Structure:

Length-The length of the stories is categorized into 3 types depending on the number of sentences. The 3 categories
are:

a) Short: 5 sentences or less

b) Average: 5 to 10 sentences
c) Long: 10 and more

Time taken-Note down the time taken to produce every story (from the moment the card is given till the moment
when completion of story is reported).

Plot-Plot may either be clearly present or absent in a story.

Content- The content is basically of two types, which are:

a) Imaginative with little descriptive content (I) - The stories which have less of situational elaboration and more of
imagination falls under this category.
b) Descriptive with little imaginative content (D) - The stories which have more descriptive content and little
imagination fall under this category.

Theme:

Stories may be based on one or more themes, of which there are 5 types:

a) Destructive Theme- stories based on this theme will have conflicting, expression of hostility.
b) Psychological Theme- Stories based on this theme comprises of impression, disturbance, self-identity, freedom,
hardworking, loneliness, trying to avoid conflict.
c) Family Theme- This theme comprises of expression of dissatisfying parental relations, issues revolving around
routine life.
d) Social Theme- This theme comprises of expression of unfavourable social conditions, lack of social support,
unstable conditions, social skills and dominance by others.
e) Economic Theme- The economic theme includes expression of lack of resources and economic hardships.

The main theme is best understood as an attempt to restate the gist of the story. (It must be remembered that one T.A.T. story
may actually have more than more one basic theme.) This process is divided in actually 5 levels, but the first three are broadly
used. The 5 levels are Descriptive, Interpretive, Diagnostic, Symbolic and Elaborative. The first 3 levels cover the content as
follows:
a) Descriptive- At the descriptive level the story is simply restated in 1 or 2 sentences
b) Interpretive- On an interpretive level, one may go a step further and put meaning in a generalized form, assuming
a meaning beyond story.
c) Diagnostic- On a diagnostic level, one transforms these impressions into definitive statements.

Main Hero:

The main hero of the story is the one who is most spoken of, whose feelings and subjective notions are most discussed, and in
general, the figure with whom the narrator seems to identify himself/herself. In case of doubt, the figure resembling the subject
most closely in age, sex, and other characteristics should be considered the main hero. At times a man may identify himself
with a female ‘main hero’; if this occurs repeatedly, it might be considered a sign of latent homosexuality (depending on the
total picture). Vocation, characteristics, self-image and adequacy of the main hero frequently depict qualities or desired
qualities of the subject.

Age, Sex, Vocation as they appear in the story (may or may not be mentioned. If mentioned should be coded)

Characteristics- The characteristics are broadly categorized under 6 heads, namely:

 a) Weak- Characters that are victimized, being dominated, dependent and defenceless.
b) Strong- Characters that are active, powerful and dominating
c) Deprived- Poor, unwanted and less loved characters fall in this category.
d) Privileged- Characters which are loved, supported and shown concern by others
e) Positive- Clever, ambitious, smart, kind and helpful characters fall in this category
f) Negative- Impulsive, aggressive, dominating, harsh characters with the ones involved in illegal activities are
called negative characters.
Self image/ concept- Stories reflect the subject’s sense of self depending on the hero’s self concept. There are 4 broad
views, under this head and they are:
a) Self facilitating- Self facilitating view includes view of one’s self as having potential to enhance self growth,
being determined, hardworking, ambitious, clever, mature, lovable and responsible.
b) Other’s facilitating- This view of self is one which can facilitate other’s growth; for example being kind, obedient
and helpful.
c) Self harming- Having a self harming view of oneself includes belief in one’s potential of hindering one’s
progress by being sad, idle, impulsive, aggressive, unproductive, looking for the easy gains, dissatisfied with the
self, confused, weak and dependent.
d) Other’s harming- This view includes the belief in self to be capable of hindering other’s progress and harming
others by being manipulative, aggressive and desensitized to others.

Adequacy- By adequacy of the hero we mean his ability to carry through tasks under external and internal difficulties
in a socially, intellectually, morally and emotionally acceptable manner. The adequacy of the hero frequently
conforms to a pattern throughout the stories and is often in a direct relationship to the ego strength of the subject.

Main Needs and Drives of the Hero-A need involve a physicochemical force in the brain that organizes and directs intellectual
and perceptual abilities. Needs may arise either from internal processes such as hunger or thirst, or from events in the
environment. Needs arouse a level of tension; the organism tries to reduce this tension by acting to satisfy the needs. Thus,
needs energize and direct behaviour. They activate behaviour in the appropriate direction to satisfy the needs. Murray
classified the needs into 3 broad categories which are Viscerogenic/ Primary (of internal origin), Psychogenic/ Secondary (of
external origin) and Reactive and Proactive needs. Primary needs arise from internal bodily states and include those needs that
are required for survival (such as food, water, air, and harm avoidance), as well as such needs as sex and sentience. Secondary
needs arise indirectly from primary needs, in a way Murray did not make clear, but they have no specific able origin within the
body. They are called secondary not because they are less important but because they develop after the primary needs.
Secondary needs are concerned with emotional satisfaction and include most of the needs on Murray’s original list. The needs
of the subject are elicited by the needs of the central character/s (hero) in the story.
Abasement- To surrender and accept punishment
Achievement- To overcome obstacles and succeed
Acquisition(Conservance) -To obtain possessions
Affiliation- To make associations and friendships
Aggression- To injure others
Autonomy- To resist others and stand strong
Blame avoidance- To avoid blame and obey the rules
Construction- To build or create
Contrariance- To be unique
Counteraction- To defend honour
Defendance- To justify actions
Deference- To follow a superior, to serve
Dominance(Power) - To control and lead others
Exhibition- To attract attention
Exposition- To provide information, educate
Harm avoidance- To avoid pain
Infavoidance- To avoid failure, shame, or to conceal a weakness
Nurturance- To protect the helpless
Order- To arrange, organize, and be precise
Play- To relieve tension, have fun, or relax
 Recognition- To gain approval and social status
Rejection- To exclude another
Sentience- To enjoy sensuous impressions
Sex(Erotic) - To form and enjoy an erotic relationship
Similance- To empathize
Succorance- To seek protection or sympathy
Understanding (Cognizance) - To analyze and experience, to seek knowledge

