Bruno Klopfer
Encyclopedia
Bruno Klopfer was born in Bavaria
, Germany
on 1 October, 1900.
He had a profound impact on the development of psychological personality testing, and was an important pioneer and innovator in the development, scoring and popularization of projective techniques, especially the Rorschach inkblot test
.
Klopfer, a Jew, left Germany in 1933; and on his way to the USA, spent a year in Switzerland
where he studied with Carl Jung
at the Zurich Psychotechnic Institute (this was where he first encountered the Rorschach test
).
His first job in the USA was at Columbia University
where he conducted research with the famous anthropologist Franz Boas
.
He was founding editor of the Rorschach Research Exchange and Journal of Projective Techniques in 1936. This Journal became the "Journal of Projective Techniques" in 1950, The Journal of Projective Techniques & Personality Assessment in 1963, and eventually became the Journal of Personality Assessment in 1971.
He was the Director of the Rorschach Institute from 1939 to 1947, and was the President of the Society of Projective Techniques from 1947 until his death in 1971.
In 1947, he was appointed Clinical Professor of Psychology at the University of California at Los Angeles. He remained at UCLA until he retired in 1963.
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
on 1 October, 1900.
He had a profound impact on the development of psychological personality testing, and was an important pioneer and innovator in the development, scoring and popularization of projective techniques, especially the Rorschach inkblot test
Rorschach inkblot test
The Rorschach test is a psychological test in which subjects' perceptions of inkblots are recorded and then analyzed using psychological interpretation, complex algorithms, or both. Some psychologists use this test to examine a person's personality characteristics and emotional functioning...
.
Career
He was awarded a Ph.D. from the University of Munich in 1923.Klopfer, a Jew, left Germany in 1933; and on his way to the USA, spent a year in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
where he studied with Carl Jung
Carl Jung
Carl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist and the founder of Analytical Psychology. Jung is considered the first modern psychiatrist to view the human psyche as "by nature religious" and make it the focus of exploration. Jung is one of the best known researchers in the field of dream analysis and...
at the Zurich Psychotechnic Institute (this was where he first encountered the Rorschach test
Rorschach test
The Rorschach test is a psychological test in which subjects' perceptions of inkblots are recorded and then analyzed using psychological interpretation, complex algorithms, or both. Some psychologists use this test to examine a person's personality characteristics and emotional functioning...
).
His first job in the USA was at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
where he conducted research with the famous anthropologist Franz Boas
Franz Boas
Franz Boas was a German-American anthropologist and a pioneer of modern anthropology who has been called the "Father of American Anthropology" and "the Father of Modern Anthropology." Like many such pioneers, he trained in other disciplines; he received his doctorate in physics, and did...
.
He was founding editor of the Rorschach Research Exchange and Journal of Projective Techniques in 1936. This Journal became the "Journal of Projective Techniques" in 1950, The Journal of Projective Techniques & Personality Assessment in 1963, and eventually became the Journal of Personality Assessment in 1971.
He was the Director of the Rorschach Institute from 1939 to 1947, and was the President of the Society of Projective Techniques from 1947 until his death in 1971.
In 1947, he was appointed Clinical Professor of Psychology at the University of California at Los Angeles. He remained at UCLA until he retired in 1963.
Works by Klopfer
- Klopfer, B., "Psychological Variables in Human Cancer", Journal of Projective Techniques, Vol.21, No.4, (December 1957), pp.331-340. (This paper is also significant because it contains an account of the impact of the treatment of a lymphosarcoma upon Mr. Wright, a patient of one of Klopfer's colleagues (Dr. Philip West) with a bogus medicine, "Krebiozen". Klopfer's account of Wright's progress is often referred to in the cancer literature, but the actual reference is seldom cited.)
- Klopfer, B., The Rorschach Technique: A Manual for a Projective Method of Personality Diagnosis, World Book Co, (Yonkers-on-Hudson), 1946.
- Klopfer, B., Ainsworth, M.D., Klopfer, W.G. & Holt, R.R., Developments in the Rorschach Technique: Vol.1, Technique and Theory, World Book Co, (Yonkers-on-Hudson), 1954.
- Klopfer, B., Ainsworth, M.D., Klopfer, W.G. & Holt, R.R.(eds.), Developments in the Rorschach Technique: Vol.2, Fields of Application, World Book Co, (Yonkers-on-Hudson), 1956.
- Klopfer, B. & Davidson, H.H., The Rorschach Technique; an Introductory Manual, Harcourt, Brace & World, (New York), 1962.
- Klopfer, B., Meyer, M., Brawer, F. & Klopfer, W.G.(eds.), Developments in the Rorschach Technique: Vol.3, Aspects of Personality Structure, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, (New York), 1970.