Decoding tat 10 the defense mechanism manual part1(denial)
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The document discusses the development and use of a coding method for the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) to assess three primary defense mechanisms: denial, projection, and identification. It outlines specific criteria and categories for scoring responses related to these defenses, emphasizing the importance of understanding defense mechanisms for accurate assessment. Additionally, it examines the relationship between defense mechanisms and factors such as IQ, personality traits, and psychiatric symptom change over different stages of development.
![TAT NO Omission of
Major Object
Misperception
Distorted Perception Opposite Sex
10 human figure 1,
human figure 2
(TAT10) Perceiving both
characters as “young”;
Perceiving both
characters as
female, or both as
male.
12MF standing man,
prone man
(TAT12M) The girl on the
couch”[As of 2000, many see
this figureas female. Thus, after
this date, do not score “girl” as
a Misperception]
14 standing man,
window
“A child at the
window”
15 man,
tombstones
(graveyard)
(TAT15) score “ghost” under
Projection
17BM man ,rope “ That’s a statue climbing down
a rope”
“ Is that a picture of me?” (S is](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/decodingtat10-thedefensemechanismmanualpart1denial-191115061647/85/Decoding-tat-10-the-defense-mechanism-manual-part1-denial-11-320.jpg)
![TAT NO Misperception Reversal
Distorted Perception Oppo
site
Sex
12MF (TAT12M) The girl on the
couch”[As of 2000, many see
this figureas female. Thus, after
this date, do not score “girl” as a
Misperception]
“(TAT12M) The boy is in a
coma and the man is hexing
him. The boy will get the man
in his power”;
17BM “ That’s a statue climbing down a
rope”
“ Is that a picture of me?” (S is 5
years old)
“(TAT17BM) I am in a big
cave and I’m caught . And
he’s half way up to the top
(Here the S has changed the
threatened “I” into “he”);
“He is an actress (S is 9 years
old)”A character first described
as a Father becomes a
Grandfather, or vice versa .](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/decodingtat10-thedefensemechanismmanualpart1denial-191115061647/85/Decoding-tat-10-the-defense-mechanism-manual-part1-denial-13-320.jpg)
Decoding tat 10 the defense mechanism manual part1(denial)
- 1. Compiled by Col Mukteshwar Prasad(Retd), Mtech(IITD),CE(I),FIE(I),FIETE,FISLE,FInstOD,AMCSI Contact -9007224278, e-mail – muktesh_prasad@yahoo.co.in for book ”Decoding Services Selection Board” and SSB guidance and training at Shivnandani Edu and Defence Academy Decoding TAT -10 Three Defenses and The Defense Mechanism Manual –Part 1 (Denial)
- 2. Introduction The function of defenses has been modified over the years, from a counter-force against instincts to the protection of self-esteem. To understand the role of defenses in pathological and normal development, a coding method to use with Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) stories – the Defense Mechanism Manual (Cramer, 1991a) – has been developed Three broad defenses – Denial, Projection, and Identification – may be coded with this method. Research has shown that the two ego functions of defense and IQ are not correlated in childhood and adolescence, but are correlated in adulthood defenses and IQ. Importantly, IQ serves as a moderator for the effect of defense use on variables such as Psychiatric symptom change, Level of Ego Development, and Big Five personality traits
- 3. The Defense Mechanism Manual The Defense Mechanism Manual was developed to assess the use of three defenses as told in standard TAT— Denial, Projection, and Identification Specific criteria have been developed for TAT Cards 1, 2, 3BM, 3GF, 4, 5, 6BM, 6GF, 7BM, 7GF, 8BM, 8GF, 10, 12F,12MF, 13G, 13MF, 14, 15, 17BM, 18GF, 20 (For Pictures refer https://www.slideshare.net/ColMukteshwarPrasad/decoding- tat-5-theme-elicited-from-murrays-cards) The scoring for each defense is based on seven categories, each designed to reflect a different aspect of the defense. Each category may be scored as often as necessary, with the exception of a direct repetition in the story; in cases of repetition, the category is scored only once Although examples are provided to aid in deciding whether a category should be scored or not, inevitably questions will arise. A thorough knowledge of the nature of the defense mechanisms will help in answering these questions. Beyond this, the general rule to be followed is, “When in doubt, leave it out.” That is, if there is a serious question about whether or not the story segment is an example of the defense, do not score it.
