S08 psychology of personality

This essay will provide information on the Thematic Apperception Test and the Millon Multiaxial Personality Test. It will be followed by a compare and contrast section on the two personality assessment instruments. The Thematic Apperception Test or TAT was first developed in 1935 by Henry Murray and Christiana Morgan at the Harvard Psychological Clinic. It is based in the psychodynamic theories of personality. The TAT is administered as part of a group of tests intended to evaluate personality. The TAT is a projective instrument intended to evaluate a person's patterns of thought, attitudes, observational capacity, and emotional responses to ambiguous test materials. In the case of the TAT, the ambiguous materials consist of a set of black, white and gray cards which portray human figures in a variety of settings and situations. The subject is asked to tell the examiner a story about each card that includes the event shown in the picture; what has led up to it; what the characters in the picture are feeling and thinking; and the outcome of the event. The stories reveal expectations of relationships with peers, parents and/or other authority figures, subordinates, and possible romantic partners. In addition to evaluating the content of the stories, the examiner evaluates the subject's manner, vocal tones, posture, hesitations, and other signs of an emotional response to a particular story picture. When interpreting TAT responses, examiners typically focus their attention on one of three areas: the content of the stories that the subject tells; the feeling or tone of the stories; or the subject's behaviors apart from responses. These behaviors include verbal remarks and nonverbal actions. The story content usually reveals the subject's attitudes, fantasies, wishes, inner conflicts, and view of the outside world.