Thematic Apperception Test

LIWC dimension Your data Male average Female average
Need for Achievement 3.44 5.8 5.6
Need for Affiliation 1.38 1.1 1.3
Need for power 0.46 1.7 1.8
Self-references (I, me, my) 0.00 0.5 0.8
Social words 14.91 11.4 12.0
Positive emotions 5.73 1.8 2.1
Negative emotions 1.38 1.5 1.6
Big words (> 6 letters) 21.10 18.7 17.7

Overall, you wrote 436 words in the 10 minutes.

Your TAT description: Pearl was unaware of the eyes on her. She was engrossed as always in the work before her. She had always had that trait--an ability to lose herself in her task. The world was a little less real to Pearl than the task in front of her. Margaret admired these qualities in Pearl. She often found herself hanging off to the side while Pearl worked, watching. She had known Pearl for almost five years now and she had never met anyone as interesting, or as difficult to connect with, as Pearl. Margaret found her idiosyncrasies endearing. It was almost three years into the relationship before she understood that she loved Pearl. She had never verbalized that love and she felt sure that Pearl was unaware of the nature of her feelings. It wasn't that they weren't obvious though. She knew that others picked up on them, but just didn't have a context to put them in. If she or Pearl had been male, no one--except perhaps Pearl--would have been able to mistake the adoration as other than love. As it was, most people simply thought Margaret an ultimate "yes man". Whatever Pearl said, Margaret was in agreement. It wasn't that way though. Generally Margaret was outspoken and unafraid to speak her mind. It's just that she rarely found reason to disagree with the wisdom she saw emanating from her object of affection. Pearl was not involved romantically. Sometimes Margaret wondered if Pearl had the emotional capacity for that kind of connection to another human. Her science was the object of her affection. She entered a state of flow that was almost entranced when she began to work and she worked almost continuously. Pearl had already been honored by many scientific organizations for her contributions. Many men admired both her beauty and her talent, but most were also intimidated or threatened by them as well. Pearl seemed unconcerned with any of the attention shown to her by these men. This pleased Margaret. Though she had once been married to a man herself, it would have been hard to watch Pearl engaged emotionally and romantically with a man. She had not yet figured out how to communicate to Pearl her affections. She was not yet sure she ever would. Something told her that if Pearl returned the affections, no societal expectation of male/female bonding would keep her from being present to a romantic attraction felt for Margaret,but Margaret understood that Pearl may not be capable of romantic attraction for any other human. This awareness kept Margaret admiring from the sidelines--where she would likely remain.


Funny. This picture typically inspires achievement oriented themes and I write a lesbian love story. lol!

 

LIWC dimension
Your data Male average Female average
Need for Achievement 11.72 5.8 5.6
Need for Affiliation 0.00 1.1 1.3
Need for power 0.00 1.7 1.8
Self-references(I, me, my) 1.56 0.5 0.8
Social words 14.84 11.4 12.0
Positive emotions 4.69 1.8 2.1
Negative emotions 0.00 1.5 1.6
Big words (> 6 letters) 31.25 18.7 17.7

