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This book would show the connection between the Rorschach and other approaches, in this case linking it with language style, such as flow, availability and richness.
The focus is on repression and its reflection in the limitation of both the ideational process and the availability of language which ensues. Rorschach Index of Repressive Style is built around a scoring manual which gives operational definition to this general conception in terms of a scoring system for Rorschach responses. The categories assessed are specificity, elaboration, impulse responses, primary process thinking, self-reference, movement, and organization.
Levine and Spivack begin the book with a good review of the literature on repression, both theoretical and experimental. The technique they have devised is ably constructed to catch hold of the thought process at its brief moments of conceptualization. Validation of the tool is promising; hysterics produce more repressed records than obsessive-compulsives, normals less repressed records than neurotics, psychosomatic patients higher repression scores, mental hospital patients with earlier discharge show less repression and, by its correlary, greater psychological responsiveness.
The authors steer a sensible course between actual reporting of research findings and clinical interpretation.
It would seem to me, that the technique shows promise in dealing with the problem of assessing potential creativity. The findings suggest that the repression index reflects a general richness of intellectual and affective responsiveness, and a readiness to experience one's inner processes and to respond accordingly—the very well-springs from which creativity draws its source. If this measure is then combined with measures of appropriateness of the response (like F + per cent) it may turn out to be a helpful index in our efforts to detect creative talent early in adolescence, to provide encouragement and opportunities where the creative spark first flickers.