SIS Journal of Projective Psychology & Mental Health

Projective Methods: Applications in Contemporary Marketing and Consumerism Research

Chris Piotrowski

The application of projective techniques in scholarly research on marketing issues, consumer preferences, and human resource management has a long history. Based on perennial criticism of projective measures in the past, it would be of interest whether projective methods continue to attract research attention and academic scrutiny across the disciplines of marketing, consumerism, and management. Based on a bibliographic strategy, the current study identified contemporary research articles where projective tests were the main methodology in studies in these business-related areas. From an original pool of over 75 peer-reviewed articles, the author identified the key studies (n=10) that supported the continued reliance on projective methods in scholarly efforts across these sub-fields. Overall, nearly all of the investigations found some degree of utility regarding projective tests as part of the research design. Thus, despite methodological critiques, projective measures are considered valid research tools across contemporary business-related areas of study.

Introduction:

From a historical perspective, Projective Techniques have garnered significant research attention across a myriad of applied fields within the domain of I/O psychology, most notably in the area of management, human resource selection, marketing, advertising, and consumerism (Cox, 1948; Donoghue, 2000; Grant et al., 1967; Greenberg, 1959; Haire, 1950; Hussey & Duncombe, 1999; Kinslinger, 1966;

Phelan, 1962; Piotrowski, 2014; Steinmann, 2009; Vicary, 1948; Watt & Piotrowski, 2025; Will et al., 1996; Zober, 1956). Indeed, researchers have examined empirical validity and utility on a host of projective methods as reliable measurement techniques in the study of consumer behavior and attitudes, advertising effectiveness, brand image, and marketing strategies (Hofstede et al., 2007; Lucas & Britt, 1963; Okamoto, 1989; Rohani et al., 2014; Soley, 2010). The breadth of scholarship in this research area spans a wide spectrum of business applications, including issues such as product efficacy (Belk, 2017; Weitz & Weasley, 2006), food preference (e.g., Banovic et al., 2016), and human resource management (e.g., Carter et al., 2013).

The most relied-upon projective techniques in applied research in this area have been Word association, Sentence completion, and Thematic story-telling measures (Kachersky & Lerman, 2013; Kujala et al., 2014; Zogg, 2005). In a classic study, Ruth and Mosatche (1985) utilized the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) in the investigation of Freudian sexual symbolism in liquor advertisements. Despite reliance on projective assessment in the field of marketing and management, a systematic review of contemporary business research applications using projective methods has not been conducted. Thus, the aim of the current study is to a) identify scholarly publications in the recent I/O literature that included projective measures/tests in the research design, and b) provide a synopsis of major findings of key empirical studies across the fields of marketing, advertising, and consumerism. The findings should provide a coherent overview of contemporary scholarship on the application of projective techniques in these business-related fields.

Method:

In order to identify a pool of relevant studies, an online search of the database PsycINFO was performed utilizing a Boolean search strategy. Select keywords such as projective, Rorschach, Thematic,

Chris Piotrowski, PhD, research consultant, University of West Florida, USA, Email: piotrowskichris@hotmail.com

Keywords: projective tests, usage, marketing, business research

Projective Methods in Consumerism Research: 05

Sentence completion, and drawings were combined with terms such as marketing, advertising, brand, consumer, and management. These searches produced an output of 78 studies. Next, the authors manually scanned the bibliographies of studies which identified several additional key references. In order to reflect ‘contemporary’ research, only those studies published over the prior 15 years (2010-2025) were retained for further review. Table 1 presents a brief synopsis of the 10 major references that addressed the role of projective tests in the context of business-related research.

