Story and Sentence Completion Techniques• Definition: a verbal stimulus containing

words that represent either the beginning of a story or a sentence.

• Piaget (1932) used story completions to study moral judgment.

• Madeline Thomas (1937) applied the method to clinical settings.

• Louisa Duss (1940) created the Duss or Despert Fables to elicit data on emotional conflicts of children.

Story and Sentence Completion Techniques 2

• Madeline Thomas Stories (MTS)Original had 15 stories, character changed to a girl when working with a girl, examiner suggested that the child and examiner would make up some stories together. The assumption was the child will identify with an imagined situation. Research data scarce, but MTS seems to have utility as a non-threatening technique to explore child’s fantasy life.

Story and Sentence Completion Techniques 3

• Despert Fables 10 stories (show example). Gender of stories changed to fit client. Research with fables (442 children) indicated adequate test-retest reliability and most useful for children under 8 years.

Story and Sentence Completion Techniques 4

• Children’s Insight Test (Sargent 1953; Engel, 1958)A series of story beginnings, scored on three main dimensions; affect, defense, and malignancy.

Utility of Story Completion Techniques• Clinical utility and idiographic data on

children’s coping abilities.• Anderson and Anderson (1954, 1961) used 11

stories with 9, 546 children to explore interpersonal conflicts. They examined outcomes by looking at problem-solving, decision-making and reactions to authority. Little current research, but non-threatening technique to explore problems and techniques used by child to cope.

Sentence-Completion

• Precursors to current sentence-completion techniques were word association techniques and measures of memory (intellectual variables) such as recall or recognition measures.

• First systematic use of sentence-completion techniques 1920’s and 1930’s. Used as indices of response style and emotional reactions. The demands of WWII brought about widespread use.

Sentence Completion 2

• Underlying assumptions1. The projective hypothesis. Defined by Frank (1948) as “When an individual is forced to impose meaning or order on an ambiguous stimulus complex, his response is a projection of his feelings, anger, beliefs, attitudes, and desires”.2. Responses to the sentence stubs are not just shaped by attitudes and beliefs at a surface level (response set, social desirability)

.

Sentence Completion 3

Many sentence-completion tests. Materials depend on the focus of the inquiry . Most tests have 40-100 stems or stubs. Administration could be individual or group. Tests are power versus speed tests. Instructions vary; express real feelings versus express first thing that comes to mind.

Sentence Completion 4

Evaluation and InterpretationFormal analysis (length of completion, time, range of words, etc)

Content analysis (categories such as interpersonal attitudes, wishes, reactions to external states, parental relationships, peers, etc.)research has been conducted to look at emotional development, long-term stability and feelings and ego development.Viewed as valuable instruments in the assessment of personality (Zlotogorski & Wiggs, 1986).

Projective Drawings

• Historical Development• Goodenough (1926) Draw A Man as measure of

intelligence• Machover (1949) Personality Projection in the

Drawings of the Human Figure• Buck (1948) The House-Tree-Person (HTP) technique

(initially a measure of intelligence)• Hulse (1951, 1952) Family drawing technique-

precursor to Kinetic Family Drawing (KFD) (Burns & Kaufman, 1970,1972). The kinetic component drawing the family doing something.

Projective Drawings 2

• Assumptions underlying these drawings:• Child’s psychomotor response contain

nonverbal symbolic messages• Machover (1949) When a person draws a

human figure, it is a representation of how he/she views self

• Hammer (1958) 3 theoretical postulates− Humans view the world in an − anthropomorphic manner

Projective Drawings 4

− Projection is the core of the anthropomorphic view

− Distortions result during projection when they serve a defensive function

• Dennis (1966) drawings capture social values or preferences. He observed differences in drawings across cultures.

Projective Drawings 5

• Frequency and Function of Use• Widespread use (Northwest suburb)• Frequent use (reported in numerous studies in

1980’s even Wilson and Reschly, 1996)• Functions

• Allow nonverbal children to express themselves.• To gain understanding of children’s inner conflicts.• To understand child from psychodynamic approach.• To generate hypotheses and serve as path to further

evaluation.

