Psychiatrists and psychoanalysts are often sceptical of the Rorschach test because they suppose that objectively verifiable criteria are lacking for its interpretation. They assume that the content of the responses to the test constitutes the psychologist's basic material, and that interpretation of the subject's responses may be contaminated by the interpreter's free associations. Unfortunately some psychologists do draw their conclusions mainly from content and its sequence and attempt to justify this procedure by designating it a 'standardized, or controlled, interview situation'.

It is clear that many kinds of stimulus, including a skilful psychiatric interview, could serve the same purpose. To extract from the responses to the ten inkblots no more than the content of the responses means to forego the very essence of Rorschach's stroke of genius; namely, systematization of the manner in which subjects