Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) & Myers-Briggs Personality tests

Comparison of TAT and Myers-Briggs

This is a comparison between the projective measure of personality Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) and the objective measure of personality (Myers-Briggs) and the theories that underlie them where applicable. There are two main measurement categories of personality tests: projective and objective.  Projective tests are unstructured and are classified into five categories such as association techniques, construction of stories, completion of sentences, arranging of pictures, and expressions with play. Objective tests are structured and classified into self-report inventories and behavioral assessments.

Projective personality tests are heavily based on Freud’s psychoanalytic theory. Examples of projective tests are the Rorschach and the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT).  Psychoanalytic Theory had a great impact on the clinical practice of projective testing. The impact was attributed to the work of Rapaport (1945-1946) and others in integrating the psychoanalytic model of the mind with psychological testing (Sugarman et al, 2000). Psychoanalytic theory allowed the psychologist to expand the number of data sources available in testing. Objective personality tests are heavily based theory-guided inventories. Example objective test MBTI was based on Jung’s theory of Typology. According to Jung, a typology is a great help in understanding the wide variations that occur among individuals, and it also furnishes a clue to the fundamental difference in the current psychological theories (McCaulley, 2000). Jung’s typology assumed every human being uses four basic mental processes or functions.

Projective analysis is based on the assumption that personal interpretations of ambiguous stimuli must reflect unconscious needs, motives, and conflicts. TAT is a projective test that uses the construction technique. In administering the TAT, the examiner requests the examinee to make up a dramatic story for each of 30 pictures presented.  In contrast, the essence of Jung’s Personality Typology theory is that much seemingly random variation in behavior is actually quite orderly and consistent, being due to basic differences in the way individuals prefer to use their perception and judgment. Perception may involve various ways of becoming aware of things, people, or ideas. Judgment involves all the ways of coming to conclusions about what has been perceived. If people differ systematically in what they perceive and in how they reach conclusions, then it is only reasonable for them to differ correspondingly in their interests, reactions, values, motivations, and skills (McCaulley, 2000). Given Jung’s typology, McCaulley asserted that the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI) can be a bridge between the world of organizations making decisions and world of counseling.

Projective tests are used more often in clinical settings in order to characterize anomalies such as memory losses or learning disabilities. Objective tests such as MBTI are used in job placements and organizations within work groups.

References

Gregory, R. J. (2007). Psychological testing: History, principles, and applications (5^th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.

McCaulley, M. H. (2000). Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. A Bridge Between Counseling and Consulting. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, Vol. 52, No. 2, 117-132

Sugarman, A., Kanner, K. (2000). The Contribution of Psychoanalytic Theory to Psychological Testing. Psychoanalytic Psychology. Vol 17. No. 1, 3-23

Wechsler and Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales

The first Wechsler intelligence tests was published in 1939 to test adult psychiatric patients. The tests were not brand new but were inspired from the Binet and Army alpha intelligence scales. The IQ constancy concept is basic to Wechsler. The basic formula for IQ which is the ratio of mental age to chronological age was replaced by the ratio of actual score to the mean score for the same age. Wechsler tests features normative scaling in which scores are determined by comparing the child’s performance with those from the same age. Currently there are Wechsler scales for three age groups: WPPSI for preschoolers ages 2-6, WISC for children ages 6.5 to 16.5, and WAIS for adults up to age 89. The latest version included easy items to improve the assessment of mental retardation and co-norming with the memory scales. The Verbal, Performance, and Full Scale IQ are important for gifted identification (Gilman, 2008). The WISC-R (1974) and WISC-III (1991) corrected the absence of nonwhites in the standardization sample, inappropriate items for children, and absence of females and African Americans in the pictorial content of items (Gregory, 2007).

All the Wechsler versions and editions have common features, which make them easier to use. Common features in various versions and editions are ten to fourteen subtests, which allow the examiner to analyze intra-individual strengths and weaknesses rather than just to compute a single global score. All Wechsler scales include verbal and performance non-verbal core subtests. The common core subtests for the verbal scales are Information, Vocabulary, Arithmetic, Comprehension, and Similarities. The common core subtests for the performance scales are Picture Completion, Block Design, and Object Assembly (Gregory, 2007).

Stanford-Binet (SB) intelligence testing started in 1916 when Terman at Stanford University and Binet introduced the IQ concept. SB-3 restandardized on 2100 persons. SB-4 included complete restructuring and looked like Wechsler Intelligence Instruments. SB-5 is based on a five-part model of intelligence. The SB5 is suitable for children age 2 through adult’s age 85 and older. The five factors assessed in the test are Fluid Reasoning, Knowledge, Quantitative Reasoning, Visual-Spatial Processing, and Working Memory. Each is assessed in two separate domains, verbal and nonverbal, in order to accurately assess individuals with deafness, limited English, or communication disorders. Examples of test items include verbal analogies to test Verbal Fluid Reasoning and picture absurdities to test Nonverbal Knowledge. SB-5 accurately assesses low-functioning, normal intelligence, and high-functioning individuals. The test has a standard deviation of 15; this corresponds to two standard deviations above the mean in a normally distributed population, thus supporting criterion-related validity (Gregory, 2007). Reliabilities in the Verbal IQ, Nonverbal IQ, and Full Scale IQ were reported in the .90s  for SB-5 (Gregory, 2007). However, SB5 scales like other IQ tests, do not test artistic abilities, nor creativity, nor athletic prowess, nor various social skills including Emotional Intelligence (Roid & Barram, 2004).

