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ASSESSMENT OF PERSONALITY

THEMATIC APPERCEPTION TEST

Smruti Sivakumar

21MSAH0120

Expt.no: 04 Experimenter: SSK

Date: Subject: RG

General problem: On personality

Specific problem: To explore the subject’s unconscious drives and needs.

Basic Concepts:

Personality: Personality refers to the enduring characteristics and behavior that comprise a
person’s unique adjustment to life, including major traits, interests, drives, values, self-
concept, abilities, and emotional patterns. Various theories explain the structure and
development of personality in different ways, but all agree that personality helps determine
behavior.

To understand about personality, information about a person’s interests, motivations,


preferences, emotions, way of interacting etc. is collected systematically through personality
tests. These tests can be through self-report, interviews or projective tests. Self-report
inventories involves asking the test-taker to rate themselves on a series of statements to
measure some relatively stable personality traits.

Projective tests on the other hand is any test that allows one to respond freely to ambiguous
stimuli to increase insight into these individuals. This is based on the assumption that, if
stimuli is unstructured/ ambiguous, aspects of their personality will be revealed through how
they structure their responses to these stimuli. Most common projective tests are the Thematic
Apperception Test, Rorschach etc.

TAT: This is a type of projective test developed by American psychologists Henry Murray
and Christina Morgan in the 1930s. It’s the most widely researched and clinically used
personality test, and it involves having an individual describe ambiguous scenes to learn
about their emotions, motivations and personality. The test has 31 cards, seven for males,
seven for females, one for boys or girls, one for men or women, one each for a boy, girl, man
and woman, 10 cards applicable to anyone and one blank card. Typically only 10 cards are
used per person. Most of the drawings and scenes has ambiguous but emotionally provocative
context. The subject would have to make up a story for each card, including information
about what is happening, what led up to it, what is the outcome, what the person is thinking
of feeling. TAT is widely used in personality research and the interpersonal issues and
relations it reveals makes it suitable for clinical setting too. The procedure is time consuming
but scoring is relatively easier than other projective tests.

Internal consistency, test-retest reliability are quite low for TAT, as Murray also said they
should not be expected for these tests. But Gruber and colleagues developed a new way of
calculating internal consistency for TAT using categories and it shows a cronbach’s alpha of
0.84. Validity of TAT depends on the scores of the population, the purpose and
circumstances in the data collection hence it is a weak guide at best. The list of cards happen
to measure aspects of a person like: paranoia, father and mother relationships, sexual
preferences, life situations, dominance, hostility, intimacy etc.

Murray’s needs and presses: Murray talked about needs and presses as what defines human
behaviour and certain needs may be more important to some than to others and this defines
one’s unique personality. Murray says that human needs are psychogenic, unconscious and
play a major role in defining personality. When these psychogenic needs are frustrated, leads
to psychological pain. Each psychogenic need is unique but also have commonalities among
them, and behaviours may meet/satisfy more than one need.

Murray’s psychogenic needs: suggest that our personalities are a reflection of behaviors
controlled by needs. While some needs are temporary and changing, other needs are more
deeply seated in our nature. According to Murray, these psychogenic needs function mostly
on the unconscious level but play a major role in our personality. He gave a total of 24
psychogenic needs including: ….Murray identified needs as one of two types:

Primary needs: Primary needs are basic needs that are based upon biological demands, such
as the need for oxygen, food, and water.

Secondary needs: Secondary needs are generally psychological, such as the need for
nurturing, independence, and achievement, affiliation and power. While these needs might
not be fundamental for basic survival, they are essential for psychological well-being.
Presses: Environmental factors that play a role in how psychogenic needs are displayed in
behaviours are the presses. These presses are external influences on motivation and can
influence an individual’s level of need as well as the resulting behaviour. The press of
something it what it can do for the subject or to the subject. Pressive perception is how one
interprets a press as positive or negative and this is also an unconscious process.

Preliminaries:

 Name: RG
 Age: 24
 Gender: Female
 Education: Triple major in Economics, Statistics and Psychology
 Condition of the subject: Fresh and co-operative.
 Date: 10.05.23

Brief history:

Presenting concerns of the subject seemed to include fatigue, feeling demotivated, wanting to
take a break from all work and her studies on the side to give more time to hobbies. She noted
that she had felt this way for about 3-4 months. Subject said her family included her mother,
father, maternal grandfather and a brother who is married and living away from home with
his wife. Client reported both parents still work and that the environment at home with family
is not great, she reported tensions arising due to finances mainly. Her relationship with her
mother was reported to be good but that she is not in talking terms with her father and the her
relationship with him is not great. She had normal schooling with no developmental or
educational delays. She pursued her bachelor’s and master’s and is now currently employed
in the business sector while also pursuing distance education. Reporting on her health, subject
said that ever since she moved away from home to pursue her masters, her diet had taken a
hit and is not the healthiest and that she feels overall her health has worsened and noted
weight gain but with a good sleep cycle.

