Updating the TAT: A photographic revision of the Thematic Apperception Test

This study proposed to address the question, "Does the TAT need updating?" More specifically, does the TAT elicit answers that distance the participant from their own emotions because of the use of outdated pictures? If the images depicted in the TAT are too distant from the experience of the subject, using "experience far" situations on a projective test could logically distance the subject from his or her own emotions and disrupt adherence to the projective process. Conversely, using a more modern "experience near" set of contexts and characters might more fully allow the subject to project his or her thoughts and emotions on the protagonist. This experiment proposed to design a new projective test based upon the original TAT, using very similar themes and characters, but employing photographs of people in more modern, yet neutral, apparel. This study evaluated whether the updated TAT cards yielded fewer responses reflective of the period in which the original cards were produced, more responses reflective of the current era, and more or less engagement with the cards (measured by the number of words used). This study found that people taking the original TAT gave more responses that were age specific in their content, as well as more comments referring to the age of the cards themselves. The study found no difference in the amount of "Popular Culture" references between the two tests, as well as the number of words.