THEMATIC APPERCEPTION

TEST
GROUP PRESENTATION

• PAULINE CRIS MARIANO

• MARIA TERESA MALOLOY-ON
• PRINCESS WENCESLAO
• DARIUS ROBLES
 BRIEF
BACKGROUND OF
TAT
It is a projective psychological test developed during
the 1930s by Henry A. Murray and Christiana D.
Morgan at Harvard University.
It consists of a series of pictures in which the
examinee is requested to create a story about the
picture.
Method of revealing to the trained interpreter some of the
dominant drives, emotions, sentiments, complexes and
conflicts of personality.
 BRIEF
BACKGROUND OF
TAT
Murray gave the concept of thema “ pattern of related
needs and press” derived from early infantile
experiences.

It ranks as 6th most frequently used test by clinical

psychologists

NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN UNDER

FOUR YEARS OF AGE.
PURPOSE & UTILITY
To expose the underlying inhibited tendencies
which the subject is not willing to admit, or can
not admit because he is unconscious of them.

Useful in any comprehensive study of

personality, and in the interpretation of behaviour
disorders, psychosomatic illnesses, neuroses and
psychoses.

The technique is especially recommended

as a preface to a series of psychotherapeutic
interviews or to a short psychoanalysis.
 TEST MATERIAL
• 31 pictures that depict a variety of social and interpersonal
situations. The subject is asked to tell a story about each
picture to the examiner. Of the 31 pictures, 10 are gender-
specific while 21 others can be used with adults of either sex
and with children.
• ”M” for males, “F” for females
• ”B” for boys, “G” for girls
• ”BM” for boys/males, “GF” for girls/females.
 ADMINISTRATION
PREPARATION OF THE ATMOSPHERE OF THE SETTING GIVING PROCEDURES / INSTRUCTIONS
SUBJECT

With comfortable setting without

Making sure the subject is any immense disturbances. Clearly giving the instructions
aware and with consent before before each picture.
the administration
 Instructions for adolescents and for adults of
average intelligence and sophistication
“This is a test of imagination, one form of intelligence. I am going to
show some pictures, one at a time; and your task will be to make up as a
dramatic story as you can for each. Tell what has led up to the event
shown in the picture, describe what is happening at the moment, what the
characters are feeling and thinking and then give the outcome. Speak your
thoughts as they come to your mind. Do you understand? Since you have
fifty minutes for ten pictures, you can devote about five minutes to each
story. HERE IS THE FIRST PICTURE.”
 Instructions for children, for adults of little
education or intelligence, and for psychotics
"This is a story-telling test. I have some pictures here that I am going to
show you, and for each picture I want you to make up a story. Tell what
has happened before and what is happening now. Say what the people are
feeling and thinking and how it will come out. You can make up any kind
of story you please. Do you understand? Well, then, here is the first
picture. You have five minutes to make up a story. See, how well you can
do."
 INSTRUCTIONS
The examiner will show some pictures one at a time, and the
subject will be making up as dramatic a story as he/she can for
each picture card. 50 minutes for 10 pictures (5 Minutes per
picture). The following story structure must be obtained:

a) current situation ; • what is happening at the

moment?
b) thoughts and feelings of the character (s);
• what the characters are feeling and thinking?
c) preceding events; • what has led up
to the event shown in the picture?
d) outcome ; • what was the outcome?

At the end AFTER the stories have been completed,

free associations or thoughts concerning places,
dates, proper names, and other specific or unusual
information given by the subject.
 ORDER OF PRESENTATION
Usually, the cards should be administered according to their
sequential numbering system (SNS).

a) administered to females and males in exact

order : 1, 2, 3BM, 4, 6BM, 7GF, 8BM, 9GF, 10,
13MF.
b) Females – Cards 1,2,3,4,6GF, 7GF, 9GF,
11, 13GF, 16

