Hand Test™

Abstract

The Hand Test™ (Wagner, 1962) is a specialized projective personality test designed to evaluate an individual’s action tendencies, particularly those related to aggressive or “acting out” behaviors. Developed primarily by Edwin E. Wagner, who created the original concept and drawings, the scoring system and theoretical rationale were later formalized by Barry Bricklin and Zygmunt A. Piotrowski. The instrument utilizes ten visual stimuli consisting solely of drawings of hands in various positions, and the client’s descriptions of what the hands are doing form the basis for diagnostic scoring.

The Hand Test™ serves as a valuable starting point in diagnostic personality evaluations, with applications spanning diverse professional settings, including educational, correctional, medical, and neuropsychological contexts. It is intended for use with both children (ages birth to 12 years) and adults (18 years and older). It is important to note that the original development of the test did not include documented reliability or validity data.

Keywords

Aggressive Behavior, Acting Out, Behavioral Tendencies, Projective Personality Test, Visual Stimuli, Antisocial Behavior Measures, Hand Pictures, Pictorial Stimuli

Authors

Edwin E. Wagner, Barry Bricklin, Zygmunt A. Piotrowski

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Hand Test™ is to assess the specific behavioral reactions or tendencies that an individual is likely to express in overt behavior. The test provides a structured yet indirect method for predicting action-oriented outcomes, thereby distinguishing it from tests that focus solely on internal traits or cognitive structures.

Its key clinical utility lies in identifying potentially problematic action-oriented behaviors, such as aggression and acting out. This makes the instrument particularly relevant in settings requiring risk assessment or the prediction of future behavioral risks, such as forensic or correctional evaluations.

Construct

The central psychological construct measured by the Hand Test™ is Behavioral Tendencies. This construct is defined as the predisposition of an individual to engage in specific types of actions when interacting with their environment.

As a projective measure, the test interprets the client’s descriptions of the hands’ actions (e.g., “the hand is reaching,” “the hand is hitting”) as projections of their own potential actions and interpersonal interactions, thereby providing critical insight into their underlying motivational structure related to external behavior.

Validity

In the original publication and development of the Hand Test™ in 1962, the authors (Bricklin, Piotrowski, & Wagner) did not provide specific validity data to support the instrument’s use.

Despite the lack of initial empirical documentation, subsequent research conducted by various psychological researchers has focused specifically on establishing its predictive validity, particularly concerning the identification of aggressive behavior, violence, and antisocial traits in clinical and forensic populations.

Reliability

The initial test documentation did not indicate any formal measures of reliability (e.g., test-retest reliability or internal consistency) during its foundational development phase.

Due to the nature of projective tests, which often rely heavily on complex, subjective scoring systems, reliability studies—especially those focused on inter-scorer reliability for the categories developed by Bricklin and Piotrowski—are essential for ensuring the consistency and utility of the diagnostic conclusions drawn from the test.

Factor Analysis

The original development materials for the Hand Test™ did not include any information regarding factor analysis or the determination of the underlying dimensional structure of the scores.

The test’s design historically prioritized direct categorization of action potentials over the identification of latent personality factors. Consequently, the emphasis has traditionally been placed on the clinical interpretation of the categorical scores rather than the psychometric factor structure.

Instrument

Test Type: Projective Personality Test (Task)

Format: The test consists of 10 standardized picture cards displaying detailed hand drawings in different, often ambiguous, positions. Clients are instructed to describe what each hand is doing or what might be happening to it.

Language Available: Information not specified in source; typically English for initial administration.

Population Group: Clinical and General Population

Age Group: Childhood (birth to 12 years); Adulthood (18 years and older)

Population Details: Intended for use with both adults and children across various diagnostic, educational, and correctional settings.

Test Methodology: The administration method involves the presentation of physical object stimuli (10 cards). Scoring is based on categories of responses, such as Affection, Direction, Acquisition, and Aggression, which are used to derive an index of behavioral potential.

Keywords

Behavioral Reactions, Personality Measures, Hand (Anatomy), Emotional Responses, Diagnostic Evaluation, Correctional Settings, Antisocial Behavior Measures

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: N/A

Affiliation Email addresses: N/A

Correspondence Address: N/A

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Hand Test™ was first published in 1962. The test is a standardized, proprietary instrument. Information regarding current licensing, permissions, and associated fees must be obtained directly from the current copyright holder or publisher. The specific test items are copyrighted and generally not available for public dissemination.

Reference’s

• Bricklin, B., Piotrowski, Z. A., & Wagner, E. E. (1962). Introduction. In B. Bricklin, Z. A. Piotrowski, & E. E. Wagner, The hand test: A new projective test with special reference to the prediction of overt aggressive behavior (pp. 3–5). Charles C Thomas Publisher. https://doi.org/10.1037/13123-001

Items of the Hand Test™

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

The specific visual stimuli (10 picture cards) and the detailed scoring categories used in the Hand Test™ are proprietary and are not publicly available due to copyright restrictions.