INTRODUCTION:

The fairy tale test is a kind of game that is played with children to learn certain
characteristics of their personality, based on the images of the characters from the best-
known fairy tales.

The creator of this “exam” is called Carina Coulacoglou and she formulated it as part of
her thesis at a University in Great Britain. The fairy tale test is designed for children
between 6 and 12 years old and was first used in 1993. Since that time it has been used in
different studies and a Fairy Tale Test Society (FTT) has even been created to support
professionals who wish to use it in their therapies.
 DATA SHEET

Test name: Fairy Tales Test (FTT)

Author: Carina Coulacoglou

Publishing House : TEA Ediciones, SA

Aim: Help the therapist evaluate the child's dynamic

personality, offering information not only about each
of the personality traits, but also about their
interactions, that is, about their feelings and
attitudes.

Administration: Individual, face to face.

Application: Children between 7 and 12 years of age.

Application time: 45 to 60 minutes.

Material: 21 sheets of fairy tales and notebook of notes.

SUMMARY

The fairy tale test is a projective test designed for children between 7 and 12 years old
that allows us to evaluate a wide number of dimensions of the child's dynamic personality,
also offering information about their interactions. It can be used to evaluate changes
during development or situational effects in children. The FTT has been used with children
with special educational needs, such as learning disabilities and slight mental retardation.

The basis for the development of the FTT was the desire to provide a psychometrically
reliable instrument to the clinical field. The drawings present people and scenes derived
from the scenes of Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White and the dwarfs. These stories are
known and popular among children because they are part of their daily reality, they reflect
themes such as: Affection, envy, aggression and violence, orality, sexuality, narcissism,
maternal-filial relationships, oedipal feelings, rejection, death, resurrection or
reincarnation.

The FTT consists of 21 plates with drawings of well-known characters in fairy tales. These
drawings are grouped into seven series of 3 drawings each; The first five series represent
characters and the last two, scenes. The innovation of the FTT is that the child is not asked
to tell a story, but rather to answer some questions since telling a story can be difficult for
a young child, especially if he or she is unimaginative or inhibited.

There were two reasons for making three versions of each character:
1. Make it easier for the child to overcome his initial inhibition, since when he
reaches the third figure it may be easier for him to give a more meaningful
response.

2. Children love to choose. It uses the child's natural tendency to choose and thus
makes the procedure easier and more fun.

TEST APPLICATION

The essential thing is that the Examiner has general knowledge about the use of tests,
their limitations and interpretations, they must be familiar with psychoanalytic literature
on fairy tales and know these stories well. It is necessary to establish a bond of trust with
the child so that he or she can feel comfortable and be able to give more spontaneous
responses, thus revealing more information about unconscious processes. We must also
be attentive to the child's behavior during the test since this gives us clues to specific areas
of difficulty and helps interpret the data.

Before applying the FTT it is important to know how familiar the child is with fairy tales,
particularly with: Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White and the 7 dwarfs and some
references to giants (Thumbnail, Johnny and the magic beans). If the child does not know
the stories, it is advisable not to apply the test and ask the child to read them and return a
few days after having done so, leaving time for the story to have penetrated the
unconscious. It is preferable to first ask the child to briefly tell the stories since sometimes
the child may have forgotten them or lie saying that he knows them.

The instructions given are presented as if it were a game so that the examiner must adapt
to the child's level of development, for example the question: If you were the wolf with
Little Red Riding Hood, would you eat yourself and why?, should be formulated in this
way: If in this story you were the wolf, which of the three would you eat? The instructions
must be perfectly understood by the child and reassure them by indicating that there are
no right or wrong answers since they are only playing a game.

The pictures must be presented in the established order, in groups of three, without the
child having the remaining ones within reach. When presenting each group of pictures,
emphasis should be placed on the character in question. It is important during the
development of the test to have a notebook where important observations are recorded,
as well as the child's responses, which should be written down verbatim in the appropriate
place in the booklet.

When showing each group of pictures, emphasis should be placed on the character that is
presented, for example: “In these pictures we see 3 little hoods. What does each one of
them think or feel?” The answers to the question “What does each person think or feel?”
“They almost always reflect their feelings, for example: “the witch wants to kill Snow
White because she is prettier than her” reflects aggression and jealousy. It is advisable to
make sure that the answer is complete, that is, there is nothing more to add.
It is important to discover the motive behind an act as well as identify the character since
certain words or expressions can tell us if the child is the actor or the victim.

