PSYC 191 Lecture Notes - Lecture 24: Thematic Apperception Test, Florence Goodenough
26 Oct 2016
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Black and white drawings depicting people in ambiguous situations. Stories are analyzed to reveal hidden unconscious conflicts. People use clues available to interpret a situation. When the situation is vague, interpretations reflect self (fears, desires, conflicts) Client is less self-conscious/defensive when creating the story. Developed pictures to stimulate fantasies about important conflicts and events in life. Each picture had one person to identity with. Narrowed down 100s of pictures to 20 pictures with trial and error. To what extent do the made up stories reflect personal experiences, conflicts, etc. Male participants, 20-30 years old completed the tat over 1 hour. A few days later interviewed about their stories (explain the source of the stories) Told purpose was to compare their creative experiences with those of famous writers. Stories relate more to situational factors (e. g. mood) than ongoing unconscious processes. Despite criticisms, rorschach and tat are both used by psychologists.
