Iconic blots of ink on today's Google Doodle honor Swiss psychologist Hermann Rorschach's 129th birthday. But over a century later, the validity of his famous psychological test—the Rorschach—depends on the eye of the beholder.
Hermann Rorschach was born November 8, 1884, in Zurich, Switzerland. His brief career included positions in several Swiss and Russian hospitals, clinics, and asylums before his appointment as associate director of the asylum in Herisau, Switzerland.
But the test that bears his name brought Rorschach enduring fame. Rorschach created it from the roots of a popular, ink stain-driven parlor game known as Klecksographie. When he noticed that schizophrenics saw the blots very differently than did others, Rorschach suggested using the card test to diagnose this disease. (Related:
Hermann Rorschach was born November 8, 1884, in Zurich, Switzerland. His brief career included positions in several Swiss and Russian hospitals, clinics, and asylums before his appointment as associate director of the asylum in Herisau, Switzerland.
But the test that bears his name brought Rorschach enduring fame. Rorschach created it from the roots of a popular, ink stain-driven parlor game known as Klecksographie. When he noticed that schizophrenics saw the blots very differently than did others, Rorschach suggested using the card test to diagnose this disease. (Related: