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Strengths of Sentence Completion Tests. Open-ended, free responseEasily administered, briefEngaging for clientPurpose disguised, some projectionCan develop special purpose testsCan become part of clinical interview (maybe most common use). Limitations of Sentence Completion Tests. Low reliabili
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1. TAT and Sentence Completion Tests
2. Strengths of Sentence Completion Tests Open-ended, free response
Easily administered, brief
Engaging for client
Purpose disguised, some projection
Can develop special purpose tests
Can become part of clinical interview (maybe most common use)
3. Limitations of Sentence Completion Tests Low reliability, validity (ISB is a possible exception)
Response styles play a strong role
Interpretation may be time-consuming
Requires literate client
Limited incremental validity of screener
4. Rotter’s Incomplete Sentences Blank (ISB) 40 items with short stems
Takes about 20 minutes, easy to administer
Has a scoring manual with scoring criteria
Acceptable reliability
Cutoff of 135 for maladjustment
5. Scoring the ISB 6. Severe conflict: suicidal, severe family probs, strong neg attitudes, bizarre
5. Moderate conflict: inferiority, generalized social difficulty, psychosomatic complaints, concern over failure.
4. Mild conflict: specific c., not deep-seated or incapacitating.
3. Neutral: neither + or -. Lacking emotion or personal reference.
2. Specific positive: + attitude toward spec. things (e.g., school, hobbies) and general warm feelings toward others.
1. General positive: gen + feelings, optimism, humor, social adjustment
0. Very positive: clear and intense humor, optimism, acceptance of others.
6. TAT: Description and Administration A set of 31 somewhat ambiguous black-and white illustrations
Up to 20 cards are selected for presentation, based on client’s age and gender
Client is instructed to create a story that describes:
What are they doing?
What happened before?
What are they thinking and feeling?
What will be the outcome?
Client’s stories are recorded verbatim
7. TAT: Strengths Richness of personality description
Reflects current concerns
Describes interpersonal issues, patterns, motivations
Taps unconscious material
8. TAT: Limitations Questionable reliability and validity
No standardization
Multiple scoring systems
Time-consuming
Relies on clinical intuition
Little known cross-culturally
9. TAT Stories: Some Assumptions Storyteller ordinarily identifies with a person in the story.
The storyteller’s dispositions, strivings and conflicts are sometimes represented symbolically.
All stories are not of equal importance.
Themes that arise directly out of card are less significant than those which are more indirect.
Recurrent themes are most important.
10. TAT Interpretation Multiple scoring systems, none standard (Murray’s is too cumbersome)
Interpretation relies on clinical skill and intuition of the tester.
Considerations:
Do stories coincide with typical themes?
Conformity with instructions
Repetition/intensity of themes
Sequence of themes (perseveration)
Psychodynamic content
Conflicts
11. TAT: Lilienfeld et al Critique Different stimulus sets limit generalizability
Multiple scoring systems
Limited incremental validity
Validity results from different systems are equivocal
No norms available
It doesn’t matter: clinicians use intuitive systems anyway