Session Abstract: This session provides an update on recent research conducted using an experimental or neurophysiological approach to advance our understanding of the Rorschach response process. First, Juve et al. report on an eye-tracking study that investigates the extent to which selected eye-tracking parameters would associate with R-PAS scores of interpretive variables located in the Stress and Distress domain. Laera et al. then describe a psychophysiological research study aimed at testing the validity of R-PAS to predict one’s physiological reactivity and vulnerability to stress, using cortisol level changes as the criterion variable. Next, O’Donoghue et al. introduce a novel electronic application that can be used to administer R-PAS both remotely as a tele-neuropsychological assessment tool and in person as an aid in protocol collection and scoring. Ales et al. then provide preliminary data from using a new electronic app for remote R-PAS administration to determine whether the remote administration of the Rorschach task in an electronic form yields different information than in-person administration with the cards in hand. Lastly, Kopitz et al. close the session by presenting results from an eye-tracking study investigating whether R-PAS scores would associate with information acquisition strategies shown by the test-taker while viewing human faces.
Chair Information: Luciano Giromini, PhD | University of Turin- Italy
Discussant Information: Barry Dauphin, PhD | University of Detroit Mercy
Presentation 1 Title: Eye Movement Correlates of R-PAS Stress and Distress Domain Variables
Presentation 1 Abstract: Building upon the Ales et al. (2020) research into the relationships between eye movement (EM) variables and the Engagement and Cognitive Processing Domain of the R-PAS, the current study focuses upon the Stress and Distress Domain. The current study also expands the number of EM variables utilized to strengthen our understanding of information acquisition strategies related to Stress and Distress.
Authors:
Mindee Juve, PhD | Appleton VA Clinic
Ellen Day, PhD | Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center
Mellisa Boyle, PhD | University of Toledo Medical Center
Barry Dauphin, PhD | University of Detroit Mercy
Harold Greene, PhD | University of Detroit Mercy
Presentation 2 Title: Predictive validity of Rorschach R-PAS variables in the Stress and Distress domain: a study on salivary cortisol concentrations during oral examination
Presentation 2 Abstract: In psychoneuroendocrinology, acute stress refers to a cascade of neurohormonal and metabolic responses to situations that are characterized by unpredictability and uncontrollability (Koolhaas et al., 2011), leading to a rapid activation of the sympathetic nervous system and to an activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. This typically causes the release of stress hormones such as cortisol (Takahashi et al., 2005), and causes changes in physiology (e.g., heart rate, skin temperature and perspiration). Even if the stress response of the HPA is rather complex and modulated by numerous factors (Hellhammer et al., 2008), salivary cortisol assays offer a reliable, increasingly accessible and affordable method for quantifying psychological stress (Pisansky, 2016).
Research suggests that university exam stress is the most significant source of stress experienced by undergraduate students and it seems to be a good inducer of cortisol and psychological responses to stress (Weekes et al., 2006). This research project thus aims to investigate the predictive validity of Rorschach R-PAS variables in the Stress and Distress domain by testing whether they could predict increased sympathetic reactivity and vulnerability to stress.
At the baseline (T1), saliva samples from 71 student volunteers were collected into 2 ml polypropylene microtubes (SARSTEDT®), using the passive drool method (Gröschl, 2008). Next, all 71 volunteers were administered the Rorschach, using R-PAS method. At T2, about one month after, saliva samples were collected during an oral examination for an university exam. Because it takes approximately 10 minutes for cortisol produced by the adrenal glands to manifest in saliva (Kirschbaum et al., 1993), samples were 10 minutes after the start of the exam session.
Data analyses focused on the extent to which R-PAS variables could predict cortisol level changes from T1 to T2. Results partially confirmed a-priori formulated hypotheses, with some of the variables located in the Stress and Distress interpretive domain of R-PAS showing correlations in the expected direction with cortisol level changes.
Authors:
Domenico Laera, PsyD | University of Bari- Italy & Clinical Psychology Service, Mental Health Department, ASL Taranto- Italy
Giuseppe De Palma, PhD | Institutional BioBank, Experimental Oncology and Biobank Management Unit, IRCCS Istituto Tumori "Giovanni Paolo II"- Italy
Morena Bottalico, PsyD | University of Bari- Italy
Luciano Giromini, PhD | University of Turin- Italy
Alessandro Taurino, PhD | University of Bari- Italy
Presentation 3 Title: Assessing Potential R-PAS Score Differences for In-Person and Remote Administration
Presentation 3 Abstract: The utility of the R-PAS can be demonstrated by association to extra-test behaviors. This study examines R-PAS variables in the context of a human face processing task in which participants are asked to discern facial emotions after brief presentations of faces. The R-PAS assists in understanding participants’ information acquisition strategies.
Authors:
Elizabeth M. O’Donoghue, BA | University of Toledo
Gregory J. Meyer, PhD | University of Toledo
Ruam P. F. A. Pimentel, MA | University of Toledo
Joni L. Mihura, PhD | University of Toledo
Presentation 4 Title: R-PAS Variables Associated with Information Acquisition Strategies When Viewing Human Faces
Presentation 4 Abstract: In this study, we compare summary scores for variables in the Rorschach Performance Assessment System (R-PAS) obtained using remote administration with electronic inkblot stimuli to scores obtained using traditional in-person administration with inkblot stimuli on cardstock and held in hand. The remote administration data was collected from University of Toledo undergraduates after the pandemic began and the comparison in-person administration data is archival data collected from University of Toledo undergraduates prior to the pandemic.
Authors:
Jess Kopitz, MS | University of Detroit Mercy
Mellisa Boyle, PhD | University of Toledo Medical Center
Ellen Day, PhD | Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center
Mindee Juve, PhD | Appleton VA Clinic
Barry Dauphin, PhD | University of Detroit Mercy
Harold Greene, PhD | University of Detroit Mercy
Presentation 5 Title: Can the Rorschach be Administered Remotely? A Review of Options and a Pilot Study Using a Newly Developed R-PAS App
Presentation 5 Abstract: The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has required psychologists to adopt measures like physical distancing and mask wearing, though other safety procedures such as travel restrictions or prohibitions on in-person practice and research have fostered use of telehealth tools. In this paper, we review options for using the Rorschach task via videoconference and provide preliminary data from using a new electronic app for remote R-PAS administration to determine whether the remote administration in an electronic form yields different information than in-person administration with the cards in hand. As a pilot study, our focus is on the “first factor” of all Rorschach scores, i.e., Complexity. Data were collected from 60 adult Italian community volunteers and statistical analyses evaluated the extent to which the average Complexity score significantly departed from R-PAS normative expectations (SS = 100), accompanied by Bayesian likelihoods for supporting the null hypothesis. Results suggest that the general level of Complexity shown by the test-takers when administered the Rorschach remotely with the new R-PAS app closely resembles that previously observed using ‘standard’ in-person procedures. Tentative analyses of other R-PAS scores suggested normative departures that could be due to the effects of the app, testing at home, or responses to the pandemic. We offer recommendations for future research and discuss practical implications.
Authors:
Francesca Ales, PhD | University of Turin- Italy
Gregory J. Meyer, PhD | University of Toledo
Joni L. Mihura, PhD | University of Toledo
Andrea Corgiat Loia, MS | University of Turin- Italy
Sara Pasqualini, MS | University of Turin- Italy
Alessandro Zennaro, PhD | University of Turin- Italy
Luciano Giromini, PhD | University of Turin- Italy