Rorschach German is a Swiss psychiatrist who went down in history thanks to the author’s method of personality research. Later, this test was used to study impaired consciousness. It is called "Rorschach Spots" and is a set of ten ink blots bent in half. Each of them causes certain associations in the patient. The specialist fixes them, analyzes and reveals the degree of mental disturbance. In this article, we will talk about the Rorschach test and present his brief biography. So let's get started.
Parents
Rorschachs were in the community of the small town of Arbon in northern Switzerland. Herman's ancestors did not leave her for several centuries. His father Ulrich was the first to break the tradition. In 1882, he married Wydenkeller of the Philippines and two years later left his hometown.
First they went to Zurich. But after the birth of Herman (in 1884), the Rorschach family moved to the city of Schaffhausen. Ulrich worked as a decorator, but the work did not bring him satisfaction. Therefore, Rorschach Sr. continued his studies at the school of applied art. He was a gifted draftsman and often fascinated children with stories depicted on paper. In 1886, Ulrich was taken as a teacher of painting at the school and school of Schaffhausen. He was a witty conversationalist, a caring husband and a kind person. His wife Philippines possessed the same qualities.
Childhood
At first, German Rorschach attended a public school, and after its graduation he moved to the cantonal. She was distinguished by a higher level of training and a better teaching staff. In all subjects, Herman showed equally good results. He was a well-mannered and zealous young man.
When Rorschach was 12 years old, his mother passed away. The housekeeper now took care of the boy, as well as Herman's brother and sister. Two years later, Ulrich married a distant relative of the deceased wife named Regina. She was an energetic and skillful woman, but Herman was never able to find a common language with her. In 1903, Ulrich died of an incurable disease. Before the end of the cantonal school, German had only 12 months to go.
Nickname
In recent years, students were allowed to join student unions. German Rorschach was enrolled in the society "Scafusia". It was there that the young man received the nickname Blot. And this was not an accident. At that time, the game of the same name was gaining popularity among young people. Of course, Rorschach fell in love with her. Blots were set as follows: ink was poured on paper, then the sheet was folded in half. The result was bizarre images. It is likely that it was a childhood nickname and love for this game that prompted Herman to develop psychological tests from the pictures.
There is another version of the origin of his nickname. Rorschach's favorite author was Wilhelm Bush. In one of the stories of the poet was the artist Kleksel. Many believed that it was in his honor that German received his nickname.
After graduation, Blot could not decide on a future profession. Herman was torn between the natural sciences and art. Rorschach described his dilemma in a letter to Ernst Haeckel. He advised him to study the natural sciences. Given the specialization of Haeckel, it was hardly possible to get other advice. As a result, German chose medicine. At the age of 19, he went to study in Zurich.
The medicine
At that time, most students went to another institution after the end of each semester, and at the very end of the course returned to their native university. Rorschach went the same way. He visited many educational institutions, including those located in Germany and in Russia. The hero of this article was very diligent, which allowed him to become a doctor in just 5 years. In 1909 he received a diploma.
Personal life
After graduation, the young doctor had a choice: get a university clinic and get a meager salary or go to a cantonal hospital, where the salary was much higher. In the same 1909, German Rorschach announced his engagement to Olga Stempelin (he met a girl while studying in Russia). The young family needed money, so the hero of this article chose a cantonal psychiatric hospital. She was in Muisterlingen, on the banks of the picturesque Lake of Baden. Rorschach moved there with Olga.
The clinic had 400 patients. And the medical staff consisted of only three people - the chief physician and two assistants. There were no social workers and secretaries, so the duties of the assistants included going around the departments, morning meetings and organizing various events for patients. After fulfilling their duties, the assistants had free time to go boating, swim in the lake or do other things.
Rorschach spent four years in Muisterlingen. Perhaps this was the happiest period in his life. In 1910, he married Olga. The wedding took place in Geneva, in the Russian Orthodox Church. Later, the spouse gave birth to two psychiatrists.
Rorschach ink stains
After leaving the cantonal hospital, the hero of this article worked for several years in psychiatric clinics in Germany and Switzerland. The medical histories he wrote were fundamentally different from those that his colleagues filled out. Herman delved deeply into the essence of mental deviations, trying to overcome the limitations of existing practices.
But the psychiatrist was not limited only to work. Research is what Rorschach devoted all his free time to. Blots still interested in Herman. He began experimenting with them back in 1911, along with a teacher Conrad Goering. The latter allowed Rorschach to conduct tests on his students. The children were asked to stain a sheet of paper with a blob, fold it in half, and then open and describe below what they saw.
Publication of work
It took German 10 years to research and analyze the results of experiments. It was only in 1921 that he first published his psycho-diagnostic test aimed at studying personality. The patient was offered 10 tables with blots, and the associative relations arising from him after viewing them were fixed. Later, the doctor analyzed the answers according to a special system consisting of several categories. This work was called "Rorschach Spots" and forever inscribed the name of Herman in history. Of course, at that time there were other psychological tests in the pictures, but the methodology of the hero of this article gave the most reliable results.
Herman was constantly working on improving it and modifying the tables. He soon announced that they were out of date and very soon he would introduce new options. Unfortunately, the psychiatrist did not have time to do this.
Death
37 years - this is the age at which another Rorschach Herman moved into the world. From what he died, few know. And this event is shrouded in many legends. To understand the situation, we summarize a number of undeniable facts about the death of a psychiatrist.
On April 1, 1922, German Rorschach, whose biography was presented above, ended up in the Herisau Hospital in an endangered state. Throughout the previous week, his lower abdomen was very sick. Doctors recommended going to the hospital, but he neglected their advice and went only when it was completely unbearable. Dr. Looser, who examined him, found severe diffuse peritonitis. Rorschach’s condition was inoperable. The doctor tried to help Herman by applying the gas drainage procedure (he introduced a rubber tube into the wound incision). After the patient was given intravenous infusions. Unfortunately, this did not help, and a day later German Rorschach passed away. After the autopsy, the doctors were unable to establish the exact cause of death. It was either perforation of the cecum or acute inflammation.
Rorschach was buried on April 5 in Zurich, at the Nordheim cemetery. Tombstone was delivered by psychoanalyst, priest and old friend of Herman Oscar Pfister. He spoke of Rorschach's Christian behavior before death and his stoic self-control. Also a speech was made by Professor Eigen Bleiler. The psychiatrist emphasized that the death of Herman is an irreparable loss for science and that no one can complete the work of this ingenious researcher.