(Q-o) There is no
relationship
between these people.
Adorno-T-Authoritarian-Personality-Harper-Bros-1950
, the selection of illustrative cases is entirely random.
This is probably
? 530
THE AUTHORIT ARIAN PERSONALITY
a good thing, for it will be clear that we are not dealing here with dramatic instances of the T. A. T. at its best, but with virtues and faults and difficul- ties which appe4r in its ordinary application. .
In the previous discussion we have spoken only of trends in the stories of low and high scorers; it is not to be expected that all of these trends will appear in the record of any one individual. In examining the stories of Mack and Larry we shall be concerned with the particular combinations of trends that appear to be consistent with the responses of these two subjects on the Ethnocentrism scale, and we shall point out those trends which appear to be inconsistent with the E-scale scores. This analysis will be carried out against the background afforded by the preceding pages of this chapter.
Presented below are the verbatim records of the stories produced by Mack and by Larry in response to our regular set of ten pictures. The two sets of stories were obtained by the same (male) examiner. The figure in parenthesis immediately following the number of the picture indicates the elapsed time, in seconds, between the presentation of the picture and the subject's begin- ning of his story. The examiner's questions are given in parenthesis within the body of the story. The notation (Q-o) refers to a question about the outcome of the story, e. g. , "How does it turn out," (Q-m) to a request for elaboration or explanation of what the subject said immediately before, and (p) indicates a pause on the part of the subject.
After each story the ratings (on the I -5 scale) of the needs and press in the story are given. Tabulation of these ratings appear at the end of each set of stories.
The analyses of the stories, which follow the presentation of the tabulated ratings, were "blind" in the sense that the analyst was not familiar with any of the other material on these two subjects. All that was known was that Mack scored high, and Larry low, on the E scale. If these analyses accord well with what is already known about these subjects, and, more particularly, with the clinical material to be given later, they will constitute evidence in favor of the validity of the T. A. T.
1. LARRY'S STORIES
M 1 ( 5) It looks like a father and son. The son is a criminal and the father is ashamed of him. He has a look of sympathy and not hatred. He is probably in prison and is facing the electric chair. The father thinks of how much he has done for the son and can't understand why the son did it. The son is in the death cell and the father is seeing him for the last time. They had been talking but have now reached the stage where all they can do is to just think. The guard comes along and leads the son away.
n Aggression 3 n Nurturance 2 n Abasement 4 n Blamavoidance :z n Deference
p Nurturance 2
p Dominance
p Aggression 2 p Exposition 2 p Claustrum 2
3
? M5
THE THEMA TIC
n Cognizance
APPERCEPTION TEST
p Death of Object z
531
2 n Exposition 2
n Succorance on Rejection
3
2 (8) This is a picture of zootsuiters. They seem to be in a prison line-up; they were involved in a crime. They are either confident or trying not to show fear. The latter is probably more true. A gang is standing around them. This gang got together and went to stealing and they are now being taken up for investigation. They are pretty sure of being released to go home because it will be hard for the police to get anything on them. (Are they guilty? ) Yes, they are but they have been able to cover up. They continue with their petty crimes.
n Autonomy 2 n Affiliation 2 n Aggression 3 n Acquisition 2 n Blamescape 3
on Succorance
p Aggression 2 p Dominance 3 p Affiliation 2
3 (10) This is a father and mother grieving over the loss of a son in the war. They have just received word of his death. He was their only son. They are just thinking and saying nothing. The mother thinks of the son, and the father thinks of the mother to comfort her. He thinks of their life together and how it will be changed now. They had been very happy about the accomplishments of their son. They can't bear to think of the tragic end. Neither are crying, so they will con- tinue to make the best of it and will keep a stiff upper lip.
n Succorance 4 _ n Cognizance 2 n Passivity 3
p Succorance 2 p Death of object 4 p Affiliation 2
n Nurturance
3 n Affiliation 2
on Achievement 2
4 (12) This woman is a peddler. The man is a rich banker who is walking through the slums of New York. He is on his way home. He doesn't want to be snobbish and not touch the people. He feels out of his neighborhood. The woman is right at home here. Each goes his own way in sort of contrast of two lives-the rich and the poor. He walks this way on his way home from work each day, and does his best not to be too personal with any of them. He just wants to know what's going on for business reasons.
3 p Uncongenial Environment 3 3 p Lack 3 p Gratuity 3
n Acquisition n Seclusion
n Rejection
n Cognizance
(6) This is a young fellow who drinks a lot. His clothes are all messed up. In a dingy hotel room, he feels he has lost all of his friends. He thinks all of the troubles of the world are on his shoulders. He contemplates suicide. The trouble is with a woman he had an affair with. He doesn't know whether to injure her or destroy himself. (Q-m) To kill her or commit suicide. She isn't much good herself,
3 p Task 2 on Rejection 2
? n Abasement 4 n Succorance 3 n Aggression 4 n Sex 4 n Affiliation
n Counteraction 2 n Nurturance
n Understanding
n Rejection 2
p Uncongenital Environment 3 p Sex 2 p Rejection 4 p Death of Object 2
THE AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY
532
and he isn't too much better. He is in a mixed up mental state. He is pausing there to make some decision. (p) (Q-o) He will try to get revenge on the woman. (Re- venge for what? ) He has been going with her and giving her money and thinks of marrying her. She fools him and is unfaithful, going around with other men. He kills her.
6 (zo) This is a man caught in an alley by the police, just before commmmg some crime. The police were called and he is surprised. He tries to get away but the police have the upper hand. He is frightened for fear they will use their sticks. He is probably a man with a family-a good wife and two or three children. He is a no good, just working once in a while. He steals when he can and keeps it from his wife. (Q-m) She is a good woman and doesn't know he is that type of person. Since he has been caught, he knows she will find it all out. For this reason, he would like to get away from the police, but is afraid if he tries he will get shot. He just backs against the wall and lets himself get caught.
on Aggression 3 on Autonomy 2 on Acquisition 3 on Succorance 2 on Harmavoidance
on Blamescape on Abasement
op Dominance 3
op Aggression
op Affiliation 2
op Cognizance
n Exposition 2 n Achievement 2
n Nurturance
n Succorance
n Passivity 2 n Counteraction 2 n Aggression 2 n Cognizance 2
p Task
4
3 3
4 3 3
M7 (8) This young fellow is going away to the army and his mother is very sad about it. She has been expecting this and they have talked it all over. Now that the moment is here, neither knows just what to say. In silence she thinks of his youth- his birth and what he used to do as a little boy. She thinks of his late teens and the honors he got in high school. He thinks less of the past than of the future-and what it will be like in the army. He determines to make the best of it, and try to get the war over with as soon as possible so he can come back. Both stand there for a few minutes, and when he leaves he kisses her and walks away without saying anything.
8 ( 15) This is a man lying on his death bed. The other man is an enemy of his. He has been the cause of his death and is glad he has gone because he hates him in- wardly. He gave the impression that he was his friend. He has his hand in the air,
3 3
? THE THEMA TIC APPERCEPTION TEST
533
not to touch him but as a relief of emotion-just clenching his fist over him. These were both respectable men. (How do you mean? ) They were businessmen, not gangsters. They were competitors in business and were both from the same social group. The dying man has felt no tension between them; its all in the other fellow. The dying man's wife had this fellow come in to sit with him for a few minutes. Now that his competitor has gone, he will have more confidence in himself and more esteem in the community.
n Aggression 3 n Rejection 4 n Achievement 3 n Acquisition
n Recognition
p Affiliation 2 p Death of Object 4 p Deference 3
3 3
9 (7) This is a mother and son at home; I say that because of the pictures on the wall. Both are sad. Something has happened in the family. It's a large family of ten or twelve children. (p) One of the brothers has just gotten in trouble; he stole something. This is a respectable, religious family. The mother makes them go to church. The boy is in jail and they have heard the news. The whole family is sitting around the living room, but in this picture we can see only the two. Both seem to have the same thoughts-the reputation of the family. The boy who committed the crime can't understand why he did it. Though not rich, they had a fairly nice home and enough food; there was just no reason why the boy should do a thing like that. Since he is one of the family they will of course try to help him. They try to pun- ish him in some way, probably by being cool to him, not speaking. (How old is he? ) He is about 25 and unmarried.
n Succorance 3
n Blamavoidance 4 on Aggression 3 on Autonomy 3 on Acquisition
3 3
3 3
p Claustrum 2 p Dominance 3 p Aggression 2 p Gratuity 2
n Abasement
n Affiliation 2
n Nurturance n Rejection
10 ( 12) This reminds me of a Biblical story. It is about Christ on the cross. This is a cloudy sky on a dull, stormy day. This woman is of the modern age; the picture in the background comes to her mind. She has had lots of troubles and doesn't know how to solve them. (p) (What kind? ) It may have been the death of her husband. Sh~ is a very religious woman, and he has meant a lot to her. They always solved therr problems together. All she knows now is to turn to Christ and the Bible to try to figure out a solution to her problems. She has been very religious from the time she was small. Now that the vision has come to her, she is more satisfied-she has found peace of mind and is now able to continue her life. She will be sad but will have the feeling that the Lord will care for her husband and will give her comfort.
n Abasement 3 n Succorance 3 n Affiliation 2 n Deference 4 n Passivity 2 n Counteraction 2
p Bad Luck 2 p Death of Object 3 p Affiliation 3 p Gratuity 3 p Nurturance 3
? 534
THE AUTHORIT ARIAN PERSONALITY
2. MACK'S STORIES
M 1 ( 6o) This would indicate to me a man in distress and a comforting friend. Some accident may have happened, or a death in one of the younger man's family. (p) There is a certain dullness to the man's expression, probably from the great shock. (p) {Are the two men related? ) It's possible, but I can't say; I think they may be just friends. I doubt if it's his father. The efforts of the older man to help the other fellow see the brighter side and get him on a steady course again will be successful. The young fellow is a deeply brooding type and maybe won't be too successful, or at best only temporarily. The young fellow indicates the type of person who might do violence if pushed too far. (Q-m) I think he could easily murder somebody on being oppressed. I think he will never completely get over the shock of the death and it affects him in such a way that it makes him hard to get
along with from then on.
n Succorance 3 n Affiliation 3 n Counteraction 2 n Understanding
n Abasement
n Aggression 3
p Nurturance 3 p Death of Object 3 p Physical Danger r p Affiliation 3 p Dominance 3
2 ( 2 0 ) This is a young fellow and his girl. They are all dolled up for the occa- sion. They are just starting out for the night. The style of his clothing is foreign to me; I never saw that sort of thing before. The girl looks to be about 17 and the man about 2 r-considerably older. After a show, they go some place and eat. Then he gets the girl home about ten or eleven o'clock. From the age of the girl they would get in at a reasonable hour. (Are they related? ) No, I don't think they are; they are not the same type. I don't think they are husband and wife; they just go together. The girl has a nice, pleasant personality. He is not so deep, and he has a less full character than the girl. (p) The partial view of the other fellow gives me an idea of another story. This involves the same original setup except that they had their pictures taken at a party. This man stepped up and made a smart remark to make them smile for the picture. That fellows dress doesn't correspond to the girl's.
He looks like he was from another period. It might be the early '3o's. Maybe the suit was designed for a gag. (Q-o) They have other dates but they gradually drifted apart.
n Recognition 3 n Nutriance 2 n Affiliation
n Excitance
n Play 2
p Exposition
p Affiliation
p Superiority 2 p Cognizance
3 (10) My first impression is from what I read in newspapers, you know, about the war. He is saying goodbye to his mother. He is of military age-about 2 3? His mother is about in her early so's. He is advising her not to worry. He says he will write and asks her to keep him informed of the folks and his friends. He tries to lead her to believe he will see her again soon-like most men would. He seems to be a strong individual. He is clean-cut. Of course, we always like to hope they will all come back, but I can't help but guess that he will not come back. He was killed in the war. They are very close and yet are not the kind to show a lot of observable affection and make a lot of one another. They used to kid one another, and make fun of one another and yet if one got in trouble they all came to his rescue. That's the kind of family they were.
