An Exploratory Study of Intellectualization in the Rorschach Inkblot Test

Abstract

While intellectualization has been discussed in the psychoanalytic literature, empirical investigation of this defense mechanism is limited. This study examined intellectualization in the Rorschach Inkblot Test and explored its relationship to intelligence (WASI-II FSIQ), affective restraint and an obsessive-compulsive cognitive style. Using archival data of 190 demographically diverse volunteers from Central California, nonparametric correlations (Spearman’s rho) and post hoc analyses were performed to examine the relationships among the above-stated variables.

As predicted, a small, positive correlation was observed between intellectualized content (IntCont, R-PAS method) and Full-Scale IQ r_s(189) = .166, p = .023. Of the IntCont components (Art, Anthropology, Abstract), responses coded for “Art” were most strongly related to intelligence. Intellectualization was also found to be positively correlated with a range of obsessive-compulsive cognitive stylistic variables including protocol complexity and each of the complexity components (Content, Determinant and Location/Space/Object Quality Complexity), IntCont was not meaningfully correlated with indicators of affective restraint.

This study facilitated further validation of the IntCont variable within the R-PAS. Study limitations study included the examiners’ limited experience administering and scoring the Rorschach, the use of a convenience sampling method, uneven age distribution of the volunteer sample, and the sample being more educated than the general population. As such, the results from this study should be considered in light of these limitations.