Assessment of object relatedness through a lexical content analysis of the TAT

A variety of psychological tests and scoring systems have been developed to assess object representation, including schemata using Rorschach responses, the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), Early Memories, and Loevinger's Sentence Completion Test for Ego Development. This article presents an alternative approach to assessing TAT responses for possible indices of self/other schemata. In this study, we explored a lexically based, quantitative approach for assessing object relations in a sample of hospitalized psychiatric patients for whom extensive clinical, psychological test, and behavioral data were available. To test the relationship between lexical choice and individuals' representational schemata, we subjected verbatim transcripts of TAT responses to a computerized content analysis and then correlated content profiles with independent assessments of object representation and interpersonal relations derived from other psychological test assessments and from behavioral and clinical observation. These included the Urist (1977) Mutuality of Autonomy score and Blatt, Brenneis, Schimek, and Glick's (1976) Developmental Analyses of the Concept of the Object, as well as ratings of clinical behavior as expressed in independently derived clinical case reports. The findings suggest that lexical choices in TAT narratives represent a highly reliable, valid means of assessing the quality of object relations, particularly unconscious or preconscious aspects of such representations.