Overall, you wrote 128 words in the 10 minutes.
Need for Achievement. The typical person generally scores between 4.5 and 8.5, with an average of 5.7. The higher your number, the more you wrote about achievement-related themes.
Need for Affiliation. Because this picture typically elicits themes associated with achievement, most people don't pay too much attention to human relationships in their story. In fact, the typical person scores around 1.2 on this dimension. Indeed, 30% of participants score 0.00.
Need for Power. Most people score between 0.8 and 2.7, with the average being 1.7. High scores on the need for power dimension hint that the writer is concerned with who is or is not in control andwho has the most status.
One thing that is interesting about this kind of exercise is that language analyses can tell us many things about the writer that go far beyond power, achievement, and affiliation. Look at the table below. In it, you can determine some features of your own writing and can get a sense of your writing style compared with others:
Self-references: People who use a high rate of self-references tend to be more insecure, nervous, and possibly depressed. They also tend to be more honest.
Social words: Social words are words that make reference to other people (e.g., they, she, us, talk, friends). Generally, people who use a high level of social words are more outgoing and more socially connected with others.
Positive emotion words: The more that people use positive emotion words (e.g. happy, love, good), the more optimistic they tend to be. If you feel good about yourself, you are more likely to see the world in a positive way.
Negative emotion words: Use of negative emotion words (e.g., sad, kill, afraid) is weakly linked to people's ratings of anxiety or even neurotic. People who have had a bad day are more likely to see the world through negatively-tinted glasses.
Big words (words with more than 6 letters): Use of big words is weakly related to higher grades and standardized test scores. People who use a high rate of big words also tend to be less emotional and oftentimes psychologically distant or detached.
The Big Picture: The above interpretations should be considered with a grain of salt for your own writing. Your approach to the assignment may have been influenced by people bothering you, concerns about other things in your life, lack of sleep, etc. In addition, it is important to remember that the TAT is generally administered in a highly controlled situation and is always graded by a real-live human being. You will recall from the book that the TAT was devised to tap people's needs for achievement, power, and affiliation. Look at your own writings and see if you can pick up if you were in high in these motives. For example, if you said that one person was thinking about her future career, a TAT expert would probably say that you were higher in a need for achievement than if you said that the person was thinking about her lover (which would hint that you were higher in need for affiliation).

 

My story was about a woman who created a tiny red-oozing animal and needed to get it out of the lab undetected, but was having difficulty because a crowd of people was watching the demonstration.


Average scores on "social words," "positive emotions," and "big words." Slightly above average on "negative emotions." Low on everything else. Apparently, I have no interest in power or affiliation.




LIWC dimension - Your data - Male average - Female average

• Need for Achievement - 2.13 - 5.8 - 5.6
• Need for Affiliation - 0.35 - 1.1 - 1.3
• Need for power - 0.35 - 1.7 - 1.8
• Self-references (I, me, my) - 0.35 - 0.5 - 0.8
• Social words - 12.41 - 11.4 - 12.0
• Positive emotions - 1.77 - 1.8 - 2.1
• Negative emotions - 2.84 - 1.5 - 1.6
• Big words (> 6 letters) - 15.60 - 18.7 - 17.7

Overall, you wrote 282 words in the 10 minutes.



My higher than average scores:

Social words: Social words are words that make reference to other people (e.g., they, she, us, talk, friends). Generally, people who use a high level of social words are more outgoing and more socially connected with others.

Negative emotion words: Use of negative emotion words (e.g., sad, kill, afraid) is weakly linked to people's ratings of anxiety or even neurotic. People who have had a bad day are more likely to see the world through negatively-tinted glasses.


Good test!

 

I kept mine brief, and ridiculous.


Your TAT description:
Briefly afterwards, the pair of scientists received a dose of radiation from the concoction and both received amazing superpowers. Alice who had been testing the effects of MSG in various brands of soup had suddenly discovered an amazing blast of flavor radiation that had never before been witnessed in the world. She quickly developed the power to turn anything edible. A wonderful but dangerous power to be sure. She knew she would have a great responsibility in the years to come, and thought of all the wonderful opportunities for third world countries.

Jen, her assistant had received a less direct blast, but still gained the ability to instantly identify the location of amazingly delicious food no matter where it existed in the world. The duo set off to explore the world and deliver delicious confections to all people across the Earth. No other superheroes had ever been so lauded as they were. As the years passed...

Suddenly Jen snapped out of her daydream, and realized her samples had finished incubating and got back to work. But a scientist can always dream.

LIWC dimension - Your data - Male average - Female average

Need for Achievement - 2.66 - 5.8 - 5.6
Need for Affiliation - 0.53 - 1.1 - 1.3
Need for power - 1.60 - 1.7 - 1.8
Self-references (I, me, my) - 0.00 - 0.5 - 0.8
Social words - 4.79 - 11.4 - 12.0
Positive emotions - 4.29 - 1.8 - 2.1
Negative emotions - 0.53 - 1.5 - 1.6
Big words (> 6 letters) - 26.06 - 18.7 - 17.7

 

