Rorschach Testimony

Abstract

The Rorschach test is widely used in both clinical and forensic evaluations, but a standard of practice for its use in courtroom testimony has not been articulated. The author develops six guidelines for expert witnesses who testify about the scientific data generated by the Rorschach: training and use of a scoring system, accurate scoring, knowledge of validation research, avoidance of overinterpretation of the data, use of plain language to describe Rorschach variables, and the appropriate material to bring to the witness stand to ethically protect the security of psychological tests and measures.