Christiana Morgan's Legacy

I personally feel that the creation of the Thematic Apperception Test was a big turning point in the field of psychology. It was important then and even today it continues to be significant in the study of the mind. I really appreciate that, rather than checking boxes on a list of symptoms, interpreting a person's thought process when asked to create stories is much more effective. Knowing that my imagination and my personal background can give a professional insight into how my mind works is really intriguing. In the future, it might be interesting to take a TAT. It makes me question why people see completely different scenes. Why might I pair a given image with a violent story? Why might the person next to me pair it with a touching story? It goes back to perception. The TAT shows a new perspective to understanding brain processes, and though studying how someone illustrates an image with their imagination, the examiner can deduce a lengthy analysis of their thought processing. If we can become more creative in our methods of examining human behavior, such as Christiana Morgan and Henry Murray were, the field of psychology will thrive.  

    - Claire Wolsk 

Christiana's contributions to the field of psychology have often been ignored or unrecognized because of the fame of her peers. That being said, she was able to break through the constraints of her situation, largely due to Carl Jung's fascination with her mind and her relationship with Henry Murray. 

She is a perfect example of the way interdisciplinary knowledge contributes and advances psychology and how we study the mind. An artist by trade, she was able to use her skills as a painter as well as her fascination with the mind, to create a test that would live on for decades. 

The success of the Thematic Apperception Test is a testament to how Christiana Morgan's abilities shaped the understanding of human behavior and ambitions. Regardless of whose name appears on which TAT publication, Christiana Morgan not only broke gender barriers, but helped pave the way for future female psychologists.