The Thematic Apperception Test is an example of a projective test. A projective test, in psychology, is a personality test designed to let a person respond to ambiguous stimuli, presumably revealing hidden emotions and internal conflicts. ...

Historically, the Thematic Apperception Test or TAT has been amongst the most widely used, researched, and taught projective psychological tests. Its adherents claim that it taps a subject's unconscious to reveal repressed aspects of personality, motives and needs for achievement, power and intimacy, and problem-solving abilities. A projective test, in psychology, is a personality test designed to let a person respond to ambiguous stimuli, presumably revealing hidden emotions and internal conflicts. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Psychological repression, or simply repression, is the psychological act of excluding desires and impulses (wishes, fantasies or feelings) from ones consciousness and attempting to hold or subdue them in the subconscious. ... Personality psychology is a branch of psychology which studies personality and individual differences. ... Motivation is a word used to refer to the reason or reasons for engaging in a particular behavior, especially human behavior. ... Needs refer to things that people must have. ... A goal is a state of affairs or a state of a concrete activity domain which a person or a system is going/tends to achieve or obtain. ... Much of the recent sociological debate on power revolves around the issue of the constraining and/or enabling nature of power. ... Definition Intimacy is complex in that its meaning varies from relationship to relationship, and within a given relationship over time. ... Problem solving forms part of thinking. ...

Procedure

The TAT is popularly known as the picture interpretation technique because it uses a standard series of 30 provocative yet ambiguous pictures about which the subject must tell a story. In the case of adults and adolescents of average intelligence, a subject is asked to tell as dramatic a story as they can for each picture, including: Look up ambiguity in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For images in Wikipedia, see Wikipedia:Images. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

• what has led up to the event shown
• what is happening at the moment
• what the characters are feeling and thinking, and
• what the outcome of the story was.

For children or individuals of limited cognitive abilities, instructions ask that the subject tell a story including what happened before and what is happening now, what the people are feeling and thinking and how it will come out.

The 30 cards are meant to be divided into two "series" of 15 pictures each, with the pictures of the second series being purposely more unusual, dramatic, and bizarre than those of the first. Suggested administration involves one full hour being devoted to a series, with the two sessions being separated by a day or more.

Several cards in the test are present in order to ensure that the subject is able to be provided with cards picturing individuals of the same gender. Eleven cards (including the blank card) have been found suitable for both sexes, by portraying no human figures, an individual of each sex, or an individual of ambiguous gender.

Each story created by a subject is carefully analyzed to uncover underlying needs, attitudes, and patterns of reaction. The TAT is a projective test in that, like the Rorschach test, its assessment of the subject is based on what he or she projects onto the ambiguous images. A need is the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a goal and the reason for the action, giving purpose and direction to behavior. ... Attitude is a hypothetical construct that represents an individuals like or dislike for an item. ... A projective test, in psychology, is a personality test designed to let a person respond to ambiguous stimuli, presumably revealing hidden emotions and internal conflicts. ... The Rorschach (pronounced roar-shock) inkblot test is a method of psychological evaluation. ... In psychology, psychological projection (or projection bias) is a defense mechanism in which one attributes to others one’s own unacceptable or unwanted thoughts or/and emotions. ...

Scoring Systems

There are several formal scoring systems that have been developed for analyzing TAT stories. Two common methods that are currently used in research are the Defense Mechanisms Manual DMM (Cramer, 1991) and Social Cognition and Object Relations SCOR (Westen, 1991)scale.

History

TAT was developed by the American psychologists Henry A. Murray and Christiana D. Morgan at Harvard during the 1930s to explore the underlying dynamics of personality, such as internal conflicts, dominant drives, interests, and motives. Psychological science redirects here. ... Henry A. Murray (b. ... Harvard University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, and a member of the Ivy League. ... The 1930s were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression, also known as the [[. In East Asia, the rise of militarism occurred. ... Personality psychology is a branch of psychology which studies personality and individual differences. ... For other uses, see Conflict (disambiguation). ... Motivation is a word used to refer to the reason or reasons for engaging in a particular behavior, especially human behavior. ...

After World War II, the TAT was adopted more broadly by psychoanalysts and clinicians to evaluate emotionally disturbed patients. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Today psychoanalysis comprises several interlocking theories concerning the functioning of the mind. ... Clinician is a term used generically to describe a wide range of medical professionals See Doctor, Medicine Category: ... A patient having his blood pressure taken by a doctor. ...

Later, in the 1970s, the Human Potential Movement encouraged psychologists to use the TAT to help their clients understand themselves better and stimulate personal growth. The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, also called The Seventies. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Personal development (also known as self-development, self-improvement or personal growth) comprises the development of the self. ...

