Measuring the reliability of picture story exercises like the TAT

Sex Differences in Sexual Motivation in Humans and Other Mammals: The Role of Conscious and Unconscious Processes

In self-report questionnaires, men report higher scores than women on variables such as desire for sex, frequency of sexual thoughts, number of sex partners, etc. Based on this, men are considered to have a higher level of sexual motivation than women. However, retrospective self-reports may be unsuitable for estimations of the inherent level of sexual motivation. We review data on automatic (unconsciously controlled) responses and measures of implicit motivation during exposure to sexual stimuli. These responses and measures are inaccessible to willful manipulations and make it possible to determine whether the sex difference in answers to questionnaires is replicated when volitional response manipulations are unlikely. We complement the human data with observations from some rodent and non-human primate species. The attentional resources allotted to stimuli with sexual relevance as well as genital responses to such stimuli are similar in men and women. Measures of implicit motivation also fail to detect any sex difference. Finally, the frequency of masturbation is superior in female infants before the age at which social expectations begin to determine behavior. Neither in rodents nor in non-human primates is there any clear-cut evidence for sex differences in motivation. It seems that males and females are similar with regard to the intensity of sexual motivation. The responses to questionnaires may be affected by social learning of sexual scripts and/or the inferior quality of sexual experiences in women, among other things.

Forest Manners Exchange: Forest as a Place to Remedy Risky Behaviour of Adolescents: Mixed Methods Approach

This paper evaluates the impact of the forest environment on aggressive manifestations in adolescents. A remedial educative programme was performed with 68 teenagers from institutions with substitute social care with diagnoses F 30.0 (affective disorders) and F 91.0 (family-related behavioural disorders), aged 12–16 years. Adolescents observed patterns of prosocial behaviour in forest animals (wolves, wild boars, deer, bees, ants, squirrels and birds), based on the fact that processes and interactions in nature are analogous to proceedings and bonds in human society. The methodology is based on qualitative and quantitative research. Projective tests (Rorschach Test, Hand Test, Thematic Apperception Test) were used as a diagnostic tool for aggressive manifestations before and after forest therapies based on Shinrin-yoku, wilderness therapy, observational learning and forest pedagogy. Probands underwent 16 therapies lasting for two hours each. The experimental intervention has a statistically significant effect on the decreased final values relating to psychopathology, irritability, restlessness, emotional instability, egocentrism, relativity, and negativism. Forest animals demonstrated to these adolescents ways of communication, cooperation, adaptability, and care for others, i.e., characteristics without which no community can work.

Convergence between Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) and self-report: Another look at some old questions

OBJECTIVE

This study extends upon the investigation of the influence of response format on the convergence between performance-based and self-report assessments of similar mental health constructs, to further examine the role of method variance in poor heteromethod convergence.

METHODS

An online sample of 455 participants (57% male; mean age = 35.5 years) completed a multiple-choice adaptation of the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)-the Iowa Picture Interpretation Test (IPIT)-and two self-report instruments: the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) and the International Personality Item Pool (IPIP) representation of the domain traits of the five-factor model.

RESULTS

Several significant and meaningful interrelationships emerged between the IPIT and the PAI and IPIP five-factor scales.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings suggest that TAT methodology can correlate meaningfully with similar constructs assessed using self-report when comparable response formats are utilized, offering further support for the role of method variance in precluding heteromethod relationships.

Erfolgssicherheit und -gewissheit (ESG)

Zusammenfassung. Der thematische Apperzeptionstest (TAT; Heckhausen, 1963 ) ist ein bewährtes Verfahren zur Erfassung des impliziten Leistungsmotives. Dabei werden Personen instruiert, zu 6 Bildern Geschichten zu erfinden, welche dann anhand eines spezifischen Kodierschlüssels hinsichtlich der beiden Motivkomponenten Hoffen auf Erfolg und Furcht vor Misserfolg analysiert werden. Die Güte des Verfahrens hängt somit essentiell vom Auswertungskategoriensystem ab. Ziel der vorliegenden Studie ist die Erweiterung des Kodierschlüssels von Heckhausen um die Kategorie Erfolgssicherheit und -gewissheit (ESG) und deren Überprüfung. Die Auswertungsobjektivität, Test-Retest-Reliabilität (Delay: 4 Wochen) und die interne Konsistenz des Verfahrens wurden jeweils mit und ohne Berücksichtigung von ESG erfasst. Diskriminante und konvergente Validität sind durch Übereinstimmung mit konstruktnahen und -fernen Verfahren sowie faktorielle Validität mittels CFA an N = 215 Schülerinnen und Schüler ermittelt worden. Zur Prüfung der experimentellen Validität fand eine gezielte Motivanregung an N = 130 Schülerinnen und Schülern statt. Die Ergebnisse deuten darauf hin, dass durch ESG die Gütekriterien des TAT gesteigert werden können.