The Projective Differential
The Projective Differntial (PD) is a general purpose nonverbal projective technique for engaging participants with denotable objects (“topics”) of interest. Why use the PD instead of questionnaires, interviews, or even a semantic differential (SD)? The PD becomes valuable when deeper (less biased) meaning, associational information, or more creative thinking is sought about some issue, quality, or entity than is usually available through conventional methods.
Our brains are capable of perceiving and processing far more information at a far greater rate than our conscious minds can track. We also retain far more of that information than we are consciously aware. The PD taps into this ability by creating a forced-choice situation employing abstract images displayed too briefly for the conscious mind to influence the choice through rational thought and analysis. Instead, what’s required is a more intuitive choice, engaging the a-logical, associative processes of the symbolic, patterns and holistic understanding (popularly thought of as “right-brain”). The results of a PD session therefore provide us with information about how the participants perceive the topics at a deep level, in ways of which even they may be quite unaware.
The PD pictures, abstract and evocative as they are, act as an alogical amplifier, amplifying the ‘weak associations’ and sometimes ineffable perceptions that transcend logical thought and evaluation processes.