- 4. Coding Category of TAT of 3 broad defenses – Denial, Projection, and Identification Denial PROJECTION: IDENTIFICATION: 1.Omission 1.Attribution of Aggressive or Hostile Feeling, Emotions, or Intentions to a Character, or Other Feelings, Emotions, or Intentions that are Normatively Unusual. 1.Emulation of Skills 2.Misperception 2.Additions of Ominous People, Ghosts, Animals, Objects or Qualities. 2.Emulation of Characteristics 3.Reversal 3. Magical or Circumstantial Thinking 3.Regulation of Motives or Behavior 4.Statements of Negation 4. Concern for Protection from External Threat 4.Self-esteem through Affiliation 5.Denial of Reality 5.Apprehensiveness of Death, Injury, or Assault 5.Work: Delay of Gratification 6.Overly Maximizing Positive, Minimizing Negative 6. Themes of Pursuit, Entrapment, and Escape 6.Role Differentiation 7.Unexpected Goodness, 7.Bizarre or Very Unusual Story or Theme 7.Moralism
- 5. Denial A . Primitive Denial The story-teller assumes that the stimulus card is something, and the defense is seen in the avoidance or changing the nature of that thing. 1. Omission of Major Characters of Objects-Failure to perceive salient stimuli(the major or obvious objects) that are perceived by nearly all one’s peers . Do not score if reference to the function of a critical object is made. For example, the knife in TAT 8BM may be implied by the mention of an operation, or stabbing; the gun in TAT 8BM may be implied by shooting; On TAT 1, reference to the object, even if not named, is sufficient. (However, if it is named incorrectly, score under Denial(2). On TAT 7GF, reference to “holding something” is sufficient.
- 6. TAT NO Omission of Major Object(1) Misperception 1 boy ,violin 2 girl in front , pregnant woman (pregnancy must be indicated), man (or, family, parents) 3BM person, gun or knife 3GF Person 4 Man , woman 5 Woman, room 6BM young man, older woman 6GF man ,woman 7BM older man, younger man 7GF young girl, woman, baby or doll 8BM gun, knife, standing young
- 7. TAT NO Omission of Major Object Misperception 10 human figure 1, human figure 2 12F young woman, old woman 12MF standing man, prone man 13G stairway , female figure 13MF standing man, prone woman 14 standing man, window 15 man, tombstones (graveyard) 17BM man ,rope 18GF woman above,1woman below
- 8. Denial A . Primitive Denial ….. 2.Misperception This may come about because The perceptual process itself is distorted due to pathology, or In the case of a child or inexperienced person the name of the object is not known, and the individual defensively calls it something it is not. In a situation in which the individual does not have all the information needed, he is able to cope Adaptively, or Whether he must distort the situation to fit his inadequate knowledge. Examples of adaptive coping are seen in the following two stories to TAT 1.In both cases, the child is uncertain about how to identify the violin: “This person is thinking what to do, with something that is in front of him . He might use it for something, or something might happen. The thing that might happen is that he might think of something to do with the thing. (What happens?) He’s going to do something with it. He’s thinking what he will use it for, what it is supposed to be used for; on some kind of material, which is called paper.” “That’s a little boy. He’s down on his work bench and he’s looking this over and he’s wondering what it is. And he’s wondering if he’ll ever find out. He can’t wait ‘till his father comes home so he can ask his father. And he’s kind of sitting there wondering when his father will come
- 9. Denial A . Primitive Denial ….. 2.Misperception…. e wondering when his father will come home.” (a) Any unusual or distorted perception of a figure, object, or action in the picture which is without sufficient support for the observation , if and only if the projected image is NOT of ominous quality, in which case it would be scored under Projection. (b) Perception of a figure as being of the opposite sex from that usually perceived“ Note: If the story-teller misperceives an object, and then corrects the misperception, score Denial(2). If, after the correction, he continues to use the misperception as the basis for the story, score also under Denial(5). Do not score on TAT 1 if children call the violin a guitar, harp, or instrument. Do not score if violin is called a “thing”, “object”, or “that”. Only score when violin is turned into something other than a musical instrument. Do not score if violin is referred to as “homework or a“project” unless it is clear that this means something other than a violin- e.g., a book, a boat, etc.
