Assesses personality.

The Thematic Apperception Test is an untimed, individually administered psychological test used for personality assessment. Suitable for ages 14-40, it is used to identify dominant drives, emotions, and conflicts, as well as levels of emotional maturity, observational skills, imagination, and creativity. The subject is shown a series of pictures, one at a time, and asked to make up a story about each one, and his or her responses are evaluated by a trained psychologist. The test is usually given in two sessions, with 10 pictures shown in each one. Sessions are untimed but generally last about an hour. (For children ages 3-10, see Children's Apperception Test.)

For Further Study

Books

McCullough, Virginia. Testing and Your Child: What You Should Know About 150 of the Most Common Medical, Educational, and Psychological Tests. New York: Plume, 1992.

Shore, Milton F., Patrick J. Brice, and Barbara G. Love. When Your Child Needs Testing: What Parents, Teachers, and Other Helpers Need to Know about Psychological Testing. New York: Crossroad, 1992.

Walsh, W. Bruce, and Nancy E. Betz. Tests and Assessment. 2nd ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1990.

Wodrich, David L., and Sally A. Kush. Children's Psychological Testing: A Guide for Nonpsychologists. 2nd ed. Baltimore, MD: Brookes Publishing Co., 1990.