c) Males – Cards 1,2,3BM,4,6BM,7BM,

11,12M, 13MF, 16
DESCRIPTION OF PICTURES
B ----------- Young Boys

G ----------- Young Girls

M ----------- Males over 14

F ------------ Females over 14

BM ---------- Boys and older Males

GF ---------- Girls and older Females

BG ---------- Boys and Girls

MF ---------- Males and Females

 SCORING
• For each of the scoring categories, practitioners
should abbreviate their observations about the person.
In some sections, practitioners are asked to indicate
the levels of importance or strength for the per by
putting one check (mere presence of characteristics),
two checks (moderate) or three checks (strong). The
entire scoring and interpretation procedure typically
takes a half-hour.
 Henry Murray, 1943 scoring the TAT
involves evaluating the following five
different aspects of the stories:
1. The Hero. Scoring for the hero involves identifying who is central
character(s) in the story
2. Need of the Hero. For Murray, it was also critical to identify the needs,
motives, and desires of the hero.
3. Identifying the presses. A press refers to any important environmental
factor that may influence or interfere with the hero's needs. Example:
(parents or boss), (the lock on the door is broken)
4. Scoring for themes. Scoring for themes in TAT stories involves noting the
nature of the interplay and conflict between the needs and presses, the types of
emotion elicited by this conflict, and the way the conflict is resolved.
5. Scoring for outcome. Scoring for the outcome of the story involves
analyzing how the stories end by noting a happy versus unhappy ending and
assessing the extent to which the ending is controlled by the strengths of the
hero and forces in the environment.
 INTERPRETATION
1. Nomothethic Interpretation refers to the
practice of establishing norms for answers from
subjects in specific age, gender, racial, or
educational level groups and then measuring a
given subject’s responses against those norms.

2. Idiographic Interpretation refers to evaluating

the unique features of the subject’s view of the
world and relationships. Most psychologists
would classify the TAT as better suited to
idiographic than nomothetic interpretations
 INTERPRETATION
In interpreting the responses of the TAT, the
examiners typically focus their attention on one
of the three (3) areas:

•The content of the stories that the subject tells;

•The feeling or the tone of the stories;
•The subject’s behavior apart from responses.
These behavior may include: Verbal Remarks
(e.g. comments about feeling stressed by
situation or not being good story teller) as well as
Nonverbal Actions or Signs (e.g. difficulties
making an eye contact with the examiner, etc.)
 INTERPRETATION
The 3 Levels of Interpretations suggest by Bellak
& Abram, 1997 are:

•Descriptive Level- it is the mere repeat of the

story
•Interpretative Level- It extends the descriptive
level by an alteration of it [if one does the X,
then the outcome will be Y.].
•Diagnostic Level- It is the further extension that
an interference is made about the client
 PICTURES

Card 1- a young boy is contemplating a violin Card 2-Country Scene: in the foreground is a
which rest on a table in front of him. young woman with books in her hand; in the
background a man is working in the fields and
an older woman is looking on
 PICTURES

Picture 3BM : A boy is huddled next to a couch. Card 3GF- A young woman is standing with a
On the floor next to him is an ambiguous downcast head, her face covered with her right
object that could be a set of keys or a revolver. hand. Her left hand is stretched forward
against the wooden door.
 PICTURES

Card 4 –A woman is clutching the shoulders of Card 5- A middle-aged woman is standing on

a man whose face the body averted as if he the threshold on a half-open door, looking into
were trying to pull away from her a room
 PICTURES

Card 6BM- A short elderly woman stands with Card 6GF- A young woman sitting on the edge
her back turned to a tall young man. The latter of a sofa looks back over her shoulder at an
is looking downward with a perplexed older man with a pipe in his mouth who seems
expression to be addressing her
 PICTURES

Card 7BM- A gray-haired man is looking at a Card 7GF –An older woman is sitting on a sofa
young man who is sullenly staring into space beside a girl, speaking to her. The girl who
holds a doll on her lap, is looking away.
 PICTURES

Picture 8BM : A young boy in the foreground is staring Card 8GF- A young woman sits
directly out of the picture. In the background is a hazy with her hand on her chin
image of two men performing surgery on a patient who looking off into space
is lying down.
 PICTURES

Card 9BM- 4 men in overall are lying on the Card 9GF- A young woman with a magazine
grass taking it easy and a purse in her hand looks from behind a
tree at another woman in a party dress running
along a beach
 PICTURES

Card 10- A young woman’s head against a
man’s shoulder
Card 11- A road skirting a deep chasm between
high cliffs. On the road in the distance are
obscure figures. Protruding from the rocky wall
on one side is the long neck and head of a
dragon
 PICTURES

Card 12M- A young man on a couch with his Card 12F- The portrait of a young woman. A
eyes closed. Leaning over him is the quaint weird old woman with shawl over her head
form of an elderly man, his hand stretched out grimacing in the background.
above the face of the reclining figure.
 PICTURES

Card 12GF- a rowboat up on the bank of a Card 13MF- A young man is standing with
woodland stream. There are no human figures downcast head buried in his arm. Behind him
in the picture is the figure of a woman lying in bed.
 PICTURES

Card 13B- A little boy is sitting on the doorstep Card 13G- A little girl is climbing a winding
of a log cabin flight of stairs
 PICTURES

Card 14- The silhouette of a man against a Card 15- The gaunt man with clenched hands is
bright window. The rest is totally dark. standing among gravestones
 PICTURES

