Introduction to the Special Section on the Social Cognition and Object Relations Scale–Global Rating Method: From Research to Practice

The Impact of Different Thematic Apperception Test Administration Methods on Narrative Length and Story Richness as Measured by the Social Cognition and Object Relations Scale-Global Rating Method (SCORS-G)

The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) is the second most commonly used performance-based task in clinical practice. However, traditional TAT administration is time-consuming and raises accessibility issues. This study examines the effect of administration modifications (i.e., examiner handwriting versus typing, examiner recording versus participant recording, and re-prompting versus no re-prompting) on narrative length and richness as measured by the Social Cognition and Object Relations Scale-Global Rating Method (SCORS-G). A four-card TAT protocol was administered to 150 college students under one of five conditions. The resulting narratives were scored by two trained raters using the SCORS-G. MANOVA procedures showed (a) no significant differences between examiner handwriting versus typing; (b) the shortest, blandest narratives were produced when the examiner recorded the narratives without re-prompting; and (c) the longest, richest narratives were produced when the participant typed the narratives with re-prompts on the computer screen. Clinical and research implications and future directions will be discussed.

How narrative source impacts convergence of ratings from the Social Cognition and Object Relations Scale-Global Rating Method with psychotherapy process measures

This study examines the construct validity of the Social Cognition and Object Relations Scale-Global Rating Method (SCORS-G; Westen, 1995; see also Stein & Mulford, 2018) by exploring the degree of convergence across different narrative sources (i.e., early memories [EM] and psychotherapy narratives [PT]) in relation to patient- and therapist-rated psychotherapy process measures. Using a university-based outpatient sample (n = 81), we found limited convergence for SCORS-G ratings across narrative type. First, paired t tests showed that the means for six of the eight SCORS-G dimensions differed significantly between the EM and PT narratives with the majority having a large magnitude of effect. Moreover, despite 29 significant correlations between a SCORS-G dimension and either an alliance or session quality variable, only two of the eight SCORS-G dimensions significantly correlated with the same process variable across narrative type (e.g., patient-rated session depth with SCORS-G Self Esteem [SE] and Identity and Coherence of Self [ICS]). Importantly, the high degree of theoretical coherence in the associations that emerged between the SCORS-G dimensions and the process variables suggest that the lack of convergence was not due to limited validity of the SCORS-G. Instead, the results underscore the importance of multi-method assessment techniques by highlighting that the manner in which a narrative is elicited will impact the object relational content patients provide. Future research and clinical implications related to the SCORS-G, alliance and psychotherapy process are discussed.

Validity of the TAT in Brazil: Theoretical and Methodological Issues

Abstract Although the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) is popular in Brazil, showing evidences of its validity remains a challenge. In the present article, we discuss such issue by analyzing the definition of the TAT as a projective method and a psychological test, its use by different theoretical traditions, relations between nomothetic and idiographic analysis levels, limitations of Classical Test Theory for evaluating the instrument’s properties, and challenges regarding research and practice with the instrument in Brazil. We advocate that overcoming a traditional view of projective techniques, using multidimensional methods and performing wider empirical studies on norms and validation evidences with multicenter databases may allow more secure and informed practices with the instrument among researchers and practitioners in the country.