thematic apperception test

noun

: a projective technique that is widely used in clinical psychology to make personality, psychodynamic, and diagnostic assessments based on the subject's verbal responses to a series of black-and-white pictures

Word History

First Known Use

1941, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

thematic apperception test

noun

the·​mat·​ic apperception test thi-ˈmat-ik- 

: a projective psychological test that is used in clinical psychology to make personality, psychodynamic, and diagnostic assessments based on the subject's verbal responses to a series of black and white pictures

—abbreviation TAT