Selected aspects of interpersonal functioning in high achieving arts and science students

This study examined the interpersonal life of two groups of high achieving college students, students in the humanities (N = 43) and students in the physical sciences (N=41). The study represents one facet of a larger research effort by the Burstein and Loucks research group at the University of Tennessee which has obtained normative data on their new Rorschach scoring system.

Human Content, Human Emotion and Human Movement, have been empirically and theoretically linked with assessing object relations. These Rorschach scores were examined in relation to two objective measures of personality, Tellegen's Differential Personality Questionnaire (DPQ) (Tellegen, 1982) and Jackson's Personality Research Form (PRF) (Jackson, 1967). Intercorrelations, means tests, factor analysis and a discriminant function analysis failed to support the stereotype which states that science students are less interpersonally inclined than students in the humanities. Science students produced more idiosyncratic responses on the Rorschach and evidenced more interpersonal anxiety. Humanities students evidenced a greater need to be independent of others. The study showed that the "signs" approach to Rorschach interpretation is not valid.