LIWC dimension
Need for Achievement 3.25 5.8 5.6
Need for Affiliation 0.72 1.1 1.3
Need for power 1.81 1.7 1.8
Self-references (I, me, my) 0.00 0.5 0.8
Social words 5.78 11.4 12.0
Positive emotions 1.44 1.8 2.1
Negative emotions 4.69 1.5 1.6
Big words (> 6 letters) 25.63 18.7 17.7
Overall, you wrote 277 words in the 10 minutes.
Need for Achievement. The typical person generally scores between 4.5 and 8.5, with an average of 5.7. The higher your number, the more you wrote about achievement-related themes.
Need for Affiliation. Because this picture typically elicits themes associated with achievement, most people don't pay too much attention to human relationships in their story. In fact, the typical person scores around 1.2 on this dimension. Indeed, 30% of participants score 0.00.
Need for Power. Most people score between 0.8 and 2.7, with the average being 1.7. High scores on the need for power dimension hint that the writer is concerned with who is or is not in control andwho has the most status.
One thing that is interesting about this kind of exercise is that language analyses can tell us many things about the writer that go far beyond power, achievement, and affiliation. Look at the table below. In it, you can determine some features of your own writing and can get a sense of your writing style compared with others:
Self-references: People who use a high rate of self-references tend to be more insecure, nervous, and possibly depressed. They also tend to be more honest.
Social words: Social words are words that make reference to other people (e.g., they, she, us, talk, friends). Generally, people who use a high level of social words are more outgoing and more socially connected with others.
Positive emotion words: The more that people use positive emotion words (e.g. happy, love, good), the more optimistic they tend to be. If you feel good about yourself, you are more likely to see the world in a positive way.
Negative emotion words: Use of negative emotion words (e.g., sad, kill, afraid) is weakly linked to people's ratings of anxiety or even neurotic. People who have had a bad day are more likely to see the world through negatively-tinted glasses.
Big words (words with more than 6 letters): Use of big words is weakly related to higher grades and standardized test scores. People who use a high rate of big words also tend to be less emotional and oftentimes psychologically distant or detached.

 

I wrote about an affair between a student and her professor.



Need for Achievement 5.18 5.8 5.6
Need for Affiliation 2.13 1.1 1.3
Need for power 1.22 1.7 1.8
Self-references (I, me, my)0.0 00.5 0.8
Social words 20.12 11.4 12.0
Positive emotions 4.57 1.8 2.1
Negative emotions 0.61 1.5 1.6
Big words (> 6 letters)15.55 18.7 17.7

 

Need for Achievement 3.99 5.8 5.6
Need for Affiliation 0.20 1.1 1.3
Need for power 0.20 1.7 1.8
Self-references (I, me, my) 9.18 0.5 0.8
Social words 1.80 11.4 12.0
Positive emotions 2.59 1.8 2.1
Negative emotions 1.80 1.5 1.6
Big words (> 6 letters) 14.77

Overall, you wrote 501 words in the 10 minutes.
I wrote about a guy that, due to family influences, had an inordinate draw to science (particular Physics) so that he could appear smart. the story was about the day dream and discover of his subconscious view of wanting to be smart seconds before performing an experiment that will either make him become a internationally known scientist or just a tech writer.
(I wrote in the third person, that's why my self reference school is abnormally high)

 

I took the test, and discovered I am a minority, statistically speaking. lol

Need for Achievement. I was higher than average.
Need for Affiliation. I got 2.2 or something like that. Does this mean I crave affiliation twice as much as the average person? That's a bit scary.
Need for Power. I got zero. What does that mean? This also scares me. Because if I have ambitions, I figure power would be a necessary component.
Self-references: I had zero, but I would say I possess many of the characteristics of those who use a lot of self-references.
Social words: I used more than the average, but I'm not a social person unless I'm absolutely forced to be; otherwise I'm quite anti-social.
Positive emotion words: I used more than the average. But I just wrote a poem today about being doomed to loneliness. lol So this is funny.
Negative emotion words: I used less than the average. But I AM neurotic. Also, refer to previous statement. lol
Big words (words with more than 6 letters): I used big words, certainly more than the average, but I AM emotional, even if my observations come from a detached place.

So in conclusion: I am in a small minority, according to this test. And maybe possess some notable contradictions.