Effect of form-color incongruity on responses to inkblots

Abstract

Research using Rorschach or other inkblot materials has in general not supported, nor clarified, the hypothesis that "color shock" phenomena depend on an association between color and affect as suggested by Rorschach Schachtel (9) and others. Siipola ('O) and Bruner and Postman(6) have offered an alternative hypothesis, essentially that it is the incongruity between what is suggested by the form of a blot and what is suggested by the color which leads to the behaviors which are labelled emotional. A subject will encounter certain difficulties when asked to identify ((a cat colored like a frog" @)), or a playing card with color and suit reversed, such as the three of hearts colored black(6).When asked to identify, or respond in some other way to, a stimulus with such form-color incongruity, the behavior of subjects may be characterized by longer reaction times, more variability in content of responses, and more verbalized awareness of color. Furthermore, some subjects may show "disruption" in their behavior: "a gross failure of the subject to organize the perceptual field at a level of eaciency usually associated with a given viewing condition" @).The effects of form-color incongruity have in general been supported by experimental studies where the stimuli were selected on an a priori basis to maximize incongruity, and where the experimental procedure imposed systematic limits on the responses which a subject could give. As examples, the studies of Bruner and Postman(6), Berlyne(4), and Hamlin, Stone, and Moskowitz(6) may be cited as clearly supporting the incongruity hypothesis. Each of these studies employed widely different procedures and stimuli, and different responses; yet all agree in confirming the effect of perceptual incongruity in increasing response time. In contrast to such studies, other experiments have attempted to confirm the incongruity hypothesis with various "unstructured" stimuli, and with responses consisting of (5nventive associations" to a blot or the like. These studies have yielded conflicting and inconclusive results. The studies of Siipola(l0), Lazarus and Oldfield (7), and of Berg and P01yot'~) may be cited as examples. These studies justify the conclusion that the effect of incongruity is at least very difficult to demonstrate with unstructured materials and free responses resembling those employed in the Rorschach. HYPOTHESESThe present paper reports experimental results pertinent to the problem of demonstrating the effect of form-color incongruity with unstructured inkblots and with Rorschach-like responses. The following hypotheses were tested : (a) Incongruity will increase reaction times. (b) Incongruity will decrease number of popular responses. (c) Incongruity will increase use of color as a determinant. PROCEDUREAn analysis of variance design was used with 204 female undergraduate students at the University of Pittsburgh. Each subject was given an Ishihara color-blindness test and was asked if she had ever taken a Rorschach test. No subject was included, in computing results...