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Documentation · 1935

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT): Story-telling projective test

Projective personality test using ambiguous picture cards. Henry Murray and Christiana Morgan at Harvard developed the TAT in 1935 as an alternative to the Rorschach. The subject is shown 20 cards (one at a time) and asked to tell a story about each. The stories are analyzed for recurring themes that reveal underlying psychological needs, conflicts, and motivations. The TAT remains widely used in personality assessment and is the foundation of David McClelland's needs theory of motivation.

Read About the Test

About the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

Henry Murray at the Harvard Psychological Clinic in the early 1930s was developing his comprehensive theory of personality - what he called personology - based on the idea that personality could be understood through systematic identification of an individual's needs (achievement, affiliation, power, etc.) and press (environmental forces). He needed an assessment instrument that could reveal these underlying needs and conflicts indirectly, since direct self-report seemed inadequate.

Murray and his collaborator Christiana Morgan developed the Thematic Apperception Test in 1935. The test consists of approximately 30 picture cards (different subsets are used for different age and gender groups; typically 10-20 cards per administration). Each card shows an ambiguous scene - often involving people in unclear emotional situations. The subject is asked to make up a story about each card: what is happening, what led up to it, what are the characters feeling, what will happen next.

The stories are analyzed for recurring themes that reveal the subject's underlying needs, conflicts, and motivations. Murray developed a needs-based scoring system (achievement need, affiliation need, power need, etc.). David McClelland later refined this into his influential theory of needs-based motivation - particularly the concept of need for achievement (n-Ach), measured via TAT stories and linked to entrepreneurial behavior and economic development.

The TAT has been used in tens of thousands of studies and remains in active clinical use today, although it shares the Rorschach's validity concerns about projective testing. Newer scoring systems like the Defense Mechanisms Manual and the Social Cognition and Object Relations Scale have improved its reliability.

Copyright note: TAT cards and Murray's scoring system are copyrighted. This page documents the test's history.

The 2 subtests

#1
~30 picture cards Each card shows an ambiguous scene. Different subsets are used for different age and gender groups (typically 10-20 cards per administration).
Copyrighted
#2
Needs-based scoring Stories are analyzed for recurring themes revealing underlying needs (achievement, affiliation, power, autonomy, etc.).
Examiner Required

Sample Items (Illustrative)

Items in the Thematic Apperception Test involve interpreting ambiguous scenes depicted on cards and creating stories. Responses are analyzed for themes that reveal underlying psychological needs and motivations.

Sample 1 · 30 picture cards
Look at this picture of a man standing at a crossroads with a suitcase. Tell a story about what is happening in this scene.
Example response: The man is deciding whether to pursue a new job opportunity in a distant city or stay in his current, secure position. He feels torn between the excitement of a new adventure and the comfort of familiarity.
Sample 2 · 30 picture cards
Describe a story based on this image of a young woman sitting alone at a dinner table with an empty chair across from her.
Example response: The woman is waiting for her partner, who has been delayed at work. She feels a mix of worry and frustration, but also hopes that they will soon reunite and enjoy a pleasant evening together.
Sample 3 · Needs-based scoring
After telling your story about the picture of a child holding a trophy, what do you think the child's main motivation was in this scenario?
Example response: The child's primary motivation was achievement. They worked hard to win the trophy in a school competition, driven by a desire to prove their abilities and gain recognition from peers and family.
Sample 4 · Needs-based scoring
Reflect on the story you created for the image of a group of friends at a party. What underlying need do you think is most evident in the characters?
Example response: The underlying need is affiliation. The characters in the story are seeking connection and acceptance from each other, valuing the sense of belonging and camaraderie that the party provides.

These are illustrative samples, not actual items from the protected test.

Source

All test materials and historical content on this page are transcribed from:

Henry A. Murray & Christiana D. Morgan (1935). Thematic Apperception Test (TAT).

TAT cards and Murray's scoring system are under Harvard University Press copyright. The TAT items are widely reproduced in clinical and research contexts but not in the public domain.

Cite this page

This page is part of the Historical IQ Tests Archive. Editorial content, transcription notes, and curation are released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0). Public-domain primary sources retain their public-domain status. BibTeX · RIS · CSL JSON

Historical test materials are obsolete and are not valid modern IQ assessments. This page is preserved for educational, research, and historiographic purposes.

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