Table 1. Prominent Contemporary Studies

Cited Reference	Study aim &Methods	Major Findings
Parente et al. (2023)	Consumers’ perception of new design of a cosmetic product; 334 females; sentence completion, story completion tasks	36% of the sample favored the after-shower olive oil product; whereas 65% felt that the product left a greasy sensation or had a disagreeable fragrance.
Alcaire et al. (2021)	In order to promote healthy eating patterns, the study explored children’s (n=263) and mothers’ (n=1183) conceptualization of school ‘snacking’; Drawings	For children, fruits, sandwiches, cookies, and juices were most frequently represented in drawings; Mothers noted lack of time to prepare healthy home-made snacks.
Pontual et al. (2017)	Investigated consumer preferences for type of pizza; 72 celiac and 78 non-celiac individuals; Word association technique	Pizza made with rice-flour or cassava flour, and ‘thin dough’ were associated with positive views; Gluten-free pizza was preferred.
Kim et al. (2016)	Advanced theory/practice on luxury brand advertising effectiveness; modified Thematic apperception measure	Based on thematic text analysis, the results contributed to luxury brand advertising by identification persuasion based on the level of implicit narrative engendered by the brand’s presentation.
Eldesouky et al. (2015)	Studied consumer preferences for type of packaging in food purchases; Word association and sentence completion	Results suggest that handiness in opening, re-sealability, and item transparency were most appreciated by consumers.
Gambaro et al. (2014)	Evaluated consumer perception of various aspects of cosmetic creams; 120 females; Word association	This projective method was found to be efficacious in the identification of desired sensory properties of various creams; The findings optimize critical factors in product selection.
Vidal et al. (2013)	Investigated consumer perceptions and motivations in the purchasing intentions for ready-to-eat foods; sample of 320 adults; Word association, Sentence completion tasks	Results indicated that ‘convenience’ was the main factor for product purchase; Projective assessment methods were unstructured enough to elicit preference based on personal views toward the product.
Tantiseneepong et al. (2012)	Evaluated the utility in projective techniques in understanding consumer reactions (n=16) to celebrity - endorsed products; picture association method	Results indicated that celebrity endorsers have a significant impact on perceived target market for a product and their role in repositioning a brand; however, consumers may recall the celebrity more than the product.
Doherty & Nelson (2010)	Assessed customer (n=160) loyalty (perceptions, attitudes, values) toward food retailers; Word association, personification and cartoon images	Projective techniques have the ability to gauge latent feelings and attitudes of consumers; hence, genuine, unconscious perceptions can be reliably measured.
Guerrero et al. (2010)	Evaluated perception of traditional food products across 6 European regions; 721 customers; Word association technique	Results indicated that southern European populations associated the term ‘traditional’, in regard to food, with concepts such as heritage or history, whereas Nordic regions viewed ‘traditional’ from a practical perspective.

06: Piotrowski

Conclusion:

Despite perennial criticism (i.e., mainly from the academic community) on the use of projective techniques in psychological research, a review of the extant literature shows that projective methods, particularly Word association and Sentence completion techniques, have been frequently applied in empirical studies in applied areas such as marketing, advertising, consumerism, and personnel management. The current bibliographic review indicates that, historically, many sub-fields within the purview of Industrial/Organizational Psychology have embraced projective tests as acceptable measurement tools in scholarly investigations (Fassbender, 1997; Watt & Piotrowski, 2025). Moreover, such acceptance is evident in the contemporary literature on marketing, consumerism, and human resources. Future research efforts should examine changes in longitudinal trends regarding projective assessment, particularly with respect to consumer attitudes and behavior (Youness et al., 2024), as well as upper-level management selection and assessment of management potential (Bach, 2006; Del Giudice, 2010; Piotrowski, 2016; Piotrowski & Watt, 2024).

References:

Alcaire, F., et al. (2021). Healthy snacking in the school environment: Exploring children and mothers’ perspective using projective

techniques. Food Quality & Preference, 90, Article 104173.

Bach, P.L. (2006). A descriptive study of senior business executives. Dissertation Abstracts International, 66(8-B), 4526.

Banovic, M., et al. (2016). Consumers as co-creators of new product ideas: An application of projective and creative research techniques. Food Research International, 87, 211-223.

Belk, R.W. (2017). Qualitative research in advertising. Journal of Advertising, 46(1), 36-47.

Boddy, C. (2005). Projective techniques in market research: A look at the evidence for the usefulness, reliability, and validity.

International Journal of Market Research, 47(3), 239-254.

Boddy, C. (2007). Projective techniques in Taiwan and Asia-Pacific market research. Qualitative Market Research, 10(1), 48-62. Carter, N.T., et al. (2013). Projective testing: Historical foundations and uses for human resources management. Human Resource

Management Review, 23, 205-218.

Cox, K.J. (1948). Can the Rorschach pick sales clerks? Personnel Psychology, 1(3), 357-363.

Del Giudice, M.J. (2010). What might this be? Rediscovering the Rorschach as a tool for personnel selection in organizations. Journal of Personality Assessment, 92(1), 78-89.

Doherty, S., & Nelson, R. (2010). Using projective techniques to tap into consumers’ feelings, perceptions, and attitudes. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 34, 400-404.

Donoghue, S. (2000). Projective techniques in consumer research. Journal of Family Ecology & Consumer Sciences, 28(1), 47-53.

Eldesouky, A., et al. (2015). The role of packaging and presentation format in consumers’ preferences for food: An application of projective techniques. Journal of Sensory Studies, 30(5), 360-369.

Fassbender, P. (1997). Implications for the use of projective techniques in organizational consulting. Perceptual & Motor Skills, 84(1), 171-175.

Gambaro, A., et al. (2014). Word association technique applied to cosmetic products: A case study. Journal of Sensory Studies, 29(2), 103-109.

