Thematic Apperception Test (TAT): its characteristics

Each one of us has his own way of seeing reality, interpreting it and acting and being in the world. Each of us has his own personality. Partly inherited and largely learned, an individual's personality allows one to know and even predict to some degree the way to interact and react to the situations of a individual. And this can be highly relevant when exploring the reasons that cause different subjects to react in different ways. faced with the same situation or that someone continuously manifests behaviors that cause them discomfort or that are maladaptive. This is why different mechanisms and tests have been developed to try to assess personality.

One of the many existing tests in this regard, psychodynamically oriented and framed within the projective tests, is the Thematic Apperception Test or TAT.

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The Thematic Apperception Test or TAT

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

It is a projective type test or test, the TAT being known among them as the clearest and most well-known exponent of thematic projective test (in which basically a story has to be narrated from the presentation of one or more sheets). As a projective test of psychodynamic origin, its objective is to analyze unconscious elements of the subject that largely form and configure his personality.

Said evaluation has the advantage of being masked, which implies that the subject does not know what is being evaluated or what response can be be expected of him and it is more difficult for him to falsify his answers (decreasing the probability of issuing answers based on desirability social). However, does not allow a quantitative analysis but only a qualitative one, different professionals being able to obtain different conclusions from its application and not having meaning a single isolated stimulus but its interpretation requires an analysis of the set.

This projective test consists of a total of 31 black and white plates, 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 object of study (according to sex and age) in such a way that each subject can visualize at most one score. However, it is not necessary for all of them to be passed, rather the clinician will assess whether it is worthwhile to pass only the most relevant ones depending on the patient in question.

The subject must briefly observe each sheet in order to elaborate a story from it and from the elements that are part of the scene, considering first thing you see in the image or scene to later elaborate a brief narrative regarding what is happening in it, what has happened before and what will happen after. It will be the interpretation of these stories that will allow us to get an idea of ​​the psychic processes of the analyzed subject.

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Interpretation

The results of the TAT do not have a single possible interpretation, as it is not a standardized test that reflects specific scores. Its assessment requires high doses of intuition and clinical judgment, with the information extracted being qualitative. It does not allow establishing a diagnosis, but it does allow observing the patient's way of seeing things and how he structures them.

Although there are different classification systems and interpretation of results, these depend to a large extent on the objectives of the analysis of the patient's personality. For example, the Defense Mechanisms Manual 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 the way in which the story is structured or formed.

Content

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

The hero or protagonist of the story is one of these elements. In those pictures with more than one character, it is the subject with which the patient identifies and on which the story is centered. He is generally the one who bears the greatest resemblance to the patient himself. It must be taken into account that the plates themselves do not clearly mark the existence of a main individual, being the subject who chooses it. Likewise, it is observed if the patient chooses a single protagonist or if he changes throughout the speech or if he chooses a group, animal or object as such.

must also be assessed the existence of different qualities in said protagonist and the role he has in the narrative (he is good/bad, active/passive, strong/weak...). Whoever he identifies with and how said character is, informs us of the self-concept of the analyzed patient.

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

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 assess. The patient must interpret not only the hero and what happens to him, but also assess 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 (they are family, partner, friends, enemies, threats, mere witnesses...), are great examples. It can inform the way of relating to the environment and the perception of it by the patient.

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

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

Story form

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

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

Bibliographic references

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

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