| Thematic Apperception Test % MANUAL & Henry A. Murray, M.D. and the Staff of the Harvard Psychological Clinic Harvarpb University Press Cambridge, Massachusetts London, EnglandThematic Apperception Test* MANUAL uRPOSE. The Thematic Apperception Test, familiarly known as the TAT, isa method of revealing to the trained interpreter some of the dominant drives, emotions, sentiments, complexes and conflicts of a personality. Special value resides in its power to expose the underlying inhibited tendencies which the subject, or patient, is not willing to admit, or can not admit because heis unconscious of them. Utility The TAT will be found useful in any comprehensive study of personality, and in the interpretation of behavior disorders, psychosomatic illnesses, neuroses, and psychoses. As now constituted it is not suitable for children under four years ofage. The technique is especially recommended asa preface to a series of psychotherapeutic interviews or to a short psychoanalysis. Since the TAT and the Rorschach yield complementary information, the combination of these two tests, as Harrison and others have pointed out, is peculiarly effective. Rationale. The procedure is merely that of presenting a series of pictures toa subject and encouraging him to tell stories about them, invented on the spur of the moment. The fact that stories collected in this way often reveal significant components of personality is dependent on the prevalence of two psychological tendencies: the tendency of people to interpret an ambiguous human situation in conformity with their past experiences and present wants, and the tendency of those who write stories to do likewise: draw on the fund of their experiences and express their sentiments and needs, whether conscious orunconscious. If the pictures are presented as a test of imagination, the subject's interest, together with his need for approval, can be so involved in the test that he forgets his sensitive self and the necessity of defending it against the probings of the examiner, and, before the knows it, he has said things about an invented character that apply to himself, things which he would have been reluctant to confess in response to a direct question. As a rule the subject leaves the test * Copyright 1943 by che President and Fellow of Harvard College. © Copyright 1971 by Henry Alexander Murray. Printed in the United States of America,happily unaware that he has presented the psychologist with what amounts yy an X-Ray picture of his innerscll. nineteen pict i vere Material The material COMSIS n pictures printed on whi ty oneblankccad, calling foratoral of 20 stories, Although int bristol board and one et along without any pictures by simply ditetin re of course. Fos ypastory”ichas been found (1) that pictures are efiectne sering the imaginations (2) that they serve to force the subject to deal, in rH own way, with certain classical human situations; and finally (3) that the o ranrages of using standard stimuli are here, as in other tests, considerable, The present, and we hope almost final, series of pictures, selected on pragmatic grounds, is the third revision of the original set distributed by the Prarvard Psychological Clinicin 1936. ao In estimating the effectiveness of a picture we waited in each case until the personality of the subject taking the test had, with the help of other methods, been thoroughly studied ‘and understood; and then we rated the picture according to the amount of information contributed to the final diagnosis by the story it had evoked. The average of such ratings was accepted as a measure vfaheccimulating power ofthe picture. Thisis che most dependable method of judging the efficacy of any non-specific diagnostic procedure, In selecting the present series we also relied on the considerable experience and sound advice of Drs. Rapaport, Sanford, Shakow, and others. Experience has shown that in the long run the stories obtained are more revealing and the validity of the interpretations is increased if most of the pictures include a person who is ofthe same sex as the subject. This doesnot mean that it is necessary to have two completely different sets of pictures, since some pictures of proved value contain no human figures; others portray 2° individual of each sex, and in others the sex of the one figure shown is questionable. In fact, eleven of our pictures (including the blank card) have been found suitable for both sexes. Ourexperience has been limited almost entirely to testing subjects bewwe=" fourteen and forty years of age, and the present set of pictures reflects this limitation, most of them conforming to the principle that one figure in nie rere net only of the same sex as the subject but notch fee y.bobeaconterporary of hs (orhet) parents. Wen aaa | Sanford, however, that in testing chs ¢ principle is not of critical importance, and that most of the presen” hd ere eee substitutions, is appropriate for ages seven (© boysand gies, ers have obtained satisfactory results with stl Ea is divided i . . ch set is divided into two series of ten pictures each, the pict I] younget esof thesecond series being purposely more unusual, dramatic and bizarre than those of the first. One full hour is devoted to a series, the two sessions being separated bya day or more. ADMINISTRATION Preparation of the Subject. Most subjects (patients) do not need any preparation beyond that of being given some acceptable reason for taking the test. But those who are peculiarly dull-witted, unresponsive, resistant or suspicious, who have never taken an educational or psychological test, had better be given a less imposing task (a test of intelligence, mechanical aptitude, Rorschach, etc.) before being introduced to the TAT. Children usually do better after several sessions spent in making up spoken fantasies. with clay or toys. Atmosphere of the Testing Situation. The air of friendliness (imparted by the secretary and other members of the staff), the aesthetic tone of the office and its furnishings, as well as the sex, age, manner and personality of the examiner are all capable of affecting the freedom, vigor and direction of the subject's imagination. Since the examiner's goal is to obtain the greatest amount of material of the highest quality possible under the circumstances, and since this attainment depends entirely on the willingness and the momentary creativity of the subject, and since creativity is a delicate, largely involuntary process that can not be forced to flourish in a stiff, frigid, intellectually superior, or otherwise uncongenial atmosphere, it is important that the subject have good reason to feel the environment as sympathetic and to anticipate receptivity, goodwill and appreciation from the examiner. By adopting encouragement and appreciation as the best routine attitude, one will diminish the frequency of the kind of story that is sometimes evoked by an examiner who is coolly indifferent or aggressively critical toward his subject's compositions; one will sacrifice the illumination gained from such responses for a greater over-all value: the standardization of an attitude that in the long run will prove most conducive to the best functioning of the creative process, Procedure, Instructions. I. First Session. The subjectis seated in a comfortable