The Stories They Make up: Analysing Children’s Apperception Test (CAT)

Individuals’ personalities are formed by their consistent actions, feelings, and thoughts (Bergner, 2019). Direct questionnaires are a common method to study personality, but they may not be useful to reveal unconscious thoughts and emotions. To solve that problem, psychologists invented projective techniques, relying on vague and open-ended materials that allow experts to uncover a person’s real beliefs and feelings (McDonald J, 2008). Many psychologists choose the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), which uses narration to learn more about a person’s emotions and thoughts. A special version called the Children’s Apperception Test (CAT) was created later for young children. Using CAT, it is easier to understand children and to learn about the world from their perspective (Bellak & Bellak, 2010). 

History and Evolution of CAT 

Children’s Apperception Test (CAT), developed by Leopold Bellak & Sonya S. Bellak is based on the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT). CAT is another version of TAT with a similar central idea, but it is more suitable and applicable for children ages 3 to 10 (Bellak & Bellak, 2010).  Fairy tales, short stories, etc., are all exciting and evoke wonder in children. These stories also teach about morals and show a distinction between good and bad, which the child then applies in real life, too. Additionally, children are unable to understand the deep cognitive and psychological questions that are normally asked, but they have a great creative and imaginative mind so this version of apperception test became a great way to understand their emotions and to know the sides that they take or their problem-solving capacity etc. (Skeem et al., 2009). 

Read More: Incorporating Storytelling in Education

Recent development of CAT 

The CAT-EF (Children’s Apperception Test- Evaluation Form) was recently introduced and differs from the original version in terms of scoring. CAT-EF offers a set scoring method in three parts: descriptive narration, content that examines the central theme and character identification, and psychodynamic factors such as conflict and defence mechanisms, which are like the original version. By relying on this new model, professionals have more criteria and tools that assist in providing a standardised and detailed approach to analysing children (Lis et al., 2005). 

Administration and Scoring 

CAT has two versions. The original version is the Children’s Apperception Test- Animals  (CAT-A), which includes images of humanised animals in potentially relatable situations, and there is also the Children’s Apperception Test- Humans (CAT-H), which presents similar situations but uses human characters (Bellak & Abrams, 1997). CAT consists of a set of 10 black and white cards mounted on cardboard of correct sizes (Gericke et al., 2013), designed to elicit a narrative response indicating the nature of the fantasy characters so that psychologists can infer aspects of the child’s personality.  

The administration should be conducted with good rapport and in a playful manner. The child is shown each card one by one for around 4- 5 minutes, and then is asked to tell what they think the situation is, what the animals are doing, what was the situation before, that led up to what is happening now, and what they think will happen later (Gericke et al., 2013). CAT cards demonstrate that children use storytelling to express what they feel and think. 

As shown in Card 1, a group of chicks is clustered around a food bowl, while in the background, you can make out the shape of a bigger chicken. Such an image can express how someone feels about receiving attention or being ignored, and it may bring up the idea of children envying or fighting with each other. It addresses rewards, punishments, and a child’s need to feel comfortable and their feeding habits. Card 5 points out a very dim room with a bed and a crib, where two baby bears are inside. Some children use this card to show interest or confusion about their parents’ relationship, as well as to share their feelings about their siblings or early experiences.

The scene in Card 7, with a tiger fighting a monkey, can cause children to feel scared or angry and might show how they respond to being anxious or stressed. Some children might become upset and may refuse to look at the image or like to believe that the monkey knew how to escape (Bellak & Bellak, 2010). When interpreting these stories, clinicians focus on the characters, the story’s emotional tone, the relationships between the people in the story, and the way the child reveals his or her internal struggles and defences. They measure the child’s emotional growth and ideas about the world (Lis et al., 2005). 

Theoretical foundation 

The Unconscious Mind 

Murray and Morgan (1943) highlighted the TAT’s ability to reveal certain thoughts,  desires, and emotions that individuals might be unwilling or unable to articulate consciously.  Often, the test revealed that the unconscious tendencies were opposite to what the subject consciously believed. This extends to the CAT’s capacity to uncover the child’s covert thoughts and behaviour. (Gericke et al., 2013) 

Psychoanalytic theory 

Much of the theoretical basis of the CAT stems from Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory. Bellak, who adapted the original Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) for children, emphasised the importance of using animal figures to make projection and identification easier.  According to Bellak, children are more likely to identify with animals due to their perceived vulnerability and their common nature of appearing in storybooks. Animal figures allow a distance from the adult world, enabling children to project unconscious emotions, especially anger, without experiencing guilt or fear of consequences. The idea of animal-based stimuli eliciting richer fantasy narratives from children compared to human figures is influenced by  Ernest Kris (Bellak & Bellak, 2010; Lis et al., 2005). 