Intelligence testing started in the military and in large corporations, in filtering the large number of applicants and select the cream of the crop.  However, bias and mis-interpretation of test results may raise cross-culture ethical issues or messy litigations. For example, a fighter pilot  job requires high speed of information processing and visual/spatial ability (Bach, 2008). Other examples are the assessment of the effect of a head injury or the impact of prenatal brain damage. Both the Wechsler and the Stanford-Binet tests are used in school assessments and in job placements.

References

Bach, J. (2008). Intelligence Assessments. Sound only panel discussion on Laureate DVD.

Gilman, B. J., (2008). Academic Advocacy for Gifted Children: A Parent’s Complete Guide. Scottsdale, AZ: Great Potential Press.

Gregory, R., (2007). Psychological Testing: History, Principles, and Applications. Pearson Education Group, Inc.

Roid, G.  And Barram, R. A. (2004). Essentials of Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales (SB5) Assessment. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Roid, G. (2005). An Interview With Gale Roid about SB5.  North American Journal of Psychology, 2005, Vol. 7, No. 3,493-504.

Types of tests and when they are used

Three different types of test are aptitude tests like the SAT (scholastic achievement test) and GRE (graduate record examination), intelligence tests like the Binet-Simon test, and personality tests like the Myer-Briggs test.
Aptitude tests are often required by colleges before offering admission in order to predict academic success. An example is the SAT which contains a verbal section stressing word knowledge and reading comprehension and a Mathematics section stressing algebra, geometry, and insightful reasoning (Gregory, 2007). Intelligence tests are often taken to show higher level thinking independent of school standard curriculums. The aim of intelligence tests is classification, assessing general mental development such as good judgement, good understanding, and good reasoning (Binet and Simon, as cited by Gregory, 2007). Personality tests are taken for leaders to direct people or for people to direct themselves to the best matching occupations or professions. The result of taking the Myers-Briggs test is an indicator in four dimensions showing how a person thinks and how the person learns new skills. Such test is taken by students in college and employees in a corporation in order to help with their communications with other people around them.

Reference

Gregory, R. J. (2007). Psychological testing: History, principles, and applications (5th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.
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Psychological Testing

In a norm-reference test, each examinee’s performance is interpreted in reference to a relevant standardization sample. However, in a criterion-referenced test, the examinee’s performance is evaluated with respect to defined educational objectives (Gregory, 2007). The SAT taken in high-school is both a norm-reference test and a criterion-reference test, given the parts of mathematics and English and the scores specific to each subject. The scores may be used to compare students, rank them, and select  in college acceptance assessments. Percentiles are often measured, certainly indicating norm-reference testing. The SAT is additionally categorized as a group standardized test that’s quite popular given its lower cost and less training need on behalf of administrators. The norm-referenced test self update its norm where marks obtained are used as a benchmark to compare students who are subsequently tested (Freeman & Miller, 2001). An example of criterion-referenced test would be a multiple choice exam used to obtain a professional license.

Reference

Freeman, L., & Miller, A. (2001). Norm-referenced, criterion-referenced, and dynamic assessment: What exactly is the point? Educational Psychology in Practice, 17, 3–16.

Gregory, R. J. (2007). Psychological testing: History, principles, and applications (5th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.

Evolutionary psychology

Hall (1893):- Normal growth of the mind involved series of evolutionary stages

‘the child became Hall’s laboratory. Hall made extensive use of questionaires.

Hall’s recapitulation theory :- Children in thier personal development repeat the life history of the human race, evolving from a near savage state in invancy and childhood, to a rational, civilized human being in adulthood. (Shultz & Shultz, 2008, p. 204). he wrote about sex and everyone else was choked.

When he got older he was more curious about old age. He wrote The Life and Confessions of a Psychologist (1923). Once introduced as the DARWIN of the mind. Hall was never dull.

James (1890):- Psychology is the science of mental life.

James in the principles (1890) said so. The physical substructures of consciousness form a basic part of psychology. James believed not everyone has the same consciousness. Consciousness is the result of a discriminative attention to a teeming multiplicity of objects and relations(James, vol 1, p. 224). Consciousness is always changing.

William James wrote Pragmatism in 1907. James believed in the three-piece self, material, social, and spiritual. Watcon (2004) indicated that james dressed noticeably different for his time, he favored polka-dot bow ties and brightly coloured checkered pants.

With Introspection, discover states of consciousness.

Descartes is quoted “I think, therefore I am.”

Vision Makes Mission

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