The Impact of Different Thematic Apperception Test Administration Methods on Narrative Length and Story Richness as Measured by the Social Cognition and Object Relations Scale-Global Rating Method (SCORS-G)

• Published in: Journal of personality assessment 2024-07, Vol.106 (4), p.469-481
• Main Authors: Coleman, Savanna G., Ravula, Havilah P., Stein, Michelle B, Coleman, Jeremy J., Wilcox, Melanie M., Slavin-Mulford, Jenelle M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Access; Clinical assessment; Clinical medicine; Clinical research; Handwriting; Keyboarding; Management; Narratives; Object relations; Ratings & rankings; Social cognition; Thematic Apperception Test
• ISSN: 0022-3891; 1532-7752
• DOI: 10.1080/00223891.2023.2286459

The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) is the second most commonly used performance-based task in clinical practice. However, traditional TAT administration is time-consuming and raises accessibility issues. This study examines the effect of administration modifications (i.e., examiner handwriting versus typing, examiner recording versus participant recording, and re-prompting versus no re-prompting) on narrative length and richness as measured by the Social Cognition and Object Relations Scale-Global Rating Method (SCORS-G). A four-card TAT protocol was administered to 150 college students under one of five conditions. The resulting narratives were scored by two trained raters using the SCORS-G. MANOVA procedures showed (a) no significant differences between examiner handwriting versus typing; (b) the shortest, blandest narratives were produced when the examiner recorded the narratives without re-prompting; and (c) the longest, richest narratives were produced when the participant typed the narratives with re-prompts on the computer screen. Clinical and research implications and future directions will be discussed.