In describing the scenes of a fairy tale (GROUP 6 AND 7), the following question can be
asked; “Here you have scenes from the story of Little Red Riding Hood (or Snow White and
the 7 Dwarfs), tell me what happens in each scene.” Sometimes the child, when describing
a scene from a story, may confuse the heroine with another person; it is only corrected
when the child gets the story wrong.

Sometimes the child, upon discovering a story, may confuse the heroine with the heroine
of another story.
Most children respond happily to questions, but some may have difficulty. This generally
occurs in questions such as: “What does each of them think?” Some children answer,
“they don't think anything or I don't know.” In this case you should encourage the child by
saying “try, say anything that comes to your mind, you know there are no right or wrong
answers.

The application of the 7 series of sheets requires 45 to 60 minutes.

VARIABLES
The variables evaluated by the FTT give a total result of 26, which are:
 Ambivalence (Amb)  Fear of aggression (TAg)
 Desire for material things (DCM)  Oral needs (NOr)
 Self-esteem (Ae)  Desire to help (Day)
 Morality (Mo)  Need for affiliation (NAfil)
 Desire for superiority (DSu)  Need for affection (NAfec)
 Sense of ownership (SPr)  Anxiety (Ans)
 Aggression as dominance  Depression (Dep)
(AgrDom)  Relationship with mother (Rel-m)
 Aggression type A (AgrA)  Relationship with father ( Rel-p)
 Type B aggression  Sexual preoccupation (PSex)
 Defensive aggression (AgrDef)  Need for protection (Npro)
 Aggression due to jealousy  Adaptation to the content of the
(AgrCel) story (ACC)
 Revenge Aggression (AgrVen)  Repetitions (Rep)
 Oral aggression (AOr)  Quirky answers (Est)

INTERPRETATION:
In the FTT two types of qualitative and quantitative interpretation can be made.

Quantitative: The 26 variables are evaluated and the direct scores are transformed into
typical scores (T), in order to compare the average personality variables with the FTT and
correct possible irregularities in the distribution of the scales, each variable and the scores
obtained in them. The interpretation is based on the sizes of the deviations and the
number of high and low scores.

Qualitative: This interpretation also includes the observation of the subject's behavior
during the test. Since the examiner can analyze information that cannot be converted into
points. The child's responses may be conditioned by external factors, such as changes in
mood, recent events, and the examiner's own personality. It is important to observe the
way the answers are given, the subject's level of concentration, and verbal ability, since all
of this can reveal important aspects about the child.

Notes should be made on the following points:

a) If there is continuity in the response of each of the groups of sheets separately

b) If the answer is given in the first person
c) If there is an interaction between the three figures
d) If contaminated responses occur.

QUESTIONNAIRE
1. What ages is the fairy tale test designed for?
7 to 12 years.

2. Who was the first to highlight the symbolic nature of fairy tales?
Freud

3. According to Kaes, the fairy tale has 3 functions, mention them.

Connection, transformation and intermediary

4. The fairy tale test is designed to:

Evaluation and diagnosis of children, a pedagogical element for training
purposes and as a research instrument.

5. What are the two reasons why three versions of each character were created?
Make it easier for the child to overcome his initial inhibition and children
love to choose.

6. Eugen Bleuler distinguished three types of ambivalence, which are:

Voluntary, Intellectual and Emotional.
 CONCLUSION:

Bruno Bettelheim, famous child psychologist, was interested in the influence that fairy
tales could have on children and came to the conclusion that they have extraordinary
importance for the moral and intellectual formation of children. Stories provide important
messages on both a conscious and unconscious level. By referencing universal human
problems, these stories speak to a small self in formation and stimulate its development,
while at the same time freeing it from its unconscious drives.

Many parents are convinced that children should only know the good side of things, to
avoid early suffering or worries. However, fairy tales convey to them that the fight against
serious difficulties in life is inevitable, and that if one does not flee and faces unexpected
and often unfair deprivations, one can master all obstacles.