1. Projective Techniques
Thematic Apperception Techniques

2. March 27, 2003 Projective Techniques
Video and Brief Overview
Use and Scoring
Interpretive Methods for TAT
Typical Themes for Each TAT Card
Case Studies
Israel
William ?

3. Thematic Apperception Techniques
Jerome Kagan reported that a generally accepted definition of apperception is: it is the integration of a perception with the individual’s past experience and current psychological state.
Two general influences on fantasy production: perception of the situation and verbal ability (story length usually progresses with age and girls usually tell longer stories than boys from ages 6 to adolescence).

4. Thematic Apperceptive Techniques
Uniqueness of the Apperceptive Fantasy
Nature of Stimulus –need to know stimulus impact and knowledge of normative reactions for different age, gender, cultural, groupings.
Response Demand-type of response and cognitive activity demanded differs widely across techniques and must be given consideration when interpreting responses.

5. Use and Scoring of Thematic Apperception Techniques Use and Scoring
Different researchers have coded different aspects of the fantasy depending on their specific theoretical approaches and interests.
The major variables derived from apperceptive data:
Assessment of motive strength
Child’s perception of world
Assessment of defense tendencies and indices of conflict
Cognitive-expressive styles

6. Use and Scoring 2
Assumption 1-Congruence between fantasy production and personality
Assumption 2-The Hero assumption
Assumption 3-The role of the external stimulus
Assumption 4-The subject’s set and situation
Assumption 5-Fantasy as the product of motive and defense

7. Use and Scoring 3 Five categories of processes
Study of content (what the person sees)
Study of expressive, structural aspects (how the person says or does something)
Gestalt functions (how does the person perceive the stimulus, as a whole, little details, etc)
Body image or self-image (how the person depicts the hero or whomever he/she identifies with)
Methods of preference (selected choices such as in Make A Picture, Szondi, etc.)

8. Use and Scoring 4 Interpretive Methods
Murray and colleagues (1940’s) -need-press method (needs of hero and environmental forces to which hero is exposed)
Example: he loves her (need), she hates him (hate is the press)
Rotter (1947) Three steps
Step 1 autobiographical quality (coherence, predominant mood, sex, endings to stories, repetition of themes, attitude toward world, etc.

9. Use and Scoring 5 Interpretive Methods
Step 2 five principles of interpretation, frequency of idea, unusualness, determination of identification, determination of cliches, and selecting alternative interpretations
Step 3 qualitative suggestions for analysis of personality trends
Rotter & Jessor (1951) Five steps
Step 1 read entire protocol for suggestive leads
Step 2 analyze each story for basic ideas and structural characteristics
Step 3 consider each story as a unit
Step 4 all stories considered as one organized unit
Step 5 interpretive hypotheses integrated into a final summary evaluation

10. Use and Scoring 6 Interpretive Methods
Rapaport (1947) two major classes
Formal characteristics of story structure: compliance with instructions, consistency within the production, and characteristics of verbalization
Formal characteristics of story content:
tone of content, figures of story identification,
strivings and attitudes, obstacles
Henry (1947) two major classes
Form characteristics: amount and kind of imaginal production, organizational qualities, acuity of concepts, observations, and their integration, language structure, intraception-extraception, relation of story to total thought
Content characteristics: general tone (positive and negative, passive or aggressive language, expressed or implied interpersonal harmonies); positive content (characters described in the stories, interpersonal relations); negative content (what person failed to say, what person might have been expected to say-what is not there); dynamic structure of content

11. Use and Scoring 7 Interpretive Methods
Reuben Fine (1951) A checklist of scoring for 65 response categories for each story
The Bellak Blanks- (see chapters from his book)
Three levels of interpretation: descriptive, interpretive, and diagnostic
Scoring Categories: main theme, main hero, main needs and drives of hero, conception of the environment, figures seen as --significant conflicts, nature of anxieties, main defenses against conflicts and fears, adequacy of superego (punishment for crime) and integration of the ego

12. TAT Pictures Henry Murray (1943) 20 cards Bellak suggests 10-12 cards
Previous books Bellak’s essential cards for males: 1, 2, 3BM, 4, 6BM, 7BM, 11, 12M, 13MF given in order-uses 11 with both males and females and often uses 8BM
Currently Bellak’s suggestions for both males and females: 1, 2, 3BM, 4, 6BM, 7GF, 8BM, 9GF, 10, 13MF (these are based on over 700 cases by David Abrams & his students)

13. TAT Pictures 2 Typical Themes Card 1 Card 2 Card 3BM Card 3GF Card 4

14. TAT Pictures 3 Card 6Bm Card 6GF Card 7BM Card 7 GF Card 8BM Card 8GF

15. TAT Pictures 4 Card 11 Card 12M Card 12F Card 12BG Card 13Mf Card 13B
Card 13G

16. TAT Pictures 5 Card 14 Card 15 Card 16Card 17BM Card 17GF Card 18BM

17. TAT Legend to use for this class: Summary of story (Plot)
Interpersonal relations
Objects and figures introduced
Objects and figures omitted
Attribution of blame
Significant conflicts
Overall view-positive or negative
Outcome
Main Theme-Interpretation