Projective tests refer to a variety of different personality tests used by psychologists, where participants are asked to freely interpret an ambiguous stimulus. Examples of stimuli used in the tests are inkblots, pictures of people, and incomplete sentences. The responses given by participants are interpreted by the test giver, and can reveal, in an indirect manner, information about the person’s needs and conflicts, how they view or feel about certain things, and how they organize information.

Examples of widely used projective tests:

Rorschach test
Draw-a-person test
Rozenweig picture-frustration study
Holtzman inkblot technique
Sentence completion test
Make-a-picture-story test
Szondi test
Thematic apperception test
Blacky pictures
House-tree-person technique