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Thematic Apperception Test

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences

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Synonyms

Implicit measures; Personality; Personality assessment; Projective test

Definition

The thematic apperception test (TAT) is a performance-based projective test and implicit measure of personality.

Introduction

The thematic apperception test (TAT) is an implicit measure of personality that was developed and published by an American psychologist Henry A. Murray in collaboration with psychoanalyst Christiana D. Morgan at Harvard University in the late 1930s. The TAT was designed to measure implicit motives that are believed to be unconscious to the individual. Over time, the TAT has been heavily criticized for its psychometric properties, lack of standardization and scoring practices, and controversial interpretation (Weiner and Greene 2008). Despite its provocative nature as a projective assessment, the TAT remains one of the most researched projective tests in personality assessment.

History and Background

The thematic apperception test (TAT; Murray 1943) is an implicit measure...

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References

  • Fancher, R. E., & Rutherford, A. (2012). Pioneers of psychology. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.

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  • John, O. P., Robins, R. W., & Pervin, L. A. (2008). Handbook of personality: Theory and research. New York: The Guilford Press.

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  • Murray, H. A. (1943). The thematic apperception test: Plate and manual. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

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  • Weiner, I. B., & Greene, R. L. (2008). Handbook of personality assessment. New York: Wiley.

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  • Woodside, A. G., Sood, S., & Muniz, K. M. (2013). Creating and interpreting visual storytelling art in extending thematic apperception tests and Jung’s method of interpreting dreams. Luxury Fashion and Culture, 7, 15. doi:10.1108/S1871-3173(2013)0000007005.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Illinois State University, Normal, IL, USA

    Lynda Kasky-Hernández

Authors
  1. Lynda Kasky-Hernández
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lynda Kasky-Hernández .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Virgil Zeigler-Hill

  2. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, USA

    Bradley A. Green

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© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

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Kasky-Hernández, L. (2017). Thematic Apperception Test. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_955-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_955-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

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