Methodology tat stimulus material. Tat Murray. Using the Thematic Apperception Test with Other Methods

TAT belongs to the group of projective techniques. It is used to clarify those personality traits that are manifested in the social environment and in social relations. These are: a) features positions personalities (active, contemplative, passive); b) features interpersonal connections (likes, dislikes, attachments); v) prevailing trends; d) methods of action (methods of organizing action, features of practical thinking, ways of solving life problems); e) dynamic side personality (the rhythm of its activity, emotional lability, reactivity).

The full test is a set of several (from 6 to 30) situational pictures that are presented to the subject in turn. For the test, special pictures were selected, where the depicted situations meet two basic requirements. With sufficiently clear and bright images of objects and actors the compositions of these situations themselves are at the same time objectively indefinite, not allowing for an unambiguous interpretation. When perceiving such pictures, the subject creates a kind of illusion of perfect clarity of the picture: clear images immediately determine the scope of the subject's actions, his environment and directions of reaction, but at the same time, the uncertainty of the composition (excluding an unambiguous and identical solution) forces him to interpret the pictures in his own way. The subject in each interpretation puts his knowledge, his individual experience, his way of acting and his assessments.

In relation to each of the presented paintings, he must in a free story: 1) describe what, in his opinion, is happening in the picture (that is, at the moment); 2) tell what, in his opinion, contributed to the emergence of this situation (what gave rise to it); 3) predict what will happen in the future; 4) talk about the feelings and experiences of the depicted persons; 5) present people's thoughts.

Like all projective tests, according to Ombredano, as if projecting a personality on the screen, TAT also reflects personality traits in her answers. However, unlike other tests, TAT transmits them like a movie, that is, it gives a detailed picture of the behavior of a person dynamically and in different life situations.

In the TAT variant, proposed for practical development and for familiarization with the methodology, there are 10 pictures. Some of them are quite understandable and can recall familiar moments, while the other part of the pictures are presented as situations taken from a life alien to us, and in this regard, some pictures of the test are usually perceived as events of familiar movies, and actions in them are predicted by how it has been described in a novel, short story, or detective story. But the principle of action of the paintings always remains the same.

TAT differs from other tests in that it is based on the manifestations individual features the dynamic structure of the personality and, having as a basis sufficiently defined incentives, at the same time gives unlimited freedom to choose the direction of action. For example, unlike the G. Rorschach test, which works according to the scheme “an indefinite stimulus (spot) - a certain image” (where it is the very uncertainty of the stimulus that pushes it to be organized), the TAT scheme can be expressed as “a certain stimulus - a free response”. The answer according to TAT is free and not constrained by any restrictions. In the Rorschach test, on the other hand, the answer is always limited to the image, and the response process essentially ends with a description of the created image. In TAT, on the contrary, an image that is clear from the very beginning evokes an unrestricted chain of associations, and here, in addition, it is directly prescribed, according to the instructions, to leave the circle of the image and the picture, to act with this image and within the image.

It has been established that such a freely directed association best reveals both the behavioral features and the system of actions, by which in ordinary life we most often judge the characteristic (mainly communicative and dynamic) personality traits, its properties and features.

The material obtained as a result of the interpretation of pictures can be processed according to different principles and allows the formulation of various experimental problems.

So, Tomkins specially developed a system where all possible ratios of indicators are calculated in points and each ratio is given an assessment in advance. The weak point of this approach is that the criterion of this or that assessment can be very arbitrary in itself, or, conversely, if it is cruel, it can play the role of a “Procrustean bed” for valuable individually diverse material. For example, when a 300-word story is taken as the norm and deviations are considered abnormalities, such valuable personality traits as conciseness and accuracy of judgments can go unnoticed.

Murray substantiated another principle as the principle of "search for the given." For example, in the experimental material, they look for the manifestation of paired qualities: aggressiveness or defensiveness, mania or depression, optimism or pessimism, etc.

The test can also perform such tasks as clarifying various spheres or levels of consciousness: conscious - unconscious, open - hidden, repressed - replaced, etc. TAT allows setting such tasks as establishing the degree of understanding of the perceived, the degree of emotional stability, etc. n. Finally, the test may be assigned narrower tasks, such as establishing the degree of effectiveness of the subject. In this case, judgments like: "the boy thinks", "the boy dreams", "the boy wants", "the boy does" must be evaluated in advance as different stages (and degrees) of effectiveness.

To get acquainted with the TAT methodology, the most common principle of analysis is adopted - finding the main points that provide orienting material for determining the structural complex of the personality (subsequently, the test results are verified in other ways, for example, by collecting anamnesis data).

On the whole, such an analysis can give a sufficiently voluminous scheme suitable for constructing a hypothesis about a particular personality structure.

General guidelines

Main categories of analysis (features and indicators)

Category "Care". "Leaving" is the behavior of the subject, aimed at avoiding the required answers. "Withdrawal" should be distinguished from abandonment. When "leaving" the subject, as it were, replaces the true answers by substituting other answers. "Leaving" are intentional and unconscious. There are 4 main options for "care".

1. descriptive option. In this case, out of the entire 5-part scheme of the story (the moment depicted in the picture, origins, outcome, thoughts, emotions), the subjects use only one - the moment, that is, only a description of the depicted is given. It can be either overly detailed, mentioning every detail, or very short. In the latter case, the story takes, for example, the following form: “Here sits a boy. Here is the violin. The boy sits and ... looks at the violin ... I don’t know anything else. ”

2. Variant of formal construction of the plot(without filling it with specific content). In this case, the subject creates, as it were, only a “framework” of the plot, without supplementing it with any visible images, or judgments, or characteristics. For example: “Here it is shown that the boy is sitting and looking at the violin. He plays the violin. What led to this moment? That he is learning to play. Then he will play better if he continues to learn. He thinks about the fact that he plays the violin. "He feels that he needs to study in order to play well ... ".

3. Replacement option. The subject, instead of creating his own plot, selects ready-made material that is schematically similar to the one depicted - a literary work, a movie script, a historical episode, a radio or television broadcast, etc. For example: “This looks like a frame from the movie“ Beethoven Concerto ”. There, too, the hero of the film is a boy-musician. When he was told that he would take part in the competition, and if he won first place, he would go to Moscow, then he ... ”, etc. Further on, a presentation of the content of the mentioned film follows.

4. branched variant. In this case, the plot is created by the subject, but he tries to give the maximum number of the most diverse options at each turn.

For example: “This is a boy of 12 or 13 years old ... Or maybe older ... Or he looks like this, maybe he is only 7-8 years old ... There is a violin in front of him. Someone gave it to him. Or the violin is not his. Maybe his father. Or maybe a brother. Or he's not at home at all. It's someone else's. He is going to play the violin. Or does not want to play, he is tired. Or worried before an exam at a music school. Or maybe he broke it and is afraid that he will get hit ... ”, etc.

"Escape" from the correct answers can take place in relation to all pictures or selectively to some.

“Leaving” for all pictures is a sign of: a) fear of a test, “fear of a test”, a sign of an attitude to hide one's interests, goals, motives; b) difficulty in communication, non-contact, c) intellectual limitation (poverty of intellectual resources); d) reduced ability to integrate,

“Leaving” as a reaction to individual pictures can mean both: a) rejection of the situation due to complete ignorance of it (an alien environment and sphere), and b) rejection of the situation due to its significance. In this case, this reaction indicates that the situation is unpleasant and is a reflection of the “repression” that has already occurred.

Category "Position of characters". This or that position in life (active, passive, contemplative, aggressive) is the acceptance of the place of this or that character in the picture in personal or public relations, “identifying” oneself with the depicted person. Position is the starting point for solving life's problems and conflicts. So, the focus on changing the situation, on an active way out of it, on its development or prevention of development is observed when efficient positions and, conversely, passivity and inaction, allowing others to act - with passive position. “Looking from the outside” as a “third person” who does not participate in the situation, but observes and accepts all outcomes equally - is typical for contemplative attitude. Focus on destruction, destruction, entry into conflict - expression aggressive positions.

All kinds of positions are direct indicators of the corresponding personality tendencies. All of them provide material for solving questions about the modes of action of the individual. Common signs indicating that a person has taken some position is the reasoning of the subject from the side of only one person (in pictures with several characters), as well as high degree emotionality of speech.

Signs of an effective position are: a selection of verbs mainly in the present tense, reflecting the desire to change the existing situation by operating with one's own capabilities without violating the zone of action and interests of another person. The emphasis on foresight (good prognosis) is also characteristic.

Signs of a passive position are statements about influences and influences. Reasoning is usually conducted on behalf of the person being influenced.

Attention is fixed on the fact of persecution, on the injustice of persecution, pressure. The impact is condemned. A lot of attention is paid to the reasons, to the origins of this situation, to what led to it (good knowledge of the origins).

Signs of an aggressive stance(in addition to the content side) is the predominant number of imperative constructions. The impact on the other person is emphasized. In contrast to an effective position, there is a lack of consistency in intentions, a system and plans in actions.

Signs of a contemplative attitude are reasonings that include moments of emotionally colored reasoning.