chair or stretched out on a couch, preferably (except in the case of a child or psychotic patient) with his back to the experimenter, and the instructions, in one of the two following forms, are slowly read to him. Form A (suitable for adolescents and for adults of average intelligence and sophisti- cation). “This is a test of imagination, one form of intelligence. I am going to show you some pictures, one at a time; and your task will be to make up as dramatic a story as you can for each. Tell what has led up to the event shown in the picture, describe what iswhat the characters are feeling and think, i noment, ing; and appening at the m mii me to i then gj : Dart Speak your thoughts as they cot Your mind. Do you under Bive the : vou have fifty minutes for ten pictures, you can devote about five Minutes aad z 4 picture.” each isthe fi : : 2 ee for children, for adults of little education or intelligence and f bs ee 7 for set -telli . I have some pictures here th; +e). “This is a story-telling test. re that | ay bs hai picture I want you to make up a story. Tell what hae bing to it will come out. You can make up any kind of story you please. Do you understand Well, then, here i icture, You have five minutes to make up a : is the first pict P a Story, See ri well you can do. “The exact words of these instructions may be altered to suit the age, intligec, personality, and circumstance of the subject. Bur itis better a tosay at the start, "This is an opportunity for free imagination," as an instruction of this sort sometimes evokes the suspicion in the subject that the examiner is intending to interpret the content of| his free associations (as in a psychoanalysis). Such a suspicion may severely check the spontaneity ofhis thought. He should believe that the examiner is solely interested inhi literary or creative ability. : ; After finishing the first story the subject is commended (if there is any ground for in, and then reminded of the instructions (unless he has obeyed them faithfully). For example, the examiner might say : “That was certainly an interesting story, but you forgot to say how the boy behaved when his mother criticized him and you left the narrative hanging in the air. There was no real outcome. You spent three and a half minutes on that story. Your others can be a little longer. Now see how well you can do with the second picture.” Asarule itis better for the examiner to say nothing far the rest of the hour except (1) 0 inform the subject whenever he is much ahead or behind schedule, as it is important that he finish all ten stories and that he devote about the same amount of time to each; (2) 0 encourage him with a little praise from time to time, as there is no better stimulant to the imagination; and (3) if the subject omits some crucial detail, the antecedent circumstances or the outcome, to prompt him with some brief remark such as; “What led up to this situation 2” On no account should the examiner allow himself t get involved ina discussion with the subject. : pet o*2miner may cut off a story that has become too long and rambling by skins ee ee out?” and he may tell the subject chat what is wanted sa none ofthe pictare shoal eho beeome to minutely involved with alieral desing caine hehe ae reminded that this sa test ofimagination. Masui anything youplene Meith is Hot clear, the examiner should reply, "You may ms Single picture: If he jg dn eet should not be allowed to tell several short storieso* single * it he is disposed to attempt this he should be told to concentrate erhel on one long story, cece people of other cul fore . deal of her cultures, and psychotics often need a good hey will speak freely. In administering the test ro xem"?reticent children it is permissible to offer rewards. The examiner may say, “I'll give you a present if you tell me some nice long stories today” or,"Ifyou do well now I'l tell you a very exciting story when you're through’; or, “There's a prize for the one who tells the best stories.” One criterion by which the examiner can measure his ability to perform his function is the length of the stories which his subjects invent for him. Three hundred words is the standard average length for stories from adult subjects; one hundred and fifty words for stories from ten-year-old children. Most examiners, lacking an assistant, must try, as best they can, to write down the exact words of the subject, using some regular or irregular shorthand method. But only an expert can record in this way everything that is said. A better technique is to havea stenographer sitting in another room, with speech transmitted by means of a concealed microphone. Or, the stenographer may be seated nearby behind a thin partition or screen. Or, a permanent gramophone record of the stories can be made. Inmaking the appointment for the second session the subject should not be told or led to believe that he will again be asked to make up stories, because if he has this expectation in mind he is likely to prepare himself by recalling the plots of books he has read or movies he has seen, and so return armed with more impersonal material than he could have marshalled had it been necessary for him to concoct stories on the spur of the moment. II. Second Session. At least one day should intervene between the first and second sessions. The procedure in the latter is similar to that followed in the former, except in one particular : an instructional emphasis upon complete freedom of the imagination. Form A. “The procedure today is the same as before, only this time you can give freer rein to your imagination. Your first ten stories were excellent, but you confined yourself pretty much to the facts of everyday life. Now I would like to see what you can do when you disregard the commonplace realities and letyour imagination have its way, as in a myth, fairy story, or allegory. Here is Picture No. 1.” Form B. “Today Lam going to show you some more pictures. [twill be easier for you this time because the pictures I have here are much better, more interesting. You told me some fine stories the other day. Now I want to see whether you can make up a few more. Make them even more exciting than you did last timeif you can—likea dream or fairy tale. Here is the first picture.” Blank Card. Card No. 16 is accompanied by a special instruction. The examiner says: “See what you can see on this blank card. Imagine some picture there and describe it to me in detail.” If the subject does not succeed in doing this, the examiner says, “Close your eyes and picture something,” After the subject has given a full description of his imagery, the examiner says, “Now tell meastory aboutit.”w, In interpreting the material itis often helpful to know the sources of the various stories. Decors on cence, this inqui can be made at once oF postponed fora ow ven € examiner may justify his ns by explaining, that he is studying the factors which operate in the construction of literary plots, of, he may make up some other plausible statement to secure a cooperative atti tude. ‘ at events me subject is urged to try to remember the sources of his ideas, whether in each case the theme was derived from his own private experience, from the experience of friends or relatives, or from books or movies. He is then reminded of the plot of