PubMed Health⌕ Search

SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “THEMATIC APPERCEPTION TEST”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 415 records · Page 23Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

Concept of alexithymia. I. The prevalence of alexithymia in psychosomatic patients.

The prevalence of alexithymia was studied in a psychosomatic group consisting of 34 patients with duodenal ulcer, 35 patients with ulcerative colitis and 38 patients with irritable colon syndrome, and in a control group consisting of 29 patients with gallstone disease, 13 patients with inguinal hernia and 44 patients with varicose veins. The methods used were the Beth Israel Hospital Questionnaire, the Thematic Apperception Test, the Rorschach Test and the score of emotionality derived from Lazare's Test. The results showed that alexithymia can be detected in an unselected sample of psychosomatic patients. The social class was of no significance, but a high score of alexithymia was registered for the male psychosomatic patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Controlled study of alexithymic characteristics in patients with psychogenic pain disorder.

Alexithymic characteristics were examined in a sample of 30 patients fulfilling the DSM-III criteria for psychogenic pain disorder using an interviewer-rated scale (Beth Israel Hospital Psychosomatic Questionnaire), a self-rated scale (Toronto Alexithymia Scale) and a projective technique (Thematic Apperception Test). The findings were compared with a control group of healthy subjects matched on sociodemographic variables. Pain patients were found to be more alexithymic in contrast to the control group as evidenced by the interviewer-rated and self-rated scales. The correlations among the three measures were in the expected direction.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Hostility and guilt in obsessive-compulsive neurosis.

The enquiry relates to the investigation of 30 cases of obsessive-compulsive neurosis with special reference to the phenomena of hostility and guilt as revealed through Foulds' Five Punitive Scales and the Thematic Apperception Test. Controls consisted of an equal number of subjects suffering from neurotic depression. Analysis reveals acting-out hostility and extrapunitive tendency in the experimental group. No significant difference was found in terms of guilt scores.

Female↗
PubMed1978

Sex differences and androgyny in fantasy content.

Fantasy stories were composed by 153 undergraduates (93 females, 60 males) who also responded to the Bem Sex Role Inventory. The fantasy stories were collected by group administration of a Thematic Apperception Test. The stories were content analyzed along 17 imagery categories. Males and females differed significantly in ten of these categories. The results indicate a substantial continuity of sex differences in fantasy content between earlier decades and the mid 1970s. However, women had relatively more imagery of a self-assertive, pleasurable, and careerist nature than had been found in earlier studies. The fantasies of sex-typed persons were more situation-bound and more sexual than those of androgynous persons. Sex-typed persons appear to experience limitations in fantasy production which parallel their limitations in overt behavior.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1982

A measure of time perspective with the TAT and some issues of reliability.

In an effort to duplicate high interrater reliability coefficients reported in the use of Epley and Ricks' (1963) time orientation scoring system with the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), two pairs of judges and two different training procedures were employed. Reliability coefficients considerably lower than those quoted by other researchers were found. One method of using the system was to have judges discuss scoring differences during training and at various times during a research project until perfect agreement was reached. When used as an adjunct with periodic assessment' of reliability as judges scored a large number of stories, reliability coefficients within a range acceptable for research purposes were obtained. This procedure is presented with correlational evidence for the presence of the time factor that the scoring system purports to measure.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1982

Intimacy motivation and psychosocial adjustment: a longitudinal study.

Longitudinal data of 57 middle-aged men from the Grant Study Adult Development were analyzed in terms of nine indices of psychosocial adjustment and four social motives: achievement, power, affiliation, and intimacy motivation. The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), administered in 1950-52, was scored for the four motives. Psychosocial adjustment, determined by ratings made primarily with reference to life history data gathered between 1950 and 1967, was comprised of scores on income level, occupational promotion, occupational enjoyment, days of sick leave, marital enjoyment, regular vacations, pastimes with friends, drug or alcohol misuse, and psychiatric visits. High intimacy motivation at age 30 was significantly associated with better adjustment 17 years later. The results are discussed in terms of contemporary theories of psychosocial adaptation.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1983

Borderline psychopathology as displayed on psychological tests.

Despite the surge of interest in borderline psychopathology in psychiatric quarters, contributions from the perspective of psychological testing have been few. A brief delineation of the range of borderline psychopathology is offered. Broad trends in the test performance of patients within the borderline range are described with regard to: intelligence and cognitive operations, thought and language, reality testing, organization of affect, configuration of defenses, structure of the object world, dynamics and the interpersonal aspects of the test process.

Affect↗
PubMed1983

The reliability and concurrent validity of alternative methods for assessing ego development.

This study demonstrates that an unstructured interview (INT) and the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) are suitable alternatives to Loevinger's Sentence Completion Test of Ego Development. Seventy subjects were solicited from six groups varying widely with respect to age and education level. Each subject was asked to complete the SCI, an INT and the TAT. Two raters using Loevinger and Wessler's self-training exercises and Loevinger, Wessler, and Redmore's scoring manual rated subjects' responses to each instrument. Reliability was found between raters and concurrent validity between instruments. Subjects scoring high on the SCT were found to score higher on the INT and TAT.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1991

Clinical assessment of object relations using the TAT.

Despite its widespread use, the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) has rarely been used systematically as a clinical instrument. This article describes a multidimensional measure devised for the clinical assessment of object relations using the TAT. Four scales assessing different dimensions of object relations, which have been validated in several studies, are described: Complexity of Representations of People, Affect-Tone of Relationship Paradigms, Capacity for Emotional Investment in Relationships and Moral Standards, and Understanding of Social Causality. Use of the scales is illustrated by applying them to TAT responses of a borderline patient and a normal subject.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1992

Comparison of TAT and free speech techniques for eliciting source material in computerized content analysis.

