SIT 30 Administration & Scoring Protocols
This clinical manual provides licensed psychologists, psychiatric evaluators, and certified psychodiagnosticians with the standardized administration procedures and psychometric coding rules for the Somatic Inkblot Test (SIT 30). The SIT 30 is designed for self-administration, supervised instruction, or professional clinician administration, with all responses typed directly into the web application.
Administration Environment & System Apparatus
The SIT 30 can be administered in a clinical office setting, computer diagnostic lab, or remotely via secured web connection. Extraneous stimuli—such as abstract paintings or visual distractions—must be eliminated to prevent perceptual priming.
📐 Administration Seating & Posture
When administered under clinician supervision, the clinician and examinee should sit side-by-side or at a 45-degree angle facing the testing screen. This seating geometry facilitates cooperative viewing of the plates and permits unobstructed observation of behavioral hesitation or affective reactions without creating an adversarial dynamic.
💻 Required Clinical Apparatus
- SIT 30 Online Web Application (sit-test.php)
- Terminal Screen / Tablet (clean, anti-glare display for optimal contrast)
- Sub-Second Digital Latency Clock (automatically embedded in software)
- AI Diagnostic Scoring Engine (sit-report.php)
Verbatim Standardized Test Instructions
Reassure the subject that there are no right or wrong answers. When introducing the test verbally or on screen, deliver the official verbatim clinician instructions:
“Most people find this test fun and interesting. First, please relax, and prepare to enjoy. Please write each in terms of what they resemble or look like to you. Different people see different things in the inkblots. It is important to write whatever the inkblot looks like to you. Please include everything you see even if it reminds you of something remote, vague, highly personal or even potentially embarrassing. Please include everything you see with as much detail as possible. Also include whether you are looking at the whole image or part of it, and if parts, specify the location (top, bottom, left, right, or center). Take your time.”
Recording Protocol & Rotation Symbols
Every response, spontaneous verbalization, sigh, or hesitation must be recorded verbatim. The clinician also logs card handling and rotation using standardized symbols:
Systematic Inquiry (Location & Determinants)
The inquiry phase begins immediately after all cards have been presented. Its strict objective is to ascertain where the percept was seen on the card and what features of the blot made it look that way. The examiner introduces Phase 2 with the standardized prompt:
“Now we are going to go back through the cards together. I want you to show me where on the card you saw each thing, and help me see it the way you did. Point to the specific parts and tell me what about the blot made it look like that to you.”
⚠️ Cardinal Rule: Absolutely Non-Leading Probes
Examiners must NEVER introduce determinants that the patient did not initiate. Do not ask: "Did the red color make it look like blood?" or "Did you see movement?" Instead ask: "What about it makes it look like blood?" or "Help me see what you described as a heartbeat."
The patient outlines the exact boundaries of each percept on the SIT Miniature Location Sheet, confirming whether the percept incorporated the whole blot ($W$), a prominent detail ($D$), or a tiny edge detail ($Dd$).
Phase 3: The Standardized 5-Tier Scoring System
Every response delivered by the examinee is decomposed and scored across five distinct structural categories:
| Coding Tier | Symbol | Clinical Definition | Diagnostic Implication |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1. Location (Where seen) |
W | Whole Inkblot utilized | Holistic, conceptual, integrative thinking |
| D | Common Detail region | Practical, conventional reality awareness | |
| Dd | Unusual / Tiny Detail | Perfectionism, obsessive tendencies, anxiety | |
| S | White Space reversal | Oppositionality, contrarian thinking, autonomy | |
|
2. Determinants (Why it looks so) |
F | Pure Form / Contour | Intellectual control, emotional restraint |
| M / FM / m | Human / Animal / Inanimate Movement | Internal ideation, biological drives, stress tension | |
| C / CF / FC | Chromatic Color (Pure, Form, Color-Form) | Affective regulation & emotional reactivity | |
| Y / T / V | Achromatic Shading / Texture / Depth Vista | Helplessness, tactile dependency, depressive introspection | |
|