Category "Solidarity". Solidarization is seen as "understanding" of a person, sharing his views, sympathy for this person and participation in his experiences. The subject may not take the position of the person (i.e., not identify himself with him), but nevertheless, his qualities and properties will impress the subject. Usually the subject directly names these qualities. “Solidarity” means that with a person like the one depicted, the subject may have points of contact. Thus, according to the features of solidarization, we judge the nature of interpersonal connections, the circle of people that make up the environment in which a person acts, and (indirectly) about the features of this environment.

There are reference and memorial retreats. Reference digressions are indicators of a propensity to rationalize. Memorial - indicators of self-centeredness. Frequent digressions are regarded as a "jump" of ideas.

Perceptual errors- a sign of the dominance of strong attitudes, a sign of an imbalance between external and internal moments that determine the characteristics of the perceived image (a shift towards internal trends).

Category "Number of parts". A significant amount of detail taken from the painting is assessed as a tendency to " field behavior". And vice versa, a small number of details of the picture used to build a story characterizes the independence of the person, his independence, and at the same time reduced attention to the environment.

Category "Total story time". Long (without pauses) stories in all the paintings characterize a sphere of consciousness rich in ideas and associations, a tendency to fantasy. A selectively long story (one picture) indicates that the situation and the plot that the subject saw captured him. Pauses of more than 30 minutes (in the middle of the story) are indicators of affective reactions.

In general, all temporal characteristics, their balance and correlation provide information about the dynamic side of the personality.

Note. Due to the fact that the test is reduced (not all orienting signs are introduced), not adapted and not standardized, the analysis of materials consists mainly in identifying signs of specific categories and establishing (by indicators) their structural and characterological values. The material obtained by this test variant has no diagnostic value.
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Task completion

Experimental group. The experiment involves two people - the experimenter and the subject.

Experience Procedure. Prior to the start of the experiment, the subject should not be aware of either the system of indicators or the criteria for evaluating the test. Test cards are presented to the subject in the sequence indicated by the number of a separate card. The subject is given an instruction consisting of 5 parts: 1) "what do you see in this picture?"; "describe the situation"; 2) “what, in your opinion, contributed to the situation?”; “what preceded it?”; 3) “what do you think will happen next?”; 4) “what are the thoughts of the people in the picture?”; 5) “what feelings do the characters experience?”. All responses are recorded in the initial protocol (without marks) and, if possible, verbatim (record on a blank sheet of paper).

Procedure for processing experimental material. 1. All judgments, answers and descriptions recorded in the primary protocol are analyzed in order to distribute them under the appropriate headings of the secondary (standard) protocol (see Annexes I, II, III). 2. During processing, the specific answers of the subject are correlated with the explanations given in the test. 3. From the total number of answers and from their ratios (coincidence, contradiction), the “projection structure” is derived. 4. Based on a direct majority of responses in any category, a specific psychological tendency personality. 5. A general conclusion about the personality is drawn up. It should contain a judgment about the environment in which the personality is mainly oriented, data on the content of consciousness, positions, data on the dynamic structure of the personality, on the emotional and volitional sphere, on modes of action, conclusions about the individual qualities of the personality and its orientation. .
The main attention of the experimenter when processing the test should be directed to the substantiation of the final conclusion, to its evidentiary side.

Control questions

What is diagnosed using the TAT technique?
What is the TAT method based on?
What are the main differences between the TAT method and other tests?
What key indicators should be taken into account when processing the results?
What are the criteria for assigning any response to a particular section of the scheme?

Literature

Gilyasheva IN On the possibilities of using the TAT method in the study of the patient's personality in a neuropsychiatric clinic. Psychological methods of research in the clinic (materials of the symposium). Leningrad. scientific research. psychoneurological in-t them. V. M. Bekhtereva. L., 1967.
Kiyashchenko N.K. Approbation, options, methods of TAT. In: "Issues of experimental pathopsychology". Tr. Scientific research. in-that psychiatry, t. 43. M., 1965.
Savenko Yu. S. To the substantiation of some methods for the study of personality. "Problems of personality" (materials of the symposium). All-Union Scientific Society of Neurologists and Psychiatrists. Institute of Philosophy of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1969.
Tsuladze SV On the place and significance of projection methods in the study of personality. In: "Problems of personality" (materials of the symposium). All-Union Scientific Society of Neurologists and Psychiatrists. M., 1969.

Thematic apperceptive test(TAT) is one of the most popular and rich in its capabilities and at the same time one of the most difficult to conduct and process psychodiagnostic methods used in world practice.

The TAT technique was introduced by Henry Murray as a projective method that makes it possible, through the analysis of a free story produced by the subjects, to get to know:

With the most significant topics for a person, situations that excite him one way or another,

Around and the direction of his interests,

Opportunities for evaluation and self-assessment,

Identify his needs and predicaments,

Understand personality dynamics.

History of TAT

The thematic apperceptive test was developed at the Harvard Psychological Clinic by Henry Murray and co-workers in the second half of the 1930s.

TAT was first described in an article by K. Morgan and G. Murray in 1935 (Morgan, Murray, 1935).
In this publication, the TAT was presented as a method of studying the imagination, which makes it possible to characterize the personality of the subject due to the fact that the task of interpreting the depicted situations, which was set before the subject, allowed him to fantasize without visible restrictions and contributed to the weakening of the mechanisms psychological protection. Theoretical substantiation and standardized scheme of processing and interpretation of TAT was received a little later, in the monograph "The study of personality" by G. Murray et al. (Murray, 1938). The final scheme for interpreting the TAT and the final (third) edition of the stimulus material were published in 1943 (Murray, 1943).

Initially, TAT was conceived as a technique for the study of imagination. As it was applied, however, it became clear that the diagnostic information obtained with its help goes far beyond the scope of this area and allows us to give a detailed description of the deep tendencies of the personality, including its needs and motives, attitudes towards the world, character traits, typical forms. behavior, internal and external conflicts, features of the flow mental processes, psychological defense mechanisms, etc.

V former USSR TAT has gained popularity and popularity since the late 60s - early 70s, when the more than thirty-year ban on psychological testing lost its force.

What is the TAT technique?

A complete set of TAT includes 31 tables (pictures), one of which is a blank white field. All other tables contain black-and-white images with varying degrees of uncertainty, and in many cases the uncertainty concerns not only the meaning of the situation, but also what is actually depicted. The printed TAT is printed on A4 white Bristol cardboard.

The set presented for examination includes from 12 to 20 tables; their choice is determined by the gender and age of the subject.

TAT can be used from the age of 14, however, when working with people aged 14 to 18, the set of tables will be slightly different from regular set for working with people over 18 years old - tables that most directly actualize the topics of aggression and sex are excluded from it and replaced by others.

For an individual survey, it is enough to limit yourself to 10-12 tables. This volume is optimal and allows you to conduct the entire examination in one meeting.

The story based on the TAT paintings can reflect:

1. The conflict currently experienced by the client, what worries him now,

2. Intrapersonal conflict of the client, which he is not aware of:

In a literal confession, autobiographical expression,

In projective terms, as attributed to characters of a different gender than the subject,

3. The relationship of the client to the psychologist, which he does not express directly.

All TAT stories are a kind of combination of habitual cliches, popular plots and individual products of the imagination.

The first thing to do when analyzing the content of stories is to separate clichés (popular stories) from true products of the imagination(“ideational contents,” as Rapaport calls them), in other words, to separate what automatically comes to the mind of the client and what is the result of his mental activity. Popular stories are determined by a special table.

When to use TAT?

TAT is recommended for use in cases of doubt requiring fine differential diagnosis, as well as in situations of maximum responsibility, as in the selection of candidates for leadership positions, pilots, etc. It is recommended to be used at the initial stages of individual psychotherapy, since it allows you to immediately identify psychodynamics, which in psychotherapeutic work becomes visible only after a fair amount of time.

TAT is especially useful in a psychotherapeutic context in cases requiring urgent and short-term therapy (depression with suicidal risk, acute anxiety).

It is believed that the TAT is very useful for establishing contact between the therapist and the client and the formation of an adequate psychotherapeutic setting in the latter. In particular, the use of TAT stories as a material for discussion can successfully overcome the client's possible difficulties in communication and discussion of their problems, free association, etc.

In addition to psychodiagnostic tasks, TAT is also used for research purposes as a tool for fixing certain personal variables (most often motives).

Advantages and disadvantages of TAT.

The main disadvantage of TAT is, first of all, the complexity of both the examination procedure and the processing and analysis of the results. The total time for conducting an examination with a mentally healthy subject is rarely less than two hours. Almost the same amount of time takes the complete processing of the results. At the same time, high requirements are placed on the qualifications of a psychodiagnostic, which decisively determines whether it will be possible to obtain information suitable for psychodiagnostic interpretation.

The main advantage of TAT is the richness, depth and variety of diagnostic information that this method allows to obtain. In principle, interpretation schemes commonly used in practice, including the scheme given in this manual, can, if desired, be supplemented with new indicators, depending on the tasks that the psychodiagnosticist sets himself. Possibility to combine various interpretive schemes or to improve and supplement them on the basis of own experience work with the methodology, the ability to process the same protocols repeatedly according to different schemes, the independence of the results processing procedure from the examination procedure is another significant advantage of the methodology.