We compared the free speech samples and Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) responses of 95 community-residing volunteers by using the General Inquirer content analysis computer program and the Harvard III Psychosociological Dictionary (Stone, Dunphy, Smith, & Ogitvie, 1966). Comparability was assessed by computing mean differences and correlations among techniques. The techniques were evaluated by assessing the ability of data derived from each to predict individual differences in developmental level, gender, depressive symptomatology, and personality. Results show highly discriminable profiles and low reliability among techniques. TAT data were superior in predicting individual, differences. We suggest that structured techniques like the TAT are preferable to standard free speech instructions for eliciting data in content analytic studies and discuss the possibility of computerized content analysis as a method of scoring the TAT.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1992

Personality and spirituality: comparative TATs of high-achieving Rajneeshees.

The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) was administered to followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh in their commune in central Oregon. The Rajneeshee subjects had been high achievers (with advanced degrees and/or previous incomes greater than 30,000 dollars in 1984 dollars). Later, TATs were administered to persons matched for gender, age, education, and occupation but not involved in new religions. The final matched sample included 24 men and 20 women, half of whom were Rajneeshees. TATs were coded for a variety of formal variables as well as personality ratings. Though the analysis showed no between-group differences on most variables, significant mean differences occurred on ratings of unusual conditions, quest, and narcissism, with Rajneeshees higher than comparison subjects. Gender differences in personality variables were not conspicuous. Factor analysis established a strong productivity element. Card 16 (the blank card) provided the greatest number of differences.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1993

On the comparison of TAT and free speech techniques in personality assessment.

Schnurr, Rosenberg, and Oxman (1992) recently compared the free speech samples and Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) responses of 95 normal adults. They concluded that the two techniques are not interchangeable, and that the TAT, which proved superior in the prediction of individual differences, may be preferable to free speech instructions for eliciting data in content analytic studies. We disagree with both conclusions. Various forms of narrative speech samples may be highly correlated, so long as psychologically meaningful, well-validated, and higher order content categories are used. The use of first-order content categories is less likely to contribute to the study of personality.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1993

Personal problem-solving system for scoring TAT responses: preliminary validity and reliability data.

Personal problem solving has emerged as an important construct in the cognitive-behavioral literature, yet there is a lack of clinically useful, performance-based measures practitioners can use to assess the personal problem-solving skills of their clients. Two studies evaluated the validity and reliability of a scoring system for measuring personal problem-solving processes via the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT; Morgan & Murray, 1935). In Experiment 1, undergraduate students (N = 87) completed two measures of personal problem solving, as well as three TAT cards, which were scored using the Personal Problem-Solving System (PPSS; Renan, 1990). In Experiment 2, an additional group of undergraduates (N = 56) responded to three TAT cards on two separate occasions and also completed a different measure of personal problem solving. Results from both studies supported the use of the PPSS for scoring TAT responses to assess personal problem-solving processes. Suggestions for future research are highlighted.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1993

Issues in the comparison of techniques for eliciting source material in computerized content analysis.

Zeldow and McAdams (1993) recently presented artifactual explanations for our data showing dissimilarity between the content of speech elicited by the Thematic Apperception Test (Murray, 1943) and free speech tasks (Schnurr, Rosenberg, & Oxman, 1992). In particular, they alleged that our findings resulted from a lack of psychological meaning in our content categories and in the free speech task. We cite empirical and theoretical support to refute this allegation and provide additional analyses of our data that are consistent with our earlier suggestion that text samples elicited under different conditions may not be interchangeable.

Comment↗
PubMed1994

TAT assessment of sexually abused girls: an analysis of manifest content.

Manifest content of Thematic Apperception Test (TAT; Murray, 1943) stories of 30 sexually abused female children and a clinical group of 30 female children with no documented history of abuse was examined using the Scoring Scheme for the TAT and Other Verbal Projective Techniques (Fine, 1955a). The two groups were similar demographically, and did not differ with regard to the overall frequency of negative feelings and outcomes. Significant group differences were found when specific negative feelings were investigated, with subjects in the abuse group having higher frequencies of stated sexual preoccupation than nonabused comparison subjects. In addition, higher frequencies of expressed guilt on the part of abuse subjects can be considered secondary to their overconcern with sexuality. Findings support the utility of the TAT in identifying victims of sexual abuse by the examination of manifest content.

Child Abuse, Sexual↗
PubMed1995

Personal problem-solving scoring of the TAT: sensitivity to training.

The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT; Murray, 1943) is one of the most frequently taught and administered projective instruments in the United States. Nevertheless, formal scoring systems are not often used when evaluating story responses; thus, the reliability and validity of response interpretations remain controversial. The sensitivity-to-training of a procedure that uses the TAT to assess personal problem-solving skills, namely the Personal Problem-Solving System (PPSS; Ronan, 1990), was evaluated. In Experiment 1, undergraduate students received either detailed (n = 30) or minimal (n = 29) training in the problem-solving skill of generating alternative solutions to personal problems and subsequently wrote responses to three TAT cards. In Experiment 2, subjects received either detailed (n = 22) or minimal (n = 22) training in a utility model of decision making and thereafter responded to the same three TAT cards. Subjects who received detailed training, when compared to their minimally trained counterparts, reported an increase in their knowledge of the relevant problem-solving skill, and this increased knowledge influenced their responses to the TAT cards as measured by the PPSS scores. Implications for the construct validity of the PPSS are discussed.

Journal Article↗