Read the case below and answer the questions that follow:
A 22-year-old girl had been experiencing feelings of emptiness, lack of interest in all activities and sleep disturbances. She appears to be demanding, reckless, aggressive, and unable to delay gratification of needs. She has difficulty in managing anger and has emotional fluctuations. Her interpersonal relationships are also strained.
She believes she was doing reasonably well 3 years back and the problem worsened after her boards. She started to indulge in self-harm acts; the situation worsened whenever she had conflicts with her family. Eventually, she was advised to seek professional help for an adequate diagnosis of her mental health.
Identify the projective technique that will allow her to express her negative thoughts in the form of characters of a story for a more intensive understanding:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → TAT-(Thematic Apperception Test)
Option (1) Rorschach Inkblot Test — Incorrect. The person says what she sees in ten inkblots, first in the performance proper and then in the inquiry. She reports percepts; she does not make up stories with characters.
Option (2) TAT-(Thematic Apperception Test) — Correct. Developed by Morgan and Murray, the TAT shows picture cards of people in various situations, and the subject tells a story about each picture: what led up to it, what is happening, what will happen, and what the characters are feeling and thinking. Her negative thoughts can come out through the characters of these stories.
Option (3) Rosenzweig Picture-Frustration Study — Incorrect. Cartoon-like pictures show one person frustrating another, and the subject says what the frustrated person will say or do. It assesses how aggression is expressed under frustration; it is a one-line reply, not a story.
Option (4) Sentence Completion Test — Incorrect. The subject completes the endings of incomplete sentences (‘My greatest fear is ...’). The endings reveal attitudes and conflicts, but there are no characters or stories.
NCERT (2025-26): “The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) … This test was developed by Morgan and Murray. It is a little more structured than the Inkblot test. The test consists of 30 black and white picture cards and one blank card. Each picture card depicts one or more people in a variety of situations. Each picture is printed on a card. Some cards are used with adult males or females. Others are used with boys or girls. Still others are used in some combinations. Twenty cards are appropriate for a subject, although a lesser number of cards (even five) have also been successfully used. The cards are presented one at a time. The subject is asked to tell a story describing the situation presented in the picture: What led up to the situation, what is happening at the moment, what will happen in the future, and what the characters are feeling and thinking?…” |