The Picture Story Exercise (PSE)

The PSE is a research version of the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT; Morgan & Murray, 1935) and it is the most widely-used tool for measuring implicit motives. 
However, Schultheiss and Pang (2007) and Pang and Schultheiss (2005) have shown that the productivity and variance of motive scores is related to size of the test battery as well as the pictures used in the test battery. Specifically, to maximize the effectiveness of the PSE and obtain scores that contain adequate variance, researchers should select pictures that have sufficiently high cue strength—the average amount of imagery for a particular motive that is elicited by a picture cue—for the motive(s) of interest.
Our lab has developed a set of pictures specifically designed to "pull" for need for achievement (n Ach), and we are actively collecting test-retest, cross-cultural, and behavioral data to validate the Achievement Motive Picture Set. Some preliminary validation data can in found in Pang's (2010) chapter in the recent handbook of Implicit Motives. We are also developing a novel picture set that differentiates between sub-components of need for achievement - Hope of Success (HS) and Fear of Failure (FF). Psychometric information about this HS/FF picture set can be found in Ramsay and Pang (2013).

​If you are interested in viewing the AMPS, HS/FF picture set, or in collaborating on this project, please contact Joyce Pang ([email protected])