Projective Tests

PSYC305
 Table of contents

01 02 03
What is a Nature of Assumptions
projective Test? projective tests

04 05 06
Types of Projective TAT Evaluation of
Tests Projective Tests
What is a Projective Test?
Projective test, in psychology, is a examination that commonly
employs ambiguous stimuli, notably to evoke responses that
may reveal facets of the subject’s personality by projection of
internal attitudes, traits, and behavior patterns upon the
external stimuli.
The individual is given an unstructured stimuli to which they
respond.
Unstructured because the meaning and interpretation of
stimuli is subjective.
No right or wrong answers and capable of evoking
fantasy material from subject.
Nature of projective tests

Unstructured Personality Projective Hypothesis

Test
Projective techniques are known as
When people attempt to understand an
unstructured personality task as it
ambiguous or vague stimulus, their
permits an almost unlimited variety of
interpretation of that stimulus reflects their
possible responses only brief, general
needs, feelings, experiences, prior
instructions are provided and the test
conditioning, thought processes, and so forth
stimuli are usually vague or ambiguous.

Disguised testing procedures Global Approach

Projective instruments also represent Attention is focused on a composite
disguised testing procedures, insofar as picture of the whole
the examinee is rarely aware of the type personality, rather than on the
of psychological interpretation that will measurement of separate traits.
be made of his responses
Assumptions

● Subjects are projecting their personality

onto the ambiguous stimuli they are
interpreting
● Reduced chances of faking/ malingering
● The more unstructured the test, it is
argued, the more sensitive it is to
revealing covert, latent, or unconscious
aspects of personality.
● Provides information about personality
that is not obtainable through
self-report measures
 Types of Projective Tests
Based on the response required, Lindzey (1959) divided projectives into five categories:

Association to inkblots Construction of Completions of

or words stories or sequences sentences or stories
Rorschach inkblot test, Holtzman TAT, CAT RISB
Inkblot Technique, word
association tests

Arrangement/selection of Expression with

pictures or verbal choices drawings or play
Szondi test Draw-A Person or
House-Tree-Person test
 THE THEMATIC APPERCEPTION TEST (TAT)
❖ First developed by Murray and his staff at the Harvard Psychological Clinic ( Murray et
al., 1938), the TAT has not only been widely used in clinical practice and research, but
it has also served as a model for the development of many other instruments.
❖ Apperception refers to the process of projecting fantasy imaginary onto an objective
stimuli.
❖ The TAT consists of 30 pictures that portray a variety of subject matters and themes in
black-and white drawings and photographs; one card is blank.
❖ Some cards are used for adult males (M), adult females (F), boys (B), or girls (G), or
some combination (e.g., BM). As a consequence, exactly 20 cards are appropriate for
every examinee.
 THE THEMATIC APPERCEPTION TEST (TAT)

❖ The examinee is asked to make up a story to fit each picture, telling what led up to the
event shown in the picture, describing what is happening at the moment and what the
characters are feeling and thinking, and giving the outcome.
❖ In the case of the blank card, they are instructed to imagine some picture on the card,
describe it, and then tell a story about it.
❖ The examiner writes down the story verbatim for later scoring and analysis.
❖ The examiner also records the reaction time.
Murray’s instructions included a statement that the TAT
was “a test of imagination, one form of intelligence” and
further stipulated:

“I am going to show you some pictures, one at a time; and

your task will be to make up as dramatic a story as you can
for each. Tell what has led up to the event shown in the
picture, describe what is happening at the moment, what
the characters are feeling and thinking; and then give the
outcome. Speak your thoughts as they come to your mind.
Do you understand? Since you have fifty minutes for ten
pictures, you can devote about five minutes to each story.
Here is the first picture.” (Murray, 1943)
 Scoring and Interpretation of TAT
❖ Various types of scoring systems have been proposed to score and interpret the TAT.
❖ They can be divided into two categories-
➢ Quantitative- Not so popular
➢ Non-quantitative methods- Used more often
❖ Most TAT examiners find the available scoring systems to be overly elaborate, complex,
and time-consuming.
❖ Most clinicians rely heavily on “subjective norms” built up through their own experience
with the test.
❖ Almost all methods of TAT interpretation take into account the hero, needs, press,
themes, and outcomes.
 Scoring of TAT
Aspects Description

