Past research has shown that there are many factors that influence projective test responses. This is especially true of the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT). Certain variables that have been found to influence the TAT response were studied in this experiment. These variables included the subjects’ scores on purported measures of the personality trait of aggression, and various parameters of the TAT cards themselves. This experiment included three studies which investigated the relationship between test measures of aggression and aggressive behavior. The three studies were conducted concurrently using the same subject population: forty-two male inmates at the Oregon State Penitentiary. They were divided into two groups of aggressiveness according to the crime they had committed; 21 inmates had committed aggressive crimes and 21 inmates had committed non-aggressive crimes. The subjects wrote stories for eight TAT cards; completed a questionnaire including items of aggression, guilt, and defensiveness; and provided personal information such as age, educational level, and amount of time in prison.

There are nuiaerous ways of conceptualizing 9 large body of roGearch. OftBri studies differ on more than one variable* This is particularly true of investigations into the possible relationship between TAT performance and overt aggressive behavior* Little con-- distent systematic research ha.'j been undertaken in this area. Instead of holding a number of experimental variables or dimensions constant across studies in order to fully explore the effects of a given independ.ent variable, researchers arbitrarily select experimental dimensions. Thus there are a vast variety ox distinctly different populations examined on the basis of differing oriteiia of what con-ititutes aggressive behavior. To further complicate the matter, responses' to anything from one to twenty T.AT or TAT-].lVc cards have been scored by systems often unique to a given study.

The purpose of this study is to explore the possibility of interpreting the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) in constructivist terms. This research project involved a qualitative approach, focusing on abductive discovery and phenomenological critique. From constructivist theory, the core ordering processes of reality, identity, power, value, and relatedness were used to interpret a subject's TAT narratives. The author of the study chose one subject from the three with which he worked to present a case study. Chapter One of the research project reviews the literature of both TAT studies and constructivist theory. The author first discussed reliability and validity studies involving the TAT. Second, the author discussed constructivist theory, focusing on its philosophical antecedents and its theoretical framework. Chapter Two of the project establishes the methods and procedures utilized during the project. The core ordering processes as taken from constructivist theory are defined and discussed in detail. Chapter Three represents the bulk of the study, presenting the results and discussion of the results. Following a discussion of the results, the author critiqued the results, and based on the critique discussed procedural changes and implications for future research.

The aim of the research was to establish how accurate an Objective Thematic Apperception Test can measure typical behavioral constructs of adolescents such as anxiety, stress, aggression, interpersonal relations and self-concept. An empirical investigation was carried out using a newly developed questionnaire, the Structured Objective TAT (SOTAT) as well as a control questionnaire (CQ). The items of the SOTAT were based on a selection of TAT cards and the CQ measured certain affective variables in the traditional way. Both questionnaires were completed by 378 adolescents. The SOTAT was found to be reliable but not construct valid since low correlation coefficients between the SOTAT and CQ were obtained. There is the possibility that projection did not occur during completion of the SOTAT. / Psychology / M. Ed. (Voorligting)

The aim of the research was to establish how accurate an Objective Thematic Apperception Test can measure typical behavioral constructs of adolescents such as anxiety, stress, aggression, interpersonal relations and self-concept. An empirical investigation was carried out using a newly developed questionnaire, the Structured Objective TAT (SOTAT) as well as a control questionnaire (CQ). The items of the SOTAT were based on a selection of TAT cards and the CQ measured certain affective variables in the traditional way. Both questionnaires were completed by 378 adolescents. The SOTAT was found to be reliable but not construct valid since low correlation coefficients between the SOTAT and CQ were obtained. There is the possibility that projection did not occur during completion of the SOTAT. / Psychology / M. Ed. (Voorligting)

This thesis deals with a possibility of measuring levels of social skills using the Social Orientation Scale (SOS) in stories made up with the Thematic Apperception Test. In the theoretical part we introduce the Thematic Apperception Test, the scoring systems used to interpret it and the Social Orientation Scale of Goldmann and Soukupová. This part also introduces the concept of social competence, describe the characteristics of an adolescence development stage and specifics of youth detention centers, their clients and a problematic behavior observed at most of them. In the empirical part we compare two groups of adolescents, each consisting of 30 probands. The first group was made up by girls and boys currently undergoing a diagnostic stay in youth detention centers, while the second group consisted of their same-age peers from an ordinary population. To obtain the basic characteristics of the subjects under test, we employ semi-structured anamnestic interview. Furthermore, the Thematic Apperception Test is evaluated using the Social Orientation Scale and the results thereof are statistically analysed. Our research focuses mainly on figuring out the differences in the competence levels reached at the particular tables and as a whole. Besides that, the stories are analyzed content-wise, focusing...

