The present research was conducted to determine the influence of cultural factors upon cognitive assessment of Thematic Apperception Test cards. In the first study, a sample, consisting of 100 Japanese students, identified the major perceptual impact of TAT cards by specifying from a list of five alternative categories the one which best described a given card. The data were quantified by the uncertainty measure (H) in order to provide an indication of the ambiguity of each TAT card. The comparative Canadian data were obtained from Kuechler's (1961) study. A comparison of the rank order of the TAT cards for ambiguity yielded a significant correlation between sexes within a given culture; cross-cultural comparisons indicated that only the Japanese male rankings agreed with the male and female Canadian ratings. The Japanese female rankings did not relate to the Canadian rankings. To determine whether the connotative meaning of TAT cards is dependent upon cultural factors, a second study was conducted. Seventy Japanese students and 85 Canadian students rated each TAT card on twelve bipolar semantic scales which represented the general connotative factors of evaluation, potency and activity. The mean judgements for each TAT card against each semantic scale were correlated. Similarly, the rank orders of the general factors were correlated. High correlations obtained from these comparisons provide evidence for the validity of the placements of the semantic scales within their general factors. On the other hand, with the exception of the "meaningful-meaningless" semantic scale for the Japanese sample, the semantic space of connotative meanings generated by the scales of evaluation I and II are dissimilar. Osgood's hypothesis that evaluation, activity and potency are distinct general factors was not upheld. Finally, the correlation between the rankings of the TAT cards, based on the uncertainty measure and the semantic scales, were determined. The results showed that ambiguous cards are viewed as "active" and "potent" by Canadian subjects. Contrary to expectation, evaluation II correlated positively with degree of ambiguity. These findings are, however, unique to the Canadian groups: with one minor exception, Japanese semantic factor rankings did not correlate with ambiguity rankings. Such results most clearly demonstrate cultural influences on the relations between ambiguity and connotative correlates of pictorial stimuli. To provide a comprehensive picture of the influence of culture and sex on the semantic differential results, a Chi square analysis was applied cross culturally and between sexes. It was found that a greater distinction exists between cultures than between sexes in the same culture. An important finding was that cultural differences were expressed more significantly on the semantic scales than on the cards per se. It may be concluded that the semantic correlates of ambiguity only hold for the Canadian sample and that Japanese males are closer than Japanese females to Canadian individuals. The results generally support the hypothesis of cultural influence upon an individual's manner of cognitive responses to perceptual stimuli. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

The primary purpose of this study was the comparison of the rank orders of Thematic Apperception Test cards scaled by three different methods of ambiguity. An additional problem was the comparison of these ambiguity rank orders with personality variables drawn from the literature. For the first method of perceptual ambiguity five descriptive statements for each TAT card were used to obtain the proportional agreement of eighty-four judges on which of these statements was most expressive of what they saw in the card. The degree of agreement of the judges provided the basis for numerical indices and subsequent rank orders by ambiguity. The validity of the descriptive categories was determined by comparing the proportional agreement found in this study with the frequency with which the statements occurred in the original study. A comparison of ranks based on these data showed a greater than 99 per cent validity for the categories. The second method of ambiguity utilized fourteen need concerns rank ordered for each TAT card. The proportional agreement of the judges on the first ranking need was used In order to determine an index of ambiguity and the cards rank ordered on that basis. The agreement of the judges on all fourteen ranks was determined by the average intercorrelation. The rank order of the TAT cards based on the average Inter-correlation indices was compared with the rank order derived from the choice of first rank. All rank orders of the TAT cards, when compared as to sex differences, correlated highly, indicating that the sexes do not appreciably differ in their perceptual and schematic reactions. The rank orders based on the descriptive statements were compared with those based on the rank order of need concerns. The lack of rank order correlation between the two methods led to the conclusion that ambiguity values of TAT cards differ, when they are based on perceptual reactions, from those based on schematic activity which is involved in the ranking of the needs. A third method of scaling the ambiguity of TAT cards is based on the subjective consensus of judges on the number of interpretations for each card. The rank order of this method was correlated with the rank orders by perceptual ambiguity and themata ranking. A lack of comparability with both methods was accounted for by the theory that in the subjective consensus method the global judgement of the subjects relied on both perceptual reactions and schematic processes and is therefore not comparable with ranks based on either the perceptual reaction or the schematic process alone. A comparison of the perceptual and schematic ambiguity rank orders was made with quantitative data from TAT research. It was found that neither perceptual nor schematic ambiguity varied with the productivity of themes, the total number of words, or the emotional tone of TAT stories. No covariance was found between personality revealingness and levels of perceptual or schematic ambiguity. The mean number of emotional words and the number of statements going beyond the pure description of the cards showed no significant correlation with levels of perceptual or schematic ambiguity. Similarly, behavioral response patterns and problems induced by the TAT cards revealed no commensurate variation with schematic and perceptual ambiguity. The lack of correlation with personality variables was explained by the fact that in all instances, the data are the result of complex psychological functions, including both perceptual and schematic functions, and are therefore not comparable to ambiguity rank orders based on perceptual reactions or schematic reactions alone. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

Statement of the problem. The purpose of this study is to determine whether or not imaginative productivity can be significantly increased by the use of relatively obscured pictorial material as compared with the productions obtained through the use of a criterion set of pictorial materials.

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