THE

THEMATIC
APPERCEPTIO
N TEST
INTRODUCTION of TAT:
 The Thematic Apperception Test, or TAT, is a type
of projective test that involves describing
ambiguous scenes to learn more about a person's
emotions, motivations, and personality person's
feelings, conflicts, and desires.
 Popularly known as the "picture interpretation
technique” and story telling technique.
EXPLANITION:
 Cards include specific subsets for boys, girls, men,
and women.
 The test is useful as part of a comprehensive study
of personality and in the interpretation of behavior
disorders, psychosomatic illnesses, neuroses, and
psychoses.
 The TAT is the second most popular projective test
used by psychologists today and can be used to
assess both adults and children.
 4

MURRAY’S THEORY ON
PSYCHOGENIC NEEDS
 In 1938 Henry Murray developed a system
describing personality in terms of needs, and
"presses”.
 Murray defined a Need as a: Readiness to respond
in a specific manner under given situation".
Presses
 Environmental factors also play a role in how
these psychogenic needs are expressed in
behavior, these are what Murray called "presses".
According to Murray:
 One may have high achievement need but other
may have low need of achievement and this
contributes in individual differences and shaping
personality .
 Need generate state of tension or disequilibrium in
an individual which arouses him and generate a
drive to engage in behavior to reduced the state of
tension.
 Need
(water)

Reduction of
Drive
Arousal
(Alertness)

Arousal
Achievement
(Disequilibrium)

Goal directed
behavior
Murray identified 2 types of
need :
Primary need Secondary need
 Basic or biological  Also called
need. psychogenic need.
 Important for survival.  Might not important
 Such as for survival but for
water ,food ,oxygen .. psychological well
being and satisfaction.
 Divided in 5 categories
1. Ambition needs
Achievement :
To accomplish difficult tasks, overcoming obstacles
and achieving expertize.
Recognition :
To show achievements to others and gain recognition
for these.
2. Information needs:
Cognizance:
To seek knowledge and ask questions about things in
order to understand.
Exposition
To provide information educate others.
3. Materialistic needs
Acquisition:
To acquire things.
Order:
To make things clean, neat and tidy.
Construction:
To make and build things.
4. Power needs
Autonomy:
To be free, independent to resist restrictions and to live life on it’s
own terms.
Deference:
To admire a superior person, praising them and following their
rules.
Dominance:
To control one's environment, controlling other people through
command.
Aggression:
To fight and taking revenge .
5. Affection needs:
Affiliation :
To be close and loyal to another person, pleasing them and
winning their friendship and attention.
Nurturance:
To help the helpless, feeding them and keeping them from
danger.
Succorance:
To have one's needs satisfied by someone or something.
Includes being loved, nursed, helped, forgiven and
consoled.
Presses kinds:
Alpha Beta
The way the environment The way in which the
exist in reality . person views and
interpret the environment
.
Precautions of TAT
Psychological testing is the administration of psychological
tests. Psychological tests are administered by trained
evaluators. A person’s responses are evaluated according to
carefully prescribed guidelines.
 The subject must work fast and accurately.
 The results should be checked only at the end of the
experiment.
 The subject should not be told the duration of the work. If
he knows the duration, it affects his performance.
 Negative attitude can be seen in client regarding test.
Precautions of TAT
 Psychological testing requires a clinically trained
examiner to administer the test.
 Psychological test should not be used as the sole
for a diagnosis. A detailed history of the test
subject and review of a psychological, medical,
educational or other relevant records are required
to lay the groundwork for interpreting the results
of any psychological measurement.
Precautions of TAT
 No psychological test is ever completely reliable or
valid because human psyche is just complicated to
know anything about it with full confidence.
 Many psychological test, particularly intelligence test,
can Cary cultural biases, they assume all individuals
have the same experiences and proficiency with the
English language. Individuals from a ethnic minority
may interpret items in a psychological test differently
due to their cultural and upbringing, which may result
in a disappropriate and in accurate result.