3
? n Nurturance n Dominance n Affiliation n Succorance n Deference
3
2
3
2 2
3 p Succorance 2
n Acquisition n Construction n Nurturance
3 p Uncongenial Environment 2 p Affliction 2 2 p Lack 2
THE THEMA TIC
APPERCEPTION TEST p Task
535
4 (;o) It looks something like a street off the main track in New York City. It's a run-down section of the city. These pictures are cleverly done-they don't tell you anything. (What preceded this picture? ) Well, its perhaps on a Saturday or Sunday and this businessman is on his way home. I don't think he is very well, all bundled up like that. I think he must be a tailor. He isn't too well off, but is better off than most of his neighbors. He is a family man. As for the woman, it's difficult to give a motive for her. She has something to sell, is poor, and can just keep her family in food and clothes.
(Q-o) There is no relationship between these people. It is just the end of the day and each is going home. Each represents a class-the well off and the poor. This is just a typical scene.
M5' (7o) Oh, oh! This is apt to be rather sordid. It doesn't represent a family scene to me! It may be a prostitute, and I see the old bottle there. This may be a young American down in the tropics; he is dressed in white because of the tempera- ture. As for the woman, it's difficult to say because of the shadows, but she appears of darker skin. The place has crude furnishings. (p) (What preceded? ) The natural assumption is that they had sexual intercourse. The fellow is about half drunk and is about to consume more. The fellow looks kind of "hang-dog"; perhaps he regrets his recent act or perhaps his station in life. He is down and out and liquor isn't much of a boon to him. He has sufficient depth of character to take himself out of a place like that and to genuinely regret what he did to the woman. She doesn't enter into the story, except to be the object of his lust. He is a better type than she. He can take care of himself. He finally drags himself out of such surroundings and gradually amounts to something. Do I take too long? I get quite involved in these stories.
n n n n n n
Excitance
Abasement
Blamavoidance 2 Sex
Blamescape
Counteraction
p Death of Hero 3
p Affiliation p Nurturance
3 3
p Sex 3 3 p Uncongenial Environment 1
3 3
6 (45') This is a public disturbance, perhaps a strike or a race disturbance. He has some Negroid features. He started a riot and has now been separated from the group he organized. The police have frightened him and he expects the worst. He is lodged in the local jail for a time and is scared out of such activities again. Maybe he was the fall guy for the group. Without the crowd influence he was pretty docile.
n Dominance
n Aggression
n Autonomy
n Abasement
n Succorance 2
2 p Dominance
3 p Aggression 3
2 p Claustrum 2 4
3
? THE AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY
M7 (45) These people are related. They are mother and son since their features correspond. She is about 6o and he about 25. He has just told her something he has done which causes her grief and apprehension. She can't condone it, and is shocked. He's upset too, like he'd rather not have told her but had to. He doesn't look the type to get into trouble. (p) This picture gives me trouble. (Q-m) Well, it's the expressions on their faces. This man was responsible for the death of someone loved by both the mother and the man. It was not a crime, but an auto accident. It was sort of negligence on his part and he feels responsible. His mother turns away at first, then comes back to him and decides to help him. It was this way: this fellow in the picture and a friend went for a ride. There was an accident and this fellow (in the picture) was driving. He was negligent in some way or another, and caused the death of the person riding with him. He is now telling his mother all about it. He has a strong character, and feels badly about it all. He is serious. (p) (Q-o) Well, he and his mother talk it all over, and she helps him by giving him some good advice. (Q-m) She tells him it could have happened to anyone, and that the thing to do now is to forget it and just go right on living as usual. She tells him it is bad to keep thinking about it. (Does he? ) Yes, he doesn't let it drag his life down. It finally passes out of his memory.
n Exposition 2 on Succorance 3 n Abasement 3
n Aggression 2 n Affiliation
n Blamescape 2 n Passivity 2
p Rejection 2 p Death of Object 3 p ~urturance 4 p Affiliation 2 p PhysicalDanger? 2 p Exposition 2
8 (30) Well, this suggests a doctor and his patient. Yet, the gesture gives me the idea it might be a hypnotist at work. I dont know much about the field of hypnosis. The patient is unconscious about the face, but his legs aren't relaxed. Usually such performances are put on on the stage, and this seems to be in a private home. Do people keep their clothes on while reciving hypnotic treatment? (I'm sure I don't know; let's just use our imagination. ) I guess this is a scene on the stage of a theatre. This man is a hypnotist and is directing the performance along the lines that would be funny to the audience. The other fellow was taken from the audience and later joins his friends who ask him a lot of silly questions. The performance ends and all go home.
n Dominance 2 n Play 2 n Recognition 3 n Affiliation 2
p Deference 2 p Affiliation 2 p Cognizance 3
9 (30) These people are ~egroes, of course. It's the grandmother and the grand- son. I'm not very familiar with ~egro features, but they look alike, these two. She is a kindly old lady. She looks toil-worn, and has had a hard life of work. She is dressed well. I guess it's a portrait in the home. Some ~egroes carry their fortune on their back. These may be of a higher type and are better educated than most ~egroes. She was a slave and was freed, and gradually accumulated some money. They are quiet folks. It may be they are enjoying a musical here. (Qo). After their picture is taken, they go back to their regular routine lives-he to school and she to helping their children to run their homes and just being generally useful.