each significant story in turn and encouraged to speak freely and openly, TAT stories provide numerous provocative starting points for free associations, | Training of the Interpreter. A layman with refined intraceptive intuitions and beginner's luck can often, without any experience in testing, make valid and important inferences by feeling his way into the mental environment of the author ofa set of TAT stories; and even an old hand at the game must rely on the same process-empathic intuition first and last, disentangled as far as possible from personal elements. No true scientist will scorn the use of a function which when properly disciplined is capable of yielding precise and pertinent information, Of course intuition alone is highly unreliable; what is required isa rigorously trained critical intuition. Besides a certain flair for the task, an interpreter of the TAT should havea background of clinical experience, observing, interviewing and testing patients of all sorts; and, if he is to get much below the surface, knowledge of psychoanalysis and some practice in translating the imagery of dreams and ordinary speech into elementary psychological components. In addition he should have had months of training in the use of this specific test, much practice in analyzing stories when it is possible to check each conclusion against the ‘known facts of thoroughly studied personalities. Interpretations in vacuo often do more harm than good, since the apparent plausibility of clever interpretations creates convictions which merely serve to confirm the interpreter in the error of his ways. TAT stories offer boundless opportunities for the projection of one's own complexes or one's pet theories, and the amateur psychoanalyst who is disrespectful of solid facts is only too apt to make a fool of himselfif, in interpreting the TAT, he gives free rein to his imagination. The future of the TAT hangs on the possibility of perfecting the interpreter (psychology's forgotten instrument) more than it does on perfecting the material. Necessary Basic Data. Before starting to interpret a set of stories the psychologist should know the following basic facts : the sex and age of the subject, whether his parents are dead or separated, the ages and sexes of his Subsequent Intervie questiosiblings, his vocation and his marital status. Without these easily obtained blie facts (which the TAT was not designed to reveal) the interpreter may pave difficulty orienting himself a he reads. A blind analysis isa stunt which mayor may not be uccessuls ithasno place in clinical practice. ‘Modesof Content Analysis, In dealing with the content of stories the method which we recommend is that of analyzing each successive event into (a) the force or forces emanating from the hero, and (b) the force or forces emanating from the environment, An environmental forces called apress(plural pres). i, The hero. The first step in analyzing a story is to distinguish the character with whom the subject has identified himself: (1) the character in whom the story-teller was apparently most interested, whose point of view was adopted, whose feelings and motives have been most intimately portrayed. He (or she) is usually (2) the one who most resembles the subject, an individual of the same sex, of about the same age, status or role, who shares some of the subject's sentiments and aims. This character, called hero (whether it be male or female) is usually (3) the person (or one of the persons) depicted in the picture, and (4) the person who plays the lading role in the drama (hero in the literary sense), who appears at the beginning and is most vitally involved in the outcome. ‘Although most stories have but one hero (readily distinguishable by these criteria), the interpreter should be prepared to deal with certain common complications : (1) the identification of subject with character sometimes shifee during the course ofthe story; there is a sequence of heroes first, second, third, ete), (2) Two forces of the subject's personality may be represented by two diffesene characters, for example, an antisocial drive by a criminal and conscience by a law-enforcing agent. Here we would speak of an endopyehic ‘hema (internal dramaticsituation) with two component heroes. (3) The subject may tell astory that contains astory, such as one in which the hero observes oF hears about events in which another character (for whom he feels some sympathy) is leadingly involved. Here we would speak of a primary and a secondary hero. Then (4); the subject may identify with a character of the opposite sex and express part ofhis personality justas well in this fashion, (In a man this is commonly a sign of a high feminine component and ina woman ofa high masculine component.) Finally, chere may be no discernible single hero: either (5) heroship is divided among a number of equally significane, equally differentiated partial heroes (e.g. a group of people) or (6) the chief character (hero inthe literary sense) obviously belongs to the object side ofthe ‘subject-object situation; he is nota component of the ‘story-teller's personality © but an element of his environment. The subject, in other words, has notidentified with the principal character to the slightest extent, but she would a stranger or disliked person with whom he had 38 Observeq to deal 7 him ( subject himselfis not represented, or is represented by a minor in oursense). Characterization of the heroes by the interpreter should j following : superiority (power, ability), inferiority, crise tude th SU y : y Y> criminal abnormality, soliariness, belongingness, leadership, and quanc¢ (the degree to which he becomes involved in interpersonal conflicts) OMeness ; Motives, trends, and feelings of the heroes. The interpreter's next task observe in great detail everything that each of the twenty or more hse i. to thinks, or does, noting evidences of type of personality or of mental thet” well as everything that is unusual: uncommon or unique; or common ree unusually high or low in intensity or frequency. (To be able to discriminate wha is unusual the interpreter must have had a good deal of experience with this test, must have studied at least 50 or more sets of stories, since no satisfactory standards or tables of frequency areas yet available.) In describing or formulating the reactions of the heroes the interpreter is free to use any set of variables he chooses. He may analyze the behavior in accordance with a comprehensive conceptual scheme which gives eve psychologically significant variable its due place or he may confine himself to the observation of a few traits. It all depends on what he wants to know about his subject. He may be interested in evidences of extraversion-introversion, of masculinity-femininity, of ascendance-submission; or he may be looking for signs of anxiety, guilt or inferiority; or he may want to trace certain deep- rooted sentiments to their source; or, again, he may wish to include all of these and more in his plan of study. Our practice is to use a comprehensive list of 28 needs (or drives) classified according to the direction or immediate personal goal (motive) of the activity. Aneed may express itself subjectively as an impulse, a wish or an intention of objectively as a trend of overt behavior. Needs