The Children's Apperception Test: possible applications for adults

This paper illustrates the benefits that can be gained from administering the Child's Apperception Test (CAT) to adults. Five CAT and five Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) pictures were administered to 20 freshmen psychology students and 20 mental hospital patients. Five CAT-Human (CAT-H) and five TAT pictures were shown to 20 other freshmen psychology students, thus isolating the effect of the animal figures used in the CAT. The stories of all subjects were rated on various measures designed to test the level and type of projection. Results were compared and analyzed, both statistically and clinically, and demonstrated by clinical examples. Findings of this study prove the unique contribution of the CAT in reflecting basic infantile conflicts and experiences, and indicate that use of the CAT is beneficial for certain adult personality types.