A Response to Lilienfeld, Woods and Garb
TAT-Based Personality Measures Have Considerable Validity

By Barbara A. Woike¹ and Dan P. McAdams²

A thorough and fair-minded reading of the scientific literature documents the substantial contribution that the TAT and thematic measures have made to our understanding of personality and motivation. TAT-based measures are typically employed to assess individual differences in implicit motives, whereas self-report questionnaires provide assessments of explicit, consciously articulated motives and goals. Echoing the implicit/explicit distinction found in other cognitive domains, the two types of motives reflect different levels of awareness and are related to different modes of information processing (McClelland, Koestner, & Weinberger, 1989). For instance, Woike (1995) found that implicit motives were related to remembering hot, affective experiences congruent with the implicit goal state, whereas explicit motives were related to remembering routine events corresponding to self-descriptions and values. Implicit motives also play an important role in autobiographical memory. When individuals are asked to describe significant life experiences, they are consistently more likely to recall experiences related to their predominant implicit motive (e.g., McAdams, 1982; Woike, Gershkovich, Piorkowski, & Polo, 1999).

"The big three" implicit motives - achievement, power, and intimacy/affiliation - have been the subjects of highly successful research programs for over four decades, and considerable evidence for construct validity of each of these three personality dimensions has accumulated (for reviews, see McAdams, 2001, Chpt. 8; McClelland, 1985). For example, high TAT achievement motivation is correlated with high aspirations but moderate risk taking, self-control, delay of gratification, upward social mobility, higher education attainment, entrepreneurial innovation, and success in business. High power motivation is correlated with holding elected offices, being forceful and influential in small groups, effective organizational leadership, taking large risks to gain visibility, and getting into arguments. Inhibited power motivation may be a risk factor for illness. Intimacy motivation has been associated with time spent thinking about relationships, number of friendly conversations in daily life, and a wide range of other behaviors indicative of warm and caring interaction with others. Research also suggests that high TAT intimacy motivation predicts various indices of mental health and well-being.

There is ample evidence to demonstrate both the pervasiveness and the subtlety of relations between TAT-based implicit motives on the one hand and physiological, cognitive, and behavioral processes on the other. Psychological scientists and clinicians should not dismiss this valuable form of psychological assessment.