One of the unusual psychological projective techniques is the thematic apperception test, or TAT for short. It is a collection of 31 black and white images with blurry images printed on them. Since the test is projective, the images deliberately evoke ambiguous associations. As a result, the subject's imagination will turn on and draw the plot of the picture in its direction.
TAT was developed at Harvard by G. Murray to study the main driving forces of personality and intrapersonal conflicts.
The test itself consists in sequential presentation of specially selected pictures to the subjects, according to which they are invited to write a short story. The story should include the thoughts and feelings of all the heroes of the situation, as well as what happened before this situation and how it will end. The story itself is usually written down verbatim by the psychologist, including notes about pauses, emotional reactions, and other comments. Sometimes the subject himself writes the story.
In each drawing, a person tries to identify himself with one of the characters, so the subject puts his thoughts and emotional experiences into the story, which is then interpreted and studied.
Also, all pictures carry several themes that can be activated if they affect the subject himself. For example, a picture depicting a silhouette of a woman against the background of an open window. The picture itself is neutral, but depending on the current emotional content, one person will write a story about how a woman suffers from the fact that …, then some material will follow, which is most likely related to the life of the person himself. Or another will write a story about how much a woman has managed to achieve in life, so she sat down to rest …
Thus, this picture actualizes the current emotional background, that is, it allows you to express your current state in the story, and also shows an attitude towards loneliness, in some cases reveals thoughts of suicide. If these topics have an emotional meaning for a person, this, one way or another, will manifest themselves in his story. If these themes do not appear in the stories, then in most cases this means the absence of any pronounced problems and conflicts in this area.
For example, a picture of a boy with a violin. It is quite simple and primitive, but it reveals attitudes towards several rather significant topics. First, it is the topic of achievement and the effort expended on it. The meaning that this topic has for a person will certainly appear in his story. Further, this picture can provoke a whole layer of memories of parents and relationships with them, ambitious dreams, if any, etc.
Sometimes stories reflect experiences symbolically. For example, if the completion of one event and the beginning of another appear in several stories, then it can be assumed that such a milestone has matured in the life of this person.
Of course, not everything in the stories reflects the subject's current emotional state. You cannot directly interpret the story as a story of its complexes, experiences and conflicts. In some cases, the ensuing conversation clarifies a lot of what is splashed out in them.
The value of this test is that it allows you to bring to the surface a large layer of emotions, memories and work it out in the course of psychological counseling.
