The aggression response and the Rorschach

Abstract

We propose the addition of four aggressive indices for Rorschach scoring: aggressive content, aggressive potential, aggressive past, and sado‐masochism scores. Interrater agreement is presented and ranges from 92‐100%. Nomothetic comparisons are made between groups with higher base rates for violence with mixed results, although the sado‐masochism frequency was significantly higher in severe psychopaths than in moderate psychopaths. Idiographic use of the aggression indices is emphasized, with a particular focus upon inferring the quality, intensity, and directionality of intrapsychic aggression in relation to self and object representations.

Personality Styles and Dynamics of Alaska Native and Nonnative Incarcerated Men

“…An advanced clinical psychology PhD student collected 21 protocols and a licensed clinical psychologist collected 7. All Rorschach protocols were scored by the Melinda H. Glass according to the Exner Comprehensive System (1993) and Meloy and Gacono's (1992) aggressive categories. For purposes of interscorer reliability, 20 protocols scored independently by Marilyn J. Tkachuk were compared with Melinda H. Glass's scored protocols and percentages for agreement were calculated for the eight categories recommended by Exner (1991).…”

“…When incarcerated, these inmates seem to experience anxiety, helplessness, and engage in rumination about their plight (elevated Y and V). Meloy and Gacono (1992) also used the Rorschach to examine the presence of aggression in a male ASPD sample. In an attempt to differentiate nonpsychopaths and psychopaths among ASPD, they used the Aggressive Movement (Ag) response from the Exner Comprehensive System (Exner, 1986) and four other categories using Rorschach content: Aggressive Content (AgC), Aggressive Potential (AgPot), Aggressive Past (AgPast), and Sado-masochism (SM).…”

“…When compared to the normative data for nonpatient adults, Ag scores were less frequent among both the nonpsychopaths and psychopaths. Meloy and Gacono (1992) concluded that aggression is egosyntonic for ASPDs, allowing them to censor aggressive responses in situations they decide are inappropriate. In 1994, Gacono and Meloy further refined their work on aggression, stating that the lower frequency of aggressive responses in the protocols of ASPD men was due to the egosyntonic nature of these impulses that did not result in the intrapsychic tension that seemed to fuel the Rorschach aggressive response in nonpatients.…”

“…The aggressive categories described by Meloy and Gacono (1992) are Aggressive Movement (AG; Exner, 1986), Aggressive Content (AgC), Aggressive Potential (AgPot), Aggressive Past (AgPast), and Sado-masochism (SM). Gacono and Meloy (1994) found the interrater reliability for these aggression categ0ries to be high: AG was 92%, AgC was 95%, AgPot was loo%, and AgPast was 96%.…”

To Resume a Stalled Psychotherapy? Psychological Testing to Understand an Impasse and Reevaluate Treatment Options

“…3 The Rorschach was administered and scored according to the CS (Exner 2003), although a testing-the-limits "second inquiry" was applied selectively following the standardized administration (described in chapter 3 of Bram & Peebles, 2014). Additionally, the sequence of scores presented in Appendix B includes some notations outside of the CS (e.g., Aggressive Content [AgC]; Meloy & Gacono, 1992). more sensitively, buffering my comments so that she could hear them in a less injurious way?…”