Card 16- Blank Card Card 17BM- A naked man is clinging to a rope.
He is in the act of climbing up or down.
 PICTURES

Card 17GF- A bridge over water. A female figure Card 18BM- A man is clutched from behind by
leans over the railing. In the background are three hands. The figure of his antagonists are
tall buildings and small figures of men. invisible.
 PICTURES

Card 18GF- A woman has her hands squeezed Card 19- A weird picture of a cloud formation
around the throat of another woman whom she overhanging a snow-covered cabin in the
appears to be pushing backwards across the country
banister of a stairway
 PICTURES

Card 20- The dimly illumined figure of a man

in the dead of night leaning against a lamp
post
ACTUAL SAMPLE

RESPONDENT PROFILE:

FEMALE
SINGLE
21 YRS. OLD
WITH SEPARATED PARENTS
YOUNGEST AMONG 5 SIBLINGS
2nd YEAR COLLEGE STUDENT
ACTUAL SAMPLE
He is disappointed and it is possible that his
parents scolded him.

THEME: DEPRESSION (DISAPPOINTMENT)

NEED: NURTURANCE

PRESS: DEJECTION

INTERPRETATION: The initial hypothesis states

that the subject may have a family member who
is overly critical of her. Due to her belief that she
is a failure and will be called out, she finds it
difficult to communicate with her parents.
 ACTUAL SAMPLE

Two girls have different life paths. They have

different perspectives towards life.
THEME: AFFILIATION (ASSOCIATION OF TWO
GIRLS)
PRESS
NEED: COGNIZANCE (AWARENESS OF OTHER
PERSPECTIVES OR BELIEFS)

PRESS: FUNCTIONAL CHANGE

INTERPRETATION: The subject seems to be

being compared to someone close to her.
She thinks that they have different
perspectives and wants in life.
ACTUAL SAMPLE

The lady is crying and walking out of the door.

THEME: DEPRESSION (CRYING AND

WALKING OUT WITH NO GIVEN REASON)

NEED: SUCCORANCE – SEEKING HELP

PRESS: DEJECTION

INTERPRETATION: The subject seems sad

and feels overwhelmed by the things she
had. She has so much on her plate that she
feels resentment.
ACTUAL SAMPLE

The man informing a woman. She was

shocked. The man is casual.
THEME: DOMINANCE OF WOMEN
(PROTAGONIST IS FEMALE)

NEED: AFFILIATION

PRESS: CONFLICT (FEELING OF

UNCERTAINTY)

INTERPRETATION: The subject seems

unfamiliar to a male figure. The protagonists
of the stories were predominantly female.
ACTUAL SAMPLE

Hiding to her true self.

THEME: SELF-ATTAINMENT

NEED: INTRANURTURANCE

PRESS: DEJECTION

INTERPRETATION: The subject seems

frustrated with showing her true feelings.
She’s too anxious to disappoint people
around her.
ACTUAL SAMPLE

She’s looking at something blankly. The old lady is telling

her something. Making the girl think twice.

THEME: INTERPERSONAL

NEED: INTRANURTURANCE – SEEK COMFORT AT ONE’S

DECISION

PRESS: ANXIETY

INTERPRETATION: The subject seems confused and feels

overwhelmed. She might have a female family member
who is older than her (probably her mother) and who
happens to have high expectations of her. This might
cause her to feel anxious sometimes and burn out.
ACTUAL SAMPLE

The child is looking at an object in a building.

THEME: SELF-ATTAINMENT

NEED: EXPOSITION (OF THE IDEAS)

PRESS: DEJECTION (DISILLUSIONMENT)

INTERPRETATION: The subject statement shows a lack of

ideas and opinions on a certain situation. She is
overwhelmed and seems restless.
ACTUAL SAMPLE

The light shines in darkness. Monsters are

peaking where no one can see.

THEME: PARANOIA (INDICATIONS WITH “PEAKING”)

NEED: PASSIVITY

PRESS: ANXIETY

INTERPRETATION: The initial hypothesis states that the

subject is anxious and has fears about dealing with
different situations, especially those unfamiliar. She
might experience conflicts in interpersonal relationships.
 ACTUAL SAMPLE

OBSERVATIONS: The following observations were made:

1. The protagonists of the stories were predominantly female.

2. The protagonists in her story all had an overwhelming drive to
succeed and had
to deal with overbearing and critical parents.
3. There was a frequent mention of incidents of criticism and
generally unproductive and unfavorable environment. Father
figures are mostly unseen and with not have enough details in the
story.
4. Mothers may compare the achievements of their children with
one another..
THE END