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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
146 views21 pagesTat Manual
TAT manual for psychology students uni level for everyone
Use it for your support
Uploaded by
Shiza KanwalCopyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF or read online on Scribd
/ 21
THE STAYF OF THE HARVARD PSYCHOLOGICAL CLINIC
Scanned with Cam PMANOAL
THEMATIC APPERCEPTION TES
By Henry A. Murray, M.D eae
AND THE STAFF OF THE HARVARD PSYCHOLOGICAL CLINIC
ethod of
dominant d
pereeplion Test, fami
urpose, The Thematic
revealing to the trained interpreter s¢
complexes and conflicts of « personal
underlying inhibited tendencies the su
admit because he is \
The
Utility.
interpretation of behavior
constituted it is not s
recon Jed ns a
psychoanalysis, Since ell com
combination of these t est! nt
Rationale, 1
encouraging
nows it, hie has said things
ould have been reluctant to
es the test happily unaware
X-Ray picture of his inner self.
ncicen pictures printed on white bristol board and one
possible to get along without
” it has been found {1 ) that
that they serve to force the subject to deal,
tions; and finally (3) that the advantages of
Test Material, The mat
) , calling for a total of 20 stories. All
any pictures by simply dire
pictures are effective in stiri
in his own way, with certain c
using standard stimuli are here, as in othe
ugh iLis, of course
erable,
hope almost final, series of pictures, selected on pragmatic grounds, is the
The present, and we |
third revision of the original set distributed by the Harvard psychological clinic in 1936. é
Scanned with Cam Pa i ity of the
|n estimating the effectiveness of a picture we waited in ench case until the personality,
{ taking the test hud, with the help of other methods, been thoroughly ee
wnderstood; and then we rated the piclure according to the amount oF information cont rl reais a
the final diagnosis by the story it had evoked. The average of such ratings was ene gine
tneasure of the stimulating power of the picture, This is the most dependable method of 3 ae
the efficacy of an Hon-specilic diagnostic procedure. In selecting the present series We 4
‘elied on the considerable experience and sound advice of Drs, Rapaport, Sanford, Shakow, an
otliers,
/
Experience has shown that in the long run the stories obtained are more revealing and the
Vulidity of the interpretations is increased if most of the pictures include a person who is of the
Same Sex as the subject. This does not mean that it is necessary to have two completely different
's of pictures, since some pictures of proved value contain no human figures; others portray an
I of each sex, and in others the ‘Sex of the one figure shown is questionable. In fact,
leven of our pictures (including the blank card) have been found suitable for both sexes.
vi
tence has been limited almost ei ircly (0 testing subjects between fourteen and forty
wis Of age, and the present set of pictures reflects this limitation, most of them conforming to
he principle ¢ ¢ picture should be, not only of the same sex as the subject but
ol much older, uh, sty, 10 be a contemporary of his (or her) parents, We have been
vill Sanford, however, that in testing children this principle is not of
of pictures, with a few necessary
Other workers have obtained satisfactory
he second series being
ll hour is devoted to
Scanned with Cams Administration
evoud that of
anuly dullewitted,
ical (
vet, Most subjects (patients) do not nes Am ae
for taking, the test, Hut those
yy educational 0
Ppuration of the sul)
some acceptate reason a
itorschach,
Pein 2iVe"
pirespansive, resistant or suspicious, why have taken Sale
tea ter be piven a less imposin: task (atest of ielizenee, mechanical PATIATS
ete.) before being introduced to the TAT. Children usually do better after s*
making up spoken fantasies with clay or toys
rhe air of friendliness Cimpated by the secretary snd olfter
ag well as the sex, A120,
vigor and
Anmosphere of the testing situation
inenibers ofthe stall), the nesthetic tone oF the office and is furnishes, ET
manner and personality. of the examiner wre all capable of affecuns the tecel lly Tt
of the subject's imagination, Since tlle ex 1
of material of the highest quality possible under the cires : uainment
ads entirely on the avillingness and the momentary creativity oF tl ject, and since
creativity is a delicate, largely involuntary process thal can not be forced (o flourish in a sufl,
frigid, intellectually superior, or othenvise uncongenin t that the
subject have good reason to feel the environment as syn
good will and appreciation from the examiner.