may be fused so that one action satisfies two or more at once; or one need may function merely as an instrumental force, subsidiary to the satisfaction of another dominating need. Besides the needs, our list of variables belonging to the hero includes a few inner states and emotions. . The strength of cach variety of need and of each variety of emotion manifested by the hero is rated ona I (one) to 5 (five) scale, 5 being the highest Possible mark for any variable on a single story. The criteria of strength = intensity, duration, frequency and importance in the plot. The slightes ees (eg a flash of irritability) is given a mark of 1, er milder eee “8. violent anger) or the continued or repeated ae ca -B. constant quarreling) is scored 5. Marks of 2, 3, an 10iven for intermediate intensities of expression. After the twenty stori h: been scored in this way, the total for each variable is compared fo thicsat aed peste (if there is one available) for subjects of the given age and ar = seviables which ate either well above or well below the standard are Isted eo Viratinized in relation to each other. ane There is not space in this manual for a complete account of the variabl: used. The short list chat follows must suffice. After the name of each iy ble there is printed (within parentheses) the corrected average (Av.) total pi c {helfhe range (R) of scores, for male college students. The figure in each cases for twenty stories averaging 300 words in length.” It might be said here that a psychologist can use these variables without subscribing to any particular theory of drives. He may, ifhe chooses, call them attitudes or traits. n Abasement (Av. 16 R. 6-27). To submit to coercion or restraint in order to avoid blame, punishment, pain or death. To suffer a disagreeable press (insult, injury, defeat) without opposition. To confess, apologize, promise to do better, atone, reform. To resign himself passively to scarcely bearable conditions. Masochism. n Achievement (Av. 26 R. 11-51). To work at something important with energy and persistence. To strive to accomplish something creditable. To get ahead in business, to persuade or lead a group, o create something, Ambition manifested in action. n Aggression. (Total Av. 36 R. 8-52). 3, Emotional and Verbal (Av. 14 R. 2-29). To hate (whether or not the feeling is expressed in word). To get angry. To engageina verbal quarrel to cue, criticize, * A correction must be made whenever the average length ofa set of stories diverges very much from the standard (300 words per story), because, as one might expect, sets of short stories yield relatively low marks on almost all variables, and sets of long stories relatively high marks; and therefore if the examiner fails to make the proper correction the subject's relative position on 2 variable will depend more on the length than on the content of his stories. fer estimating the dverage length ofthe stores ina se, our practice isto multiply the cota score of every variable by the ctor that corrects for the given variation in length. The following table gives the factor ro be tied in connection with each length range, length being expressed as average number of words per story. The figures indicating rangeare inclusive. Average Length Factor Average Length Factor Under 140 words 196-215 13 140-146. 216-242 147-155. 243-276. 156-166 . 277-329. 167-179 . 330-400. 180-195 . Over 400 words « Stories from a sane adult averaging less than 140 words per story usually indicare lack of rappon and cooperation, lack of self-involvement. Asa: rule they are not worth scoring, llbette, reprove, blame, ridicule. To excite aggression agtine another per . on publiccriticism. “ ae bs. Physical Social (Av. 8 R 0-16). To fight or kill in self-defense oj loved object. To avenge an unprovoked insult. To fight for his country or for Te punishan offense, To pursue, catchorimprisonactiminalorenemy, + 8% ial(Av.9 R. 0-17). To hold-up, attack, injure or killa human be unlaw ate a fight without due cause. To avenge an injury with Siar brutality, To fight against legally constituted authorities. To fight against his on country, Sadism. Destruction (Av. 4 R. 0-15). To attack or kill an animal. To break, smash, burn or destroy a physical object. n Dominance (Av. 17 R.2-36).To try to influence the behavior, sentiments, or ideas of others. To work for an executive position. To lead, manage, govern. To coerce, restrain, imprison. n Intraggression (Av. 10 R. 2-25). To blame, criticize, reprove or belittle himself for wrongdoing, stupidity or failure. To suffer feelings of inferiority, guile, remorse. To punish himself physically. To commit suicide. n Nurturance (Av. 14 R. 4-34). To express sympathy in action, To be kind and considerate of the feelings of others, to encourage, pity, and console. To aid, protect, defend or rescuean object. n Passivity (Av, 18 R. 3-52). To enjoy quietude, relaxation, sleep. To feel tired or lazy after very little effort. To enjoy passive contemplation or the reception of sensuous impressions. To yield to others out of apathy and inertia. n Sex (Av, 12 R 0-24). To seek and enjoy the company of the opposite sex. To have sexual relations. To fall in love, to get married. n Succorance (Av. 10 R. 2-20). To seek aid or consolation. To ask, or depend on someone else for, encouragement, forgiveness, support, protection, care. To enjoy receiving sympathy, nourishment or useful gifts. To feel lonely in solitude, homesick inastrange place, helpless in acrisis. Under this heading is included Jntranurturance : to comfort himself, self-pity: To getsome enjoyment out of his own grief. To seek consolation in liquor or drugs. Other needs are Acquisition, Affiliation, Autonomy, Blamavoidance, Cognizance: Creation, Deference, Excitance, Exposition, Harmavoidance and so forth. by in defense of cause. From the list of inner states and emotions we select the following: ity. A Conflict (Av. 14 R. 4-29). A state of uncertainty, indecision, or perplex momentary of enduring opposition between impulses, needs, desires, aims. Moral conflict. Paralysing inhibitions. Emotional Change (Av, 18 R. 0-31),’To experience a marked change of feeling rowards someone. To be fitful, inconsistent or unstable in his affections. To exhib uctuations of mood or temper; the occurrence of exaltation and depression in 0% 12story. To be intolerant of sameness and constancy,’To seek new people, new interests, 2 newvocation, Dejection (Av. 23 R. 0-42), The experiencing of a feeling of disappointment, d sionment, depression, sorrow, grief, unhappiness, melancholy, despair. Other inner states are Anxiety, Exaltation, Distrust, Jealousy. Besides these needs and emotions, the following very important variables are scored on a -3 (minus three) to +3 (plus three) scale : Superego, Pride, Ego Structuration. Here, in each case, the scoring is done on the basis of severa! operational criteria. iii. Forces of the hero’s environment, The interpreter should observe th derails as well as the general nature of the situations, especially the human situations, which confront the heroes. Here again he should be set v underscore uniqueness, intensity and frequency, and to record the significen absence of certain common elements. Special note should be taken of physical objects and human objects (other