? THE THEMA TIC n Recognition
APPERCEPTION TEST
537
n Acquisition
n Sentience
n Cognizance
n Achievement n Nurturance n Deference
3
2 2
3
zo (6o) This is Christ on the cross, in the midst of flames or smoke. I can hardly reconcile myself to the fact that this is just a photo. It might be a trick picture. Jesus appears life-sized, and so does the cross, yet I don't know of a church with this sized crucifix. Here is a young boy of 8 or 9? In Sunday School he just received a vivid portrayal of Jesus on the cross by a very fine preacher and is very much impressed. That night he has trouble sleeping soundly and while in a semi-conscious state sees this image. He is just coming out of this dream when the image fades. This experience stays with him the rest of his life. I know I can remember a few dreams I had at about that age. (Do you think they influenced you? ) I think they really did, all my life. This boy wakes up in the morning and tells his parents about it, and retains this memory the rest of his life.
n Deference 3 p Exposition 3 p Dominance
3. ANALYSIS OF THE STORIES
The analysis of Larry's T. A. T. reveals a person who indulges actively in fantasy. (The total of the need and pres~ scoring for this subject, 276, is much above the mean, 209, for the group of low-scoring men. )
His fantasies, however, exhibit a disphoric quality that is unusually marked in relation to other subjects tested. Death is often referred to in his stories and his heroes tend to be emotionally dependent and self-depreciating (p Death- object: Larry 15, Mean for low-scoring men 3. 6; n Succorance: Larry 19, Mean for low-scoring men 7. 6; n Abasement: Larry 14, Mean for low-scoring men 7. 90). These depressive tones are accompanied by a greater concern over moral values than is usually apparent in stories of low-scoring men (n Blamavoidance: Larry 6, Mean for low-scoring men 1. 75). The variable n Blamavoidance is found more often in stories of high- than in those of low- scoring men; but in the case of Larry the manner of dealing with moral values, which is revealed in the expression of succorance, of the intragres- sive type of abasement, and of n Cognizance (Larry 8, group mean 6. o5), suggests an internalization of values that is more characteristic of low than of high scorers.
Larry expresses an excessive amount of aggressive fantasy (n Aggression: Larry 15, Mean for low-scoring men 7. 65); it is of an impulsive, antisocial type, the type that is more often found in stories of high scorers. Were it not for the fact that the expressions of aggression are followed by evaluation of the act and acceptance of self-blame, the trend would be contradictory to the low E score. It has been noted often in this volume that one of the factors
p Task
p Dominance 2 p Exposition 2 p Cognizance 2
3
? THE AUTHORIT ARIAN PERSONALITY
which most clearly differentiates prejudiced and unprejudiced subjects is the amount of intraceptiveness of the individual, a tendency which disposes him to evaluate, and sometimes even to be overly concerned with, his reac- tions in relation to other people. In the present case, if we accept the T. A. T. responses as representative of the subject's fantasy, it appears that Larry is preoccupied with a conflict over his rather generalized feelings of hostility. This conflict is reflected in the constant interplay between aggression and intragressive abasement and passivity. The fact that Larry's stories reveal a persistent attempt to evaluate and to deal with this conflict is consistent with a comparative lack of stereotyped projections of hostility, and, hence, with a low E score.
The summary of the scoring of Mack's stories is strikingly similar to the mean scores for the group of high-scoring men. Although he tends to be more restricted in amount of expression than many high-scoring men
(Mack's total need and press scores 193, Mean for high-scoring group 213), the patterning of the scoring is rather typical of the group to which he belongs. As compared with low-scoring men, his fantasies exhibit less creative activity, less curiosity, and less independent striving. He describes the same type of impulsive aggressive behavior as did Larry although Mack does not do so as frequently as Larry. However, the variables which express an intra- ceptive mode of dealing with such behavior (n Cognizance, n Succorance, n Abasement) are also given considerably less weight by Mack than by our unprejudiced subjects.
In Mack's stories we find an excessive amount of n Affiliation and n Rec- ognition, two variables which in our total group have higher mean scores for unprejudiced than for prejudiced subjects. However, Mack in contrast to Larry tends to express these variables through statements of relationship or status rather than through the description of personal interaction or active striving. In Mack's stories Affiliation is very rarely found in combination with n Nurturance or n Succorance or with n Recognition or n Cognizance.
Neither of these two men refers to more than a minimum amount of physical press. However, much of the n Abasement scored for Mack re- flects story content that appears to describe submission to implied environ- mental demands.
From the stories told in response to Picture 1, we get the first indications of the differences in the quality of the fantasies of the two men. Although both express, through their heroes, strong underlying hostile feelings toward the world, Larry identifies more closely with these feelings and makes stronger attempts to understand them. Mack, on the other hand, describes a more primitive type of aggressive fantasy and tends to reject the hero of the story (although not directly enough to warrant the scoring of "object needs"), thereby disowning responsibility for the expression of hostility. In contrast to Larry, who attempts to understand the reasons for antisocial be-
? 1. Variables of Interpersonal Relationships:
n Affiliation p Affilication n Deference
p Deference
n Dominance
p Dominance
n Nurturance
p Nurturance
n Recognition n Succorance
p Succorance
2. Variables of Rebellion: n Aggression
n Autonomy
n Rejection
3. Variables of Positive Con- structive Activit,r:
n Cognizance
n Construction n Expression
n Understanding p Task
4. Variables of Sensuality: n Excitance
L a r r y
9 9 5 3 0 9
12 5 3 19 2
15 3 3
8 0 4 1 6
0
Unprejudiced Men
Mean Score
6. 8 5. 6 4. 9 2. 6 2. 1 9. 2 5. 55 4. 75 4. 55 7. 6 2. 5
7. 65 6. 55 5. 45
6. 05 . 45 4. 15 1. 85 4. 30
1. 25 2. 95 3. 05 5. 70 3. 50
7. 90 1. 75 1. 95
2. 75 . 10 1. 55
3. 6
Prejudiced Mack Men
Mean Score
10 5. 3 11 5. 15 6 5. 25
2 1. 9 6 2. 85 9 9. 8 8 4. 4
10 5. 25 7 3. 95
10 8. 2 2 2. 25
8 5. 70 2 5. 90 0 2. 90
2 3. 75 1 . 45 2 2. 85 1 . 45 6 3. 20
2 1. 05 2 2. 25 4 1. 65 3 3. 80 2 . 90
11 10. 00 4 3. 20 0 2. 95
2 3. 65 0 1. 15 3 2.