Conception of the Environment- Murray contended that environmental forces played a significant role in the exhibition of the
psychogenic needs. He called the forces "press," referring to the pressure they put on us that compels us to act in the way we
do. (http://allpsych.com/personalitysynopsis/murray.html) Under this heading one tries to understand the things that the
subject is seeking from the environment. This one estimates based on how the environment of the hero has been described. For
example, the subject might express that the hero in a particular story is facing endless problems. This would lead our
interpreting the subject’s view of the world as challenging for that particular story. There are 6 broad categories under this
head. They are as follows:

Unfavourable view- Viewing the world as not being in favour of the client leads to this interpretation.
Challenging view- It includes the view of the world as lacking resources, obstructing one’s growth and being full of
hardships.
Threatening view- Viewing the world as being insecure and threatening to one’s survival falls under this category.
Full of conflicts- It includes viewing the world as being full of conflicts and struggle. For example mention of
conflicts between parents, conflict between self and parents, demanding environment or demanding parents.
Positive view- This view includes perceiving the environment as pleasant, supportive, others being helpful, in general
a desirable place to live in.

Attitude to Past, Present and Future- The subject’s general attitude toward past, present and future are assessed in this
dimension. There are 9 views in total which are as follows:

Past positively- perceiving past to have been pleasant and successful

Past negatively- associating failure, victimization, cheating, pressure, etc with the past
No clear view of the past
Present positively- includes favourable, supportive and pleasant attitude towards the present
Present negatively- includes violent, challenging, unfavourable attitude towards the present
No clear view of the present
Future positively- optimistic view of future
Future negatively- pessimistic view of future
No clear view of future

Significant Others-

Parental figures
Contemporary figures
Junior figures

Significant Conflicts- Significant conflict is something that is blocking/ obstructing the satisfaction of the need of the subject.
There are 8 types of conflicts, which are as follows:
Fulfilment of basic needs- Includes conflicts related to fulfilment of basic needs like food, shelter, security, love and
affection.
Economic constraints- Includes conflicts that are related to fulfilment of financial requirements.
Parental discord- Includes conflicts related to disharmony with parents (more commonly physical harassment),
pressurizing, distance from parents, lack of support from them as well as conflicts between parents
Environmental conflicts- It includes conflicts which originate in the environment like threat from the environment,
feeling insecure, etc
 Social skills- It includes conflicts that stem from lack of social skills such as inability to handle stressful social
conditions efficiently, hurting others and being aggressive.
Goal direction- It includes all those variables which are responsible for problems in goal attainment such as lack of
clarity of one’s goal, lack of motivation and guidance.
Poor understanding of self-exploration- It includes all those aspects due to which the view of the self remains
immature, incorrect and misleading. One is indicated of having low self-esteem, anxiety, guilt feeling, low self
efficacy and an inconsistent view of self.
Interpersonal difficulties- It includes conflicts stemming from interpersonal relations such as lack of social support,
lack of guidance, being cheated, untrustworthy partners, etc.

Nature of Anxieties:
Of physical harm and/ or punishment
Of disapproval
Of lack or loss of love
Of being deserted
Of illness or injury
Of deprivation
Of being devoured
Of being overpowered and helpless
Other

Coping Styles:
Coping styles are the techniques that a person uses to deal with problems. There are 5 broad categorisations of the Coping
styles, which are as follows:
Active- This coping style includes behaviours adopted by the subject in which he/ she actively tries to alter the
situation by working hard, practicing, sharing feelings, etc.
Passive- This category involves adopting behaviours like being dependent, observing silently and being tolerant.
These behaviours do not actively try to change the situation.
Reactive- This coping style includes behaviours like expressing hostility, harming the source of threat. Getting
involved in illegal acts, self punitive acts and rebelling.
Defensive- This style includes behaviours which fall neither under active nor under reactive style. For example
regression, fantasizing, rationalisation, projection, fooling others and manipulation.
Avoidance and escape- This is a coping style where the subject prefers to either avoid or escape from the situation
causing stress rather than confronting it. Typical behaviours under this head are delaying decisions/ actions, using
shortcuts, etc.

Defence Mechanisms-

Intelligence:
Beginning and Ending of Stories: 4 different combinations of beginnings and ending of stories are possible. These
combinations are as follows:
a) Well defined beginnings and well defined endings- Stories which start and end with some specific point with a
future prediction in the end fall under this category.
b) Well defined beginnings and loose endings- Stories which start with a specific point but end haphazardly fall
under this category.
c) Loose beginnings and well defined endings- Stories which start haphazardly but end with a specific point made in
the future are to be included in this category.
d) Loose beginnings and loose endings- Stories which start and end haphazardly are included in this category.

Thought Process: Thought process as revealed by plot being

Structured/ Unstructured
Stereotype/ Original
Complete/ Incomplete
 Appropriate/ Inappropriate
Rational/ Bizarre

Intellectual level: Low-Below Average-Average-Above Average-High (general guess)