3. Form Quality (Accuracy to blot) |
FQ+ / FQo | Superior / Ordinary conventional fit | Intact reality testing, normative perception |
| FQu / FQ- | Uncommon / Distorted / Minus fit | Idiosyncratic thinking, reality impairment, psychosis |
| # | Scoring Category | Clinical Operationalization | Diagnostic Sign & Interpretation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Typical Responses | 18 standardized high-frequency percepts calibrated across 15 specific images | Intact reality contact, normative social consensus (Expected: 6–12) |
| 2 | Similar Images (Atypical) | Related or idiosyncratic variations not meeting strict Typical criteria | Cognitive flexibility vs. eccentric associative drifting |
| 3 | Movement (M / FM / m) | Kinesthetic projection in human, animal, or inanimate figures (Active vs Passive) | Internal ideation, emotional drive, stress tension regulation |
| 4 | Total Human (H + Hd) | Perception of complete human figures or designated human details | Interpersonal interest, empathy, social identification |
| 5 | Total Animal (A + Ad) | Perception of whole animals or identifiable animal anatomy | Adaptive cognitive stereotyping vs. rigid perseveration |
| 6 | Total Anatomy / Visceral (At) | Internal organs, viscera, bones, ribs, neurological structures | Somatic preoccupation, hypochondriacal concern, bodily awareness |
| 7 | Sex / Erotic Content | Direct sexual organs, reproductive anatomy, or eroticized interaction | Psychosexual conflict, disinhibition, sexual preoccupation |
| 8 | Specific Somatic Organs | Distinct organ localization (lungs, heart, kidneys, spine, intestines) | Organ-specific symptom focus, psychosomatic conversion target |
| 9 | Color / Achromatic / Shading | Use of color hue, darkness, black/grey texture, diffuse shading | Affective reactivity, depressive dysphoria, anxious agitation |
| 10 | Form Quality (F+, Fo, F-) | Congruence between inkblot contours and the perceived concept | Reality testing accuracy; F-% > 25% signals psychotic distortion |
| 11 | Barrier & Penetration (Br / Pn) | Fisher & Cleveland body boundary envelopes vs. puncturing/vulnerability | Ego boundary integrity (BBI = Br / [Br + Pn]; normal 0.55–0.70) |
🎯 Standard Catalog: The 18 Most Typical Responses Across 15 Images
In the SIT 30 normative standardization, 18 responses occur with statistically high frequency across 15 specific stimulus images. Presence reflects healthy reality testing and conventional social alignment:
Image 5 (A7): Dancing Lady (Typical 5b)
Image 7 (A12): Ear / human ear (Typical 7)
Image 12 (A20): Kidney / Lungs (Typical 12)
Image 18 (A31): Two faces / profiles (Typical 19)
Image 20 (B5): Two persons talking / meeting (Typical 21)
Image 27 (B27): Child / children (Typical 27)
Image 29 (B29): Running man / athlete (Typical 29)
Pathological Scales & Psychological Area Mapping
The SIT 30 AI scoring engine computes four specialized pathological scales and maps somatic percepts across seven physiological systems:
Quantifies bizarre imagery, anatomical decay, mutilation, blood, and psychotic cognitive slippage. Normal: 0–1; Clinical Concern: ≥ 3.
Graded from Level 0 (None) to Level 3 (Severe). Evaluates black/grey shading, dead/decayed trees, weeping figures, and psychomotor withdrawal.
Graded into 3 tiers: HAS 1 (Mild/Teeth/Claws), HAS 2 (Moderate/Weapons/Fighting), and HAS 3 (Severe/Explosions/Brutal slaughter).
Detects watchful eyes, hidden observers, tracking devices, peering faces behind masks, and suspicious hypervigilance percepts.
7 Psychological Area Somatosensory Clusters
Overall vitality, fatigue, constitutional weakness
Eyes, ears, motor limbs, kinesthetic action
Heart, pulse, chest, lungs, breathing tract
Stomach, bowels, kidney, digestive tract
Pelvic organs, breasts, genitalia, fertility
Brain, spine, cranial nerves, mental clarity
Bones, joints, muscles, outer skin envelope
Normative Baseline: 0.60 – 0.85.
Measures responsiveness to external emotional stimulation and affective modulation.
SIT 30 Administration Modalities
The primary official standard. Examinee types percepts directly into the web application. Features millisecond reaction time clocks, autosave, and instantaneous AI-assisted multi-scale clinical scoring reports.
Clinician supervises the session at a 45-degree angle, observes affective cues and body language, and assists with location clarification or subsequent somatic clinical inquiry.
Secure remote testing for psychiatric triage, tele-health clinics, and longitudinal treatment tracking, ensuring standardized stimulus presentation and instant clinician dossier generation.