INTERPRETATION
Name- V.V
Story no. 1
TAT picture no 1
Structure Length- Short
Plot- a boy lost in his own world and tired
of playing violin
Procedure Time – 10 s
Theme Descriptive and interpretive
Main hero The boy, age- 10
Needs Need for achievement and recognition
presses lack
Significant conflict Achievement vs failure
Nature of anxiety deprivation
Defense mechanism isolation
intelligence Well defined
Intellectual level Normal
Story no. 2
TAT picture no 2
Structure Length- Short
Plot- a family in the agricultural land
Procedure Time -12 s
Theme interpretive
Main hero The girl, age- 17
Needs Need for affection and affiliation
presses Rejection
Significant conflict Affection vs hostility
Nature of anxiety Lack or loss of love
Defense mechanism Repression
intelligence Well defined
Intellectual level Normal
Story no. 3
TAT picture no 4
Structure Length- Short
Plot- man ignoring the woman
Procedure Time -14 s
Theme interpretive
Main hero The man, age- 40
Needs Need for autonomy and aggression
presses Uncongenial environment
Significant conflict Autonomy vs dependence
Nature of anxiety Being overpowered or helpless
Defense mechanism Projective identification
intelligence Well defined
Intellectual level Normal
Story no. 4
TAT picture no 5
Structure Length- Short
Plot- the lady looking through the door
because she is called by her husband to find
something for him.
Procedure Time -9 s
Theme interpretive
Main hero The woman, age- 44
Needs Need for succorance
presses dominance
Significant conflict Succorance vs nurturance
Nature of anxiety The lack or loss of love
Defense mechanism Repression
intelligence Well defined
Intellectual level Normal
Story no. 5
TAT picture no 10
Structure Length- Short
Plot- couple dancing together
Procedure Time -20s
Theme interpretive
Main hero The man, age- 50
Needs Need for affection
presses Affiliation
Significant conflict Affection vs hostility
Nature of anxiety The lack or loss of love
Defense mechanism Repression
intelligence Well defined
Intellectual level Normal
Story no. 6
TAT picture no 11
Structure Length- Short
Plot- landslide on a mountain and there is
something important at the top of the
mountain
Procedure Time -19 s
Theme interpretive
Main hero The man, age- 24
Needs Need for achievement
presses lack
Significant conflict Achievement vs failure
Nature of anxiety Of being helpless
Defense mechanism Repression
intelligence Well defined
Intellectual level Normal
Story no. 7
TAT picture no 14
Structure Length- Short
Plot- a boy stuck in darkness looking for a
ray of hope
Procedure Time -26 s
Theme interpretive
Main hero The man, age- 20
Needs Need for achievement
presses lack
Significant conflict Achievement vs failure
Nature of anxiety Of deprivation
Defense mechanism isolation
intelligence Well defined
Intellectual level Normal
Story no. 8
TAT picture no 15
Structure Length- Short
Plot- old man in a christian cemetery to pay
visit to his loved wife
Procedure Time -12 s
Theme interpretive
Main hero The man, age- 80
Needs affection
presses loss
Significant conflict Affection vs hostility
Nature of anxiety Of deprivation
Defense mechanism identification
intelligence Well defined
Intellectual level Normal
Story no. 9
TAT picture no 16
Structure Length- Short
Plot- focus on brighter side of things
instead of focusing on the one dot
Procedure Time -12 s
Theme interpretive
Main hero The man, age- 24
Needs direction
presses loss
Significant conflict Affection vs hostility
Nature of anxiety deprivation
Defense mechanism identification
intelligence Well defined
Intellectual level Normal
Story no. 10
TAT picture no 19
Structure Length- Short
Plot- its snowing on the house, looks like
mountain has eyes and clouds are like
raging fire
Procedure Time -29 s
Theme interpretive
Main hero The man, age- 24
Needs affiliation
presses loss
Significant conflict Affiliation vs hostility
Nature of anxiety Loss of love
Defense mechanism humour
intelligence Well defined
Intellectual level Normal
Story no. 11
TAT picture no 20
Structure Length- Short
Plot- person is alone in deep thought in the
darkness and the street light is showing him
the path
Procedure Time -17 s
Theme interpretive
Main hero The man, age- 45
Needs achievement
presses loss
Significant conflict Achievement vs failure
Nature of anxiety Of deprivation
Defense mechanism repression
intelligence Well defined
Intellectual level Normal
cards Needs presses
1 Achievement lack
2 Affection Rejection
4 Autonomy Uncongenial environment
5 Succorance Dominance
10 Affection Affiliation
11 Achievement lack
14 Achievement lack
15 affection loss
19 Affiliation Cognizance
20 Achievement loss
DISCUSSION
The participant was given 10 cards for TAT assessment which were card 1, 2, 4, 5, 10,
11, 14, 15, 16, 19 20. The stories that the participant told were descriptive and
interpretative. Plot was present with well defined beginnings and ends. The thought
process was was structured, original and rational with the intellectual level of the
client being average.
The participant took 10 sec for card 1 as the procedure time, 12 for card 2, 14 for
card 4, 9 for card 5, 20 for card 10, 19 for card 11, 26 for card 14, 12 for card 15, 40
for card 16, 29 for card 19, 17 for card 20. The only long pause was for card 16 and
there was no hesitation or long pauses for other cards. For all the cards there was
not much exclamations, stuttering, pauses, blushing, and changes in voice inflection.
Murrays five category analysis was employed which included The hero/Heroin,
Motives, trends and feelings of the hero/heroine (needs), Forces of Hero/ Heroin
needs (Press), Themes and Outcomes and Interests and Sentiments.
For most of the cards the participant had not stated certain aspects of the story,
such as the outcome or preceding events, and therefore was asked for additional
information. This included questions, such as “What led up to it?” or “How does it
end?” However, these requests for clarification or amplification were not stated in
such a way as to bias the stories or reveal the examiner’s personal reaction.
The skills that were useful here were Critical Intuitions of the examiner, Background
of clinical experiences or counselling, Experience in interview and observation,
Knowledge of psychoanalysis, Some practice in translating the imagery of dreams
and ordinary speech into elementary psychological concepts.
The major needs were need for achievement and affection and the participant’s
environment is seen as challenging them but also providing with opportunities. In
the participant’s case history as well it can be seen that he wants to achieve things
that is why she has joined merchant navy profession but also he is unhappy being
away from his family, that is he needs affection. From this the major conflict which
arises is need for achievement vs need for failure. The defence mechanism most
used was repression which is subconsciously blocking ideas or impulses that are
undesirable.
CONCLUSION
10 cards of TAT were administered to the participant the analysis of the stories
revealed that the stories were interpretive in nature. The patient perceives himself
to be adequate and her environment as uncongenial environment, lack of
opportunities and rejection at times. Same and opposite sex authority figure is
perceived as supportive. Stories further revealed that the patient has needs for
recognition, achievement, affection, autonomy and succorance. Arising out of these
needs, there are conflict between achievement vs failure, affection vs hostility,
autonomy vs dependence, succorance vs nurturance. The anxieties are of, of lack or
loss of love, being deserted and being overpowered and helpless. The patient uses
repression, identification and isolation as defensee mechanisms to deal with the
difficulties he comes across. The intelligence was well defined and the intellectual
level was normal. The superego was found to be adequate and integration of ego
was found to be adequate and realistic.
REFERENCE
Bellak, L. (1993). The Thematic Apperception Test, the Children Apperception test, and the
senior apperception technique in clinical use. New York.
