Projective Techniques

Projective Techniques are used to expose hidden attitudes and motivations in respondents which they would not offer to the moderator if questioned directly. Respondents may be asked to reply indirectly, for example by commenting on how other people might respond to given situation, product, or service, with a focus on their feelings, emotions and attitudes. There are three types of Projective Techniques: association, where respondents have to describe associations to a given word or a picture; construction, where the respondent has to create a story from the picture or series of pictures; and projective questioning, in which subjects have to present their opinions about other people’s behaviour, feelings or attitudes. Projective techniques are typically used during small group or individual interviews.