Showing papers in "Psychological Science in the Public Interest in 2000"
TL;DR: This paper presents a meta-modelling system that automates the very labor-intensive and therefore time-heavy and therefore expensive and expensive process of manually cataloging and cataloging medical equipment for use in the health care system.
Abstract: John A. Swets, Robyn M. Dawes, and John Monahan BBN Technologies (emeritus), Cambridge, Massachusetts; Radiology Department, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, Department of Social and Decision Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and School of Law, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia
774 citations
TL;DR: This monograph reviews the current state of the literature concerning the psychometric properties of three major projective instruments: Rorschach Inkblot Test, Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), and human figure drawings and concludes that there is empirical support for the validity of a small number of indexes derived from the Rorshach and TAT.
Abstract: Although projective techniques continue to be widely used in clinical and forensic settings, their scientific status remains highly controversial. In this monograph, we review the current state of the literature concerning the psy- chometric properties (norms, reliability, validity, incremental validity, treatment utility) of three major projective instru- ments: Rorschach Inkblot Test, Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), and human figure drawings. We conclude that there is empirical support for the validity of a small number of indexes derived from the Rorschach and TAT. However, the substantial majority of Rorschach and TAT indexes are not empirically supported. The validity evidence for human figure drawings is even more limited. With a few exceptions, projective indexes have not consistently demonstrated incremental validity above and beyond other psychometric data. In addition, we summa- rize the results of a new meta-analysis intended to examine the capacity of these three instruments to detect child sexual abuse. Although some projective instruments were better than chance at detecting child sexual abuse, there were virtually no replicated findings across independent investigative teams. This meta-analysis also provides the first clear evidence of substantial file drawer effects in the projectives literature, as the effect sizes from published studies markedly exceeded those from unpublished studies. We conclude with recommendations regarding the (a) construction of projective techniques with adequate validity, (b) forensic and clinical use of projective techniques, and (c) education and training of future psycholo- gists regarding projective techniques.
610 citations