What is it that color determinants determine? The relation between the Rorschach Inkblot method and cognitive object-recognition processes

We sought to demonstrate a relation between the Determinants in the Rorschach Inkblot Method (Rorschach, 1921) and fundamental properties of the participant's cognitive (visual) system by examining whether the report about Color Determinants is related to basic cognitive processes concerned with color of visual objects. In Experiment 1, we established an object-naming task that is sensitive to the objects' color. Participants were strongly influenced by the object's color, responding fastest when objects appeared in their typical color and slowest when the object's color was atypical. In Experiment 2, we examined the relationship between the Color Determinants in the Rorschach Inkblot Method and the magnitude of the color effect in the object-naming task of Experiment 1. It was found that the effect of color in the object-naming task was correlated with the type of color responses in the Rorschach Inkblot Method. The results support an "early" cognitive account of the Determinants. We discuss implications concerning the theory of the Rorschach and the relation between emotion, personality, and cognition.