1. general characteristics TAT.

2. Carrying out and processing TAT.

3. Modifications of TAT.

TAT was created by G. Murray in the 30s of the XX century, although the idea was not new. And before him, researchers used pictures to establish rapport in clinical conversation and diagnose individual aspects of the personality. Murray was a biochemist, then took a course in psychoanalysis, taught clinical psychology. His theoretical views were at the intersection of the theories of Z. Freud, K. Levin and W. McDougall, from whom he borrowed the idea that a person has basic drives that underlie all human manifestations. But most of the ideas are still from psychoanalysis, and therefore the interpretations of TAT gravitate towards the unconscious and typical psychoanalytic problems: childhood, relationships with parents, siblings, transference.

The stories are based on the following provisions of Murray.

1. Through characterizing the protagonist of the story and describing his actions and reactions, the narrator usually uses (consciously or not) some fragments of his own past or represents his personality, for example, a guess, idea, feeling, assessment, need, plan or fantasy that he experienced or who occupied him.

2. Personal characteristics of acquaintances with whom he had or has close relations are embedded in the characteristics of other characters. Sometimes these are characters invented by him as a child.

3. When the narrator builds up individual episodes, describing the hero's efforts, his relationships with other characters, the outcome of the situation, he usually uses, consciously or not, the events that influenced his formation.

After the appearance of TAT, it was modified by many scientists, both the pictures themselves and the interpretations, and even theoretical justifications. Bellak's modification is considered the most successful. He believed that the TAT was based on the following basic provisions.

A) Projection is the most powerful distortion of reality. This is an unconscious process, which in most cases cannot be realized.

B) Apperceptive processes that operate at the subconscious level and can easily be brought to the conscious level are denoted by the term "externalization".

C) Externalization is a phenomenon that characterizes the main tendencies of the reaction to TAT. In the process of testing, the subject guesses, at least partially, that he spoke about himself in the stories told.

D) Psychological determinism, i.e. everything written and told has a dynamic reason and meaning. Each portion of the projected material can have not one, but several values related to different levels personal organization.

From different theoretical positions, the diagnosis of TAT is also explained. From Heckhausen's point of view, TAT reveals stable personality traits. McClelland believes that TAT measures motives, followed by Atkinson, that not just motives, but their strength. According to the activity-semantic approach of Leontiev, the TAT stories reflect the individual image of the world of the subject. Murray himself believed that with the help of TAT one can identify repressed and repressed inclinations and conflicts, as well as the nature of resistance to these inclinations.

V currently It is believed that TAT diagnoses:

Leading motives, attitudes, values;

Affective conflicts, their areas;

Conflict resolution methods: position in a conflict situation, use of specific defense mechanisms;

Individual features of the affective life of a person: impulsiveness - controllability, emotional stability - lability, emotional maturity - infantilism;

Self-esteem, the ratio of ideas about the I-real and I-ideal, the degree of self-acceptance.

Data on the reliability and validity of TAT are contradictory. Murray believed that everything depends on the competence of the researcher. Since 1940, reliability studies have been carried out. However, the correlations between the judgments of different experts varied from 0.3 to 0.96. The scatter of these values is explained by differences in the groups of subjects, processing schemes, and the degree of qualification of experts.

With regard to retest reliability, Murray believed that high reliability should not be expected from TAT, and most researchers believe that the stability of results over time largely depends on the personality of the subject. Nevertheless, in studies, the reliability coefficient was quite high: 0.8 after two months, 0.5 after ten months. At the same time, the reliability coefficient differs significantly for different paintings TAT.

The retest reliability of the TAT also depends on changes in the psychological situation of the subjects. Thus, strong criticism of the stories of the subjects leads to a significant increase in signs of aggression, as well as the number of descriptions. emotional states. The order in which the tables are presented also affects the results.

There are practically no normative data on the TAT stories. Often people do not see certain details in the pictures that the creators consider important. Therefore, norms are needed, but it is not yet known how to develop them.

With regard to validity, the difficulty lies in the selection of the criterion. It is still not clear what the TAT is supposed to measure, so they talk more about validity individual indicators rather than methodology in general. It was found that about 30% of the stories contain elements of the biography or life experience of the subjects. The TAT stories are consistent with the dream analysis data and with the Rorschach test results. According to the TAT, it is possible to restore personality traits, biography elements, intelligence level, attitudes and personal conflicts. At the same time, validity depends on the theory on the basis of which the results are interpreted (theoretical validity).

V Lately there is evidence of predictive validity. Based on the TAT, it was possible to predict success in professional activities, study, and overcoming life problems. But until now, TAT has not been properly standardized, and many believe that this will never happen. Therefore, it is sometimes said that the TAT is not a test in the strict sense of the word.

Conduct procedure.

Murray singled out two parts in the conduct of TAT: "warm-up" and the main part.

"Warm-up" - the first picture. After listening to the instructions, the subject can examine the picture for about 20 seconds, and then puts it aside. Then he is asked to choose a suitable name for the main character, and then talk about him. Sometimes, after completing the first story, it may be necessary to repeat some points of the instruction in order to achieve the end of the story.

The experimenter is silent or reasonably praises the entire main part until all 10 stories are told and an hour has passed. Usually stories take 5 minutes and include about 200 words. Be sure to set the rapport.

Bellak believed that it was better to sit so that the subject did not see the researcher, and he could observe him and his facial expressions. However, this position is not suitable for working with suspicious or anxious subjects.

The subjects are given the following instruction: “I will show you pictures, and I would like you to tell me what happens in each of them, what happened before and how it all ends. I want your stories to be interesting, bright, so that you improvise. Thus, the subjects should have the impression that they are studying their imagination, fantasy.

If the subject performs the technique on his own, it is necessary to explain that he takes one picture in the order in which they lie, and does not consider all the pictures, and then choose.

Usually, the first 10 pictures are presented first, and the rest the next day. But if the researcher has a specific goal, he can choose his own set of pictures. In any case, the sequence of presentation is important. The first pictures reflect more universal, habitual, everyday spheres; the last ones reflect more specific, individually significant spheres. Further, the paintings differ in emotional tone and degree of realism. Murray believed that since the first 10 paintings deal with more mundane topics, and the second - more fantastic, the stories for the first should reflect the needs realized in everyday behavior, and for the second - repressed or sublimated desires, but experimental confirmation of this was not received.

Required set of tables for examining men: 1, 2, 3BM, 4, 6BM, 7BM, 11, 12M, 13MF; women - 1, 2, 3BM, 4, 6GF, 7GF, 9GF, 11, 13MF.

The situation of the examination is also important: the behavior of the experimenter, the presentation of instructions; the influence of the examination situation itself, which a person can perceive as an examination situation, which will lead to an improvement or deterioration in performance (depending on personal qualities).

You cannot tell the subject the true purpose of the technique, so you need to come up with a plausible "legend". It depends on the state and intellectual level of the subject. If TAT is used in the clinic, it is necessary to take into account the symptoms. If not in the clinic - on the imagination, fatigue, performance, skills. It is not worth mentioning that the technique is American. If a person is interested, then you can answer his questions, reveal the essence of the technique. But this process must proceed according to the laws of psychodiagnostics, i.e. how, what information to report, so as not to harm a person.

When performing the technique, it is necessary to ensure that the person is not tired, although he must immediately be warned that the work will last 1-1.5 hours. You cannot interrupt the examination before tables 13, 15, 16 and you cannot start a session with them. Before starting work, you can conduct a short and entertaining technique so that a person is drawn into work, for example, “Non-existent animal”.

In general, the overall situation in which the survey is conducted should meet three requirements:

1) interference must be excluded;

2) the subject should feel comfortable;

3) the situation and behavior of the psychologist should not cause any motives and attitudes in the subject.

When presenting instructions to our subjects, it must be emphasized that the story must be composed starting from the picture, and not from the picture, as they used to at school. The difference lies in the fact that when compiling a story from a picture, the emphasis is on the present, while in TAT they ask the subjects to imagine what happened in the past, what will happen next, and describe the feelings and thoughts of the characters.

The second part of the instruction consists of the following messages:

There are no right or wrong options, any story that matches the instructions is good;

You can tell in any order. It is better not to think through the whole story in advance, but to start immediately saying the first thing that comes to mind, and changes or amendments can be made later;

Literary processing is not required, literary merit will not be evaluated. The main thing is that it is clear what is at stake.

If the main points (present, past, future, feelings, thoughts) are missing in the story, the instruction must be repeated. But you can do it twice. If this is not there after the third picture, then this is a diagnostic sign, and the instruction is no longer repeated. All questions of the subject are answered evasively: “If you think so, then it is so,” etc.

At the beginning of the second session, the subject is asked if he remembers what to do and is asked to repeat the instruction. If he missed something, he should be reminded.

Special instructions are required when working with tab. 16 (pure white field). If she does not confuse the subject, he additional instructions gives a story. Then he is asked to compose another story, and then another. It is believed that table 16 reveals the actual significant problems. If they are repressed, they are most pronounced by the third story. If not, they will be visible already in the first one, then the subsequent ones are not processed.

