TAT

(Thematic Apperception Test)

 Contents
PERSONALITY ASSESSMENTS

PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES - TYPES and HISTORY

TAT and THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

MERITS and DEMERITS

APPLICATIONS

METHODOLOGY

PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES - RELIABILITY and VALIDITY

RESEARCH
 Personality Assessments
What is Purpose
Personality?
to make decisions in
unique patterns of
clinical,healthcare,
thoughts, feelings, and forensic, educational and
behaviors that distinguish
organisational settings.
a person from others.

Types
Assessments
1) 16 Personality Factor
measurements of the Questionnaire
personal characteristics, 2)Eysenck Personality
define and measure them. Inventory
3)Myers-Briggs Type
Indicator
PROJECTIVE
TECHNIQUES
● Projective technique is any personality
test designed to yield information about
someone's personality on the basis of
their unrestricted response to ambiguous
objects or situations .

● Projective techniques are a set of

instruments whose main objective is to
describe and characterise personality
● These techniques are useful in giving respondents
opportunities to express their attitudes without personal
embarrassment.

● These techniques helps the respondents to project his own

attitude and feelings unconsciously on the subject under
study.

● Projective technique does not use the projection technique

of Freud instead says that, in responding to the stimulus
situation, the subject reveals or externalises aspects of his
own personal life, such as motives, interests, feelings,
emotions, conflicts and the like.
 TYPES OF PROJECTIVE
TECHNIQUES
Word association test Construction Test
This is more or less like completion
An individual is given a clue or hint test. They can give you a picture and
and asked to respond to the fIrst you are asked to write a story about
thing that comes to mind. it

Completion Test Expression

to complete an Techniques
incomplete sentence or
In this the people are
story. The completion
asked to express the
will reflect their attitude
feeling or attitude of
and state of mind.
other people.
 HISTORY OF PROJECTIVE
TECHNIQUE
● The history of the projective approach might be conceived of as going back to the
beginning of mankind when symbols were etched on the walls of caves.

● For literally centuries people have talked about images in the clouds, the meanings
of various kinds of paintings and the significance of dreams and fantasies. Long
before Sigmund Freud, writers like William Shakespeare talked about the alleged
prophetic meaning of dreams and the symbolism inherent in waking fantasies.

● However, the formal beginning of the projective approach was initiated by work on
the word association method which was first begun by Galton, continued on by
Wundt and Kraepelin and finally brought to fruition by Jung through word
association test which was the first standardized projective test (1904)
 PROJECTIVE TESTS
1 The thematic
apperception test
the examiner then
The Rorschach Test
scores the test based
The Rorschach Test is 2 In the TAT test, people are
asked to look at a series of
on the needs,
the famous inkblot test motivations, and
ambiguous scenes and then
People are shown one anxieties of the main
card at a time and asked to tell a story describing
the scene. This includes
character, as well as
to describe what they see
describing what is how the story
in the image. The
responses are recorded happening, how the eventually turns out.
verbatim by the tester. characters are feeling, and
Gestures, the tone of how the story will end.
voice, and other
reactions are also noted.
 PROJECTIVE TESTS
Sentence
Completion
3 4 Techniques
Projective The subject is presented (either orally
Drawings by the examiner or in writing through
Draw a person test a questionnaire) a series of sentence
fragments, The subject is asked to give
This type of projective test involves exactly what you might imagine. the first response that he or she thinks
People draw a person and the image that they created is then assessed of and complete the sentence.
by the examiner.

The House-Tree-Person Test

In this type of projective test, people are asked to draw a house, a

tree, and a person. Once the drawing is complete, they are asked a
series of questions about the images they have drawn.
 TAT
● TAT stands for Thematic Apperception Test.

● It is a projective psychological analysis used

to investigate a person’s unconscious self.

● Uncovers a person’s true personality, their

capacity for emotional control, and their
attitudes towards aspects that they encounter
in everyday life.