? 530
THE AUTHORIT ARIAN PERSONALITY
a good thing, for it will be clear that we are not dealing here with dramatic instances of the T. A. T. at its best, but with virtues and faults and difficul- ties which appe4r in its ordinary application. .
In the previous discussion we have spoken only of trends in the stories of low and high scorers; it is not to be expected that all of these trends will appear in the record of any one individual. In examining the stories of Mack and Larry we shall be concerned with the particular combinations of trends that appear to be consistent with the responses of these two subjects on the Ethnocentrism scale, and we shall point out those trends which appear to be inconsistent with the E-scale scores. This analysis will be carried out against the background afforded by the preceding pages of this chapter.
Presented below are the verbatim records of the stories produced by Mack and by Larry in response to our regular set of ten pictures. The two sets of stories were obtained by the same (male) examiner. The figure in parenthesis immediately following the number of the picture indicates the elapsed time, in seconds, between the presentation of the picture and the subject's begin- ning of his story. The examiner's questions are given in parenthesis within the body of the story. The notation (Q-o) refers to a question about the outcome of the story, e. g. , "How does it turn out," (Q-m) to a request for elaboration or explanation of what the subject said immediately before, and (p) indicates a pause on the part of the subject.
After each story the ratings (on the I -5 scale) of the needs and press in the story are given. Tabulation of these ratings appear at the end of each set of stories.
The analyses of the stories, which follow the presentation of the tabulated ratings, were "blind" in the sense that the analyst was not familiar with any of the other material on these two subjects. All that was known was that Mack scored high, and Larry low, on the E scale. If these analyses accord well with what is already known about these subjects, and, more particularly, with the clinical material to be given later, they will constitute evidence in favor of the validity of the T. A. T.
1. LARRY'S STORIES
M 1 ( 5) It looks like a father and son. The son is a criminal and the father is ashamed of him. He has a look of sympathy and not hatred. He is probably in prison and is facing the electric chair. The father thinks of how much he has done for the son and can't understand why the son did it. The son is in the death cell and the father is seeing him for the last time. They had been talking but have now reached the stage where all they can do is to just think. The guard comes along and leads the son away.
n Aggression 3 n Nurturance 2 n Abasement 4 n Blamavoidance :z n Deference
p Nurturance 2
p Dominance
p Aggression 2 p Exposition 2 p Claustrum 2
3
? M5
THE THEMA TIC
n Cognizance
APPERCEPTION TEST
p Death of Object z
531
2 n Exposition 2
n Succorance on Rejection
3
2 (8) This is a picture of zootsuiters. They seem to be in a prison line-up; they were involved in a crime. They are either confident or trying not to show fear. The latter is probably more true. A gang is standing around them. This gang got together and went to stealing and they are now being taken up for investigation. They are pretty sure of being released to go home because it will be hard for the police to get anything on them. (Are they guilty? ) Yes, they are but they have been able to cover up. They continue with their petty crimes.
n Autonomy 2 n Affiliation 2 n Aggression 3 n Acquisition 2 n Blamescape 3
on Succorance
p Aggression 2 p Dominance 3 p Affiliation 2
3 (10) This is a father and mother grieving over the loss of a son in the war. They have just received word of his death. He was their only son. They are just thinking and saying nothing. The mother thinks of the son, and the father thinks of the mother to comfort her. He thinks of their life together and how it will be changed now. They had been very happy about the accomplishments of their son. They can't bear to think of the tragic end. Neither are crying, so they will con- tinue to make the best of it and will keep a stiff upper lip.
n Succorance 4 _ n Cognizance 2 n Passivity 3
p Succorance 2 p Death of object 4 p Affiliation 2
n Nurturance
3 n Affiliation 2
on Achievement 2
4 (12) This woman is a peddler. The man is a rich banker who is walking through the slums of New York. He is on his way home. He doesn't want to be snobbish and not touch the people. He feels out of his neighborhood. The woman is right at home here. Each goes his own way in sort of contrast of two lives-the rich and the poor. He walks this way on his way home from work each day, and does his best not to be too personal with any of them. He just wants to know what's going on for business reasons.
3 p Uncongenial Environment 3 3 p Lack 3 p Gratuity 3
n Acquisition n Seclusion
n Rejection
n Cognizance
(6) This is a young fellow who drinks a lot. His clothes are all messed up. In a dingy hotel room, he feels he has lost all of his friends. He thinks all of the troubles of the world are on his shoulders. He contemplates suicide. The trouble is with a woman he had an affair with. He doesn't know whether to injure her or destroy himself. (Q-m) To kill her or commit suicide. She isn't much good herself,
3 p Task 2 on Rejection 2
? n Abasement 4 n Succorance 3 n Aggression 4 n Sex 4 n Affiliation
n Counteraction 2 n Nurturance
n Understanding
n Rejection 2
p Uncongenital Environment 3 p Sex 2 p Rejection 4 p Death of Object 2
THE AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY
532
and he isn't too much better. He is in a mixed up mental state. He is pausing there to make some decision. (p) (Q-o) He will try to get revenge on the woman. (Re- venge for what? ) He has been going with her and giving her money and thinks of marrying her. She fools him and is unfaithful, going around with other men. He kills her.
