Name/Title
Children's Apperception Test (Human Figures) C.A.T.-HEntry/Object ID
AM2017.26.14Scope and Content
The Children's Apperception Test (CAT) is a projective personality test used to assess individual variations in children's responses to standardized stimuli presented in the form of pictures of animals (CAT-A) or humans (CAT-H) in common social situations.
The CAT is used to assess personality, level of maturity, and, often, psychological health. The theory is that a child's responses to a series of drawings of animals or humans in familiar situations are likely to reveal significant aspects of a child's personality. Some of these dimensions of personality include level of reality testing and judgment, control and regulation of drives, defenses, conflicts, and level of autonomy.
The CAT, which takes 20–45 minutes to administer, is conducted by a trained professional—psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker, teacher or specially trained pediatrician—in a clinical, research, or educational setting. The test may be used directly in therapy or as a play technique in other settings.
After carefully establishing rapport with the child, the examiner shows the child one card after another in a particular sequence (although fewer than ten cards may be used at the examiner's discretion) and encourages the child to tell a story—with a beginning, middle, and end—about the characters. The examiner may ask the child to describe, for example, what led up to the scene depicted, the emotions of the characters, and what might happen in the future.
Read more:Lexicon
Search Terms
Children's Apperception Test (C.A.T.-H)Legacy Lexicon
Object Name
Testing Materials