Criticisms

Declining adherence to the Freudian principle of repression on which the test is based has caused the TAT to be criticised as false or outdated by many professional psychologists. Their criticisms are that the TAT is unscientific because it cannot be proved to be valid (ie that it actually measures what it claims to measure), or reliable, (ie that gives consistent results over time, due to the challenge of standardising interpretations of the stories produced by subjects). Sigmund Freud (IPA: ), born Sigismund Schlomo Freud (May 6, 1856 – September 23, 1939), was an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist who founded the psychoanalytic school of psychology. ... Psychological repression, or simply repression, is the psychological act of excluding desires and impulses (wishes, fantasies or feelings) from ones consciousness and attempting to hold or subdue them in the subconscious. ... A psychologist is a researcher and/or a practitioner of psychology. ... In psychology a conclusion is said to be valid, if and only if, it is based on true premises. ... In statistics, reliability is the consistency of a set of measurements or measuring instrument. ...

These criticisms are, indeed, justified, as far as earlier apporaches are concerned; however, the two most recent approaches (see above) distinguish themselves in being based on norms, i.e. tests with different age groups and of non-patients as compared to patients. For this reason, it is now possible to determine e.g. what the common level of social cognition of 8-year-olds is, and thus whether a specific child aged 8 adheres to ths norm or not.

Contemporary applications of TAT

Nevertheless, the TAT remains widely used as a tool for research around areas of psychology such as dreams, fantasies, mate selection and what motivates people to choose their occupation. Sometimes it is used in a psychiatric context to assess disordered thinking, in forensic examinations to evaluate crime suspects, or to screen candidates for high-stress occupations. This article is about the concept. ... For other uses, see Dream (disambiguation). ... See fantasy for an account of the literary genre involving the development of common or popular fantasies. ... Matrimony redirects here. ... A profession is an occupation, vocation or career where specialized knowledge of a subject, field, or science is applied. ... Wikinews has related news: Dr. Joseph Merlino on sexuality, insanity, Freud, fetishes and apathy Personality disorder, formerly referred to as a Character Disorder is a class of mental disorders characterized by rigid and on-going patterns of thought and action (Cognitive modules). ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... In medical terms, stress is the disruption of homeostasis through physical or psychological stimuli. ...

TAT is widely used in France and Argentina following the "French School" concepts.

There is also a British and a Roman School. For other uses, see Rome (disambiguation). ...

The Israeli army uses the test for evaluating potential officers. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) (Hebrew: צבא ההגנה לישראל Tsva Ha-Haganah Le-Yisrael ([Army] Force [for] the Defense of Israel), often abbreviated צהל Tsahal, alternative English spelling Tzahal, is the name of Israels armed forces (army, air force and navy). ... An officer is a member of a military, naval, or if applicable, other uniformed services who holds a position of responsibility. ...

It is also used by Service Selection Board, India

TAT in popular culture

• Thomas Harris' novel Red Dragon includes a scene where the brilliant fictional psychiatrist and serial killer Dr Hannibal Lecter is required to take a TAT test
• Michael Crichton included the TAT in the battery of tests given to the disturbed patient and main character Harry Benson in his The Terminal Man novel.
• In the MTV cartoon 'Daria', Daria and her sister Quinn are given a test that appears to be the TAT by the school psychologist on their first day at their new school. Daria and Quinn are shown a picture of two people. Quinn makes up a story about the two people having a discussion about popularity and dating. Daria states that she sees "a herd of beautiful wild ponies running free across the plains." The psychologist tells her the picture is of two people, not ponies. Daria states, "last time I took one of these tests they told me they were clouds. They said they could be whatever I wanted." The psychologist explains, "That's a different test, dear. In this test, they're people and you tell me what they're discussing." To which Daria characteristically replies, "Oh... I see. All right, then. It's a guy and a girl and they're discussing... a herd of beautiful wild ponies running free across the plains."^[1]

This article is about the author Thomas Harris. ... This article is about the novel. ... Hannibal Lecter is a fictional character in a series of novels by author Thomas Harris. ... Michael Crichton, pronounced [1], (born October 23, 1942) is an American author, film producer, film director, and television producer. ... The Terminal Man is a novel by Michael Crichton. ... For St. ... Look up Quinn in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A psychologist is an expert in psychology, the systematic investigation of the human body, including behavior, cognition, and affect. ...

See also

• Psychological topics

This page aims to list all topics related to psychology. ...

Related topics

• Psychological testing

Psychological testing is a field characterized by the use of samples of behavior in order to infer generalizations about a given individual. ...

References

1. ^ http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Daria#.22Esteemsters.22_.5B1.01.5D

External links

• Book review of Storytelling, Narrative, and the Thematic Apperception Test
• Research into the origins of imagery used in the TAT
• Information about the Thematic Apperception Test from Thomson Gale
• Textbook by Van Brunt on the Thematic Apperception Test