6 (zo) This is a man caught in an alley by the police, just before commmmg some crime. The police were called and he is surprised. He tries to get away but the police have the upper hand. He is frightened for fear they will use their sticks. He is probably a man with a family-a good wife and two or three children. He is a no good, just working once in a while. He steals when he can and keeps it from his wife. (Q-m) She is a good woman and doesn't know he is that type of person. Since he has been caught, he knows she will find it all out. For this reason, he would like to get away from the police, but is afraid if he tries he will get shot. He just backs against the wall and lets himself get caught.
on Aggression 3 on Autonomy 2 on Acquisition 3 on Succorance 2 on Harmavoidance
on Blamescape on Abasement
op Dominance 3
op Aggression
op Affiliation 2
op Cognizance
n Exposition 2 n Achievement 2
n Nurturance
n Succorance
n Passivity 2 n Counteraction 2 n Aggression 2 n Cognizance 2
p Task
4
3 3
4 3 3
M7 (8) This young fellow is going away to the army and his mother is very sad about it. She has been expecting this and they have talked it all over. Now that the moment is here, neither knows just what to say. In silence she thinks of his youth- his birth and what he used to do as a little boy. She thinks of his late teens and the honors he got in high school. He thinks less of the past than of the future-and what it will be like in the army. He determines to make the best of it, and try to get the war over with as soon as possible so he can come back. Both stand there for a few minutes, and when he leaves he kisses her and walks away without saying anything.
8 ( 15) This is a man lying on his death bed. The other man is an enemy of his. He has been the cause of his death and is glad he has gone because he hates him in- wardly. He gave the impression that he was his friend. He has his hand in the air,
3 3
? THE THEMA TIC APPERCEPTION TEST
533
not to touch him but as a relief of emotion-just clenching his fist over him. These were both respectable men. (How do you mean? ) They were businessmen, not gangsters. They were competitors in business and were both from the same social group. The dying man has felt no tension between them; its all in the other fellow. The dying man's wife had this fellow come in to sit with him for a few minutes. Now that his competitor has gone, he will have more confidence in himself and more esteem in the community.
n Aggression 3 n Rejection 4 n Achievement 3 n Acquisition
n Recognition
p Affiliation 2 p Death of Object 4 p Deference 3
3 3
9 (7) This is a mother and son at home; I say that because of the pictures on the wall. Both are sad. Something has happened in the family. It's a large family of ten or twelve children. (p) One of the brothers has just gotten in trouble; he stole something. This is a respectable, religious family. The mother makes them go to church. The boy is in jail and they have heard the news. The whole family is sitting around the living room, but in this picture we can see only the two. Both seem to have the same thoughts-the reputation of the family. The boy who committed the crime can't understand why he did it. Though not rich, they had a fairly nice home and enough food; there was just no reason why the boy should do a thing like that. Since he is one of the family they will of course try to help him. They try to pun- ish him in some way, probably by being cool to him, not speaking. (How old is he? ) He is about 25 and unmarried.
n Succorance 3
n Blamavoidance 4 on Aggression 3 on Autonomy 3 on Acquisition
3 3
3 3
p Claustrum 2 p Dominance 3 p Aggression 2 p Gratuity 2
n Abasement
n Affiliation 2
n Nurturance n Rejection
10 ( 12) This reminds me of a Biblical story. It is about Christ on the cross. This is a cloudy sky on a dull, stormy day. This woman is of the modern age; the picture in the background comes to her mind. She has had lots of troubles and doesn't know how to solve them. (p) (What kind? ) It may have been the death of her husband. Sh~ is a very religious woman, and he has meant a lot to her. They always solved therr problems together. All she knows now is to turn to Christ and the Bible to try to figure out a solution to her problems. She has been very religious from the time she was small. Now that the vision has come to her, she is more satisfied-she has found peace of mind and is now able to continue her life. She will be sad but will have the feeling that the Lord will care for her husband and will give her comfort.
n Abasement 3 n Succorance 3 n Affiliation 2 n Deference 4 n Passivity 2 n Counteraction 2
p Bad Luck 2 p Death of Object 3 p Affiliation 3 p Gratuity 3 p Nurturance 3
? 534
THE AUTHORIT ARIAN PERSONALITY
2. MACK'S STORIES
M 1 ( 6o) This would indicate to me a man in distress and a comforting friend. Some accident may have happened, or a death in one of the younger man's family. (p) There is a certain dullness to the man's expression, probably from the great shock. (p) {Are the two men related? ) It's possible, but I can't say; I think they may be just friends. I doubt if it's his father. The efforts of the older man to help the other fellow see the brighter side and get him on a steady course again will be successful. The young fellow is a deeply brooding type and maybe won't be too successful, or at best only temporarily. The young fellow indicates the type of person who might do violence if pushed too far. (Q-m) I think he could easily murder somebody on being oppressed. I think he will never completely get over the shock of the death and it affects him in such a way that it makes him hard to get
along with from then on.
n Succorance 3 n Affiliation 3 n Counteraction 2 n Understanding
n Abasement
n Aggression 3
p Nurturance 3 p Death of Object 3 p Physical Danger r p Affiliation 3 p Dominance 3
2 ( 2 0 ) This is a young fellow and his girl. They are all dolled up for the occa- sion. They are just starting out for the night. The style of his clothing is foreign to me; I never saw that sort of thing before. The girl looks to be about 17 and the man about 2 r-considerably older. After a show, they go some place and eat. Then he gets the girl home about ten or eleven o'clock. From the age of the girl they would get in at a reasonable hour. (Are they related? ) No, I don't think they are; they are not the same type. I don't think they are husband and wife; they just go together. The girl has a nice, pleasant personality. He is not so deep, and he has a less full character than the girl. (p) The partial view of the other fellow gives me an idea of another story. This involves the same original setup except that they had their pictures taken at a party. This man stepped up and made a smart remark to make them smile for the picture. That fellows dress doesn't correspond to the girl's.
He looks like he was from another period. It might be the early '3o's. Maybe the suit was designed for a gag. (Q-o) They have other dates but they gradually drifted apart.
n Recognition 3 n Nutriance 2 n Affiliation
n Excitance
n Play 2
p Exposition
p Affiliation
p Superiority 2 p Cognizance
3 (10) My first impression is from what I read in newspapers, you know, about the war. He is saying goodbye to his mother. He is of military age-about 2 3? His mother is about in her early so's. He is advising her not to worry. He says he will write and asks her to keep him informed of the folks and his friends. He tries to lead her to believe he will see her again soon-like most men would. He seems to be a strong individual. He is clean-cut. Of course, we always like to hope they will all come back, but I can't help but guess that he will not come back. He was killed in the war. They are very close and yet are not the kind to show a lot of observable affection and make a lot of one another. They used to kid one another, and make fun of one another and yet if one got in trouble they all came to his rescue. That's the kind of family they were.
