is not going to provide as much opportunity for a
response as Other people. (Holaday, Smith, & Sherry, 2000).

Overall they try to eliminate sentences that

could possibly be completed with a one

word answer.

HISTORY

Generally credited with

developing the first

sentence completion test in
1879.
Used as part of an
intelligence test.
He uses his test to study his
interest in the development
intellectual capacity and
reasoning ability in children.
Hermann Ebbinghaus

HISTORY
Was the first to look at if

sentence completion could be

used for personality
assessment.
He thought the personal
meanings of word associations
could be used.
He popularized the idea that
inner notions could be
analyzed through peoples
associations of different words.

Carl Jung

HISTORY
In his methods, he would say

a list of words to the person

being tested and with each
word, the client would be
asked to say the first thing
that came to their mind
(Hersen, 2003).
Jungs test used mother,
father, sex and work.
Carl Jung

I'm going to say a word and you say the

first word that comes into your mind.

HISTORY

The beginning of using the formal sentence

completion method for personality assessment

was in 1928 with Arthur Payne.
Payne used the tests for guidance purposes in
asylums and institutions and to assess careerrelated personal traits (Schafer, Rotter, Rafferty,
1953).

HISTORY

Alexander Tendler used the method to study

emotional reactions.
With his tests, all his sentences began with I and
revealed something about annoyances, fears,
aversions, likes, interests, and attachments.
It has never been validated that these tests can
be used in emotional contexts (Schafer et al,
1953).

HISTORY

As opposed to Tendler and Payne, Amanda Rhode decided not

to focus on specific aspects of personality, but used the

measure to develop a general personality test.
She developed the first validated personality measure of this
kind and discussed abroad range of personal issues and
experiences (Rhode, 1957).
The purpose of the measure was to reveal hidden needs,
sentiments, feelings, and attitudes which subjects would be
unable or unwilling to recognize or to express in direct
communication (Weiner & Greene, 2008).
Most sentence completion methods today were developed from
the basis of Amanda Rhodes test and theories.

HISTORY

One of the most popular of these tests is the RISB, or

Rotter Incomplete Sentence Blank.

The original version of the test was developed in 1950 by
Rotter and Rafferty.
The main objective of the test was to create a version of the
sentence completion method that could be administered and
scored easily to permit a widespread use.
They also wanted to provide specific diagnostic criteria so
the results of the exam could be obtained more quickly.
However, the test was not intended to give a full view of
personality, but more of a starting point for clinicians to take
direction from.

HISTORY

The current version of this test has three forms at

different levels including High School, College, and

Adult.
The test is scored on a seven point scale with answers
being tagged from a conflict to neutral to positive rating.
It takes about 15 to 35 minutes to complete with scoring
ranging in time depending on the familiarity with
administering the test.
This is the most popular form of the Sentence
Completion Method used today (Hersen, 2003).

USES

The uses of sentences completion test

include personality analysis, clinical

application, attitude assessment,
achievement motivation and
measurement of other constructs.
They are used in several disciplines,
including psychology, management,
education, and marketing.

NATURE OFTHE TEST

Dr. Joseph M. Sacks and other

psychologist of the New York Veterans

Administrative Mental Hygiene Service
developed a sentence completion test
designed to obtain significant clinical
material in four representative areas of
adjustment.
SSCT typically provide respondents
with beginnings of sentences, referred
to as stems, and respondents then
complete the sentences in ways that
are meaningful to them.

Dr. Joseph M. Sacks

NATURE OFTHE TEST

1. Scale Family

The family is included three sets of attitudes

namely:
a. Towards mother
b. Father
c. And family unit
It is hope that even when the subject
becomes careful, at least one of the
four items in each area will reveal
significant responses.

NATURE OFTHE TEST

2. Sex

The sex area includes attitudes towards woman

and heterosexual relationship.

The 8 items in this area allows the subject to
express himself with regards to woman, towards
marriage, and with respect to sexual relationship.

NATURE OFTHE TEST

3. Interpersonal Relationship
The area of Interpersonal

Relationship includes attitudes

towards friends and
acquaintances, colleagues at
work or school; superior at
work or school, and people
supervised.
The 16 items test in this area
affords the subject to express
his feelings towards those.

NATURE OFTHE TEST

4. Self-concept
The area of self-concept

includes fear, guilt feelings,

goals and attitudes towards
ones own ability, concept of
himself as he is, he was
and as he hopes to be.
There are 24 items included
in this area.

VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY

Usually, sentence completion tests can be interpreted in 2

different ways:
1. Subjective intuitive analysis of the underlying motivations projected
in the subjects responses, or
2. Objective analysis by means of scores assigned to each completed
sentence.

Multiple ideas can occur in a short test, which gives the

examinee multiple opportunities to reveal underlying

motivations about each topic during data analysis.
Most sentence completion tests are much
longer-anywhere from 40 to 100 stems and
contain more themes anywhere from 4 to 15
topics.

VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY

Sentence completion tests usually include some

formal coding procedure or manual.

The validity of each sentence completion test
must be determined independently and this
depends on the instructions laid out in the
scoring manual.
Compared to positivists instruments, such as
Likert-type scales, sentence completion tests
tend to have high face validity.

SCALE

2 - Severely Disturbed

Appears to require the therapeutic aid in handling

emotional conflicts in this area.

1 - Mildly Disturbed
Has emotional conflict in this area but appears able to
handle them without therapeutic aid.
0 No Significant
Disturbance rated in this area.
X Unknown
Insufficient evidence.

INTERPRETATION GUIDE
Attitude towards mother (14, 29, 44, 59)
2 = completely rejects and depreciates mother whom he
considers over demanding.
1 = sees mother fault but accepts and tolerates differences.
0 = express only positives feelings towards the mother.

Attitude towards father (1, 16, 31, 46)

2 = feels extreme hostility and contempt with overt death

wishes.
1 = admires father but wishes that their relationships were
closer.
0 = expresses complete satisfaction with fathers personality.

INTERPRETATION GUIDE
Attitude towards family unit (12, 27, 42, 57)
2 = feels rejected by the family which lacks unity and
which has constantly contented with difficulties.
1 = aware that the family does not recognize him as a
mature person but has no difficulty in relating with them.
0 = instability of the family residence has had little effect on
his favorable feeling towards them.

Attitude towards women (10, 25, 40, 55)

2 = extremely suspicious, possible homosexual tendency.

1 = high ideas but unsure feelings.
0 = only minor or superficial criticisms.

INTERPRETATION GUIDE
Attitude towards heterosexual relationship (11, 26, 41, 56)
2 = appears to have given up achieving good sexual
adjustment.
1 = deserved sexual experiences but reservation about his
ability to maintain marital relationship.
0 = indicates satisfaction towards this area.
Attitude towards friends and acquaintances (8, 23, 38, 53)
2 = suspicious and apparently reclusive.
1 = seems to wait approval of others before committing
himself emotionally.
0 = express mutual relationship with friends and self.

INTERPRETATION GUIDE
Attitude towards superior at work or in school (6,

21, 36, 51)

2 = dislike or fear authority.
1 = mild difficulty in accepting difficulty.
0=
Attitude towards people supervised (4, 19, 34, 48)
2 = feels he can handle or control hostility in handling
others.
1 = feels capable of doing good supervisory but has
misgivings about assuming an authoritarian role.
0 = feels controllable and well accepted by subordinates.

INTERPRETATION GUIDE
Attitude towards colleagues at work/school

(13, 28, 43, 58)

2 = feels rejected by colleagues, and condemns them.
1 = has some difficulty at work and depends on colleagues.
0 = expresses good mutual feelings.

Fear (7, 22, 37, 52)

2 = disturbed by the apparent fear of loving possibility to

control his feelings.
1 = fear of self-assertion which is fairly common and not
pervasive.
0 = lack of fear.

INTERPRETATION GUIDE
Guilt feelings (15, 30, 45, 60)
2 = concerned with spiritual feelings and physical sex
drives.
1 = has regret over past and seems mildly disturbed by his
failure to control his trouble.
0 = does not seem to be aware of guilt feelings.

Attitude towards own ability (2, 17, 32, 47)

2 = feels completely incompetent and hopeless.

1 = feels he has a specific ability but tends to fear difficulty.
0 = confident on his ability to overcome obstacles.

INTERPRETATION GUIDE
Attitude towards past (9, 24, 39, 54)

2 = feels rejected and isolated.

1=
0 = feels well adjusted, no significant disturbance in the past.
Attitude towards the future (5, 20, 35, 50)
2 = pessimistic, no hope in his own resources for happiness and
success.
1 = unsure of himself but tries to be optimistic.
0 = seems confident in achieving his goals.
Goals (3, 18, 53, 49)
2 = lack of motivation for achievement.
1 = desires material things for family as well as for himself.
0=