characters) which are not shown in the pictures but invented by the imagination of the story-teller. Mark the traits which recur among the people with whom the hero deals, Are they, for the most part, friendly or unfriendly ? Are the women more friendly or less friendly than the men ? What are the characteristic traits of the older women (mother figures) in the stories? of the older men (father figures) ? Our practice is to use a comprehensive list of press (kinds of environments] forces or situations) classified according to the effect that they have (or that they promise or threaten to have) upon the hero. In our list more than half che press directed toward the hero are trends of activity originating in other characters; that is to say, they are needs of the persons with whom the hero deals. This being understood, it is not hard to see that the concept of press can be extended to include the absence of required beneficial press (lack, deprivation, loss, dispossession) and also to include bodily disturbances to which the personality must adjust (physical pain, injury, disfigurement, disease). Here again, the strength of each press that occurs in the story is rated onal to 5 scale, 5 being the highest possible mark for any press on a single story. As usual, the criteria of strength are intensity, duration, frequency and general significance in the plot. After rating the twenty stories, the total score for cach press is compared to the standard score for subjects of given age and sex. and the press which are conspicuously high or low are recorded and examined in relation to each other, sa 8 There is no room here for more than the briefest mention of a few of the thirty or more press which constitute this part of our conceptual scheme. Asin the list of needs and emotions, the numbers in parentheses refer to the average (Av:) total score and the range (R) of scores (corrected for average length of stories) for male college students, 13| al Av. 29 R. 17-35). Associative (Av. 14 R 4-24). The hero has one or more fr companions. Heisa member ofa congenial group. Av. 15 R 9-22). A person (parent, relative, lover) j b. Emotional (A n dened tothe hero, The hero hasa love affair (mutual) or ges married, pAggression (Total Av. 35 R.6-62). «Emotional and Verbal (Av. 10 R. 0-21). Someone hates the hero or get Ai He eis enticized, reprimanded, belittled, ridiculed, cursed, thre person slandershim behind his back. Verbal quarrel. med. b, Physical, Social (Av. IR. 0-21), The hero is in the wrong (he is an aggre, criminal) and someone defends himself, attacks back, pursues, imprisons or kill, hero, Some legitimate authority (parent, police) punishes the hero. 7 c. Physical, Acocial (Av, 12 R. 5-23). A criminal or a gang assaults, injures, ok the hero. A person startsa fightand the hero defends himself ; d. Destruction of Property (Av. 2 R. 0-8). A person damages or destroys the her's possessions. p Dominance (Total Av. 37 R16-60). a. Coercion (Av. 10 R 0-22), Someone tries to force the hero to do something. Heis exposed to commands, orders or forceful arguments. b. Restraint (Av. 18 R. 7-34). A person tries to prevent the hero from doing something, Heis restrained or imprisoned. ~ c.Inducement, Seduction (Av.9 R. 4-20). A person tries to influence the hero (to do something or not to do something) by gentle persuasion, encouragement, clever strategy or seduction. p Nurturance (Av. 15 R. 6-23). A person nourishes, protects, aids, encourages, consoles or forgives the hero. 1p Rejection (Av. 14 R. 1-28). A person rejects, scorns, repudiates, refuses to help, leaves, oris indifferent to the hero. A loved object is unfaithful. The hero is unpopular ornot accepted fora position. He is fired from his job. pLack, Loss (Total Av. 25 R. 9-48). a. Lack (Av. II R, 2-27). The hero lacks what he needs to live, to succeed or to be happy. He is poor, family is destitute; he lacks status, influence, friends. There are ne opportunities for pleasure or advancement. b. Loss (Av. 14 R. 4-24), Same as p Lack except here the hero loses something or someone (death of loved object) in the course of thestory. p Physical Danger (Total Av, 16 R 4-34). a. Active (Av. 10 R. 4-20). The hero is exposed to active phy’ human forces: savage animal, collision of train, lightning, storm at sea bombardment) . b. Insupport (Av. 6 R. 0-16). The hero is exposed to the danger of falling oF drowning. His car overturns; his ship is wrecked; his airplane is injured; he is on the edge ofa precipice, pAffiliation (Tot ends oF seit) affections, sical dangers from non, (including 14p Physical Injury (Av. 5 R. 0-12). The hero is hurt b; i eid i 53-012), The bw arch pen Aen orb Irshould be understood thata single environment force often consists of fusion of two or more different press. ix, Outcomes, The next important matter to which the interpreter should attend is the comparative strength of the forces emanating from the hero and the forces emanating from the environment. How much force (energy determination, enduring effort, competence) does the hero manifest? Wharis the strength of the facilitating or beneficial forces of the environment as compared to the opposing or harmful forces? Is the hero's path ofachievement difficult or easy ? In the face of opposition does he strive with renewed vigor (counteraction) or does he collapse ? Does the hero make things happen or do things happen to him ? To what extent does he manipulate or overcome the opposing forces and to what extent is he manipulated or overcome by them Is he coercing or coerced ? mostly’ active or mostly passive ? Under what conditions does he succeed, when others help him or when he strives alone ? Under what conditions does he fail? After committing an offense or crime does the hero get properly punish does he feel guilty, confess, atone and reform? or is the misdemeanor treated as a matter of no moral significance and the hero allowed to "get away with it” without punishment or fateful consequence? How much energy does the hero directagainst himself? Viewing each event, each interaction of press and need, from the point of view of the hero, the interpreter must estimate the amount of hardship and frustration experienced, the relative degtee of success and failure. What is the ratio of happy and unhappy endings? : v. Themas. The interaction of a hero's need (or fusion of needs) and an environmental press (or fusion of press) together with the outcome (success or failure of the hero) constitutes a simple thema. Combinations of simple themas, interlocked or forming a sequence, are called complex themas. When the term designates the abstract dynamical structure of an principal dramatic used precisely episode, when used loosely it means plot, motif, theme, feature of the story. To take up the hero and the environme! outlined, involves the dislocation of the two fundamental elements of each concrete event. This is useful, since it is enlightening to know that a given subject's heroes manifest, let us say, an unusual amount of anxiety, passivity and abasement, or that their environments are peopled with many threatening domineering figures. But now the interpreter has reached the point where a necessary to put reality together again; and he does this by taking eacl Unusually high need in turn and noting the press