Defense Mechanism Card Pull in TAT Stories

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the question of whether different Thematic Apperception Test (TAT; Murray, 1943) cards are likely to prompt stories that are characterized by different defense mechanisms. This condition is known as card pull and refers to the probability that different TAT cards elicit different personality scores for the same variable. If so, the assessment of defense use would be importantly influenced by the TAT cards used in an assessment. TAT stories from 3 different community samples were examined (Ns = 91, 98, 121), using a statistical method developed by Stein et al (2014). The results indicated that different TAT cards pull for different defenses, as assessed by the Defense Mechanism Manual (DMM: Cramer, 1991b). However, the nature of card pull was not always consistent across samples. These dissimilarities could be due to group differences, or to the presence of different TAT cards used in the test battery, indicating that card pull is importantly determined by context.

Acknowledgment

Appreciation is expressed to Caleb Seifert for his helpful guidance to create the across-participant and within-participant z scores.

Notes

¹ Although not the focus of this article, it might be possible to identify the elements of cards that elicit high defense responses, and even to differentiate those that elicit particular defenses, such as denial or projection.

² See also Alvarado (1994), Aronow, Weiss, and Reznikoff (2001), Birney (1958), and Haber and Alpert (1958). A table summarizing these findings is provided by Stein et al (2014).

³ Thanks to Jennifer Whitfield for this coding.

⁴ It is not known whether participants were instructed that the TAT is a test of imagination and that they should tell a creative story.