A CRITIQUE OF THE HAND TEST

THE problem of predicting overt aggressive behavior in the prison inmate, the hospitalized patient, and other institutionalized individuals has been investigated in several studies (Finney, 1955; Gluck, 1955; Rust, 1948). The results have been, in general, dis-couraging. This thorny problem has recently received new attention in conjunction with the publication of a semistructured projective technique, the Hand Test (Wagner, 1962). The authors of this instrument maintain that they have developed a test which predicts this behavior in the individual case and they attempt to support this claim by citing numerous research studies which are sum-marized in a recent monograph (Bricklin, Piotrowski & Wagner, 1962). A cursory perusal of this research reveals that these claims are totally unjustified and are, in fact, in contradiction with the test parameters enumerated in the manual for administration (Wag-ner, 1962)