ABSTRACT
Clinical observations of behavior have resulted in speculations and formulations of primary importance in the development of the study of personality as a major area in psychology. The critical difference may be in the type of concepts used, the methods employed, and the types of formulations or predictions offered in clinical appraisals. Clinicians are characteristically attracted to theories which postulate internal personality processes and structures only indirectly open to observation. Projective techniques were also considered to be methods which allowed for an integrative rather than an additive approach to personality assessment. In addition to standardized tests and the at least semi-standardized projective techniques, the clinical psychologist uses more frankly subjective techniques, many of which are common to other clinical disciplines. In fact, more intensive study of the process by which important hunches, ideas and hypotheses are created by gifted clinicians and researchers alike might contribute significantly to a deeper understanding of the creative process in science.