By adopting ment and appreciation 2 ill diminish the
frequency of netimes coolly indif
illumin:
y you can for cach. Tell what
}€ moment, what the
thoughts as they
tures, y
Characters are fee
come to y
devote about five minutes to each s
FormB le fe 7
Piatenene Hable_for echt, for adu little education or intelligen f
Trak win 2 Slory-telling'tést. I have some piciures here that Tam ences, OMe for
% /, oay what the le fe 3 ned befo
ine wpe he people are’ king and how it will come ave is
Please, Do you understand? Well, then, here is therratieetine
. - {rst picture.
You have five mi k
Hemmnutes to make up a story, See how well you can do," f tions may be altered
Ht beter ant tay ty
q neti
fo ni Te Sorntent of ik
may shiek the nclly
c ary UF creative
omen
uindrecl
1, must (ry, as be:
regular shorthan
A better technique
ismitted by mear
Of a concealed microphone. 0;
"ail the aye, ibtellyseace, pcramality, and
M the staat, “1s aaah apojdtunity fap fr
Wokes the su Marta the ubieet that the
Mee acca intiones irs sun propel
ysis.
Of his thou; should believe that the
ht. He
UAE there: is any prom fo 8), sued then
1 faithfully). Hor «
annp Hummer
Mt you Forzet tw say how the boy behaved
Hy in the aur. “There wei ne peal
A ur others ean be a litle lonper.
hour except (1) to infonn
slile, as it is important that he finish ell ten
tne to euch; (2)lo cueourape hint with a
i to the imagi and (3) if
ng, “How does
00 much detail,
lures should be
detail which ig
The subject should
osed to attempt this he
heed a good deal of y
it to extremely reticent
“Tl give you a present iE you
ll You a very exeiting story
sto! = 2
f
5 the be:
bility to perform lunctio;
unclred Words is the sta
words. for. stori
n is the length
dard average
ics from ten-year-old
ite down the exact words of
nd method, But only an expert can recérd in
is (0 have a stenographer sitt bg in another
, the stenographer may
Scanned with CamScanne session the
appointment ne
t he will again be asked to m
eae fhel
ke up stories, because
has read
dh
he could
ML, Second Session
The procedure in
ty much
ard the
TY, oF
r you this
fine
m even
f Here is the Grst
{0 know the sources
be made at once or
estions by explaini ng that he is
‘ary Plots, or he may make up some
Atall events the subject js urged to try
h case the them was derived from his own
of friends or rel, lovies, He is
ives, or from books or m
freely and
can
of it
tive attitude,
er in
and encouraged to speak
us provocalive-starting points for free Associations,
Scanned with CamScan Analysis and Interpretation Of The Stories
Training of the interpreter, A layman with refined intraceptive intuitions and beginner's luck
of ascendance submission; or he may-be looking for signs of anxiety, guilt or
or he may want to trace certain deep-rooted Sentiments (0 thelr source; or, again, he
MAY Wish to include all of these and more in his, plan of study.
Y psycho)
Our practice is to use-a comprehensive list of 28 needs (or Grives) classified according to the
direction or immediate Personal goal (motive) of the Activity. A need may express itself
Subj ectively as an impulse, a wish o1 An Intention -or objectiv
b 28 0 trend of overt behavior. ~
Needs may Be Tusea-z0-that one action Satisfies {wo or more at once, oF one need may function
7 ain SalisTies (Wo oF more at once; or one yj
Scanned with CamScann me orUN
mental force, subsidiary to the satisfaction of another dominating fee
our list of variables belonging to the hero includes a few inner states an
merely as an in:
Besides the ne
motions,
ced and of each variety of emotion manifested by the hero ts
5 being the highest possible mark for any variable on a single
¢ intensity, duration, frequency and importance in the plot. The
n of a variable flash of irritability) is given a mark of 1, whereas an
c-g,violent anger) or the continued or repeated occurrence of a milder form (e.g.
