Comparing animal and human stimuli in projective testing of children.

Abstract

This study compared responses to the Children;s Apperception Test (C.A.T.) and the Children's Apperception Test-Human (C.A.T.-H). A third grade sample of 30 regular classroom subjects (12 males. 18 female) were administered five C.A.T. cards and five C.A.T.-H. cards. The results were compared by gender and type of stimuli (animal/human). A Chi-square was calculated to determine the quality of response given to type of stimuli and refusals. A t-test was used to determine if the difference between male and female means was significant. This study indicates that the C.A.T. and C.A.T.-H. are relatively equal in eliciting projective responses from male and female third grade subjects. Both males and females tend to tell more descriptive stories than enumerative or apperceptive. In this study the female subjects responded quicker after the placement of the card than male subjects, but this did not have an effect on the other measures. Further studies need to be conducted to give clearer clinical uses of children's projective tests.