Attempts to present a well-known painting - I.E. Repin, Raphael, etc. - on a white background should be stopped. If a person is surprised and indignant at the white background, he should be instructed to imagine any picture on this sheet and describe it, and then make up a story based on it. And so three times.

Murray suggested that after the examination was over, go through all the pictures and ask about the sources of the plots - from personal experience, books, films, stories of acquaintances, just fantasy.

Sometimes the subject refuses to work or leaves the instructions. In case of refusal, you need to try to win over the subject, to calm him down. If the person has trouble expressing thoughts, specific questions can be asked.

There are four types of care:

Descriptive - there is a description of what is depicted, but there is no history. Here it is necessary to clarify once again that it is necessary to compose a story;

Formal - the subject clearly follows the instructions, asks a question and answers it, but the story does not work. If this is due to the rigidity of the imagination, a person can be stirred up. If it is a conscious behavior that is repeated several times, the examination is useless;

Substitute - a story is not composed here, but similar content of a book or film is reproduced. If a book or film is called, it must be indicated that they were invented by someone, but you need something of your own. If the psychologist recognized the plot, the reaction should be the same. But if the substitution is not recognized, nothing can be done, the results will be unreliable;

Branched - the subject composes a story, but is inconsistent in details. For example, sometimes a boy is 12 years old, sometimes more, sometimes less; sometimes his violin, sometimes not, etc. (Table 1). In this case, the subject should be asked to choose one option and focus on it.

Usually, when working with a person with TAT, a psychologist is required to be minimally active. But there are situations when a psychologist needs to be active.

1. Questions of the subject, the answers to which cannot be postponed “for later”. When answering, one must adhere to uncertainty. For instance:

Question: What is shown here?

Answer: - What you need for the story, then use it.

Is it a man or a woman?

As you wish. If you think it's a man, let it be a man. If it seems to be a woman, let it be a woman.

Interesting story?

Normal.

Has anyone else told a story like this?

I do not remember.

2. The need to influence the pace of the story. It occurs if the psychologist does not have time to write down the story after the speaker. Then you can slowly repeat the last sentence, interrupting the speaker. Start with the reporting word: so you said… So…. Another option is when the subject thinks for a long time, and it is necessary to talk to him with leading questions: “What are you thinking about?” etc.

3. The need to emotionally reinforce, cheer up the subject. It is desirable to take into account individual characteristics - isolation, indecision, timidity, anxiety.

4. The need to clarify the details of the story. Occurs in three cases:

a) when the psychologist has doubts about what exactly the subject sees in the picture, i.e. the subject speaks about the person in the picture in the middle gender or does not mention any details. It is necessary to find out whether he does not see them, does not recognize them, or deliberately omits them;

b) reservations. If the psychologist noticed them, he asks to repeat the phrase, saying that he did not hear. If a person corrects, - a reservation, if repeated - a symptom of a violation of perception or loss of the meaning of the concept;

c) the loss of the logical sequence of the plot, the introduction of additional characters that are not in the picture. Violation of logic, sequence, fragmentation of the story indicate pathology: psychosis or fragmentation of thinking. But only if a person cannot answer clarifying questions: “You said he is waiting for someone, but who?”. Or ask for clarification. If a person copes with this, then these are his individual characteristics, first of all, mental ones.

Drafting a protocol.

It includes:

1) the full text of everything that the subject says, in the form in which he says it, with all inserts, distractions, repetitions, etc. If he wants to correct something, corrections are also recorded, but the main record does not change.

2) everything that the psychologist says, the exchange of remarks, all mutual questions and answers;

3) long pauses in the story;

4) latent time - from the presentation of the picture to the beginning of the story, and the total time of the story - from the first to the last word;

5) the position of the picture. The subject can rotate the picture, determining where the top is, where the bottom is. The correct position of the picture is indicated by ↓, upside down - , lateral positions - → and ←. If the subject asks how it is correct, they answer: Keep it as it is convenient for you.

6) the emotional mood of the subject, the dynamics of his mood and emotional reactions during the examination and in the process of storytelling;

7) non-verbal reactions and manifestations of the subject up to when he smiled, frowned, changed his posture.

In addition, it is necessary to start by recording data about the subject (sex, age, education, profession, marital status, family members, health status, success in professional career; main milestones of the biography); Full name of the psychologist, date of examination, situation of the examination (place, time, method of fixing the results, other features of the situation, attitude of the subject to the situation of the examination and to the psychologist).

The processing of TAT stories in the West is easier than here. They mainly use TAT, Bellak's pamphlet, where they enter data from stories, and then interpret it based on their theoretical views (mainly psychoanalytic).

In domestic processing, several tables are filled. The first is mandatory structural indicators, the second is optional structural indicators, the third is mandatory content indicators, and the fourth is optional content indicators. Then these tables are analyzed, the main syndromes are distinguished and built:

Paradigmatic structure, which is a system of semantic bundles underlying the content;

Opposition structure, i.e. semantic oppositions (for example, what is and what does he want, what is one character, and what is the second, etc.);

Syntagmatic structure - the sequence of development of the plot in the story, events;

Spatial structure - the location of characters in the world;

The actant structure is the relationship between the characters in the stories.

It is possible that such an analysis is deeper and more illustrative, it better reveals the patterns of ideas, views and the inner world of a person, but it is rather cumbersome.

Bellak believed that the TAT could be used as a general basis for short-term psychotherapy. Psychoanalysts also use TAT when patients have problems with free association or when there is not enough association. You can use TAT when the patient is depressed, he is silent, and TAT helps to establish contact. At the same time, in counseling and psychotherapy, a detailed analysis of the stories is often not done, but only the stories are read and form a general impression.

TAT modifications

1. CAT (Children's Apperception Test). The pictures are intended for children, but mostly they show animals performing human functions. It is believed that it is easier to carry out in the form of a game. Designed for children from 3 to 10 years old. Children work with 10 pictures, although there were originally 18. Bellak believed that the pictures reflected typical themes of Freud's theory of child sexuality. In the 1960s, Mershtein developed a new version of the CAT-N, where people are represented, not animals. But most practical psychologists believe that SAT is not informative, because requires children to do what they cannot do at 3-7 years old - to compose a detailed story, taking into account the past, the future, and they cannot compose a story, taking into account thoughts and feelings, even at 10 years old. Therefore, its diagnostic value is questionable.

There have been attempts to create a modification for teenagers - Simon's Picture and Story Test - SPST, Michigan Picture Test - MRI. But there are few works with their use, and no one has been able to prove whether they work and what they reveal.

2. TAT modifications designed to work with people with physical disabilities and with people of different professions. But mostly it's classified information. There is Henry and Guetzky's "Group Projection Test", which aims to study the dynamics of small groups. It is held in a group, and the story is composed by the whole group.

3. H. Heckhausen's test to study the motivation to achieve success or avoid failure.

4. Object Relations Technique (ORT) - Object Relation Technique - Phillipson. Created in 1955 It is very similar to TAT, but the style and content of individual pictures are typical for the entire spectrum of the series. It was used as an adjunct to therapy. By telling a story, a person reveals his way of perceiving the world. It, in turn, was formed from the unconscious building of relationships in early childhood to meet their needs and from conscious alignment in later years. Phillipson believed that his technique could reveal the preponderance of the unconscious or conscious alignment. The stimulus material includes 13 cards, including one white one, presented in four series. Each series has one image style on the cards. The analysis is carried out in four categories: perception (what he sees in the picture); apperception (the meaning of what is perceived); the content of object relations (the people mentioned in the story and the types of interactions in which they are involved); story structure. In the structure of the story, conflict and its resolution are important. But data on the use of ORT outside of psychotherapy are either lacking or unreliable. The children's version (CORT) is being developed by Wilkinson, it is somewhat softened and more objectified, but not fully completed.

5. Projective Pickford Pictures (PPP) - designed to work with children. The stimulus material consists of 120 postcard-sized outline drawings. Drawings are primitive. Aimed at identifying the relationship of the child with parents, brothers / sisters, peers, unexpected situations, curiosity in matters of sex, procreation. Designed for 20 sessions. It is used mainly in psychotherapy, school psychologists. Reveals dreams, dreams, fantasies, problems at school and at home. There is a list of common interpretations of pictures, as well as a table of standard indicators for boys and girls.

6. Pictures about Blackie. Designed by J.Blum. Designed to study psychosexual development. At first they were considered for adults, then they were adapted for children. The stimulus material depicts the life conflicts of the dog family. There are 12 pictures in total. About two minutes are allotted for the story. Each picture shows the stages of psychosexual development, according to Freud: oral, anal, Oedipus complex, fear of castration, identification, etc. After the story, the child is asked 6 more questions, each of which has answer options. The child must choose one answer. In conclusion, the pictures must also be sorted into likes and dislikes. The test is widely used, but it can only be used within the framework of psychoanalytic theory.

7. Rosenzweig's pictorial frustration test (P-F). One of the oldest and most popular. You need to enter the first answer that comes to mind, so it does not take much time. Well objectified, there are norms. But it does not determine the type of personality, but the type of reaction. Rosenzweig associated it with emotions and defense mechanisms. There is no validity and reliability, because Rosenzweig believed that projective methods they are not applicable.