Materials required:

 Thematic Apperception Test cards


 TAT Record Blanks

Procedure:
Before starting with the tests, it is important to build rapport with the subject with some
questions about their social life which would not be difficult to understand. The time limit is
also forgone to give some leeway to make the subjects more used to and not resistant to the
testing of TAT. The first two cards are presented in the order given by Murray: Card I and
Card II. The rest of the cards were presented in the following manner: Card III (GF), Card IV
(GF), Card V, Card VI, Card VII, Card VIII, Card IX, Card X.

The cards were presented to the client in the above order one by one. The respondents were
asked to invent stories or the spur of the moment on each picture. The respondents were
asked to give the stories they say a beginning, middle and an end. As the pictures are
presented as a test of imagination, respondents identify with the invented characters and
forget about the self. Thus, the respondent gives out the inner conflicts and motivations of
their mind through imaginative figures in the pictures without realizing, which they are
otherwise reluctant to confess in response to a direct question.

The analyses of the responses is done by noticing the patterns or the themes in the story and
identifying: the hero, the needs, presses and feelings of the hero, the theme and outcome of
the story and the defense mechanisms identified in the story. The stories are then summarized
and the significant conflicts, main defenses, emotional maturity, ego and superego status,
important needs and personality traits of the subject are identified.

Instruction:

“I will be presenting a series of cards and the cards have certain drawing and scenes in them.
Try and make up a story about the scene in the card. In the story, tell me what you think is
currently happening in the picture, what happened before it and what will happen after.”

Table:

C. Hero Needs Presses Outcome Theme Defense Feelings


No mechani
sm
1. The To master Bad Might Fear of failure Reversal Doubtful,
boy the experienc have a Confused
instrument es with good
again playing experien
the ce and
instrumen continue
t with his
pursuit
2 The A need for The That the Depiction of No
man cognizance obligation man will daily life notable
with ; to watch to complete through feelings
the and gaze at continue his work someone’s identified
stick people his work well perception in the
going story
about their
life
3 Daugh Passivity, Threat of Not care Desensitized Reaction Lack of
ter no fear being about to mother’s Formati fear, no
towards beat, but what threats and on notable
mother’s knowing happene taunts, not emotion,
taunts or it’s not d and go caring passivity.
being told going to about
to do come her day
something
4 The Passivity Rejecting Girl will Rejecting Reversal Frustratio
girl in not whatever cry over authority, n,
caring the father frustratio deference passivity
about imposes n but
consequen better
ces after
5 The Aggression Dominan Attempts Aggression, Reaction Anger,
man , not ce over to hostility, formatio fear
getting the wife dissolve wanting n
what he by trying the dominance
wants to situation
threaten , but
her and won’t
get what get
he wants solved
6 The A need for Being The boat Someone/ Projecti Calmness
boat passivity, close to may be Something on – , finding
change in land, tied returned moving away Themes solace
that the away, or taken from of
boat is constraine care of familiarity due escape
loose and d in new to restlessness
floating environ maybe, in
away with ment search of
no calm/
destination something
new
7 The Need for Feelings Woman Loss of a love Denial Sad,
woma companion of envy, will that once was about dejected
n in ship, lack of continue her lover
the affiliation love she to be sad moving
windo with the once had on
w man
8 The A need for Overwhel She will Escaping to Projecti Feeling
woma peace and med and relax get some on – overwhel
n in calm wanting and fall peace of mind themes med and
the to escape asleep of then calm
villag pursuit
e and
escape
9 The Need for Nurturanc Rest for Normal couple No Feeling
woma passivity, e is seen bit, then dynamics notable of
n to relax, be is partner freshen defense relaxatio
tranquil caring for up and mechani n,
and rest wife join sm. content,
which partner love
makes her for food.
relax and
set up
later to
enjoy
time with
husband
10 Perso Feeling Continue Leisure, No Feeling
n tired after playing relaxation notable content
playin work guitar defense
g for a mechani
guitar while, sms
eat and
sleep

Discussion:

The Thematic Apperception Test was conducted on a 24 year old woman working in
Chennai. The rapport was built with the subject and asked to make up stories for each of the
cards presented.

