The Rorschach, Basic Foundations and Principles of Interpretation Volume 1 [Hardcover]

John E. Exner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 25, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0471386723 | ISBN-13: 978-0471386728 | Edition: Volume 1

The fully revised edition of the premier guidebook to the Rorschach test

For the last three decades, Dr. John Exner's Comprehensive System has been the leading approach worldwide to administering and interpreting the Rorschach test. The Rorschach: A Comprehensive System, Volume 1, Fourth Edition retains the thorough, authoritative coverage that has kept this book at the forefront of the field, while combining approaches to both evaluation and interpretation for the first time in a single volume. This new edition provides updated research and information on administering, scoring, and interpreting the Rorschach test, as well as new normative data, coverage of recent controversies and criticisms of the test, and illustrative case studies.

New to this edition:
* Latest normative data for interpreting the Rorschach
* More cases illustrating the techniques for administering, scoring, and interpreting the test
* New chapters on interpretation
* A chapter on recent controversies surrounding the test


The Rorschach: A Comprehensive System remains the most enlightened and influential guide to the test.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

The fully revised edition of the premier guidebook to the Rorschach® test

For the last three decades, Dr. John Exner’s Comprehensive System has been the leading approach worldwide to administering and interpreting the Rorschach® test. The Rorschach®: A Comprehensive System, Volume 1, Fourth Edition retains the thorough, authoritative coverage that has kept this book at the forefront of the field, while combining approaches to both evaluation and interpretation for the first time in a single volume. This new edition provides updated research and information on administering, scoring, and interpreting the Rorschach® test, as well as new normative data, coverage of recent controversies and criticisms of the test, and illustrative case studies.

New to this edition:

• Latest normative data for interpreting the Rorschach®
• More cases illustrating the techniques for administering, scoring, and interpreting the test
• New chapters on interpretation
• A chapter on recent controversies surrounding the test

The Rorschach®: A Comprehensive System remains the most enlightened and influential guide to the test.

About the Author

JOHN E. EXNER Jr., PHD, is Professor Emeritus in Psychology at Long Island University in New York; Executive Director of the Rorschach Workshops, which he founded in 1968; and Curator of the Rorschach Archives and Museum in Bern, Switzerland. He is past president of the International Rorschach Society and has received numerous awards including the American Psychological Association's Distinguished Contributions to Knowledge Award in 1997. Dr. Exner is the author of many scholarly works, including eight books on the Rorschach test.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 696 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; Volume 1 edition (October 25, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471386723
• ISBN-13: 978-0471386728
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #116,578 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Updated Classic, December 2, 2002

By 

Steven D. Hickman "stevepsyd" (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Rorschach, Basic Foundations and Principles of Interpretation Volume 1 (Hardcover)

As a clinical psychologist who uses the Rorschach regularly and teaches it to graduate students, I have always relied upon this volume as a bible of sorts for all-things-Rorschach. The newest edition is a wonderful updating of the classic. Despite being about the same number of pages as the last edition, this volume packs much more information in, and is written in a more concise and relevant way. Exner has updated some of the historical lore regarding Hermann and the roots of his test, as well as incorporating a full chapter on controversies surrounding the Rorschach. Furthermore, the interpretive section is modeled after the format of the very useful Primer on Rorschach Interpretation, and incorporates all of the recent changes and innovations in the Comprehensive System. This volume could easily be the "one stop shop" for Rorschachers, as it has normative data, administration and scoring guidelines, and a well-organized interpretive section. Who could ask for more?

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally: An overview of important validity research, May 9, 2003

By 

Carl-Erik Mattlar (Stockholm, Sweden) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rorschach, Basic Foundations and Principles of Interpretation Volume 1 (Hardcover)

The Rorschach, and also the Comprehensive System (RCS), has been inadvertently criticised - continuosly - although the research associated with the reliability and validity of the method has increadingly accumulated during the years - and in particular in the late 90's. However, as Kubiszyn (?) et al. recently have written, this research is not all that easily found, nor is it for the ordinary clinician particularly easy to read and understand, part of it being so complex and statistically advanced. Therefore, this book - published by Wiley in 2003 - is so important. It not only gives the development and structure of the RCS, nor the strategy of cluster analysis, but the book contains hundreds of well conducted bot reliability and in particular validity studies, aggregated in proper places where the different variables and ratios are described - and this is an immense improvement as compare to the 1993 (3rd) edition. I, who am the person primarily responsible for convincing people in Finland of how well the RCS functions - as well as teaching psychologists to mastery - am extremely grateful for all the additional and well organized research published here. When I wrote a about 20 pages review of reliability and validity for the Yearbook Rorschachiana 2003 this would have bene an assed to have - now I am primarily using it in an RCS educational program (165 lectures)in Finland. I am also producing an excerpt of probably some 50-60 singlespaced pages in Finnish regarding in particular the most important peaces of scientific work, confirming the reliability and validity reseacrh related to the RCS!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book will get tabbed and highlighted, July 7, 2009

By 

Kristen B. Gaynor - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Rorschach, Basic Foundations and Principles of Interpretation Volume 1 (Hardcover)

The Exner coding system can be daunting to learn at first. Out of the three textbooks used in my projective course, this text was by far the best. The introductory chapter discusses the test's background in an interesting manner. The remaining chapters provide guidance to coding and interpretation. The book is well-organized with numerous examples interspersed throughout the text. There are also 6 complete protocols of varying complexity for additional coding practice. I found these sample items to be more consistent with one another and clear-cut than the practice coding items in the Exner workbook.

Overall- highlight, tab, write all over this book, and keep it always within reaching distance.