Stories Children Tell: Should the Thematic Apperception Test be Included in Psychoeducational Assessments?

Abstract

Federal law requires that psychoeducational evaluations be comprehensive, and utilize variety of assessment measures that evaluate the child’s functioning along academic and cognitive domains as well as life skills outside of the classroom (Wiley, 2014) . Previous research suggests the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT; Harvard University Press, 1943), a measure requiring responses to ambiguous stimuli, is an important part of comprehensive psychological evaluations (Adolescence, 43(171): 593-606, 2008). However, when integrated into psychoeducational assessment batteries, the TAT poses challenges associated with validity, reliability, and theoretical conceptualization (Miller and Nickerson 2006). In light of this criticism, this study examines the role that the TAT may play in psychoeducational assessment of children. Specifically, the study explores the relationship between TAT narratives, based on Teglasi’s coding system (Wiley, 2010), and data from intelligence testing, self- and informant-rating scales of behavior. Utilizing an exploratory mixed-method design, the study concluded that the TAT and standardized intelligence and personality tests measure different aspects of cognitive and emotional domains. Clinicians are encouraged to include the TAT in comprehensive psychoeducational assessments in order to evaluate contextual cognitive processes and implicit emotional functioning that are not measured by standardized tests.