Thematic Apperception test
should be recorded.
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) is only meant to be
administered in an interpersonal setting. The test consists
of 20 different cards containing ambiguous pictures,
which are presented to the subject.
Keiser and Prather specified Murray’s most frequent
cards in 1990, which were: 1, 2, 3BM, 3GF, 4, 5, 6BM,
6GF, 8BM and 8 GF.
Conditions
 The subject should be seated right beside the
examiner with his or her chair turned away.
 Time should be measured from the moment
when the first picture is presented to the time
before the next picture is given.
Instructions
Each picture should be shown one at a time, and the
subjects are then asked to depict a story from the
pictures in the card. Total time duration assigned
for 10 pictures is 50 minutes.
Condition for the Story (Compulsory)
It’s a must for the story to describe
 Present Situation
 Thoughts and feelings of the character(s)
 Preceding events: the events that led up to the
story.
 Final Outcome
Recording Procedure
 Complete responses presented by a subject
 Along with behavioral observations: stuttering,
voice tone, body posture, hand movements,
exclamation, and so on.
 Practitioner should engage in questioning and
inquiry to produce a continuous flow of the
subject’s fantasy.
 The cards should be administered in the
sequence they were presented to the subject.
Henry A. Murray also developed scoring technique, and
categorized it as following five aspects of the stories.
 The Hero: Scoring for the hero involves
identifying the protagonist in the story.
 Need for the Hero: It was important for Murray
to identify the motives, needs and desire of the
hero.
 Identifying the presses: Environmental factors
that influence with the needs or actions of the
hero are regarded as presses.
 Scoring for Themes: This involves evaluating
the nature of interplay and conflict between the
presses and the needs. Emotion elicited by
conflict and the way in which conflict is
resolved is assessed.
 Scoring for Outcome: Major scoring for
outcome is done on whether or not the story has
a happy ending. Also, the impact on the outcome
influenced by the strengths of hero and presses
is assessed.
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) Pictures
Picture 1: A boy looking at the violin.
Observation: This card yields out information regarding
ones ability to concentrate and achieve higher
competence. Stories about the boy’s dislike to learning
violin is also often portrayed. This could reveal
information about the subjects’ own past about having
been forced to learn or do activities they didn’t enjoy.
Picture 2: A woman holding a book in a country scene
watching a man working in a field in the background.

Observation: The card represents a group scene and

deals with the individual challenge of living together
with other people.This is the only card in the series that
does so.
Picture 3BM: A boy huddled next to a couch with an
ambiguous object placed next to him, possibly a revolver
or a set of keys.

Observation: This is considered to be one of the most

important pictures, especially for depressed patients, as it
deals with themes of aggression, impulsive control, guilt
and depression.
For instance, If a patient describes the ambiguous object
as a gun, it’s highly likely that the person might harm
oneself (Intra-aggression) or another person (Extra-
Aggression).
https://www.psychestudy.com/general/personality/
detailed-procedure-thematic-procedure-test