TAT modifications continue to develop. There are attempts to make them for people of different professions, levels of education, cultures, for example, there is an option for blacks. But for us they are not suitable, even if they appeared, because. culture and mentality are different.

This test is a necessary tool for a psychologist who counsels families, adolescents and people in difficult life situations. It is indicative in all respects: the orientation of the personality, actual intrapersonal conflicts, ways of responding to the conflict.

Drawn apperception test (PAT) G. Murray. Methods for studying conflict attitudes, B.I. Hassan (based on the RAT test).

The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) is a projective psychodiagnostic technique developed in the 1930s at Harvard by Henry Murray and Christiane Morgan. The aim of the methodology was to study driving forces personality - internal conflicts, drives, interests and motives. The Drawn Apperception Test (PAT) is a compact modified version of G. Murray's Thematic Apperception Test, which takes little time for examination and is adapted to working conditions. practical psychologist. A completely new stimulus material has been developed for it, which is a contour plot pictures. They are schematic representations of human figures.

Applicable:

In family counseling

When providing socio-psychological assistance to presuicidal persons,

Diagnosis of internal conflicts and personality orientation,

In the clinic of neurosis and forensic psychiatric examination.

The technique can be used both in individual and group examinations, both with adults and adolescents from 12 years of age.

Progress:The client is given pictures and asked to write a story based on them.

Instruction.Carefully consider each drawing in turn and, without limiting your imagination, compose a short story for each of them, which will reflect the following aspects: What is happening at the moment? Who are these people? What are they thinking and feeling? What led to this situation and how will it end? Do not use famous stories taken from books, theatrical productions or movies - come up with something of your own. Use your imagination, the ability to invent, the wealth of fantasy. Test (stimulus material).

Processing of results.

The degree of identification with the character of the plot is judged by intensity, duration and frequency of attention paid to the description of this particular participant in the plot.

The signs, based on which one could conclude that the subject identifies himself with this hero to a greater extent, include the following:

One of the participants in the situation is credited with thoughts, feelings, actions that do not follow directly from the given plot presented in the picture;

One of the participants in the situation is given much more attention in the process of description than the other;

Against the background of approximately the same amount of attention paid to the participants in the proposed situation, one of them is given a name, and the other is not;

Against the background of approximately the same amount of attention paid to the participants in the proposed situation, one of them is described using more emotionally charged words than the other;

Against the background of approximately the same amount of attention paid to the participants in the proposed situation, one of them has direct speech, while the other does not;

Against the background of approximately the same amount of attention paid to the participants in the proposed situation, one is described first, and then the rest;

If the story is composed orally, then the hero, with whom the subject identifies himself to a greater extent, manifests a more emotional attitude, manifested in the intonations of the voice, in facial expressions and gestures;

If the story is presented in writing, handwriting features can also give out those facts with which there is a greater identification - the presence of strikethroughs, blots, deterioration of handwriting, an increase in the slope of the lines up or down compared to ordinary handwriting, any other obvious deviations from ordinary handwriting, when the subject writes in a calm state.

It is not always easy to find more significant character in the picture description. Quite often, the experimenter finds himself in a situation where the volume of the written text does not allow him to confidently judge who is the hero and who is not. There are other difficulties as well. Some of them are described below.

Identification shifts from one character to another, that is, in all respects, both characters are considered approximately in the same volume, and, first, one person is completely described, and then completely another (B.I. Hasan sees this as a reflection of the instability of the subject's ideas about himself) .

The subject identifies himself simultaneously with two characters, for example, with “positive” and “negative” - in this case, in the description there is a constant “jumping” from one character to another (dialogue, or just a description), and it is precisely the opposite qualities of the participants in the plot that are emphasized (this may indicate the author's internal inconsistency, a tendency to internal conflicts).

The object of identification can be a character of the opposite sex or a sexless character (a person, creature, etc.), which in some cases, if there are additional confirmations in the text, can be regarded as various problems in the intersexual sphere of personality (the presence of fears, problems with self-identification, painful dependence on a subject of the opposite sex, etc.).

In the story, the author can emphasize the absence of his identification with any of the participants in the plot, taking the position of an outside observer, using statements like: "Here I am watching the following picture on the street ...". B.I.Hasan proposes to consider in this case the heroes as antipodes of the subject himself. At the same time, it can be assumed that this is not the only possible interpretation. So, for example, the position of an outside observer can be taken by a person whose system of defense mechanisms of his Ego does not allow him to realize in himself the presence of qualities that he attributes to others, or this may be the result of fear of such situations and the dissociation mechanism is triggered. One or another picture may be associated with the subject with his own life situation, causing frustration. In this case, the characters of the story realize the unrealized in real life the needs of the narrator. It happens and vice versa - the story describes the obstacles that prevent the realization of needs.

The intensity, frequency and duration of attention paid to the description of individual details of the situation, the duration of fixing the subject's attention on certain values repeated in different stories, can give a general understanding of the problematic psychological zones (unsatisfied needs, stress factors, etc.) of the person being examined. The analysis of the data obtained is carried out mainly at a qualitative level, as well as through simple quantitative comparisons, which allow, among other things, to assess the balance between the emotional and intellectual spheres of the personality, the presence of external and internal conflicts, the sphere of disturbed relationships, the position of the subject's personality - passive or active, aggressive or passive (at the same time, 1:1, that is, 50% to 50% is considered a conditional norm, and a significant advantage in one direction or another is expressed in ratios of 2:1 or 1:2 or more).

Key.

Characteristics of each individual story (there should be 8 pieces in total):

1. The characters of the story (formal description - what is known from the story about each of the participants in the plot - gender, age, etc.);

2. Feelings, experiences, the physical state transmitted in the story (as a whole); leading motives, sphere of relations, values (in general);

3. Conflicts and their scope (if any), obstacles and barriers on the way for the participants in this story to achieve their goals;

4. Ways to resolve conflicts;

5. The vector of the psychological orientation of the behavior of the participants in the plot;

6. Analysis of the reasons that do not allow a clear definition of the "hero" of the plot, with whom identification occurs to a greater extent (if any);

7. The presence in the plot of a hero with whom the subject identifies himself to a greater extent and a description of the features by which this particular character is recognized by the researcher as a “hero” (if a certain “hero” is sufficiently obvious in the plot);

8. The gender and age of the hero are indicated (if a certain “hero” is sufficiently obvious in the plot);

9. Determining the characteristics of the hero, his aspirations, feelings, desires, character traits (if a certain “hero” is sufficiently obvious in the plot);

10. Evaluation of the strength of the hero's need depending on its intensity, duration, frequency of appearance and development of the plot as a whole (if a certain “hero” is sufficiently obvious in the plot);

11. Description of the individual characteristics of the hero in accordance with the scales: impulsiveness - self-control, infantilism - personal maturity (with a description of the criteria for this assessment) (if a certain “hero” is sufficiently obvious in the plot);

12. Correlation of the characteristics of the "hero" (motives of behavior, personal characteristics, etc.) with those characteristics (needs, motives, values, character traits, etc.) that the subject as a whole reflected in the process of describing this plot (if a certain “hero” is quite obvious in the plot);

13. Self-esteem of the subject, the ratio of his I-real and I-ideal, judging by this story; features of the style of presentation of the text, handwriting;

14. Features of the style of presentation of the text, handwriting;

15. What in this text especially attracted the attention of the researcher;

16. Assumptions about the characteristics of the personality and life situation of the subject with specific references to the details of the story, confirming these assumptions - a generalization of the conclusions on this story.

Further, with regard to the application of the Drawn Apperception Test (PAT) in the Methodology for the Study of Conflict Attitudes, the author Boris Iosifovich Khasan (highlighted in italics): Point 11 - “assessment of the strength of the hero’s need depending on its intensity, duration, frequency of occurrence and development of the plot as a whole” or, if there are difficulties with the definition of the “hero”, then this phrase should be understood as “an assessment of the strength of the need present in general in the description of the plot, depending on its intensity, duration, frequency of occurrence and development of the plot as a whole” deserves a separate description. In order to determine the dominant and possibly suppressed needs of the subject, it is proposed to introduce a ranking of the strength of a particular need in each of the descriptions, that is, in each of the proposed 8 stories. Thus, all needs from G. Murray's list of needs (the list is given above) receive a subjective assessment of the severity. B.I.Hasan proposes to determine the intensity of needs only for the “hero”, but it seems more logical to simply mark in points the strength of one or another need reflected in the description of the plot, regardless of which of the characters is given more attention, based on the assumption that all the story as a whole is a projection of certain characteristics of the personality of the subject, his image of the world. For evaluation, you can choose, for example, a five-point system.

In this case, the strength of such a need (according to Merey) as aggression can be expressed as follows:

Complete absence of aggression - 0 points

The tendency of one of the participants in the plot to be irritable - 1 point

Active verbal aggression on the part of one of the participants or indirect non-verbal aggression (broke some thing, etc.) - 2 points

A quarrel with expressed threats from both participants in the plot - 3 points

A real fight with the use of physical force - 4 points

Murder, mutilation, war, etc. - 5 points

There are only 22 items in the list of G. Murray's needs, given in this development. Therefore, it is the diagnostician's task to compile a table in which a certain number of points would be assigned in accordance with the intensity of each of the 22 needs in each of the descriptions (at least 8 plots).