with which i is most nt separately, as we have just 15“yy commonly combined in the stories; after which he observes with which need, and emotions the unusually high press most often interact. In ¢ = interpreter will obtain 2 list of the most prevalent themas sree inations), co which he will add any other themas, which, though ws frequent enough to result in a high total score for the need OF press involved, seem significant for one reason or another—uniqueness, vividness, intensity, explanatory value. his way the (need-press Icis also possible to make an over-all thematic analysis without scoring the separate variables. Here it is a matter of viewing cach story as a whole and picking out the major and minor themas, the plotand sub-plots. The question is: what issues, conflicts or dilemmas are of the greatest concern to the author? There are common themas, for example, centering round problems of achievement, rivalry, love, deprivation, coercion and restraint, offense and punishment, conflict of desires, exploration, war and so forth. vi, Interests and sentiments. These are treated separately since the author displays his own interests and sentiments not only by attributing them to his heroes but in his choice of topics and in his manner of dealing with these. OF particular importance is the positive or negative cathexis (value, appeal) of older women (mother figures), older men (father figures), same-sex women and same-sex men (some of whom may be sibling figures). Interpretation of Scores. A set of stories is analyzed and scored at first regardless of the probable personal significance of their content. The result isa list of unusually high and unusually low variables (needs, emotions and press), and a list of prevalent themas and outcomes, together with a host of observations too specific to be caught in the net of any conveniently brief conceptual scheme. Then two tentative assumptions are made, to be corrected later if necessary. The first is that the attributes of the heroes (needs, emotional states and sentiments) represent tendencies in the subject's personality. These tendencies belong to his past or to his anticipated future, and hence stand presumably for potential forces which are temporarily dormant; or they are active in the present. (Of these past, present or expected tendencies, the subject may be more or less unconscious). They represent (not literally in most cases but symbolically) (1) things the subject has done, or (2) things he has wanted to do or been tempted to do, of (3) elementary forces in his personality of which he has never been entirely conscious although they may have given rise to fantasies and dreams in childhood or later; and/or they represent (4) feelings and desires he is experiencing at the moment; and/or (5) anticipations of his future behavior, something he would like to do or will perhaps be forced to do, or something he does not want to do but feels he might do because of some half-recognized weakness in himself 16ssumption is that the press variables represent forces in the The seco” sived environment, past, present or future. They refer, literally rc object Py to (1) situations he ha actually encountered, or (2) situations gesymbolien or dreams he has im gined encountering, out of hope or fear: in reverses one eomentary situation (press of the examiner and the task) as he ) the ie; and/or (4) situations he expects to encounter, would like to ives Hn Meads encountering. Roughly the Press may be interpreted as intel w of his world, the impressions he is likely to Project into his vee veview of his world, the in ns he is likely to pr the as ‘of an existing situation and into his anticipations of future interpret juations. ar ; : Some knowledge of the subject's past history and present circumstance plus little intuition is required to decide whether a given element belongs to the subject's past, present or anticipated future. As it happens the discrimination of the temporal reference is nota matter of critical importance. To guide the intuitions of-the interpreter from this point all that can be offered in this short manual’are a few guiding principles coming out of several years of practical experience. The testing of these and other suggestions consti- tutesa program for the future. In any event the conclusions that are reached byan analysis of TAT stories must be regarded as good "leads" or working hypotheses to be verified by other methods, rather than as proved facts. In arriving at his final conclusions the interpreter should take account of the following points : (i) Ifthe test has been unskillfully administered, if the subject has not been involved in the task, if the stories are short and sketchy, the content may be psychologically irrelevant, composed, for the most part, of impersonal clements: (1) elements given in the picture, (2) parts of events witnessed by the subject, (3) fragments from books he has read or movies he has seen, or (4) inventions of the moment-none of these being representative of a determining tendency in his personality. (ii) Under average conditions about 30 per cent of the stories (six out of Swenty) will fall in the impersonal category, although even from these a few items of significance can usually be extracted. ii) One must not lean too heavily on the subject's judgment in ae whether a given item is personal or impersonal. According to our findings More than half of the content which subjects trace to newspapers, magazines, ooks and movies are objective equivalents of unconscious: emote ee complexes in their own personalities. Some internal selective f ater Operated to determine each subject's attention to, registration i erience. recall of just these, rather than countless other, clements of his exp —_ (iv) The TAT draws forth no more than twenty small samples o} 17 —subject's thought. To suppose that these will invariably provide a skeleton of the total personality is unduly optimistic. Justas ina series of interviews orina psychoanalysis there are some totally unproductive hours, so there are sets of TAT stories composed of impersonal or superficially personal elements from which itis impossible to infer the underlying determinants of character. (v) It is convenient to distinguish two Jevels of functioning : first level functioning—physical and verbal behavior (actual overt deeds); and second level functioning—ideas, plans, fantasies and dreams about behavior. The conduct of the subject in relation to the examiner and to the task belongs to the first level, but the content of his stories belongs to the second level. Since individuals vary greatly in ideo-motor conductance (extent to which ideas and fantasies become objectified in action), the interpreter must be prepared to find subjects with low conductance whose stories are indicative of their mental preoccupations but not of their overt behavior, actual or potential. (vi) It is also convenient to distinguish three, if not more, /ayers in normal socialized personalities: the inner layer is composed of repressed unconscious tendencies which in their crude form are never, or very rarely, expressed in thought (second level) and never, or very rarely, objectified in action (first level). The middle layer is composed of tendencies which appear in thought (second level) in