- 10. TAT NO Omission of Major Object(1) Misperception Distorted Perception Opposite Sex 1 • boy ,violin “That’s a cross- bow;” “He’s eating;” 3BM person, gun or knife “The child on the floor” 8BM gun, knife, standing young man ,prone man “The man is tickling the man lying down;”
- 11. TAT NO Omission of Major Object Misperception Distorted Perception Opposite Sex 10 human figure 1, human figure 2 (TAT10) Perceiving both characters as “young”; Perceiving both characters as female, or both as male. 12MF standing man, prone man (TAT12M) The girl on the couch”[As of 2000, many see this figureas female. Thus, after this date, do not score “girl” as a Misperception] 14 standing man, window “A child at the window” 15 man, tombstones (graveyard) (TAT15) score “ghost” under Projection 17BM man ,rope “ That’s a statue climbing down a rope” “ Is that a picture of me?” (S is
- 12. Denial A . Primitive Denial ….. 3. Reversal The reversal may be either in terms of the usual perception of the card or in the story itself, especially when the reversal is normatively unusual. (a)Transformations such as weakness into strength, fear in to courage, passivity into activity, and vice versa. “He had been king of the jungle, but now he was very old”; “The mouse used to be afraid; then he grew up and fought the lion”; “He used to be an excellent surgeon, but then he killed a man by mistake”; Note: If the transformation involves a drastic change for the good, score under Denial(7). (b) Score any figure who takes on qualities previously stated conversely in the story, including change of sex of figure. Reversal differs from Denial(4) and Denial(6) in that it involves both ends of a continuum (e.g., weak-strong), rather than just one end which is negated (e.g., weak-not weak: Denial 4) or overly stressed (Denial 6). Reversal may be scored where one end of the continuum is implied but not explicitly stated (strength—weakness, implied by growing old). Do not score “growing old” by itself. Do not score if a character doesn’t know how to do something and then learns how. Do not score if character was strong, became weak through tiredness, but in the end won, or was strong again; or if sad, but through doing something, becomes happy.
- 13. TAT NO Misperception Reversal Distorted Perception Oppo site Sex 12MF (TAT12M) The girl on the couch”[As of 2000, many see this figureas female. Thus, after this date, do not score “girl” as a Misperception] “(TAT12M) The boy is in a coma and the man is hexing him. The boy will get the man in his power”; 17BM “ That’s a statue climbing down a rope” “ Is that a picture of me?” (S is 5 years old) “(TAT17BM) I am in a big cave and I’m caught . And he’s half way up to the top (Here the S has changed the threatened “I” into “he”); “He is an actress (S is 9 years old)”A character first described as a Father becomes a Grandfather, or vice versa .