Intensity of Expression of Needs
	need	1 fig.	2 fig.	3 fig.	4 fig.	5 fig.	6 fig.	7 fig.	8 fig.	sum
	In self-deprecation
	In reaching
	In affiliation
	In aggression
	In autonomy
	In opposition

	In respect
	In dominance
	In exhibition
	To avoid damage
	Avoiding shame

	In order

	in rejection
	In sensory impressions
	Close (libido)
	In support
	In understanding
	In narcissism
	In sociality (sociology)

This is done by comparing the data and selecting a few needs that received the highest total score and needs with the lowest score. If several needs (according to G. Murray) received the same, large number of points, then the probability that a need that has a lot of points due to its reflection in almost every description with an average strength is more relevant than a need that received a high number of points for due to the fact that it is strongly expressed in 2-3 descriptions, but not in the rest. Of course, it is necessary to take into account the peculiarities of the content of stories in which the strength of one or another need is high.

It is also proposed to separately consider the described behavior of the characters in each of the stories from the point of view of various types aggressiveness (in the theoretical part, 11 types of behavior are indicated - see below) and also summarize the results.

The intensity of the manifestation of aggressiveness.
	need
	antiaggressiveness
	intrusive aggression
	aggressiveness undifferentiated

The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) is a projective psychodiagnostic technique developed in the 1930s at Harvard by Henry Murray and Christiane Morgan. The purpose of the methodology was to study the driving forces of the individual - internal conflicts, drives, interests and motives.

The drawn apperception test (PAT) is a compact modified version of G. Murray's Thematic Apperception Test, which takes a little time for examination and is adapted to the working conditions of a practical psychologist. A completely new stimulus material has been developed for it, which is a contour plot pictures. They are schematic representations of human figures.

The drawn apperceptive test, due to its greater conciseness and simplicity, has found application in family counseling, in the provision of socio-psychological assistance to presuicidal people, as well as in the neurosis clinic and forensic psychiatric examination.

The technique can be used both in individual and group examinations, both with adults and adolescents from 12 years of age. Testing can be done by listening to stories and writing them down, but you can also give the task and ask the subject to write down his answers himself. Then he (or a group of subjects) is asked to sequentially, according to the numbering, consider each picture and write a short story about how he interprets the contents of the picture.

Testing time is not limited, but should not be unnecessarily long in order to get more immediate answers.

Drawn apperception test (PAT) G. Murray. As well as a methodology for studying conflict attitudes, B.I. Hasan (based on the RAT test):

Instruction.

Carefully consider each drawing in turn and, without limiting your imagination, compose a short story for each of them, which will reflect the following aspects:

What is happening at the moment?
Who are these people?
What are they thinking and feeling?
What led to this situation and how will it end?

Do not use famous stories taken from books, theatrical productions or movies - come up with something of your own. Use your imagination, the ability to invent, the wealth of fantasy.

Test (stimulus material).

Processing of results.

The analysis of the subject's creative stories (oral or written) makes it possible to reveal his identification (as a rule, unconscious identification) with one of the "heroes" of the plot and the projection (transfer to the plot) of his own experiences. The degree of identification with the character of the plot is judged by the intensity, duration and frequency of attention paid to the description of this particular participant in the plot.

The signs based on which one could conclude that the subject identifies himself with this hero to a greater extent include the following:

thoughts, feelings, actions that do not follow directly from the given plot presented in the picture are attributed to one of the participants in the situation;
one of the participants in the situation is given much more attention in the process of description than the other;
against the background of approximately the same amount of attention paid to the participants in the proposed situation, one of them is given a name, and the other is not;
against the background of approximately the same amount of attention paid to the participants in the proposed situation, one of them is described using more emotionally charged words than the other;
against the background of approximately the same amount of attention paid to the participants in the proposed situation, one of them has direct speech, while the other does not;
against the background of approximately the same amount of attention paid to the participants in the proposed situation, one is described first and then the rest;
if the story is compiled orally, then the hero, with whom the subject identifies himself to a greater extent, manifests a more emotional attitude, manifested in the intonations of the voice, in facial expressions and gestures;
if the story is presented in writing - the features of the handwriting can also give out those facts with which there is a greater identification - the presence of strikethroughs, blots, deterioration of handwriting, an increase in the slope of the lines up or down compared to ordinary handwriting, any other obvious deviations from ordinary handwriting, when the subject writes in a calm state.

It is far from always easy to find a more significant character in the description of the picture. Quite often, the experimenter finds himself in a situation where the volume of the written text does not allow him to confidently judge who is the hero and who is not. There are other difficulties as well. Some of them are described below.

Identification shifts from one character to another, that is, in all respects, both characters are considered approximately in the same volume, and, first, one person is completely described, and then completely another (B.I. Hasan sees this as a reflection of the instability of the subject's ideas about himself) .
The subject identifies himself simultaneously with two characters, for example, with “positive” and “negative” - in this case, in the description there is a constant “jumping” from one character to another (dialogue, or just a description), and it is precisely the opposite qualities of the participants in the plot that are emphasized (this may indicate the author's internal inconsistency, a tendency to internal conflicts).
The object of identification can be a character of the opposite sex or a sexless character (a person, creature, etc.), which in some cases, if there are additional confirmations in the text, can be regarded as various problems in the intersexual sphere of personality (the presence of fears, problems with self-identification, painful dependence on a subject of the opposite sex, etc.).
In the story, the author can emphasize the absence of his identification with any of the participants in the plot, taking the position of an outside observer, using statements like: "Here I am watching the following picture on the street ...". B.I.Hasan proposes to consider in this case the heroes as antipodes of the subject himself. At the same time, it can be assumed that this is not the only possible interpretation. So, for example, the position of an outside observer can be taken by a person whose system of defense mechanisms of his Ego does not allow him to realize in himself the presence of qualities that he attributes to others, or this may be the result of fear of such situations and the dissociation mechanism is triggered.

This or that picture may be associated with the subject with his own life situation, causing frustration. In this case, the characters of the story realize the needs of the narrator himself, unrealized in real life. It happens and vice versa - the story describes the obstacles that prevent the realization of needs.

The analysis of the data obtained is carried out mainly at a qualitative level, as well as through simple quantitative comparisons, which allow, among other things, to assess the balance between the emotional and intellectual spheres of the personality, the presence of external and internal conflicts, the sphere of disturbed relationships, the position of the subject's personality - passive or active, aggressive or passive (at the same time, 1:1, that is, 50% to 50% is considered a conditional norm, and a significant advantage in one direction or another is expressed in ratios of 2:1 or 1:2 or more).

Key.

Characteristics of each individual story (there should be 8 pieces in total).

characters of the story (formal description - what is known from the story about each of the participants in the plot - gender, age, etc.);
feelings, experiences, physical condition conveyed in the story (as a whole);
leading motives, sphere of relations, values (in general);
conflicts and their scope (if any), obstacles and barriers on the way for the participants in this story to achieve their goals;
the vector of the psychological orientation of the behavior of the participants in the plot;
analysis of the reasons that do not allow a clear definition of the "hero" of the plot, with whom identification occurs to a greater extent (if any);
the presence in the plot of a hero with whom the subject identifies himself to a greater extent and a description of the signs by which this particular character is recognized by the researcher as a “hero” (if a certain “hero” is sufficiently obvious in the plot);
the gender and age of the hero are indicated (if a certain “hero” is sufficiently obvious in the plot);
determination of the characteristics of the hero, his aspirations, feelings, desires, character traits (if a certain “hero” is sufficiently obvious in the plot);
assessment of the strength of the hero's need depending on its intensity, duration, frequency of appearance and development of the plot as a whole (if a certain “hero” is sufficiently obvious in the plot);
a description of the individual characteristics of the hero in accordance with the scales: impulsiveness - self-control, infantilism - personal maturity (with a description of the criteria for this assessment) (if a certain “hero” is sufficiently obvious in the plot);
correlating the characteristics of the "hero" (motives of behavior, personal characteristics, etc.) with those characteristics (needs, motives, values, character traits, etc.) that the subject as a whole reflected in the process of describing this plot (if in the plot a certain “hero” is quite obvious);
self-esteem of the subject, the ratio of his I-real and I-ideal, judging by this story;
features of the style of presentation of the text, handwriting;
what in this text especially attracted the attention of the researcher;
assumptions about personality and life situation subject with specific references to the details of the story, confirming these assumptions - a generalization of the conclusions on this story.

	Characteristic name	The characteristic itself

Item 11 - “assessment of the strength of the hero’s need depending on its intensity, duration, frequency of occurrence and development of the plot as a whole” or, if there are difficulties with the definition of “hero”, then this phrase should be understood as “assessment of the strength present in general in the description of the plot needs depending on its intensity, duration, frequency of appearance and development of the plot as a whole” deserves a separate description.