Read More: Sigmund Freud and His Contributions in Psychology

Developmental Stages According to Psychodynamic Theory 

A study by Byrd & Witherspoon (1954) examined 80 preschool students with CAT and showed that psychoanalytic developmental themes are essential for interpreting children’s answers. Many preschool narratives focus on aspects of the anal and Oedipal phases,  demonstrating these to be the current stages of development that the children are experiencing. Additionally, when kids respond to stimulus about toilet training and relationships with family members, they usually provide increased narrative content with vivid and intense examples, indicating how much these themes are relevant and matter to them at this developmental stage. This also highlights the significance of object relations, emphasising the importance of early healthy relationships with caregivers, which shape their emotional needs for attachment and personality (Gericke et al., 2013). 

Moreover, often, oral needs and aggression appear in children’s stories, suggesting how these aspects also develop early in personality formation. The interaction of parents with one another and with the child is portrayed many times, while the concept of siblings is less common. These observations align with psychoanalysis, which views these elements as shaping a child’s unconscious mind during the early years (Byrd and Witherspoon., 1954). 

In terms of scoring, CAT shows that the first level covers the story being shared on conscious details and at the second level, the story communicates unconscious latent meanings. Researchers recommended focusing on the themes, psychodynamic aspects, and defence mechanisms in children’s narratives (Lis et al., 2005). 

Applications in Contemporary Settings 

CAT is well known in educational, research, forensic, clinical (Lilienfeld et al., 2000) and therapeutic fields. In education, it is utilised for assessing learning disabilities and children’s behavioural issues, as well as in play therapy to facilitate unconscious projection through their responses. In forensic fields, experts and therapists use CAT for juvenile assessments to explore their morality and superego-related stages (Gericke et al., 2013). In research, CAT is being used to assess a shift of identification figures (Bellak & Bellak, 2010), attachment and in learning more about the neuropsychology of children. Additionally, it is widely used in clinical settings to find out about emotional growth, family dynamics, etc. and is also.

Advantages of the CAT 

CAT encourages children to share their concerns and hidden feelings in the form of a story, so experts can better understand them. The animal-inspired characters come off as friendly and assure the children’s belief that the tale is simply a make-believe story. Moreover,  CAT’s illustrated cards generally avoid cultural biases caused by language and custom differences (Lis et al., 2005). 

Limitations and Criticisms 

Although CAT is widely used in various fields, it receives criticism from some experts for being unstandardized, scored subjectively, and yielding unreliable and invalid results (Bellak &  Siegel, 1989). Subjective scoring is a significant issue, as results may vary greatly between those who administer and interpret these tests. (Lilienfeld et al., 2000) Moreover, some experts argue that TAT is a much better version than CAT; however, this issue was addressed when CAT-H was introduced (Bellak & Abrams, 1997; Lis et al., 2005). CAT requires more research and caution when analysing data. 

Conclusion

Although people point out the test’s lack of objectivity and standardisation, its flexibility,  playful and imaginative nature, and cultural biases help maintain its value in clinical,  educational, and forensic practices. Symbolic exploration in CAT encourages children to reveal their concealed worries, offering their perspective in a unique way that formal assessments may not achieve. Nonetheless, CAT should be administered and interpreted with caution, and other forms of additional assessment should be used to avoid misinterpretation of answers.

FAQs 

Q1. What is the Children’s Apperception Test? 

The Children’s Apperception Test (CAT) is a projective test where children are shown 10  illustrative cards and asked to create stories based on animal pictures. 

Q2: Who developed the CAT? 

It was developed by Leopold Bellak and Sonya S Bellak. 

Q3. What age group is the CAT for? 

The test is designed for children aged 3 to 10. 

Q4. What does the CAT assess? 

It assesses various aspects of a child’s personality, including elements like family dynamics, relationship with the caregiver, sibling rivalry, feeding patterns, and psychological defences. 

Q5: How is the CAT administered? 

The test administrator shows the child a series of 10 animal pictures one by one, each for  5min asks them various questions to tell a story about each card. 

Q6: How does the CAT differ from the Thematic Apperception Test? 

The CAT uses animal figures while the TAT uses human figures. CAT is more appropriate for children, while TAT is used mostly for adults.