- 14. Denial A . Primitive Denial ….. 4. Statements of Negation Simply stating something in the negative (e.g., “He didn’t do it”) is not sufficient to be scored in this category . Whether or not to score a negative statement depends on whether the negation is defensive. Sometimes this can be determined by the fact that the negative statement is unusual or unexpected (e.g., “He didn’t stuff peanuts up his nose”) - i.e., that no one would have expected this event to happen anyway, so why point out that it didn’t happen. At other times the defensive nature of the negation is more straight forward (e.g., “He didn’t get hurt”). Often, only the context will make it clear if the statement is defensive or not. (a) Score if a character “does not ...” any action, wish, or intention , which, if acknowledged, would cause displeasure, pain or humiliation. “He caught the mouse but did not kill him”; “He never fell down from ropes” (b ) Score also statements in which the story-teller negates or denies a fact or feeling. “He is going to go hunting and catch something. I don’t know what,though” “I don’t know what that is (referring to whole card or part of card)”; “At first I thought he was dead, but he isn’t;” “No one is in that bed (CAT 5, referring to large bed)” “I don’t know where he is going”.
- 15. Denial A . Primitive Denial ….. 4. Statements of Negation …(b ) Score…. where he is going”. (c) References to doubt as to what the picture is or represents. “What is it? I don’t understand the picture”should be scored here, and should be distinguished from references to difficulty in formulating a story(“I can’t think of what to say”) which is an example of Repression. The difference lies in the fact that Denial generally operates on a more concrete level, while Repression is seen in the person’s inability to think of something . Do not score if “I don’t know” is used as a way to end a story, or is in response to a question by the examiner. Do not score if a character wants to or tries to do something, but can’t or isn’t able to, or doesn’t know how to. Do not score if a character doesn’t like something, or doesn’t want to do something that is neutral or pleasant in nature (e.g, do not score “He doesn’t want to practice the violin”) Do not score “He doesn’t want to get hurt, ”but do score “He doesn’t get hurt” Do not score “He does not reveal it” (a secret, a clue)here; score under PRO 4) Do not score, on TAT 17BM, “He’s got no clothes on”.
- 16. Denial A . Primitive Denial ….. 5. Denial of Reality This is an overlapping category with Denial (4) (a)The story-teller denies the reality of the story or situation by the use of phrases such as “It was just a dream”; “It didn’t really happen” “It was all make-believe” “(TAT 8BM) That’s really a dummy; when they cut it, it was all red cotton”; “They’re going to play (pretend) a fight” “(TAT 3BM): describing the gun as cap pistol or water pistol Describing the picture as part of a movie o Do not scoreTAT8BM if it is described as a dream, due to the nebulous atmosphere of the picture. (b) Sleeping, daydreaming or fainting as a way of avoiding something unpleasant. (c) References to avoiding looking at something that would be unpleasant to see, or hearing something that would be unpleasant to hear, or thinking something that would be unpleasant to think. “He’s walking away because he doesn’t want to see the operation” (d)Any perception, attribution, or implication which is blatantly false with regard to reality as generally defined or to reality as defined by the picture. “(CAT 10) The two dogs are playing checkers”; “(CAT 10, referring to crib) Nothing is in here”;
- 17. Denial A . Primitive Denial ….. 5. Denial of Reality…“(CAT 10) He’s going to have puppies” “The dog climbs up the rope”; “(TAT15) He has come up out of his grave” “(TAT17BM) A statue climbing a rope” (score also under Denial(2) for misperception of figure in the picture. The score under Denial(5) is for a statue doing something which statues can not do in reality. Note: If the perception is not false so much as being unusual or distorted,including seeing the picture as being of the opposite sex from the usual perception, score under Denial(2). Do not score running away from or avoiding ‘society’ here; score under Identification(3) B.Pollyannish Denial Pollyannish denial belongs to a later period of development than primitive denial, and may involve a rather saccharine,
