Personality study is one of the most fascinating and complex areas of psychology. It built several evaluation instruments, inspired by different currents. Among them, the Thematic Perception Test (TAT) has some very interesting advantages.
This test explores in depth the personality and attitudes of the subject in various areas of life, and also does so subjectively and on the basis of projections, that is, the person is not aware of what is being evaluated and, therefore, his defensive barriers lose strength.
- The thematic perception test is part of the group of so-called projective techniques.
- Which are used to analyze an individual’s personality from their unconscious projections.
To do this, the therapist presents the person with poorly structured material and asks him to perform a creative task from him (a drawing, a narrative, an association?)
In this case, we mean a thematic project test, in this modality the subject is presented with several slides with ambiguous drawings, and must describe what he sees in each of them.
The Rorschach test is one of the maximum representatives of this type of technique and, without a doubt, it is also one of the best known.
The main advantage of this type of testing is that the person is not aware of what is being evaluated at all times, so it is easier to overcome the barriers and unhooks that may arise when applying other types of clearer instruments.
Thus, the person can show his personality and unconscious conflicts freely and uninhibited.
This evaluation instrument includes 31 slides with black-and-white images depicting different life situations, some of them common, while others are specifically indicated by the gender and age of the person evaluated.
Only 20 slides are presented to each individual, divided into two sessions, after observing each image, the person must tell a story containing the past, present and future, emphasizing what each character feels and thinks.
Through this exercise we can perform a formal analysis based on the consistency, language and interpretive style used by the person, but most importantly we can do a content analysis, which will give us more information about personality and latent conflicts.
Each sword has been created to explore different relevant areas, but some basic keys need to be taken into account. In each image, it is necessary to identify the figure of the “hero”, which will be the character with which the subject is identified. and the emotions assigned to the hero during the narration will indicate the subject’s deep needs.
On the other hand, the actions and emotions of the other characters will be a projection of how the person perceives their surroundings, what they want and fear will happen, as well as the unconscious impulses they have and refuse to recognize.
Some of the topics covered in the slides are
This tool provides a lot of information about the personality of the individual, through his accounts we can determine the image he has of himself, as well as the relationships with those around him and the existence of latent conflicts.
Despite all this, the interpretation of this test is related to subjectivity, so while it is an excellent complement, it should not be used in isolation, the data obtained should always be compared or supplemented with those of other instruments.