NCJ Number
49848
Journal
Perceptual and Motor Skills Volume: 38 Dated: (1974) Pages: 726
Date Published
1974
Length
1 page
Annotation
RORSCHACH TEST RESULTS ARE USED TO COMPARE THE PERSONALITIES OF AN EQUAL NUMBER OF BLACKS AND WHITES IN A SAMPLE OF SUBJECTS OF CONVICTED MURDERERS.
Abstract
IT IS NOTED THAT LESTER AND LESTER (1974) INDICATED THAT BLACK AND WHITE MURDERERS DIFFER IN VARIOUS ASPECTS, SUCH AS THE METHOD USED AND THE EXTENT OF INVOLVEMENT WITH ALCOHOL. THE PRESENT STUDY EXPLORES WHETHER OR NOT BLACK AND WHITE MURDERERS HAVE ANALOGOUS PERSONALITY DIFFERENCES. FOR 100 SUBJECTS CONVICTED OF HOMICIDE, RORSCHACH PROTOCOLS WERE AVAILABLE IN THE FILES OF THE LESTER STUDY. THE 33 BLACK SUBJECTS WERE MATCHED FOR AGE AND INTELLIGENCE WITH 33 OF THE WHITE SUBJECTS, WITH THE SUBJECTS' MEAN AGE BEING 34.7 YEARS. THE TWO GROUPS DID NOT DIFFER IN TOTAL NUMBER OF RESPONSES TO THE RORSCHACH, AND THE PROTOCOLS HAD BEEN SCORED PREVIOUSLY BY LESTER, WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE OF THE HYPOTHESIS TO BE TESTED IN THIS STUDY. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT RESPONSES TO RORSCHACH STIMULI BY BLACK AND WHITE MURDERERS ARE SIMILAR; HOWEVER, IT IS INDICATED THAT THIS MAY REFLECT THE INFLUENCE OF A VARIABLE SUCH AS THE EFFECTS OF IMPRISONMENT, WHICH MAY OBSCURE THE EFFECT OF THE VARIABLE OF RACE. DATA FROM THE STUDY ARE INCLUDED, ALONG WITH REFERENCES. (RCB)