Grant, D.L., et al. (1967). Contributions of projective techniques to assessment of management potential. Journal of Applied Psychology, 51(3), 226-232.

Greenberg, A. (1959). Pictorial stereotypes are a projective test. Journal of Marketing, 24(2), 72-74.

Guerrero, L., et al. (2010). Perception of traditional food products in 6 European regions using free word association. Food Quality & Preference, 21(2), 225-233.

Haire, M. (1950). Projective techniques in marketing research. Journal of Marketing, 14, 649-656.

Hofstede, A., et al. (2007). Projective techniques for brand image research. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 10(3), 300-309.

Hussey, M., & Duncombe, N. (1999). Projecting the right image: Using projective techniques to measure brand image. Qualitative Market Research, 2(1), 22-30.

Kachersky, L., & Lerman, D. (2013). Bridging marketing’s intentions and consumer perceptions. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 30(7), 544-552.

Projective Methods in Consumerism Research: 07

Kim, J., et al. (2016). Narrative-transportation storylines in luxury brand advertising: Motivating consumer engagement. Journal of Business Research, 69, 304-313.

Kinslinger, H.J. (1966). Application of projective techniques in personnel psychology since 1940. Psychological Bulletin, 66(2), 134-149.

Kujala, S., et al. (2014). Sentence completion for understanding users and evaluating user experience. Interacting with Computers, 26(3), 8-10.

Lucas, D.B., & Britt, S.H. (1963). Projective methods. In D.B. Lucas &S.H. Britt (Eds.), Measuring advertising effectiveness (pp. 131-152.). McGraw-Hill.

Okamoto, Y. (1989). Economic psychology in Japan. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 38(4), 443-451.

Parente, E., et al. (2023). Use of completion projective technique to understand consumers’ perception upon a novelty cosmetic with olive oil. Journal of Sensory Studies, 38, Article e12800.

Phelan, J.G. (1962). Projective techniques in the selection of management personnel. Journal of Projective Techniques, 26(1), 102-104.

Piotrowski, C. (2014). Mapping the research domain of I/O psychology: A content analysis of dissertations. Psychology & Education: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 51(4), 26-29.

Piotrowski, C. (2016). Mapping the research domain of the field of applied psychology: A bibliometric analysis of the emerging literature. Journal of the Indian Academy of Applied Psychology, 42(1), 11-17.

Piotrowski, C., & Watt, J.D. (2024). Bibliometric analysis of the Journal of Business & Psychology: Prominent and under-studied areas of I/O research. North American Journal of Psychology, 26(3), 669-680.

Pontual, I., et al. (2017). Assessing consumer expectations about pizza: A study on celiac and non-celiac individuals using the Word association technique. Food Research International, 94, 1-5.

Rohani, L.S., et al. (2014). One step closer to the field: Visual methods in marketing and consumer research. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 17(4), 300-318.

Rosencranz, M.L. (1961). The application of a projective techniques for analyzing clothing awareness, clothing symbols, and the range of themes associated with clothing behavior. Dissertation Abstracts, 21, 2392-2393.

Ruth, W.J., & Mosatche, H.S. (1985). A projective assessment of the effects of Freudian sexual symbolism in liquor advertisements.

Psychological Reports, 56, 183-188.

Soley, L. (2010). Projective techniques in U.S. marketing and management research. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 13(4), 334-353.

Steinmann, R.B. (2009). Projective techniques in consumer research. International Bulletin of Business Administration, 5, 37-45.

Stevens, R.J. (2025). The achiever’s dilemma: Projective psychological techniques for luxury product placements in Europe.

Dissertation Abstracts International, 86(8-B), n.p.

Tantiseneepong, N., et al. (2012). Evaluating responses to celebrity endorsements using projective techniques. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 15(1), 57-69.

Vicary, J.M. (1948). Word association and opinion research: Advertising. Public Opinion Quarterly, 12, 81-98.

Vidal, L., et al. (2013). Projective techniques to uncover consumer perception. Food Quality & Preference, 28(1), 1-7.

Watt, J.D., & Piotrowski, C. (2025). Creativity research in a business context: Implications for assessment. Journal of Projective Psychology & Mental Health, 32(1), 8-13.

Weitz, B.A., & Weasley, R. (Eds.). (2006). Handbook of marketing. SAGE.

Will, V., et al. (1996). Projective and enabling techniques explored. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 14(6), 38-43.

Youness, C., et al. (2024). Global corporate reputation: A projective quality approach from a customer perspective. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 27(1), 108-128.

Zober, M. (1956). Some projective techniques applied to marketing research. Journal of Marketing, 20, 262-268. Zogg, J.B. (2005). Adolescent exposure to alcohol advertising. Dissertation Abstracts International, 65(7-B), 3777.

Professional Email Signature