undisguised form, and which may perhaps be confessed to one or more suitable individuals, and may also perhaps be objectified in action (First level) privately and secretly. The outer layer is composed of tendencies which are publicly asserted or acknowledged (second level) and/or openly manifested in behavior (first level). It is for the interpreter to determine, if he can, to which of these three layers each conspicuous variable (noted in the TAT stories) belongs. (vii) It may be stated, as a rough generalization, that the content of a set of TAT stories represents second level, covert (i.e., inner and middle layer) personality, not first level, overt or public (i.e., outer layer) personality. There are plenty of ways of discovering the most typical overt trends; the TAT is one of the few methods available today for the disclosure of covert tendencies. The best understanding of the total structure of personality is obtained when the psychologist considers the characteristics of manifest behavior in conjunction with the TAT findings. (viii) Half-unmindful of the fact that they are dealing with imaginal productions, rather than records of actual behavior, some interpreters are inclined to assume that variables which are unusually strong and variables which are unusually weak in the TAT stories will be unusually strong and unusually weak respectively in the subject's manifest personality. There is some pragmatic basis, to be sure, for this expectation inasmuch as statistical studies have shown that with most variables there is a positive correlation 18strength of their imaginal (TAT) expressions and the s weet gvoral expressions. We can not lean very heavily on this nest ie Pejowever since nor only do we ind numerous individual exespage indi eqae ofcertain other important drivesand emotions especilingen: purine re customarily repressed, the exact opposite is generally true. Here one whicha ded of the principle that currents of thought are more rigidly is emt by strongneeds which have been inhibited or rested foralongtime influcnewsceds which have recently been fully satisfied or fatigued by overs thon, What is revealed by the TAT is often the very opposite of shar subject consciously and voluntarily does and says in his daily life. Thus the picture that emerges from this test may be unrecognizable by the individual's casual, or even intimate, acquaintances, (ix) Although the TAT was not designed to reveal first level, personality (public behavior) the interpreter can often guess characteristic features by taking note of the following points: (a) The stories composed in the first session (in response to the first ten pictures) are more closely related to the outer layer of personality, as a rule, than those composed in the second session, many of which express inner layer tendencies and complexes symbolically. ° trength of , outer layer some of its (b) Tendencies which are not restricted by cultural sanctions are likely to be as strong in their overt as in their covert manifestations. In college men, for example, there is a positive correlation (over .40) between the TAT and the behavioral manifestations of the following variables : n—Abasement, n— Creation, n—Dominance, n-Exposition, n—Nurturance, n—Passi ity, a-Rejection and Dejection. On the other hand, according to our findings, n Sex in the TAT and n—Sex in oven behavior correlates between —.33 and—.74 depending on the type of activity that is being considered. Statistically there is no correlation at all between the intensity of covert second level manifestations and overt first level manifestations of n-Aggression and n-Achievement (due possibly to variations in the fatigue factor). (©) Knowing a few facts about the subject, the interpreter, ee into the atmosphere of the stories and noting repetitions fistin vuish the congruent with these, can usually without much difficulty ically and Portions (abour 15 per cent of the stories) which are almost erly Consciously personal. Out of this nucleus of impressions a port Oe middle and outer layer personality will usually emerge. : Y inner layer. : “epehinerpretacion are usally devved rom hei rniner mustbe ken into : f the examine ; (9) Experiments have shown that tae ng the stories of a subject who oor . x 10 cee Ths especial ue We iy gras eb of ; < xa entertaii | amount of host! itude of the ¢ which the examiner belongs. The prestige and 19 fe| ht predice that some, Aggression also affect to some extent the course of some of the stories. One mi svar standard scores will not be exactly the same for all examiners, for example, will, in the long run, instigate more affiliation and less than will others. (xi) Still more important as determinants are the life situation and th momentary emotional state of the subject. The average college man about . enter the armed forces will introduce the theme of war into at least nwo of i twenty stories. Marital conflicts will be prominent in the stories of a woman contemplating divorce. A young man who has just been refused by his girl will receive an uncommonly high mark on the variable Dejection, and so forth, Depth Interpretation. Being informed that the chief value of the TAT resides in its power to evoke fantasies which are susceptible of translation into unconscious repressed tendencies, one might expect to find this manual largely devoted to the technique of such translations. But the necessary limitation of space forbids so ambitious an endeavor. To summarize in a few paragraphs the theories and practices of psychoanalysis, a knowledge of which is. necessary for depth interpretation, would be both presumptuous and misleading, since a little information might influence some amateurs to believe that they were Magi of the unconscious. Depth interpretation requires the examiner to orient himself so.that he views each story and parts of each story, as if the teller were a child trying with imagery to objectify his own body, or certain functions or organs of his body (if psychosomatic symptom), or to represent the body of another person, or as if the teller were trying to depict in a disguised form a certain encounter with one of his parents or siblings, or to suggest some traumatic event experienced in childhood. Inferences of this sort can be validated only by data derived from some kind of psychoanalysis, and it would be better if expert workers submitred their depth interpretations only to those analysts and others, who have the ability and the opportunity to verify them. Formal Analysis. Under this heading we include the discrimination ofa variety of attributes descriptive of the topic, structure, style, mood, degree of realism and power of the plot and of the language of the stories. It is among these attributes that we look for evidences of temperament, emotional maturity, observational ability, intellectuality, aesthetic imagination, literary ability, verbal facility, psychological insight, reality sense, intraception- extraception, integrity (normality) of cognition and so forth. Obsessional, manic and depressive trends are not difficult to recognize. Disjunctivity of theme and language and the occurrence in the narrative of incongruities of feeling and action and of bizarre elements—these bespeak mental disorientation. The first valuable contribution in this area of