| The Rorschach and the TAT are two of the most popular and distinguished assessment instruments from among the class of personality techniques. While the Rorschach and the TAT are often used in conjunction in providing a diagnostic investigation of the personality, little is known about the extent to which these instruments are measuring similar or disparate aspects of personality. The present study was an attempt to begin to delineate the overall relationship between these two measures.;Whereas the Rorschach maintains a psychometrically sound quantitative scoring system, the Comprehensive System, the TAT lacks a widely accepted objective scoring system. Given the success of the Rorschach Comprehensive System, this research focused on quantifying 13 TAT constructs that were consistent with variables from the Rorschach Comprehensive System. These constructs were chosen from already existing operationalized TAT constructs as well as from TAT nonoperationalized constructs that were then operationalized for the purposes of constructing the TAT Comprehensive System Scoring Manual. Interrater reliabilities for the TAT variables ranged from low to high.;Archival data composed of Rorschach and TAT protocols was used from 917 subjects for correlational analysis. While certain demographic characteristics of this sample are not available due to the archival nature of the data, the sample was adult in age, represented a reasonably wide range of functioning, and was from the greater New York metropolitan area.;The TAT Comprehensive Scoring System Manual is a preliminary step towards establishing an empirically based scoring system that has practical implications for clinical use. Results indicated that while there is some overlap between the TAT and Rorschach on some personality traits, there are differences in what they measure. Findings confirmed the usefulness of the TAT as a personality measure, not just to corroborate Rorschach data, but also as a distinct instrument that is particularly useful in measuring emotional and social functioning.;Limitations of the current study were reviewed including the use of archival data and difficulty obtaining adequate interrater reliabilities for several TAT variables. In addition, suggestions for future empirical work were reviewed. |
