The ink blot and the ink blot test were developed by swiss psychiatrist Dr. Hermann Rorschach. According to Exner (1993), the first publication of Hermann Rorschach's 10 inkblots was in 1921 as a monograph, Psychodiagnostik. For the 1940's and 1950's, the Rorschach was the test of choice in clinical psychology. It fell into disfavor as many clinicians began criticizing it as "subjective" and "projective" in nature. Ironically, this was never the intention of Rorschach.
While working in a psychiatric hospital with adolescents, he noticed that certain children gave characteristically different answers to a popular game known as blotto (Klecksographie). In his original publication he characterized the blots as a "Form Interpretation Test, and cautioned that his findings were preliminary and stressed the importance of much more experimentation" (Exner, 1993, p. 6). Sadly, Rorschach died in 1922 at the age of 37. He had only invested just under four years in his inkblot test.
In many countries, performing psycho-diagnosis is a major role of the psychologist who works in a clinical setting. Among the psychological tests most frequently used, inkblot techniques are the most favored. (Sundberg, 1961; Hinkle, Nelson and Miller, 1968; Sharma, Ojha and Vagrecha, 1975; Wade, Baker, Morton, and Baker, 1978; Dubey, 1982). Published in 1921, the Rorschach psycho-diagnostic test occupied a major position in the inkblot technique until 1956 when Wayne Holtzman developed his technique, to overcome some of the limitations of the Rorschach.
The needs of the busy clinicians and the increasing demands for psycho- diagnosis inspired Wilfred Cassell to develop a system of inkblot techniques. He uses modern video technology to make it usable as a self-administered technique. Before discussing the various limitations of existing inkblot techniques, it is worthwhile to trace the history of the use of inkblot procedures in psychological investigation.