Projective tests are a type of personality test that is designed to have a person react to ambiguous stimuli to potentially reveal hidden emotions that are projected onto the test. In the Rorschach Inkblot Test a person is shown a series of ten black and white cards and asked to report the first thing that comes to mind. The participant then says what came to mind and may project some emotions onto the inkblot that were previous unmentioned. The person administering the test then records aspects of their reactions like gestures and tone of voice. In a thematic apperception test or TAT a person is shown an ambiguous scene and asked to create a story around it. The person can then reveal emotions that they did not previous mention in the story by stating how the characters feel and how the story ends. In a projective test a lot is up for interpretation based on the individual and how they are feeling at that time making the test lack both reliability and validity because of no grading scale being set in stone and results being inconsistent.