) his scored 5. Marks of 2,3, and 4 are given for intermediate intensities of
‘¢ been scored in this way, the total for each variable is
eels of the given age and sex,
standard are listed and
trength of cach v:
0 5S (five) sci
ia of Stren;
ty of
vailable) for suk
or well below
t of the variables used. The short list that
inted (within parentheses) the
male college students. The
s diverges very much
sets of short
riables without subscribing to any
order to avoid blame,
jury, defeat) without
To resign himself
se or in defense of a
for a good cause, To
Scanned with CamSc tsocial (Av. 9. K O-b7), To holdup, altick, infwe oy Kill» In
To initiate a fight without due c To avenge an injury will exe
ainsi legally constituted authorities. To Fijht against his ows comtiy. Sadiamy
sive brutal
1, Destruction (@.v 4. 0-15), To attuck or Kill an aninnal, Vo bre
lestroy a physical object
y to influcnce the behavior, sentiments, ori
n Daminance.( Ay. 17 R, 2-35). To 1
Fowork for an exceutive position, To lead, manage, govern. To cocrc
ession (Av. 10 R 2-25 ). ‘To_blume, criticize, reprove ¢
suffer fecli
Intra nel for
wrongdoing, stupidity or failure
himself physical
y_ To commit suic
crate of
x. To have
“n Sex (Av. 12
Sexual relations, To fall in love,
CaS) i
4 Succorance
for, encouragement,
nourishment or useft
crisis
nd on someone else
To enjoy receiving sympath
homesick in a stran; helpless ina
10 R. 2-20)
forgiveness,
gifts. To
Scanned with C i pity. To get some
ier this heading is inelided Zneranurtarence: to comfort himself ssIlePINYs IE
see 7
ment out of his own grief’ To seek consolation in liquor or dMUB
+ Ou
a i Creation,
ce needs are acquisition, Affiliation, Autonomy, Blamavoidance, cognizance,
citance, Exposition, Harmavoidance and so forth.
From the list of inner states and emotions we select the following:
Couflict (Av. 14 R, 4-29)
or enduring opposition betw
inhibitions.
i mentary
A slate of uncertainty, indecision, or perplexity. A momenta
pulses, needs, desires, aims. Moral conflict. Paralysing
Emotional Cha (Av. 18 R.0-31)
To experience a marked changed of feeling toward
someone, To be fitful, i
tion.
of exaltation and depression in one
new people, new interests, a new
a feeling of disappointment,
, despa
20
tion.
ns, Which confront the
and frequency, and to
Special note should be taken of
© not shown in the pictures but
which recur among the people
vendly than the men? What are the
the stories? of the older men (father
of environmental forces or situations)
ise or threaten to have) upon
ard the hero are trends of activity
needs of the persons with whom the hero
at the concept of press can be extended to
ess (Lack, deprivation, loss, dispossession) and also
ersonality must adjust (physical pain, injury,
strength of each press that occurs in the story is rated on
~~
Scanned with Cam S on a single story. AS Usual, the
nificance in the plot. After
is compared to the standard score for
ih or low are reeorded
a 1 tS scale, 5 being the highest possible mark for Seer
eniteria of strength are intensify. curation, frequency and &
total score for eacl pre
Fating the twenty stories, th he eeealeeut
subjects of given age and scx, and the press which are ¢
n to each other.
and examined in relat
c briefest mention of a few of the thirty or more press
There is no room here for more than th aay
5 st cis and emotions, the
vhich constitute this p: ir concepttinl scheme. As in the list of needs and
Which constitute this part of our concep (1) of stare
in parentheses refer to the average (Av.) total score ‘and the rar
) for male college students.
numb
(corrected for average lengtl of stori
nds or sociable
The
affectionat
ent, relative, lover)
n (pa
arried.