In order to determine the dominant and possibly suppressed needs of the subject, it is proposed to introduce a ranking of the strength of a particular need in each of the descriptions, that is, in each of the proposed 8 stories. Thus, all needs from G. Murray's list of needs (the list is given above) receive a subjective assessment of the severity. B.I.Hasan proposes to determine the intensity of needs only for the “hero”, but it seems more logical to simply mark in points the strength of one or another need reflected in the description of the plot, regardless of which of the characters is given more attention, based on the assumption that all the story as a whole is a projection of certain characteristics of the personality of the subject, his image of the world.

For evaluation, you can choose, for example, a five-point system. In this case, the strength of such a need (according to Merey) as aggression can be expressed as follows:

complete absence of aggression - 0 points
the tendency of one of the participants in the plot to be irritable - 1 point
active verbal aggression on the part of one of the participants or indirect non-verbal aggression (broke some thing, etc.) - 2 points
a quarrel with expressed threats from both participants in the plot - 3 points
a real fight with the use of physical force - 4 points
murder, mutilation, war, etc. - 5 points

In the list of G. Murray's needs, given in this development, there are only 22 items (see in the theoretical material). Therefore, it is the diagnostician's task to compile a table in which a certain number of points would be assigned in accordance with the intensity of each of the 22 needs in each of the descriptions (at least 8 plots).

The following is an example of filling out a table:

Intensity of expressiveness of needs.
	need	1 picture	2 picture	3 picture	4 picture	5 picture	6 picture	7 picture	8 picture	sum
	In self-deprecation
	In reaching
	In affiliation
	In aggression
	In autonomy
	In opposition

	In respect
	In dominance
	In exhibition
	To avoid damage
	Avoiding shame

	In order

	in rejection
	In sensory impressions
	Close (libido)
	In support
	In understanding
	In narcissism
	In sociality (sociology)

Obviously, points regarding the intensity of a particular need present in the description of the plot will be set on the basis of the subjective ideas of the researcher. However, the table can be quite informative. With its help, the diagnostician himself can form a personal idea of the condition of the subject, of his needs. In psychological counseling, the degree of subjectivity in assessing the characteristics of the client's personality is almost inevitable, but even in this case, ranking the intensity of needs in each of the plots, and then summing the scores in general for each need, gives a clearer picture of the client's problem, of course, taking into account the error by degree consultant subjectivity. Such a table is also good for honing the skills of observation in the process of analyzing descriptions. The table is of particular value in cases where a psychologist or psychotherapist decides that after a certain psychotherapy it is necessary to re-test. In this case, it becomes possible to compare not only general trends, but also the results in terms of the intensity of needs, recorded in points. Finally, this form of ranking is useful in case of need for some reporting within the psychological counseling service, as well as for some statistical generalizations.

After the ranking is completed and all scores are entered into the table, the total results of all descriptions for each need can be presented in the form of a kind of profile of needs, where the points obtained by needs will be marked on the vertical axis of the graph, and all 22 needs will be marked on the horizontal axis. The graph allows you to get a visual image of the profile of needs.

After calculating the sum of points for each of the needs, the researcher puts forward an assumption that the subject has some dominant needs and, possibly, some suppressed, or not suppressed, but not actualized. This is done by comparing the data and selecting a few needs that received the highest total score and needs with the lowest score.

If several needs (according to G. Murray) received the same, large number of points, then the probability that a need that has a lot of points due to its reflection in almost every description with an average strength is more relevant than a need that received a high number of points for due to the fact that it is strongly expressed in 2-3 descriptions, but not in the rest. Of course, it is necessary to take into account the peculiarities of the content of stories in which the strength of one or another need is high.

It is also proposed to separately consider the described behavior of the characters in each of the stories in terms of different types of aggressiveness (11 types of behavior are indicated in the theoretical part - see below) and also summarize the results.

The intensity of the manifestation of aggressiveness.
	need	1 picture	2 picture	3 picture	4 picture	5 picture	6 picture	7 picture	8 picture	sum
	antiaggressiveness
	intrusive aggression
	aggressiveness undifferentiated
	aggressiveness local, impulsive
	conditional, instrumental aggression
	hostile aggressiveness
	instrumental aggression
	brutal aggression
	psychopathic aggression
	group solidarity aggression
	intersexual (libido) aggression of varying degrees

Interpretation, analysis, conclusion.

The information is summarized in accordance with the following points:

1) the subject's tendency to re-specify (a sign of uncertainty, anxiety);

2) pessimistic statements (tendency to depression);

3) incomplete description of the plot and lack of prospects for its development (uncertainty in the future, inability to plan it);

4) the predominance of emotional responses (increased emotivity);

5) predominance of judgments, rationalization (reduced emotivity).

6) the degree of inconsistency in the assessment of the characters and the situation;

7) the degree of verbosity in the description of a particular plot: sometimes the lack of desire to describe a certain plot, little attention to it compared to others may indicate conscious or unconscious tension in relation to the conflict situation embedded in the picture, the subject avoids associations that come to mind, " walks away" from the situation;

8) the degree of emotional detachment from the described plot;

9) the degree of diversity in the perception of pictures (differences in the style of description - business, everyday, pompous, childish, etc.; differences in the form of description - a statement of fact, a fairy tale, a story, a poem, etc.; differences in the attribution of plots to which -or historical period and cultural traditions, etc.)

10) stereotypical description of plots;

11) protective tendencies can manifest themselves in the form of somewhat monotonous plots in which there is no conflict: we can talk about dancing, gymnastic exercises, yoga classes

12) "special" themes present in the stories in large numbers (if only 8 plots are offered, as, for example, in L.N. Sobchik's pictorial apperceptive test, then descriptions of two paintings are sufficient, and sometimes one with the presence of a "special" theme ) - death, serious illness, suicidal, masochistic, sadistic intentions, etc. should not be ignored by the researcher.

13) handwriting, writing style, manner of presentation, language culture, vocabulary.

14) how consistently and logically the description of the plot is presented - whether it be a written form or an oral story.

After all the points of analysis of each story separately are completed, and separate generalizations are made, a general conclusion is written ( general conclusion) about the results obtained during the testing process - a small conjectural characteristic of the personality, the scope of its problems, and perhaps its most strengths.

Theoretical material for the methodology: all about needs, frustration and aggression. Theory of G. Murray.

The term "motivation" in modern psychology denotes at least two psychological phenomena: 1) a set of motives that cause the activity of an individual and a system of factors that determine behavior; 2) the process of education, the formation of motives, the characteristics of the process that stimulates and maintains behavioral activity at a certain level.

Behind any act of a person there are always certain goals, desires, and behind the conflict - a clash of incompatible desires, when the satisfaction of the interests of one side threatens to infringe on the interests of the other.

Under needs, many researchers mean a person's desire for those conditions, without which it is impossible to maintain their normal physical and mental state. A need is a perceived and experienced state of need for something. Conscious needs are desires. A person can be aware of their presence, for their implementation he outlines a plan of action. The stronger the desire, the more energetic the desire to overcome obstacles in its path.

Obstacles to their satisfaction cause interpersonal clashes, especially if important needs and desires collide.

Allocate, for example, the following classification of needs: 1) primary, vital (congenital, biological) needs: food, water, sleep-rest, the need for self-defense, parental, intersexual needs. These natural needs are of a social-personal nature, which is reflected in the fact that even to satisfy narrow personal needs (in food), the results are used. social labor and methods and techniques historically established in a given social environment are applied, that is, all needs are social in terms of the way they are satisfied; 2) cultural, acquired needs are social in nature by the nature of their origin, they are formed under the influence of education in society. Among cultural needs, material and spiritual needs are distinguished. Spiritual needs include the need for communication, the need for emotional warmth, respect, cognitive needs, the need for activity, aesthetic needs, the need to realize the meaning of one's life. Even without finding an answer to this question, we prove by our activities that we have certain goals, to which we give our energy, knowledge, and health. And the goals are very different: the discovery of scientific truth, the service of art, the upbringing of children. But sometimes this is just a desire to make a career, get a summer house, a car, etc. Anyone who does not know for what and whom he lives is not satisfied with fate. But it is not enough to understand the reasons for the dissatisfaction of desires. It is important to realize whether the person took adequate actions to achieve his goal. Most often, disappointment befalls those who set themselves unrealistic, unattainable tasks for objective and subjective reasons.

The motives of human behavior and the goals of behavior may not coincide: the same goal can be set for yourself, guided by different motives. The goal shows what a person is striving for, and the motive - why he is striving for this.

The motive is complex internal structure. 1) with the emergence of a need, a need for something, accompanied by emotional anxiety, displeasure, a motive begins; 2) awareness of the motive in steps: first, it is realized what is the cause of emotional displeasure, what is necessary for a person to exist at the moment, then the object is realized that meets this need and can satisfy it (a desire is formed), later it is realized how, with the help of what actions it is possible to achieve the desired; 3) the energy component of the motive is realized in real actions.

The motive may be unconscious if the awareness of the need does not fully correspond to the genuine need that causes dissatisfaction, that is, the person does not know the true reason for his behavior. Unconscious motives include: attraction, hypnotic suggestions, attitudes, frustration states.