● Such as wealth, power, gender roles, racial

and religious attitudes, intimacy, etc.
● Developed in the year 1935 by
Christina Morgan and Henry Murray
(Harvard University)

● It is comparable to the Rorschach Test.

● Based on Murray’s theory of Needs.

 A COMPARISON

TAT authors were

TAT made no
more scientific while
extravagant claims.
developing the test.
 What does it measure?

The cognitive
aspects The coping sources

● Intellectual ● Interpersonal
competence, skills,
● Verbal fluency, ● Their
● Capacity to think psychological
abstractly. functioning,
● Their needs,
conflicts, feelings.
● Reveals a patient's dominant motivations, emotions, and core
personality conflicts.

● The level of defense operations and the degree of psychological

maturity.

● TAT stories are looked into for emotional themes, level of emotional
and cognitive integration, interpersonal relational style, and view of
the world (e.g., is it seen as a helpful or hurtful place).

● The test assesses the subject’s attitudes toward the self and other
persons.
● The examiner also evaluates the subject’s manner, vocal tone,
posture, hesitations, and other signs of an emotional response to a
particular story picture.

● For example, a person who is made anxious by a certain picture

may make comments about the artistic style of the picture, or
remark that he or she does not like the picture; this is a way of
avoiding telling a story about it.
Theoretical
Background
Murray’s Theory of
Psychogenic Needs
● Murray describes needs as:
“potentiality or readiness to respond
in a certain way under certain given
circumstances.”

● Environmental factors also play a

role in how the needs are expressed
in behaviour, these are what Murray
called "presses".
● His theory of personality was organised in terms of motives and
needs.
● Some needs are temporary and changing, other needs are more
deeply seated in our nature - these needs are known as
Psychogenic needs. These needs function mostly on the
unconscious level but play a major role in our personality.
● Given below is a partial list of 24 needs identified by Murray:

Ambition needs : related to the need for achievement and

recognition. The need for achievement is often expressed by
succeeding, achieving goals, and overcoming obstacles. The need
for recognition is met by gaining social status and displaying
achievements.
● Power needs : tend to centre on our own independence as well as
our need to control others.

● Materialistic needs : centre on the acquisition, construction, order,

and retention. These needs often involve obtaining items, such as
buying material objects that we desire. In other instances, these
needs compel us to create new things.

● Affection needs : centres on our desire to love and be loved. We

seek out the company of other people. Nurturance, or taking care of
other people, is also important for psychological well-being. Murray
also suggested that playing and having fun with other people is also
a critical affection need.
 Murray also recognized that rejection could also be a need.
Sometimes, turning people away is an important part of
maintaining mental wellness. Unhealthy relationships can be a
major detriment to an individual's well-being.

● Information needs : centre around both gaining knowledge and

sharing it with others. According to Murray, people have an innate
need to learn more about the world around them. He also focuses
on exposition, which is the desire to share what people have
learned with other people.
● Each individual tends to have a certain level of each need , and
each person's unique levels of needs play a role in shaping their
individual personality.

● Murray also believed that needs can be interrelated, support

other needs, and conflict with other needs.
MERITS
● HELPS IN UNDERSTANDING CLIENT’S THOUGHTS, FEELINGS
AND DREAMS

● HELPS IN DIAGNOSING PERSONALITY DISORDERS

● REVEALS INDIVIDUAL’S EMOTIONAL CONFLICT

● HELPS IN EVALUATING FOR THOSE WHO ARE CRIME

SUSPECTS

● HELPS IN IDENTIFYING IF THE CLIENT IS UNDER STRESS

DEMERITS
● HARD TO SCORE AND INTERPRET

● NO RULES FOR ADMINISTRATION AND FORMAL SCORING

SYSTEM

● TIME CONSUMING

● LACK OF STANDARDIZATION OF CARDS

 APPLICATIONS

1) It is used to evaluate personality.

Long term

2) It is used in eliciting information about an individual’s view of the

world, self and others.

