Symbol Elaboration Test

Abstract

The Symbol Elaboration Test (SET) is a seminal projective technique developed by Johanna Krout in 1950. Designed to investigate symbolic experiences in both normal and clinical settings, the SET utilizes a set of eleven incomplete, hypothetical symbols representing fundamental human experiences as stimulus patterns. The methodology requires participants to complete the drawings and subsequently provide extensive verbal associations and responses to a series of structured, free-response questions. This approach allows clinicians and researchers to access and interpret unconscious dynamics, emotional responses, and underlying personality traits that may be difficult to elicit through direct questioning or objective measures. The SET provides a valuable, non-verbal medium for the projection of inner conflicts and psychological processes, making it a versatile tool in both diagnostic assessment and research.

Keywords

Symbol Elaboration Test, SET, projective technique, symbolic expression, unconscious processes, personality assessment, clinical psychology, Krout, drawing test.

Authors

Johanna Krout

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Symbol Elaboration Test is to serve as a non-verbal, non-threatening medium for assessing an individual’s internal world, specifically their symbolic structuring of basic human experiences. By analyzing the way subjects complete and interpret ambiguous visual stimuli, the test aims to uncover psychological content—such as hidden conflicts, emotional reactions, and characteristic coping styles—that operates outside of conscious awareness.

The SET is particularly valuable in clinical settings for individuals who exhibit resistance, have limited verbal capacity, or possess complex internal states that standard self-report measures fail to capture. The test’s structure facilitates the projection of inner thoughts and feelings onto the stimulus patterns, thereby revealing deeply rooted aspects of the participant’s personality and psychological functioning. It has been employed across diverse clinical and research settings, including the study of trauma and the assessment of personality disorders.

Construct

The core construct measured by the Symbol Elaboration Test is the individual’s capacity for, and characteristic style of, symbolic elaboration. This refers to how an individual utilizes and processes symbols to represent complex emotions, motivations, and life experiences. The test assumes that the manner in which a person completes the ambiguous symbols and the associated narrative they generate reflect fundamental aspects of their psychological organization.

Specifically, the SET provides data related to unconscious dynamics, affective tone, cognitive complexity, and the defense mechanisms employed by the subject. The analysis integrates graphic elements (the drawing) and verbal associations (the free-response questions) to build a holistic picture of the subject’s underlying personality traits and prevailing psychological themes.

Validity

The original monograph detailing the Symbol Elaboration Test (SET) by Johanna Krout (1950) was dedicated to establishing the foundational reliability and validity of this novel projective technique. As with many projective instruments, validity is often established through clinical utility and congruence with other measures of personality and psychopathology, focusing primarily on content and criterion-related validity.

Krout’s initial research focused on demonstrating the test’s ability to differentiate between various psychological states and clinical groups, suggesting evidence of empirical utility in the context of personality assessment. Subsequent clinical applications have utilized the SET to explore constructs such as creativity, specific clinical manifestations, and the impact of trauma, further supporting its utility as a tool for probing deep-seated psychological structures, particularly those relevant to personality disorders.

Reliability

The reliability of the Symbol Elaboration Test, particularly in its original form, hinges significantly upon the consistency of scoring and interpretation. Projective measures typically rely on rigorous training for examiners to ensure high inter-rater reliability for both the graphic completions and the extensive verbal responses provided by the subject. The qualitative nature of the data requires standardized interpretive procedures to maintain consistency.

Krout’s foundational work addressed the reliability of the complex scoring system developed for the SET, aiming to provide standardized methods for quantifying the qualitative material generated. While specific modern psychometric data focusing on internal consistency or test-retest reliability are less common in the literature for this specific instrument, the enduring clinical use of the test implies that, when administered and interpreted by trained professionals, the SET yields stable and meaningful psychological data regarding the subject’s symbolic experiences.

Factor Analysis

Specific, published factor analytic studies focused on the dimensional structure of the Symbol Elaboration Test scoring categories are not widely documented in the standard literature base. Given the qualitative and holistic nature of projective techniques, the primary mode of interpretation often relies on thematic analysis and clinical pattern recognition rather than strict factor-based scoring.

However, the underlying structure of the 11 stimulus symbols suggests they were chosen to represent distinct, basic human experiences (e.g., conflict, unity, movement). A modern factor analysis would likely explore whether the responses cluster around these hypothesized thematic categories or if they align with broader dimensions of psychopathology or established models of personality traits.

Instrument

Test Type: Projective Technique (Drawing and Verbal Association)

Format: Paper-and-pencil drawing completion followed by structured, free-response verbal questioning (7 questions per symbol).

Language Available: English (Original development language).

Population Group: Clinical and Normal Populations.

Age Group: Typically utilized with adolescents and adults capable of abstract thought and drawing.

Population Details: Used in the assessment of personality disorders, trauma, and the exploration of creative processes and unconscious dynamics. It is designed to be versatile for various populations.

Test Methodology: The participant is presented with 11 incomplete symbols, which they must complete by drawing. Following the completion of each symbol, the participant answers seven specific, open-ended questions designed to elicit verbal associations, emotional responses, and narrative elaborations regarding the completed image. The administration time is approximately one hour.

Keywords

Unconscious dynamics, symbolic representation, psychological assessment, Johanna Krout, Rorschach alternative, non-verbal expression, trauma assessment, creative processes.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source material.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided in source material.

Correspondence Address: Historical record (1950).

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Symbol Elaboration Test (SET) was first published in 1950. Given its age and status as an academic publication (a monograph), the test materials are generally accessible for academic and clinical use, often requiring only proper citation of the original author, Johanna Krout. The test materials themselves are available for download, suggesting minimal proprietary restrictions for non-commercial use.

The original PDF can be downloaded here: Symbol Elaboration Test

Test Year: 1950

Reference’s

Krout, Johanna. (1950). Symbol Elaboration Test (S.E.T.): The reliability and validity of a new projective technique. Psychological Monographs: General and Applied, Vol 64(4), i-67. doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0093594

Items of the Symbol Elaboration Test

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

• Question A. What is this a picture of?
• Question B. Was it relatively easy or hard to draw?
• Question C. Do you like it?
• Question D. What mood does it represent?
• Question E. (1) Describe in detail the personalities of any people (or animals) depicted, (2) What are they doing? (3) What are they thinking and feeling?
• Question F. What mood do you feel looking at it?
• Question G. What does it remind you of?