Z. Freud believed that there are two fundamental drives: the life instinct (Eros) and the death instinct (Thanatos), and all other needs are derived from these two drives. McDougall lists 18 basic motivating forces in a person, G. Murray - 20 needs. On the basis of factor analysis, they tried to study all the actions of a person, all the goals pursued by him and establish correlations between them, finding fundamental needs and motives. In this area, the most systematic research has been carried out by Cattell and Guilford.

List of motivational factors (according to Guilford):

A. Factors corresponding to organic needs: 1) hunger, 2) libido drive, 3) general activity.

B. Needs related to environmental conditions: 4) the need for comfort, a pleasant environment, 5) the need for order, cleanliness (pedantry), 6) the need for self-respect from others.

B. Job related needs: 7) general ambition, 8) perseverance, 9) endurance.

G. The needs associated with the position of the individual: 10) the need for freedom, 11) independence, 12) conformity, 13) honesty.

D. Social needs: 14) the need to be among people, 15) the need to please, 16) the need for discipline, 17) aggressiveness.

E. General needs: 18) the need for risk or security, 19) the need for entertainment, 20) - intellectual needs (in research, curiosity).

Cattell identified seven incentive structures (ergs) - motivational factors associated with the five senses: 1) sexual-libido instinct; 2) herd instinct; 3) the need to patronize; 4) the need for research activities, curiosity; 5) the need for self-affirmation, recognition; 6) the need for security; 7) narcissistic need for pleasure.

The same ergs can be found in a wide variety of human populations, while "feelings" vary from one country to another, depending on social and cultural stereotypes. List of feelings: 8) feelings for the profession; 9) sports and games; 10) religious feelings; 11) technical and material interests; 12) self-perception.

Among the identified personality factors, one can single out those factors that have a hereditary-congenital origin, and those factors that are mainly determined by the influence of the environment of life and upbringing. For example, "cyclothymia - schizothymia" (according to Eysenck and Cattell) are constitutionally hereditary, and this factor can manifest itself in the following superficial features:

good nature, complaisance - grumpiness;
adaptability - inflexibility, rigidity;
warmth, attention to people - coldness, indifference;
sincerity - secrecy, anxiety;
gullibility - suspicion;
emotionality - restraint;

Some factors ("excitability, dominance, refinement"), according to Cattell, along with a hereditary component, also have a component associated with developmental conditions. Structural factors owe their origin to environmental influences. For example, the “I-strength” factor depends mainly, but not entirely, on a person’s life experience, a favorable atmosphere in the family, the position of the child in it and the absence of traumatic circumstances, and the “dynamism” factor depends on past punishments and deprivations, while the factor "emotional instability" is interpreted as a consequence of too indulgent or too sparing family environment.

According to H. Murray's definition, a need is a construct denoting a force that organizes perception, apperception, intellectual activity, arbitrary actions in such a way that the existing unsatisfactory situation is transformed in a certain direction. Each need is accompanied by a certain feeling and emotion and is prone to certain forms of change. It can be weak or intense, short-term or long-term. It usually persists and gives a certain direction to external behavior (or fantasies), which changes the circumstances in such a way as to approximate the final situation.

G. Merey compiled an indicative list of 20 needs that most often affect human behavior, in his opinion. There are two additional items in the list of needs below (#21 and #22):

	need	Brief definition (way of expression)
	In self respect	The tendency to passively submit to external forces. Willingness to accept resentment, to submit to fate, to allow one's own "second-rateness". The tendency to admit one's mistakes, delusions. Desire to confess and atone for guilt. The tendency to blame oneself, to belittle. The tendency to seek pain, punishment. Acceptance as inevitable illness, misfortune and joy over their existence.
	In reaching	The desire to do something difficult. Manage, manipulate, organize - in relation to physical objects, people or ideas. Do it as quickly, deftly, independently as possible. Overcome obstacles and achieve high performance, improve, compete and get ahead of others. The desire to realize talents and abilities and thereby increase self-esteem.
	In affiliation	Desire to closely contact and interact with loved ones (or those who are similar to the subject himself, or with those who love him). The desire to please the object of affection, to win his affection, recognition. Tendency to remain faithful in friendship.
	In aggression	The desire to overcome opposition by force, to fight, to avenge insults. Tendency to attack, insult, kill. Desire to resist coercion, pressure, or punishment.
	In autonomy	The desire to be freed from bonds and restrictions, to resist coercion. The tendency to avoid or stop activities prescribed by despotic and authoritarian figures. Desire to be independent and act according to one's impulses, not to be bound by anything, not to be responsible for anything, to disregard conventions.
	In opposition	The desire in the struggle to master the situation or compensate for failures, to get rid of humiliation by repeated actions, to overcome weakness, to suppress fear. The desire to wash away shame by action, to look for obstacles and difficulties, to overcome them, to respect oneself for this and be proud of oneself
		The tendency to defend oneself from attacks, criticism, accusations, to hush up or justify mistakes, failures, humiliations. The tendency to defend oneself.
	In respect	Tendency to admire the superior (by social status or other characteristics), the desire to support him. The desire to praise, honor, exalt. The tendency to readily submit to the influence of other people, to obey them, to follow the customs, traditions, to have an object to follow.
	In dominance	The desire to control the environment, to influence others, to direct their actions. Tendency to subdue different ways- suggestion, temptation, persuasion, indication. The desire to dissuade, restrict, prohibit.
	In exhibition	The desire to impress, to be seen and heard. Desire to excite, charm, entertain, shock, intrigue, amuse, seduce
	To avoid damage	Tendency to avoid pain, injury, illness, death, dangerous situations. Willingness to take preventive action.
	Avoiding shame	The desire to avoid humiliation, to get away from difficulties, ridicule, indifference of others. Refrain from acting in order to avoid failure.
		The tendency to show sympathy and help the defenseless in meeting their needs - a child or a weak, tired, inexperienced, sick, etc. The desire to help in danger, to feed, support, comfort, protect, patronize, heal, etc.
	In order	The desire to put everything in order, to achieve cleanliness, organization, balance, neatness, accuracy, accuracy, etc.
		The tendency to act "for fun" - for no other purpose. The desire to laugh, joke, seek relaxation after stress in pleasures. Desire to participate in games, sporting events, dancing, parties, gambling, etc.
	in rejection	Desire to get rid of the one who calls negative emotions. The tendency to get rid of, ignore, abandon the inferior, get rid of it. The tendency to deceive someone.
	In sensory impressions (kinesthetic, auditory, visual, intellectual impressions)	Tendency to seek and enjoy sensory impressions
	Close (libido)	The tendency to create and develop relationships, thoughts about inter-gender relationships, etc.
	In support	Desire to meet needs through compassionate care loved one. The desire to be the one who is cared for, supported, cared for, protected, loved, forgiven, comforted. The desire to stay close to the one who cares, to have close to someone who can help.
	In understanding	Tendency to bet general issues or answer them. interest in theory. A tendency to reflection, analysis, construction of formulations, to generalizations.
	In narcissism	The desire to put one's interests above all else, to be pleased with oneself, a tendency to subjectivism in the perception of the outside world.
	In sociality (sociology)	Forgetting one's own interests in the name of the interests of the group, altruistic orientation, nobility, concern for others

Attraction is an insufficiently clearly realized need, when it is not clear to a person what attracts him, what his goals are, what he wants. Attraction is a stage in the formation of motives for human behavior. The unconsciousness of drives is transient, that is, the need represented in them either fades away or becomes conscious.

Hypnotic suggestions may remain unconscious for a long time, but they are artificial in nature, formed "from the outside", and attitudes and frustrations arise naturally, remaining unconscious, determine a person's behavior in many situations.

Installation - an unconscious readiness formed in a person for a certain behavior, a readiness to respond positively or negatively to certain events, facts. The installation is manifested by habitual judgments, ideas, actions. Once worked out, it remains for a more or less long time. The rate of formation and attenuation of installations, their mobility is different for different people. Attitudes as an unconscious readiness to perceive the environment from a certain angle and react in a certain, pre-formed way, without a complete objective analysis of a particular situation, are formed both on the basis of a person’s personal past experience and under the influence of other people.

The upbringing and self-education of a person largely comes down to the gradual formation of a readiness to respond to something properly, in other words, to the formation of attitudes that are useful for a person and for society. By the age when we begin to realize ourselves, we find in our psyche a mass of entrenched feelings, opinions, views, attitudes that also affect the assimilation of new information and in relation to the environment.

Attitudes can be negative and positive, depending on whether we are ready to treat this or that person or phenomenon negatively or positively. The perception of the same phenomenon by different people can be different. It depends on their individual settings. Therefore, it is not surprising that not every phrase is understood in the same way. Negative preconceived entrenched views (“all people are selfish, all teachers are formalists, all salespeople are dishonest people”) may stubbornly resist an objective understanding of actions real people. So, in a conversation, a negative attitude can be directed to: 1) the personality of the interlocutor himself (if someone else said the same thing, it would be perceived quite differently), 2) the essence of the conversation (“I can’t believe it”, “ it is unacceptable to speak like that"), 3) on the circumstances of the conversation ("now is not the time and place for such discussions").

In modern psychological literature, there are several concepts of the relationship between the motivation of activity (communication, behavior). One of them is the theory of causal attribution.

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