Goal of Psychodynamic Assessment:

**To penetrate defenses and reveal the unconscious motives, conflicts, memories behind behavior

**To create coherence out of diverse behavior by identifying underlying dynamics

 Assumptions Guiding Assessment

**Underlying dynamics organize perception and direct behavior

**Unstructured situations make underlying dynamics more apparent in behavior

**Underlying dynamics are revealed in the total pattern of responding (rather than particular behaviors)

Psychodynamic Personality Assessment: Projective Tests

**Presentation of ambiguous stimuli with few instructions

**People impose their own meaning on the stimuli and thereby reveal their unconscious concerns

I. The Rorschach Inkblot Test (Herman Rorschach, 1921)

**Stimili are 10 inkblots, each on a separate card

**Person "free associates" to the blot

**Scoring considers the form of the response, the reasons for it, and its content

II. The Thematic Apperception Test (Henry Murray & Christina Morgan, 1939).

**Stimuli are cards with pictures on them

**Person makes up a story about what is going on in the picture

**Scoring assumes a close relationship between the story and underlying concerns

III. The Sentence Completion Test

**Person fills in the blanks

**Sentences can be grouped to reflect themes

**Responses are compared to norms. Content is scored. Blanks are interpreted.

Psychodynamic Personality Assessment: The Study of Lives in Depth (Murray)

**Interest in obtaining a complete picture of a person

**Revealed motives other than sex and aggression: achievement, affiliation, power, intimacy

**Assess these motives via the TAT

**Validity of interpretation depends on training and experience of clinician

**Interjudge reliability is poor