Projective Techniques in Action Research: Disguised Diagnosis and Measurement.

Abstract

UNDER the sponsorship of the Commission on Community Interrelationships, and guided by the genius of the late Kurt Lewin, the field of action research has come into its own in recent years. As a unique approach to the study of social psychological problems, action research is concerned constantly with the role of personality in the study of problems of group tension, morale, conflict, and prejudice. As Harold Proshansky's chapter ably indicates, projective methods have found significant application in this new area.The results obtained from using the techniques have amply justified the faith of social psychologists who turned to them as methods for enriching their inquiries and for providing data which often could not otherwise be obtained. There is every reason to believe that in the period ahead the projective hypothesis will find further expression in inspiring and guiding the design of crucial studies in this new sector of social psychology. Proshansky has pointed the way for the accomplishment of important experimental studies that utilize proj ective methods.