research was made by Masserman and Balkan. Much work remains to be done. 20ae eliabity Seeing thar the TAT responses reflect the eet gs the present life situation of the subject, we Sosa fleeting mood as wel] reliability of the test to be high, even though the bulkof, ie expect the repeat gendencies and traits that are relatively const the content objectifies Jacking: on this point are Description of Pictures. Below is a list of th d series of the four sets (B for youn ant. Data — : Pictures constituting the first and secon g boys; ; males over 14 years; F for females over 14 years), anomie pis M for snot followed by any letter (B, G, Mor F) designates picture which i Pr dallages (Nos. 1, 2, 4,5, 10, 11, 14.15.16, 13,20) "BM" icture is suitable for boys and older males; "GE" that iis suitablefor thatthe older females. "B" means that the picture is for young boys ee and young girls only; "BG" for boys and girls; "M" for males over fou "Fr os females over fourteen; and "ME" for males and females over fourteer : serial number is printed on the back of each picture.) qa Pictures of First Series™ Ayoungboy is contemplatinga violin which rests on atablein front ofhim. (Drawing by Christiana D. Morgan.) Country scene: in the foreground is a young woman with books in her hand; in the background a man is working in the fields and an older woman is looking on. (Mural by Leon Kroll, reproduced by special permission of the U.S. Department s suitable for both sexes Pr offustice.) BM, On the floor against a couch is the huddled form ofa boy with his head bowed onhis right arm. Beside him on the floot isa revolver. (Drawing by Christiana D. Morgan.) GR.A young woman is standing with downcast head, her face covered with her tight hind, ler left arm i stretched forward against a wooden door. (Drawing by Samuel Thal.) . Awoman is clutching the shoulders of man whose face and body are avertedasif he were eying to pull away from her, Illustration by C: C. Beal reproduced by special permission of Collier’, copyright 1940, by the Crowell-Collier Publishing Company.) Atmiddle-aged woman is standing on the threshold o intoaroom. (Drawing by Samuel Thal.) * Of these pi pictures, Nos. 12 BG, 13 G, and 20 were sugges We GE8BM,9 GR. and 19 by Dr. F Wyatt; and Nos. 2,7 GRand 8 GF BY Del Re oe 3 indebted to Mr. Samucl Thal for drawing ten pictures according OWTSPHC TTT deg GES.7a\ gyn 9 BM [012M M17 BMand OOO se 8 S.C.D. Morgan for having drawn the ld standbys Nes.1.3BM6 a half-opened door looking ted by Dr. R. N. Sanford; Nos. 4, 6 91with her back turned to a tall ort elderly woman stands 0 sang ae 6 king downward wih Werplexed expression. (Drawing by Chrisians D. Morgan) ce, A young woman siingon the edge ofa sofa looks back over her shoulder a 6 GE A youn pe in his mouth we see be addressing her Part of olde mon by HE. Rubin, reproduced by special permission of The Sard iat pn copyeght 1941 by The Cures Publishing Company.) 7 7 BM. A gray-haited man is loo ‘pace (Drawinghy Samuel Thal) os 7.GR. Anolder woman issitting on asofa close beside a git, speaking or reading her. The girl, who holds 2 doll in her lap, is looking away. (Fairy Tales by Shulkin reproduced by special permission of The Metropolitan Museum of Arr, NS York.) 8 BM. Anadolescent boy looks straig at one side, and in the backgroun reverie-image. (Drawing by Samue of the latter permitted by Collier's, Publishing Company.) 8 GE. A young woman sits with Taubes, reproduced by speci NewYork.) 9 BM, Four men in overall are lying on the grass taking it easy. (Drawing by Samud ‘Thal after a photograph, Siesta, by Ulric Meisel. Use of the later permite by Monkmeyer Press Photo Service.) ” 9 GE.A young woman with a magazine and a purse in her hand looks from behinds vice ay another young woman ina party dress running along a beach, (llustration by H. M. Meyers, reproduced by special permission of Collier’, copyright 1940, by The Crowell-Collier Publishing Company.) 10. Ayoung woman'shead against man's shoulder. (Drawing by Samuel Thal. ng ata younger man who is sullenly staring ney nr outof the picture. The barrel of rifleis visible dd the dim scene of a surgical operation, like: I Thai, after an illustration by Carl Mueller. Use copytight 1939, by The Crowell-Coller her chin in her hand looking off into spac. (Litby al permission of The Metropolitan Museum of Ar. Pictures of Second Series ll. Aros skirting a deep chasm between high cliffs. On the road in the distance are a figures. Protruding from the rocky wall on one side isthe long head and neck ofa dragon. (Die Fels-Schtucht by Boecklin in the Schack Gallery, Munich.) 2.M.A young man is lying on a couch with his eyes closed. Leaning over him s the pain ofan elderly man, his hand stretched our above the face of the reclining igure. (Drawingby Samuel Thal.) 1 eee ice eee old woman witha shawl overherheadis inthe i isti inti Peat ‘i ground (Drawing by Christiana D. Morgan after a painting 12.0G.A rowboat i boat is drawn up on the bank ofawoodland stream. There are no hums 22in the picture. (Photo, Fe uced byspecial permission ean, 7 fey eainget, copy 5. MBAyoungmanis standing with downcas fal aia PWtight 1937 ithe igureofa woman Ivingin bed, (Drawing by 5 ‘ied in hisarm, Behind hi iB g. Alieboy sitting on thedoorstepofalogerhje neal) eu Security Administration photograph byNaney me Abe, 13,G-Alittle girlis climbing awinding flight of stairs ae) Hisao E. Kimura, in American Photography, 1934 ' Roof Garden, Photographic Publishing Company.) » by the LG. Lincoln, Jr, Farm hor cca 4, The silhouette of a man (or woman) agai ight wi i picture is totally black, (DavingoyChatioe en a 15. Agaunt man with clenched hands is standing amon, \ Lynd Ward in Madman's Drum, New York, 1938, Smith, Inc, Reproduced by courtesy: of theartist.) 16, Blank card. The rest of the iB Bravestones, (Woodcut by Jonathan Cape and Hattison 17. a A ne man is clinging to a rope. Heis in the act of climbing up or down, rawing by Samuel Thal afteran unfinished sketch by Daumier.) 17.GE. A bridge over water. A female figure leans over the railing. In the background are tall buildings and small figures of men. (Woodcut by Lynd Watd in Madman's Drum, New York, 1938, Jonathan Cape and Harrison Smith, Inc. Reproduced by courtesy of the artist.) 18. BM. A man is clutched from behind by three hands. The figures of his antagonists areinvisible. (Drawing by Christiana D, Morgan.) 18,GE. A woman has her hands squeezed around the throat of another woman whom she appears to be pushing backwards across the banister of stairway. (Drawingby Samuel Thal.) 19. A weird picture of cloud formations overhanging a snow-covered cabin in the country. (The Night Wind by Burchfield, reproduced by courtesy of the owner Mr. AConger Goodyear.) 20. The dimly illumined figure of a man (or woman) in the dead of night leaning gainstalamp post.* * Many hours have been spent searching through periodicals and books to find the original of which this isa reproduction. In using it for scientific purposes without the express consent of the artist or publisher we are crusting to their generosity and goodwill, none of our requests for permission to use a picture having been refused by anyone to date. Any information leading to the discovery of the original of Picture 20 will be gratefully received. 23 te