A Theory of Affect Development and Maturity: Applications to the Thematic Apperception Test.

Abstract

I suggest that a conceptualization of emotion in cognitive and intensional (that is, that emotions are "of" something, or are "directed to" objects) terms will provide the basis for a theory of emotion that is applicable to clinical materials and the clinical situation. The developmental scheme and the concept of affect maturity presented are elaborated within a systems approach that stresses ongoing differentiations and hierarchical integrations into systems. One clinical application of these ideas is presented, that of developing a scale to measure affect maturity on the Thematic Apperception Test. The original scale defines five levels of affect maturity. Stories to five TAT cards (4, 6BM, 13MF, 3BM, 15) from 60 subjects (consisting of non-patients, outpatients and inpatients) were rated by two clinical judges. They were able to use the scale with an adequate degree of reliability (89.3% of all judgments agreeing within one scale level). Some evidence for the discriminant validity of the scale (from verbal fluency, as measured by story length, and from verbal ability, as measured by verbal IQ and vocabulary subscore of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale) is also provided. Using data provided by the judges, the scale then underwent a revision of the levels and the description of each level, using a modification of the techniques used by Loevinger (1970) for her scale of ego development, resulting in a revised six-level scale of affect maturity. The scale offers the advantage for clinical description and for the measurement of change that it yields not just an affect maturity index but also allows an extensive description of how the components of affect may interact within an individual and how they may change over time.