This thesis explores the influence of mother's mental disorder, specifically schizophrenia, on child's attachment in adulthood. In the theoretic part, basic terms of attachment theory are introduced. I describe selected methods of attachment assessment and the associated attachment types or states of mind with respect to attachment. Further on, key information on schizophrenia is presented with an emphasis on impact of schizophrenia on mother - child relationship. The following empiric part explores the form and type of attachment of children with mothers who suffer from schizophrenia and its evolution in time. I was also interested in different strategies the children employ to cope with their mother's illness. Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) is the primary method used in the research, complemented by Experiences in Close Relationships Scale (ECR) and Thematic Apperception Test (TAT). The research results show that attachment of children with schizophrenic mothers tend to be anxious, specifically anxious-avoidant and disoriented-disorganized, more often than in the general population. Mother's illness thus has negative effects on child's attachment.

Thesis (doctorat en droit)--Université de Haute Bretagne Rennes II, 1995. / Includes bibliographica references (p. 374-376).

Thesis (doctorat en droit)--Université de Haute Bretagne Rennes II, 1995. / Includes bibliographica references (p. 374-376).

The social diversity of the South African population holds considerable challenge for psychologists, especially in respect of differences in language, culture and socio-economic context. The implications of the diverse nature of expectations and needs of unique individuals, clients as well as professionals, in particular in psychological assessment, are of concern. Projected storytelling in assessment is widely recognised as valuable, especially when working with children and adolescents. The technique has its pitfalls, including the way the stories produced may be influenced by leading questions, applying different methods of interpretation, and administering the instrument in cross-cultural assessment situations. Psychologists presenting projection plates to adolescent clients in South Africa frequently obtain little more than one-liners from standard procedures, raising doubts about viability and reliability of the technique. Prompting and probing need to be enhanced without compromising the projective value of responses or the uniqueness of clients. Feuerstein pioneered mediated intervention for learners with cognitive barriers, and the dynamic assessment of culturally different children. In this study, a dynamic assessment technique of questioning (DATQ) was used to actualise projection potential in mono- and cross-cultural assessment situations. The aim of the study was two-fold: to investigate the influence of a DATQ with projection plates during the psychological assessment of adolescents, and to investigate the influence of culture on such assessment in mono- and cross-cultural situations. A qualitative, multiple case study of ten participants representing five language groups in South Africa was undertaken within a predominantly postmodern epistemology. The tension between assessment from the positivist and post-modern paradigms was acknowledged through applying different perspectives during different stages of the research. A test-training-continuation-of-test situation was created for the administration of seven projection pictures, after which two discussion protocols were used. Data-analysis and interpretation took place in four phases by way of projection analysis (using the Bellak TAT Analysis Blank and Haworth’s analysis of defences), structural analysis (with categories such as word-count, response pattern, formulation, number of statements, prompts, hesitations, repetitions), analysis of the participant’s experience of the Murray-method versus the dynamic assessment technique of questioning, and analysis of possible cross-cultural influences on the assessment (utilizing the Scoring Sheet for the Psychocultural Scoring System (SSPSS) and triangulating the results with the projection analysis and the thematic analysis of the conversation about culture). Findings were derived from intra-comparison (per participant) and inter-comparison (per phase of the assessment) of the analyses. The main conclusions of the study point towards participants’ projective responses increasing and deepening in the direction of self-understanding and wholesome problem solution as well as being structurally enhanced, their emotional experience of the assessment situation being positive, culturally associated values being expressed and cultural barriers to interaction being lessened in both mono- and cross-cultural assessment. Whilst projection isn’t an exclusively context-bound phenomenon and generally occurs irrespective of cultural specificity, it was found that supporting clients through non-directive prompting to voice their associations apparently didn’t interfere with the unconscious content being solicited, irrespective of the mono-/cross-cultural nature of the assessment. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted