Projective Techniques

Projective Techniques are indirect and unstructured methods of investigation which have been developed by the psychologists and use projection of respondents for inferring about underline motives, urges or intentions which cannot be secure through direct questioning as the respondent either resists to reveal them or is unable to figure out himself. These techniques are useful in giving respondents opportunities to express their attitudes without personal embarrassment. These techniques help the respondents to project his own attitude and feelings unconsciously on the subject under study. Thus Projective Techniques play a important role in motivational researches or in attitude surveys.

Important Projective Techniques

1. Word Association Test.
2. Completion Test.
3. Construction Techniques
4. Expression Techniques

1. Word Association Test: An individual is given a clue or hint and asked to respond to the first thing that comes to mind. The association can take the shape of a picture or a word. There can be many interpretations of the same thing. A list of words is given and you don’t know in which word they are most interested. The interviewer records the responses which reveal the inner feeling of the respondents. The frequency with which any word is given a response and the amount of time that elapses before the response is given are important for the researcher. For eg: Out of 50 respondents 20 people associate the word “ Fair” with “Complexion”.
2. Completion Test: In this the respondents are asked to complete an incomplete sentence or story. The completion will reflect their attitude and state of mind.
3. Construction Test: This is more or less like completion test. They can give you a picture and you are asked to write a story about it. The initial structure is limited and not detailed like the completion test. For eg: 2 cartoons are given and a dialogue is to written.
4. Expression Techniques: In this the people are asked to express the feeling or attitude of other people.

Disadvantages of Projective Techniques

1. Highly trained interviewers and skilled interpreters are needed.
2. Interpreters’ bias can be there.
3. It is a costly method.
4. The respondent selected may not be representative of the entire population.