Thematic Apperception Test (TAT): characteristics and performance

This psychological test is part of the psychodynamically oriented projective tests.

Each of us has our own way of seeing reality, of interpreting it and of acting and being in the world. Each of us has our own personality. Partly inherited and to a large extent learned, an individual's personality allows us to know and even predict to a certain degree the way an individual interacts and reacts to situations. This can be of great relevance when exploring the reasons why different subjects react differently to the same situation or why someone continuously displays behaviors that generate discomfort or are maladaptive. This is why different mechanisms and tests have been developed to try to assess personality.

One of the numerous existing tests in this sense, of psychodynamic orientation and framed within the projective tests, is the Thematic Apperception Test or TAT. framed within the projective tests, is the Thematic Apperception Test or TAT..

The Thematic Apperception Test or TAT

Created by Murray in 1935, the TAT is intended to be a system for assessing the unconscious needs, expectations and fears that regulate our behavior and that contribute to form our personality from the interpretation of ambiguous stimuli (considering the author that in this process the presence of personality traits can be observed).

It is a projective type test, the TAT being known as the clearest and best known exponent of this type of test. the clearest and best-known exponent of thematic projective test (in which basically a story has to be narrated from the presentation of one or more plates). As a projective test of psychodynamic origin, its objective is to analyze unconscious elements of the subject that form and shape his personality to a great extent.

This evaluation has the advantage of being masked, which means that the subject does not know what is being evaluated or what response can be expected of him and it is more difficult for him to falsify his answers (decreasing the probability of issuing responses based on social desirability). However, does not allow a quantitative analysis but only a qualitative one.Different professionals can obtain different conclusions from its application and a single isolated stimulus has no significance; its interpretation requires an analysis of the whole.

This projective test consists of a total of 31 black and white sheets, all but one of which represent different structured but ambiguous scenes linked to different themes. Among them, eleven are universal while the rest are divided according to the type of population under study (according to sex and age) so that each subject can view a maximum of twenty. However, it is not necessary to pass all of them, but the clinician will assess whether it is worthwhile to pass only the most relevant ones according to the patient in question.

The subject should briefly observe each picture in order to elaborate a story from it and from the elements that are part of the scene, considering first what he/she sees in the image or scene to later elaborate a brief narration regarding what is happening in it, what has happened before and what will happen next. It will be the interpretation of these stories that will allow us to get an idea of the psychic processes of the analyzed subject.

Interpretation

There is no single possible interpretation of the TAT results.as it is not a standardized test that reflects specific scores. Its evaluation requires high doses of intuition and clinical judgment, being the information extracted qualitative. It does not allow to establish a diagnosis, but it does allow to observe the patient's way of seeing things and how he/she structures them.

Although there are different systems of classification and interpretation of results, these depend to a large extent on the objectives of the analysis of the patient's personality. For example, the Manual of Defense Mechanisms proposes to assess the existence of denial, projection and identification as defense mechanisms against psychic conflicts, which would be projected in the stories. Regardless of the method of interpretation, in almost all cases two main factors are taken into account: on the one hand, the content of the narrative and on the other hand, the way in which the narrative is structured or formed..

Content

When assessing the content of the story, the creator of the test himself considered that six main aspects should be taken into account.

The hero or protagonist of the story is one of these elements. In those films with more than one character, it is the subject with whom the patient identifies and on whom the story is centered. Generally, it is the one who has the greatest resemblance to the patient himself. It should be noted that the slides themselves do not clearly mark the existence of a main individual, being the subject who chooses him/her. Likewise, it is observed whether the patient chooses a single protagonist or whether he/she changes throughout the discourse or whether he/she chooses a group, animal or object as such.

It is also necessary to assess the existence of different qualities in this protagonist and the role it plays in the narrative (it is good for and the role he/she plays in the narrative (good/bad, active/passive, strong/weak...). Who he/she identifies with and how this character identifies himself/herself informs us about the self-concept of the patient under analysis.

Another point to highlight, linked to the previous one, is the motivation and needs of the hero. How he feels or what he wants or what internally motivates him to act as he does. Protecting loved ones, hate or love, or what the events make him feel are part of this aspect. It is also associated with one's goals and objectives.

The third key point is the pressures to which he is subjected, or what happens to the subject and that can mark his way of acting. Here it is possible to assess possible concerns or stressful or traumatic situations that are affecting the patient's life.

The environment is the fourth of the main aspects to be assessed. The patient should interpret not only the hero and what happens to him but also the situation in which he finds himself. The environment and the relationship with the other characters, or what these characters are like or the roles they play (are they family, partner, friends, enemies, threats, mere witnesses...), are great examples. It can inform about the way of relating to the environment and the patient's perception of it..

The fifth of the elements to be assessed is the development of the story itself. How events unfold, how they begin and how they culminate. This, by the way, can be related to the patient's actual expectations regarding his or her own self-efficacy and to his or her state of mind.

The last but not least point of analysis is the theme of the story, which tends to be linked to the patient's concerns and worries.. For example, someone depressed and/or suicidal will tend to reproduce elements linked to death, or someone obsessed with cleanliness and germs with disease.

Story form

In addition to what the patient says, it is relevant how the patient says it and the degree of involvement shown in the activity. Whether the patient cooperates or not, whether he/she perceives the images correctly and understands what to do or whether he/she has sufficient visualization and elaboration skills are remarkable aspects that can indicate the presence of resistance or difficulties associated with a particular problem (as well as assessing whether the test is indicated or not).

Already within the history itself, it is necessary to take into account whether there is coherence, linearity, contradictions, whether fantasy is used or not.whether or not fantasy or realism is used, if it uses many or few adjectives or if it gives details.

Bibliographical references

Murray, H. (1973). The Analysis of Fantasy. Huntington, NY: Robert E. Krieger Publishing Company.

Sanz, L.J. and Alvarez, C. (2012). Assessment in Clinical Psychology. Manual CEDE de Preparación PIR, 05. CEDE: Madrid