The Hero The character of either sex with whom the subject has presumably identified themselves

Needs According to Murray it was critical to identify the needs, motives and the desire of the hero.
The intensity, duration, and frequency of
each need is considered to indicate the importance and relevance of that need

Press Press refers to environmental forces that may facilitate or interfere with the satisfaction of
[Link] attention is given to the intensity, duration, and frequency of its occurrence in
different stories,as well as to the uniqueness of its association with a given picture.

Outcomes Scoring for the outcome of the story involves analyzing how the stories end by noting a happy
versus a unhappy ending. And assessing how the ends are controlled by the strengths of the
hero

Themes Scoring for themes in TAT stories involves noting the nature of the interplay and conflicts
between the needs and the presses. And the way all the conflicts is resolved
Sample TAT
item
 Sample TAT
item adapted
to the Indian
population in
the 1960’s by
Dr. Uma
Choudhary
 Psychometric properties of TAT?

Establishing standardized administration and scoring procedures:

Until such standardization is achieved, the TAT will continue
to fare poorly according to traditional psychometric standards.
 Evaluation of Projective Tests Strength
Weakness

Intrinsically interesting, non threatening, especially useful with

Rapport and applicability
children
Projective instruments are less susceptible to faking than are
Less susceptible to Faking
self-report inventories. S their purpose is usually disguised.

Some examiners may be more encouraging or reassuring, others more

threatening, owing to their general manner and appearance. Such
differences may affect response productivity, defensiveness,
stereotype,, imaginativeness, and other basic performance
Examiner and Situational characteristics- more relevant here as the responses are open ended.
Variables
Lack of objectivity in scoring. Even when objective scoring systems
have been developed, the final steps in the evaluation and integration
of the raw data usually depend on the skill and clinical experience of
the examiner.

Such data may be completely lacking, grossly inadequate, or based on

Norms
vaguely described populations.
Evaluation of Projective Tests Strength
Weakness

● Inter scorer reliability, test- retest both have fared poorly- as

standardised procedure is not followed
● Split-half- individual items in such instruments are designed to measure
different variables- hence computing this is difficult
Reliability and Validity ● Many validation studies of projective tests have been concerned with
concurrent criterion-related validity. Most of these have compared the
performance of contrasted groups, such as occupational or diagnostic
groups. However, these groups often differ in other respects, such as
age or education.
It is a fundamental assumption of all projective techniques that the individual's
responses to the ambiguous stimuli presented to him reflect significant and
relatively enduring personality attributes. Yet there is a large and growing body
of research data indicating that many other factors affect the individual's
projective test responses- like- hunger, sleep deprivation, drugs, anxiety,
and frustration.
The Projective Hypothesis
Questionable generalizability

Such stimuli are ambiguous for the examiner as well as for the examinee; thus,
they tend to increase the ambiguity of the examiner's interpretations of the
subject's responses.
 Uses of Projective Tests
Exploring of
Personality Assessment Clinical Diagnosis unconscious processes
Including unconscious Diagnosing of psychological Including repressed thoughts,
conflicts, defense mechanisms, disorders and thereby aiding in emotions, conflicts that may be
self-perceptions treatment planning accordingly influencing an individuals’
E.g. Rorschach Inkblot, TAT behaviour and functioning

Assessment of Research &

interpersonal relationships Forensic assessment
Screening
E.g. Family Relations Test (FRT) Researchers may employ To assess individuals involved
or the Children's Apperception projective techniques to study in legal proceedings, such as
Test (CAT), can be used to topics such as creativity, defendants, witnesses, or
assess interpersonal emotional intelligence, cultural victims of crime. E.g. Sentence
relationships and family differences, and the effects of Completion Test (SCT) or the
dynamics within clinical and trauma or adversity on Children's Apperception Test
forensic contexts. psychological functioning. for Legal Settings (CAT-L),
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