A comparative study of dreams and responses to the thematic apperception test. I. A need-press analysis.

It has frequently been observed that various projective tests tend to emphasize different aspects of the personality. One projective test may emphasize content of one kind while another may tend to diminish this content and focus attention on another kind. The practical significance of these differences in content should be considered in the light of the degree to which a particular projective test favors the occurrence of ego defenses. Thus a subject's views on marital relations are probably considerably different as portrayed in his dreams and in his responses to a personality inventory In the former case, the subject has so little control of his assumed public role or so little concern for preserving it that he will express some attitudes and desires that he may never act out On the other hand, in the personality inventory the responses may be influenced by the impression that the subject wishes to give of himself. There have been few investigations of the specific interrelationships between various projective procedures which may vary in the degree to which they arouse ego-defending mechanisms. It would appear that in dreams the subject is less concerned with maintaining his idealized self-concept of adequacy and maturity and more concerned with escaping threat to his safety.