3) It reveals an individual’s expectations of relationships with their peers,

parents, other authority figures, their subordinates and possible romantic
partners.
 APPLICATIONS

4) It is used to evaluate an individual’s mannerisms, vocal tone, posture,

hesitations etc. to reveal their emotional response to something.

5) It is used in assessment of candidates for employment.

6) It is used by psychiatrists and clinical psychologists to come up with a

treatment plan that is best suited to their client or patient’s personality.
 APPLICATIONS

7) It is sometimes used for forensic purposes.

8) It is used in psychotherapy and counselling.

9) It is used for researching different aspects of human

personality - Object Relations.

10) Personality assessment of children (using CAT - CHILDREN’S

APPERCEPTION TEST (Bellak, L., Bellak, S . (1949)., Children’s
Apperception Test., Australian Council for Educational Research) ).
PSYCHOMETRIC
PROPERTIES
 ● RELIABILITY:
There are researchers who argue regarding the concept of reliability.

Standard methods of reliability are not applicable for TAT.

This is because the cards are unique that split-half nor parallel form
reliability would be applicable.
 VALIDITY:
Varble (1971) reviewed the issue of validity.

He concluded the following points:

● It is not well suited for differential diagnosis

● Is not applicable for identifying personality variables

● “The validity of TAT is practically nill” or “there is impressive evidence for its
validity”.
 METHODOLOGY
AIM: To analysis and investigate a subject’s unconscious self.

To administer the Thematic Apperception Test on the subject.

PLAN:

MATERIALS ● TAT’s series of cards

REQUIRED: ● Writing material
● Scoring key and norms
 METHODOLOGY
AIM: To analysis and investigate a subject’s unconscious self.

To administer the Thematic Apperception Test on the subject.

PLAN:

MATERIALS ● TAT’s series of cards

REQUIRED: ● Writing material
● Scoring key and norms
 METHODOLOGY
PROCEDURE:
The cards are presented to the subject in an order, one after the other. The subject is asked
to invent stories in the spur of the moment on each picture. The subject is asked to give a
beginning, middle and end to each of the story. The picture is presented as a test of
imagination, subject identify with the invented characters and forget about self. The
subjects unawareness gives out the inner conflict and motivations of their minds though
the imaginative figures in the pictures which otherwise they are reluctant to confess in
response to a direct question. No breaks are given between each card.
The answers are then scored using the norms
 METHODOLOGY
INSTRUCTIONS:
“ I am going to be giving you cards with pictures in it, i want you to narrate a story
based in the picture, the story must contain a beginning, middle and an end, no breaks
will be given between the test”.

PRUCATIONS:
● Male and female cards given respectively
● No breaks to be given
● Cards should be given in the same order
● All the cards should be given and non should be skipped
 Conclusion
● THEMATIC APPERCEPTION TEST- PROJECTIVE
TECHNIQUE

● WIDELY USED FOR CLINICAL AND COUNSELLING

PURPOSES

● IT IS USED TO REVEAL CLIENT’S HIDDEN MOTIVES

AND DREAMS
 References
● Kaplan, R. M., & Saccuzzo, D. (2001). Psychological Testing: Principles,
Applications, and Issues (5th Ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Wadsworth.
● Weiner, I. B., & Greene, R. L. (2017). Handbook of Personality Assessment.
John Wiley & Sons.
● Xu X, Mellor D, Read SJ. (2017) Taxonomy of Psychogenic Needs (Murray).
In: Zeigler-Hill V, Shackelford TK, editors. Encyclopedia of Personality and
Individual Differences. Springer International Publishing.
● Murray, H. A. (1938). Explorations in personality. New York: Oxford
University Press.
● Unit 1 Introduction to Projective Techniques and Neuropsychological Test
Structure. (n.d.). Retrieved March 12, 2023, from
https://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/51000/3/Unit-1.pdf
● Klopfer, W. G. (1973). The short history of projective techniques. Journal of the
History of the Behavioral Sciences, 9, 60–65
 Thank You!
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