Assessment in Murray's Theory

Assessment in Murray’s Theory. [image]. Charlotte G. Capero Reporter.

[Audio] Murray's techniques for assessing personality differ from those of Freud and the other neo psychoanalytic theorists. Because Murray was not working with emotionally disturbed persons, he did not use such standard psychoanalytic techniques as free association and dream analysis. For his intensive evaluation of the normal personality, Murray used a variety of techniques to collect data from 51 male undergraduate students at Harvard University. The research participants were interviewed and given projective tests, objective tests, and questionnaires covering childhood memories, family relations, sexual development, sensory-motor learning, ethical standards, goals, social interactions, and mechanical and artistic abilities. This assessment program was so comprehensive that it took Murray's staff of 28 investigators 6 months to complete. We discuss these data in the section on research in Murray's theory..