b. Emotional
devoted to th
mutual) or ge
A person damages or d
P Dominance (Total Ay. 37 R. 60
. He is
0 foree the hero to do somethi
a. Coercion
exposed to co
2€ hero form doing something.
b. Restraint (Av. 10 R. 7-34), A person tries to prevent
He is restrained or imprisoned,
‘Scanned with Cam‘ 2 ~
person tries to influence the hero (to ‘do
) by gentle
ersuasion, encouragement, clever strategy or
hes, protets, aids, encourages, consoles or
Tejects, scorns, repudiates, refuses to help,
ect is unfaithful. The hero is unpopular or not
vhat he needs to live, to succeed or to be happy.
a nce, friends. There are no opportunities for
;ero loses something or someone (death
s er of falling or drowning.
his air d; he is on the edge of a precipice,
The hero is hurt by a
s bod
person (p Aggression) or by
s mutilated or disfigured,
Environment force often
Consists of a fusion of two or more.
iv. Outcomes. The next
aportant matter
comparative st;
of the forces em
Ament. How much force (cnerg
‘o which the interpreter should attend is the
ing from the hero and the forces emanating from the
¥» determination, enduring effort, competence) does the
Scanned with Cam$cann ting an offense 9}
ne and re}
es tl
View
inte
at issue:
on themas, fi
interests and sentiments not only
ematic analysis wil
pic
nees of the CnviFONMENL ay
achievement difficult oF cage
teraction) or does he eollapse?
i © what extent does he
mnipulatedl or overconie
, whit conditions
neler what conditions does he
I ) fecl ssuilty
matter of no moral significance
7 consequence? How
¢ iL is
amount of
y threatening
ere it is necessary to put
need in turn and noting the
after whi scrves. with
n interact. In this way the
s combinations), to which he
ugh to result in a high total score for
or another - i
hiqueness, vividness,
hout scoring the separate variables,
g out the major and minor themas,
, conflicts or dilemmas are of the greatest
exploration, war and so forth.
ests and sentiments These are treated separately since the author displays y is own
by attributing them to his heroes but in his choice of topics and
‘Scanned with Cam: “u
t i i ive cathexis
ese. lar importance is the positive or negalt
1 his manner of dealing with these. OF particu l
( Ic, acai) roid wane (mother figures), older men (futher figures) , same-sex women
J same-sex men (some of whom may be sibling figures) -
Interpretation of scores,
zed and scored at first regardless of the probable personal significance of
ally high and unusually low variables (needs, cmotions
s and outcomes, together with a host of observations too
conveniently brief conceptual scheme. Then two tentative
d later if necessary. The first is that the attributes of the
d sentiments) represent tendencies in the subject's personality.
icipated future, and hence stand presumably for
or they are active in the present. (Of these past,
\y be more or less unconscious.) They represent
things the subject has done, or (2) things he has
forces in his personality of which he has
y have given rise to fantasies and dreams in
gs and desires he is experiencing at the
behavior, something he would like to do or will
10 do but feels he might do because of
isa list of
ces in the subject’s apperceived
y mbolically, to (1) situations he has.
s or dreams he has imagined encountering,
s of the examiner and the task) as he
encounter, would like to encounter, Or dreads
_as the subject's view of his world, the
pretations of an existing situation and into his
cumstance plus a little intuition is
ment Belongs to the subject's past, present or anticipated
he temporal reference is not a matter of critical
ter
om this point all that can be offered in this short
£s coming out of several years of practical experi
pene e bunesples coming: y perience. The
fies sna olte su casstions constitutes a program for the future, Jn any event the
nat are reached by an analysis of TAT stories must be re, rarded 4 a
as ihe as good “lea
working hypotheses to be verified by other methods, rather than as aa facts, ; ee
n arriving at his final conclusions the intero
reter should take account of the following points;
Scanned with Can been involved in the
jogically irrelevant,
ven in the picture, (2) parts
read or movies he has seen,
rmining tendeney in
has not
the subiice