Overall throughout all of the stories, subject’s level of abstraction included quite a bit of
interpretation that is abstract as seen in most of the cards, like the tenth card of a silhouette
being interpreted as someone relaxing after tiring work day or in the sixth card depicting the
boat as something that was tied up, drifting away aimlessly to find something new. The inner
psychological processes of the characters are described to a certain extent in most pictures
from just the stimulus. The subject to a certain extent gave positive resolutions to all the
stories she described.
The subject had made up stories with a nuanced perspective to a good degree. The feelings
and emotions depicted in the pictures were captured and explained upon with fairly good
reasoning and was consistent with the cues from the card. For example, as seen in the third
card’s story, the girl’s expression is explained as passivity and not caring and the mother’s as
anger. It was perceived as the mother trying to discipline the child by expressing anger and
the child’s passivity given a reason as to her being used to the mother’s tactics and not being
afraid anymore. The narration was realistic and meaningful and seemed to reflect a lot of the
subject’s desires in certain areas when analyzing the overall themes. This was seen in
overarching themes of wanting calmness, getting away from the hustle and bustle, like in card
6 with the boat floating away and card 8 with the woman seeking a familiar place for silence,
peace and comfort. The antecedents explained for these events are also realistic.

The subject also seems to have a realistic perception of time. The description of the
antecedents and outcomes of the story described seem to reflect this, as seen is card 4,
describing the outcome as the woman crying just out of frustration of the situation but
eventually feel better as she does not care for the father’s words anymore. As also seen in
card 5, as saying the conflict between the son and mother would try to be resolved by a third
party but will escalate and be difficult to solve as this incident may have caused lasting
damage. But a common aspect observed through all the stories is that it focuses more on the
immediate future, rarely any of the future. Combining with the common themes of wanting
peace, relaxation and the subject’s life circumstances, not focusing on far future
consequences, but wanting to just focus on present, relax, take a break, get away, have
someone take over etc. are seen in the subject’s stories – this may depict a sort of tiredness
and weariness in current life circumstances and wanting to take a break.

Based on the stories the subject interpreted from the cards, the subject’s cognitive-
experiential integration is complex and responsible. The story seemed to reflect certain
complexities of the characters like the woman wanting to escape her busy life and rest in this
abandoned village in card 8 or the woman longing for her love and companionship that she
cannot have any more in card 7. The stories also have realistic resolutions like the woman
would not be able to be with her lover anymore in card 7. The story seemed to have a smooth
flow albeit short and integrated multiple perspectives too like in card 3 with the mother and
daughter and card 4 with the father and daughter.
The stories of the subject also seem to have good integrative association, with central themes
and showing some internalized representations about the family and having no loose ends.
The level of maturity of the subject is also reflected through the stories and it shows
internally organized conceptualization and long-term coping resolution. The emotions seem
to be coordinated with the motives and convictions and the actions are purposeful as seen in
the first card with character’s decision to play or the 5th card with the man’s aggression. The
emotional reactions to the events described seem accurate and the concerns depict both an
immediate pressure and something that’s been brewing long-term. The resolutions of the
story seem realistic and effective as seen in card 6 and card 8 and both external factors and
internal states seem to guide the actions.

Stories seem to have a majority positive aspect with the characters getting peace, relaxation
as seen in card 2, card 6, card 8 and card 10. Card 9 especially shows this with it being
presented as a partner getting breakfast for his wife/ girlfriend to let her rest, showing his love
and care and allowing partner to relax more. This is corroborated from the subject’s history of
wanting to take a break. Negative connotations are seen in cards, where it shows emotional
passivity and deference to a certain extent like in card 3 and 4 and in card 5 with the man’s
aggression over not getting what he wants and card 7 with the woman yearning for a lost love
but having to accept it. This could be in relation to her current family circumstances.

The strengths of the subject include that they seem to have positive resolutions depicted in
the story for the most part and seems to be optimistic despite difficult circumstances in
certain aspects of their life and still hoping for good outcomes for her efforts like the boy in
card 1 or the boat finding a better place in card 6. The negatives seemed to be represented in
cards 3, 4, 5 and 7 with showing a passivity for rules or directions imposed by parental
figures, aggression from the man in card 5 and the woman’s longing in card 7. Client seems
to have been desensitized to certain repeating negative occurrences in life but still is
frustrated by things that “don’t matter” as claimed in card 3 and 4. Recommendation for the
subject would include practicing mindfulness and relaxation techniques as signs from
subject’s history and TAT stories indicate burnout (Goodman, 2012).

Conclusion:

The subject’s TAT stories were coherent, had high level of abstraction and emotional
maturity, were rooted in reality and also depicted concerns and realistic resolutions based on
the situation and character. The overarching theme of the stories seemed to be leisure,
relaxation, depiction of daily mundane life and tasks without stress. The primary needs of the
subject seems to be relaxed, to isolated, be cognizant and cared for. This translates into the
actions of the characters in the story. The stories also seem to showcase interpersonal conflict
with parental figures and internal dilemmas that have a positive resolution.

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G, S., & Somary, K. (2001). Projective Methods in Psychology. In Elsevier eBooks (pp. 12181–

12185). https://doi.org/10.1016/b0-08-043076-7/01288-2

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One, 8(11), e79450. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0079450

Jenkins, S. R. (2008). Introduction: Why "score" TATs, anyway?. In S. R. Jenkins & (Eds.), A handbook of

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