Use of the TAT

A final major contribution of Murray’s personology theory comes from the
device he used to determine individual needs and more generally measure
personality. Along with Christiana Morgan, Murray developed the Thematic
Apperception Test (TAT), which continues to be a widely used instrument
for assessing human personality. The TAT consists of thirty ambiguous
black-and-white pictures for which an individual is instructed to make up a
story. The test subject is asked to tell what led up to the event in the picture,
what is happening in the picture, including how the characters are thinking
and feeling, and what will happen to the characters in the future. Murray’s
idea was that test subjects will project their needs into the picture, much as
individuals who are on a diet will notice food in most situations that they encounter.
It is similar to the children’s game of identifying the shapes of
clouds. Children may identify clouds with children’s themes of dragons,
monsters, or dinosaurs. Adolescents may view these same clouds as other
boys and girls, cars, or sports figures. Murray hypothesized that certain
themes would emerge from individuals’ responses to the figures and that
themes and expectations for the future would become evident. Mental
health professionals continue to use the TAT for this purpose. 626