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• Administration –blank piece of paper and pencil-DAP, child is asked to draw a picture of a whole person. May then ask for a picture of boy or girl. HTP, different page for each picture.KFD, one page for picture.

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• Interpretation (DAP)• Machover’s 1949 book greatest influence-

interpretation should be based on confluence of indicators, not an analysis of single signs or characteristics.

• Koppitz (1968) developmental items versus emotional indicators.

• How does the child draw the figure(s)?• Who does the child draw?• What is the child trying to express via the

drawing?

Projective Drawings 8

• Specific Interpretation Issues and Indices• Body Image (obese children, children with

disabilities, etc)• Sex of first drawn figure and gender identity (cultural

influences, sociological perspective, etc)• Size of drawing (most of empirical studies do not

support correlation with self-esteem)• Anxiety research supports that “state” variables may

influence drawings more than predicting anxiety from drawings.

• Artistic quality-instruction can impact drawing behavior

Projective Drawings 9

• Interpretation (HTP)• Buck (1948) step-by-step quantitative analysis• Buck’s qualitative analysis used more often

• Identification of omissions and unusual components• Synthesis of organization and interrelationship of items• Analysis and synthesis of drawing relative to client’s

personality and environment• Buck believes individual sign interpretation is

inappropriate• Acceptable test-retest reliability

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• Interpretation (KFD)• Burns and Kaufman (1970, 1972) reviewed

10,000 KFD’s. Analyzed actions, styles, and symbols.

• Actions-movement of energy between people-total drawing must be reviewed

• Style-interaction with family members versus isolation by lines, boxes, edging

• Symbols-proceed with caution, consider alternative interpretations

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• Interpretation (KSD)• Prout and Philips (1974) “I’d like you to

draw a school picture. Put yourself, your teacher and a friend or two in the picture and make everyone doing something. “

• Sarbaugh (1983) “Draw a picture of people at school doing something.”

• Cummings (1986) prefers the Prout & Philips approach.

• Kinetic Drawing System (KDS) Administer both the KFD and KSD

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• Overall Evaluation• Do not interpret at the single sign or

characteristic level.• Examine all aspects of a child’s behavior.• Data from drawings should be used to

generate hypotheses, not to diagnose.• Drawings provide a non-threatening

beginning point which should lead to an in depth exploration.

References

• Abt, L. E. & Bellak, B. (Eds.) (1950) Projective psychology. New York: Grove Press.

• Cummings, J.A. (1986). Projective drawings. In H.M. Knoff (Ed.) The assessment of child and adolescent personality. New York: Guilford Press.

• Hammer. E. F. (1986) Graphic techniques with children and adolescents. In Rabin, A. I. (Ed.) (1986). Projective techniques for adolescents and children. New York: Springer Publishing.

• Hart, H. M. (1986). The sentence completion techniques. In Knoff, H. M. (Ed.) (1986). The assessment of child and adolescent personality. New York: Guilford Press.

References continued

• Knoff, H. M. (Ed.) (1986). The assessment of child and adolescent personality. New York: Guilford Press.

• Rabin, A. I. (Ed.) (1986). Projective techniques for adolescents and children. New York: Springer Publishing.

• Sachs, J. M. & Levy, S. (1950). The sentence completion test. In Abt, L. E. & Bellak, B. (Eds.) (1950) Projective psychology. New York: Grove Press.

• Zlotogorski, Z. & Wiggs, E. (1986). Story and Sentence-completion techniques. In Rabin, A. I. (Ed.) (1986). Projective techniques for adolescents and children. New York: Springer Publishing.

April 3, 2003

1. Complete thematic apperception techniques

TAT, CAT, CAST

2. Video tape3. Story and sentence completion

tasks4. Projective Drawings5. Student presentations