3
? n Nurturance n Dominance n Affiliation n Succorance n Deference
3
2
3
2 2
3 p Succorance 2
n Acquisition n Construction n Nurturance
3 p Uncongenial Environment 2 p Affliction 2 2 p Lack 2
THE THEMA TIC
APPERCEPTION TEST p Task
535
4 (;o) It looks something like a street off the main track in New York City. It's a run-down section of the city. These pictures are cleverly done-they don't tell you anything. (What preceded this picture? ) Well, its perhaps on a Saturday or Sunday and this businessman is on his way home. I don't think he is very well, all bundled up like that. I think he must be a tailor. He isn't too well off, but is better off than most of his neighbors. He is a family man. As for the woman, it's difficult to give a motive for her. She has something to sell, is poor, and can just keep her family in food and clothes.
(Q-o) There is no relationship between these people. It is just the end of the day and each is going home. Each represents a class-the well off and the poor. This is just a typical scene.
M5' (7o) Oh, oh! This is apt to be rather sordid. It doesn't represent a family scene to me! It may be a prostitute, and I see the old bottle there. This may be a young American down in the tropics; he is dressed in white because of the tempera- ture. As for the woman, it's difficult to say because of the shadows, but she appears of darker skin. The place has crude furnishings. (p) (What preceded? ) The natural assumption is that they had sexual intercourse. The fellow is about half drunk and is about to consume more. The fellow looks kind of "hang-dog"; perhaps he regrets his recent act or perhaps his station in life. He is down and out and liquor isn't much of a boon to him. He has sufficient depth of character to take himself out of a place like that and to genuinely regret what he did to the woman. She doesn't enter into the story, except to be the object of his lust. He is a better type than she. He can take care of himself. He finally drags himself out of such surroundings and gradually amounts to something. Do I take too long? I get quite involved in these stories.
n n n n n n
Excitance
Abasement
Blamavoidance 2 Sex
Blamescape
Counteraction
p Death of Hero 3
p Affiliation p Nurturance
3 3
p Sex 3 3 p Uncongenial Environment 1
3 3
6 (45') This is a public disturbance, perhaps a strike or a race disturbance. He has some Negroid features. He started a riot and has now been separated from the group he organized. The police have frightened him and he expects the worst. He is lodged in the local jail for a time and is scared out of such activities again. Maybe he was the fall guy for the group. Without the crowd influence he was pretty docile.
n Dominance
n Aggression
n Autonomy
n Abasement
n Succorance 2
2 p Dominance
3 p Aggression 3
2 p Claustrum 2 4
3
? THE AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY
M7 (45) These people are related. They are mother and son since their features correspond. She is about 6o and he about 25. He has just told her something he has done which causes her grief and apprehension. She can't condone it, and is shocked. He's upset too, like he'd rather not have told her but had to. He doesn't look the type to get into trouble. (p) This picture gives me trouble. (Q-m) Well, it's the expressions on their faces. This man was responsible for the death of someone loved by both the mother and the man. It was not a crime, but an auto accident. It was sort of negligence on his part and he feels responsible. His mother turns away at first, then comes back to him and decides to help him. It was this way: this fellow in the picture and a friend went for a ride. There was an accident and this fellow (in the picture) was driving. He was negligent in some way or another, and caused the death of the person riding with him. He is now telling his mother all about it. He has a strong character, and feels badly about it all. He is serious. (p) (Q-o) Well, he and his mother talk it all over, and she helps him by giving him some good advice. (Q-m) She tells him it could have happened to anyone, and that the thing to do now is to forget it and just go right on living as usual. She tells him it is bad to keep thinking about it. (Does he? ) Yes, he doesn't let it drag his life down. It finally passes out of his memory.
n Exposition 2 on Succorance 3 n Abasement 3
n Aggression 2 n Affiliation
n Blamescape 2 n Passivity 2
p Rejection 2 p Death of Object 3 p ~urturance 4 p Affiliation 2 p PhysicalDanger? 2 p Exposition 2
8 (30) Well, this suggests a doctor and his patient. Yet, the gesture gives me the idea it might be a hypnotist at work. I dont know much about the field of hypnosis. The patient is unconscious about the face, but his legs aren't relaxed. Usually such performances are put on on the stage, and this seems to be in a private home. Do people keep their clothes on while reciving hypnotic treatment? (I'm sure I don't know; let's just use our imagination. ) I guess this is a scene on the stage of a theatre. This man is a hypnotist and is directing the performance along the lines that would be funny to the audience. The other fellow was taken from the audience and later joins his friends who ask him a lot of silly questions. The performance ends and all go home.
n Dominance 2 n Play 2 n Recognition 3 n Affiliation 2
p Deference 2 p Affiliation 2 p Cognizance 3
9 (30) These people are ~egroes, of course. It's the grandmother and the grand- son. I'm not very familiar with ~egro features, but they look alike, these two. She is a kindly old lady. She looks toil-worn, and has had a hard life of work. She is dressed well. I guess it's a portrait in the home. Some ~egroes carry their fortune on their back. These may be of a higher type and are better educated than most ~egroes. She was a slave and was freed, and gradually accumulated some money. They are quiet folks. It may be they are enjoying a musical here. (Qo). After their picture is taken, they go back to their regular routine lives-he to school and she to helping their children to run their homes and just being generally useful.