- 18. Denial 2.Misperception This may come about because The perceptual process itself is distorted due to pathology, or Because, in the case of a child or inexperienced person the name of the object is not known, and the individual defensively calls it something it is not. In a situation in which the individual does not have all the information needed, he is able to cope adaptively, or whether he must distort the situation to fit his inadequate knowledge. Examples of adaptive coping are seen in the following two stories to TAT 1;in both cases, the child is uncertain about how to identify the violin: “This person is thinking what to do, with something that is in front of him . He might use it for something, or something might happen. The thing that might happen is that he might think of something to do with the thing. (What happens?) He’s going to do something with it. He’s thinking what he will use it for, what it is supposed to be used for; on some kind of material, which is called paper.” “That’s a little boy. He’s down on his work bench and he’s looking this over and he’s wondering what it is. And he’s wondering if he’ll ever find out. He can’t wait ‘till his father comes home so he can ask his father. And he’s kind of sitting there wondering when his father will come home.” (a) Any unusual or distorted perception of a figure, object, or action in the picture which is without sufficient support for the observation , if
- 19. Denial A . Primitive Denial ….. 6. Overly Maximizing the Positive or Minimizing the Negative Any gross exaggeration or under estimation of a character’s Qualities, Potency, Size, Power, Beauty, or Possessions. “(CAT3) A small lion”; “An old lion (weakness implied)”; “The most beautiful in the world”; “The biggest in the world” (referring to person, animal, or parts of these; “The eagle picks up the lion”; Note: If the exaggerated quality involves a reversal of the character’s usual nature, score under Denial(3). Do not score exaggeration of physical objects (e.g., “the highest mountain”; “he fell thousands of feet”)
- 20. Denial A . Primitive Denial ….. 7. Unexpected Goodness, Optimism, Positiveness, Gentleness (a)Unexpected goodness. This is a difficult category to score and should be scored only when beyond doubt. It is often seen in instances of revenge, when the revenge is built up to, but never consummated when the opportunity arises. Building up to a theme of harm and then concluding without justification that all is well is scored here. Also when a character “takes his lumps” or punishment or bad luck completely in stride when all previous indications were of an avenging “righteous indignation” attitude. “The lion chases the mouse for many hours; he finally catches him, but then he lets him go”; “He has always failed, but he knows that he will be successful in the end.” (b) Any sort of drastic change of heart for the good.“
- 21. Denial A . Primitive Denial ….. 7. Unexpected Goodness, Optimism, Positiveness, Gentleness (c) Also scored here are references to natural beauty, wonder, awesomeness.“ He realized the beauty and magnificence of the forest” “She contemplated the wonder of the universe”. “(TAT1) He found peace with his violin” “(TAT14) He finds enlightenment” (d) Nonchalance in the face of danger. (e) Acceptance of one’s (negative) fate or loss, with the justification of not really wanting it anyway; a “sour grapes” attitude. “He learns to make the best out of what he’s got.” Note: If the change for the good involves a moralistic turn, score under Identification(7). Do not score “they lived happily ever after ” or similar
- 22. Denial 6. Overly Maximizing the Positive or Minimizing the Negative Any gross exaggeration or under estimation of a character’s Qualities, Potency, Size, Power, Beauty, or Possessions. “(CAT3) A small lion”; “An old lion (weakness implied)”; “The most beautiful in the world”; “The biggest in the world” (referring to person, animal, or parts of these; “The eagle picks up the lion”; Note: If the exaggerated quality involves a reversal of the character’s usual nature, score under Denial(3). Do not score exaggeration of physical objects (e.g., “the highest
- 23. Denial 7. Unexpected Goodness, Optimism, Positiveness, Gentleness (a)Unexpected goodness. This is a difficult category to score and should be scored only when beyond doubt. It is often seen in instances of revenge, when the revenge is built up to, but never consummated when the opportunity arises. Building up to a theme of harm and then concluding without justification that all is well is scored here. Also when a character “takes his lumps” or punishment or bad luck completely in stride when all previous indications were of an avenging “righteous indignation” attitude. “The lion chases the mouse for many hours; he finally catches him, but then he lets him go”; “He has always failed, but he knows that he will be successful in the end.” (b) Any sort of drastic change of heart for the good.“ He is a murderer who goes around killing people. But then he decides to become a doctor and saves many lives”.