Developed in the 30s by Henry A. Murray and Christiana D. Morgan, TAT is a projective test used as complementary to the Rorschach.
It can be applied to a population over 10/12 years – depending on the maturity and communication abilities of the subject.
Material
TAT is composed of a series of pictures representing universal conflicts of human interaction. These conflicts are shown in a more or less subtle way, susceptible to interpretation. This will allow the patients to project their feelings.
The people on the boards are (visually) very different from most of us. Their clothes and the surrounding environment are a bit outdated, yet, it doesn’t interfere with the test results. The central point in TAT is not the representation itself, but the inherent conflict.
The images are ambivalent, and the interpretation depends on the subject experiences and memories, more than on what he is seeing. The way patients interpret the scenes tells us a lot about them, their reality, and the way they perceive the world.
Presentation of the Cards
The presentation of the pictures has an order that must be respected. The 16th card, a completely blank card, must always be the last to show. Showing some of the pictures depends on the gender or age of the patients.
- Universal pictures, used with every patient – 1, 2, 3BM, 4, 5, 8BM, 10, 11, 12BG, 13B, 19 e 16
- Pictures only showed to boys and men – 6BM and 7BM
- Pictures only showed to girls and women – 6GF, 7GF, and 9GF
- Picture only showed to adults – 13MF
Instructions and neutrality
“Imagine a story from this card.” – the therapist gives one clear and simple instruction. The goal is to interfere as little as possible with the answer. This way, you are giving the patients freedom to think and express themselves, while protected by the fact that it is just a story.
The technician applying the test must remain as neutral as possible. His role is to motivate the subjects to answer and elaborate their story without leading them to a specific direction or make any judgment. All questions should be neutral, such as “Do you want to say anything else?”.
Elaboration Process
The subject perceives the content of the picture and gives it significance. This significance depends on that person’s memories and experiences.
Motivated by the instruction to create a story, they reactivate representations, images, and fantasies, as well as the feelings connected to them.
TAT – What to look for?
For further interpretation, it is crucial to keep track of time. You must take note of how much time the subject needs to start telling the story – latency time.
A long latency time can have different meanings. The patient can have a hard time articulating ideas, the picture can represent a severe conflict for him, or it can simply be a defense mechanism. In any case, this is an essential lead to the subject’s reactivity to some conflicts, inhibition, etc.
The time it takes a subject to tell his story is important, but the story itself is our goal. Write down every single word the patient says, or record them if you have their permission. It is crucial for the next phase.
Once you finish the application of the test, it’s time to analyze it and make an interpretation, card by card.
Identity and Identification
TAT pictures focus on two big issues: identity and identification. Identity as the individualization processes and differentiation between myself and the other. Identification as the assimilation process of attributes from people you consider a model. You form your personality under a series of identifications.
All TAT’s interpretations focus on the representation of the self and the relationships. Through this test, we understand how the subjects interact with the world around them – that interaction results from their personality, perception, and defense mechanisms.
Psychology in our World 
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