? THE THEMA TIC n Recognition
APPERCEPTION TEST
537
n Acquisition
n Sentience
n Cognizance
n Achievement n Nurturance n Deference
3
2 2
3
zo (6o) This is Christ on the cross, in the midst of flames or smoke. I can hardly reconcile myself to the fact that this is just a photo. It might be a trick picture. Jesus appears life-sized, and so does the cross, yet I don't know of a church with this sized crucifix. Here is a young boy of 8 or 9? In Sunday School he just received a vivid portrayal of Jesus on the cross by a very fine preacher and is very much impressed. That night he has trouble sleeping soundly and while in a semi-conscious state sees this image. He is just coming out of this dream when the image fades. This experience stays with him the rest of his life. I know I can remember a few dreams I had at about that age. (Do you think they influenced you? ) I think they really did, all my life. This boy wakes up in the morning and tells his parents about it, and retains this memory the rest of his life.
n Deference 3 p Exposition 3 p Dominance
3. ANALYSIS OF THE STORIES
The analysis of Larry's T. A. T. reveals a person who indulges actively in fantasy. (The total of the need and pres~ scoring for this subject, 276, is much above the mean, 209, for the group of low-scoring men. )
His fantasies, however, exhibit a disphoric quality that is unusually marked in relation to other subjects tested. Death is often referred to in his stories and his heroes tend to be emotionally dependent and self-depreciating (p Death- object: Larry 15, Mean for low-scoring men 3. 6; n Succorance: Larry 19, Mean for low-scoring men 7. 6; n Abasement: Larry 14, Mean for low-scoring men 7. 90). These depressive tones are accompanied by a greater concern over moral values than is usually apparent in stories of low-scoring men (n Blamavoidance: Larry 6, Mean for low-scoring men 1. 75). The variable n Blamavoidance is found more often in stories of high- than in those of low- scoring men; but in the case of Larry the manner of dealing with moral values, which is revealed in the expression of succorance, of the intragres- sive type of abasement, and of n Cognizance (Larry 8, group mean 6. o5), suggests an internalization of values that is more characteristic of low than of high scorers.
Larry expresses an excessive amount of aggressive fantasy (n Aggression: Larry 15, Mean for low-scoring men 7. 65); it is of an impulsive, antisocial type, the type that is more often found in stories of high scorers. Were it not for the fact that the expressions of aggression are followed by evaluation of the act and acceptance of self-blame, the trend would be contradictory to the low E score. It has been noted often in this volume that one of the factors
p Task
p Dominance 2 p Exposition 2 p Cognizance 2
3
? THE AUTHORIT ARIAN PERSONALITY
which most clearly differentiates prejudiced and unprejudiced subjects is the amount of intraceptiveness of the individual, a tendency which disposes him to evaluate, and sometimes even to be overly concerned with, his reac- tions in relation to other people. In the present case, if we accept the T. A. T. responses as representative of the subject's fantasy, it appears that Larry is preoccupied with a conflict over his rather generalized feelings of hostility. This conflict is reflected in the constant interplay between aggression and intragressive abasement and passivity. The fact that Larry's stories reveal a persistent attempt to evaluate and to deal with this conflict is consistent with a comparative lack of stereotyped projections of hostility, and, hence, with a low E score.
The summary of the scoring of Mack's stories is strikingly similar to the mean scores for the group of high-scoring men. Although he tends to be more restricted in amount of expression than many high-scoring men
(Mack's total need and press scores 193, Mean for high-scoring group 213), the patterning of the scoring is rather typical of the group to which he belongs. As compared with low-scoring men, his fantasies exhibit less creative activity, less curiosity, and less independent striving. He describes the same type of impulsive aggressive behavior as did Larry although Mack does not do so as frequently as Larry. However, the variables which express an intra- ceptive mode of dealing with such behavior (n Cognizance, n Succorance, n Abasement) are also given considerably less weight by Mack than by our unprejudiced subjects.
In Mack's stories we find an excessive amount of n Affiliation and n Rec- ognition, two variables which in our total group have higher mean scores for unprejudiced than for prejudiced subjects. However, Mack in contrast to Larry tends to express these variables through statements of relationship or status rather than through the description of personal interaction or active striving. In Mack's stories Affiliation is very rarely found in combination with n Nurturance or n Succorance or with n Recognition or n Cognizance.
Neither of these two men refers to more than a minimum amount of physical press. However, much of the n Abasement scored for Mack re- flects story content that appears to describe submission to implied environ- mental demands.
From the stories told in response to Picture 1, we get the first indications of the differences in the quality of the fantasies of the two men. Although both express, through their heroes, strong underlying hostile feelings toward the world, Larry identifies more closely with these feelings and makes stronger attempts to understand them. Mack, on the other hand, describes a more primitive type of aggressive fantasy and tends to reject the hero of the story (although not directly enough to warrant the scoring of "object needs"), thereby disowning responsibility for the expression of hostility. In contrast to Larry, who attempts to understand the reasons for antisocial be-
? 1. Variables of Interpersonal Relationships:
n Affiliation p Affilication n Deference
p Deference
n Dominance
p Dominance
n Nurturance
p Nurturance
n Recognition n Succorance
p Succorance
2. Variables of Rebellion: n Aggression
n Autonomy
n Rejection
3. Variables of Positive Con- structive Activit,r:
n Cognizance
n Construction n Expression
n Understanding p Task
4. Variables of Sensuality: n Excitance
L a r r y
9 9 5 3 0 9
12 5 3 19 2
15 3 3
8 0 4 1 6
0
Unprejudiced Men
Mean Score
6. 8 5. 6 4. 9 2. 6 2. 1 9. 2 5. 55 4. 75 4. 55 7. 6 2. 5
7. 65 6. 55 5. 45
6. 05 . 45 4. 15 1. 85 4. 30
1. 25 2. 95 3. 05 5. 70 3. 50
7. 90 1. 75 1. 95
2. 75 . 10 1. 55
3. 6
Prejudiced Mack Men
Mean Score
10 5. 3 11 5. 15 6 5. 25
2 1. 9 6 2. 85 9 9. 8 8 4. 4
10 5. 25 7 3. 95
10 8. 2 2 2. 25
8 5. 70 2 5. 90 0 2. 90
2 3. 75 1 . 45 2 2. 85 1 . 45 6 3. 20
2 1. 05 2 2. 25 4 1. 65 3 3. 80 2 . 90
11 10. 00 4 3. 20 0 2. 95
2 3. 65 0 1. 15 3 2.
