PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUE

Contents
• House tree person test
• Introduction
• Characteristics
• Administration
• Instruction about HTP
• General interpretation
• scoring
• Interpretation
 Introduction
• Projective methods originated
within a clinical setting
• evolved from therapeutic
procedures
• projective techniques reflect
the influence of traditional
and modern psychoanalytic
concepts
• Individual is given an
unstructured situation
to which he has to
respond

• While responding to
these situations, an
individual projects his
own feelings needs,
emotions, motives etc
unconsciously
 House tree person
• developed by John Buck 1948
• Purposes
• Know about personality
• House tells us
• Associations concerning home-life
• Interfamilial relationships.
• Attitude toward their home situation (children)
• Relationships to parents and siblings.
 Advantages

• It requires little time and it is simple

to administer.
• This is culture-free technique
• It is also good for patients with
limited education, limited
intellectual ability, culturally
deprived backgrounds
 Disadvantages
• Verbal patients less responsive

• Psychomotor difficulties

• Patients with a paucity of inner life

• Highly trained interviewers and skilled interpreters are

needed.

• Interpreters’ bias can be there.

• It is a costly method.

• Not be representative of the entire population.

 Characteristics
• Reliability
• Validity
• Norms
• Administration
• An efficient variation recommended by
BURNS and KAUFMAN (1970-1972)
 Steps in HTP
• HTP is a two phase , four step clinical
approach to a meaningful analysis of total
personality
• Phase I
Step 1
free hand pencil drawing of a house,
tree, person
• Step 2
the subject describes,
interpret& define his/her
drawings

• PHASE II
Step 3
free hand drawings of
HTP with crayons
• Step 4
the subject describes & explains his/her
chromatic drawings
General interpretative consideration
• Body image hypothesis

• Can be distorted, balance etc.

• How people visualize them is

considerable

• Age consideration. (adults)

 Characteristics of healthy drawing

• Security and self confidence

• There are grounded drawing.

• Place in the centre of the page.

• Potential for movement, not rigid postures.

• Line quality is firm, not sketchy.

• Openness
• Potentially interact with
environment postures is open.
• Stability and order of the drawing.

• Sexual identification
• Sexual identify should be clear
either it is male or female.
 Instruction about HTP

• Various instruction recommended by

Burn and (1970-1972) Kaufman
• Interpretative procedure
Four general considerations.
• Objective scoring.
• Over all impression.
• Consideration of specific details.
• Integration
 INTERPRETATION
• Time for HTP

• Specific signs

• Line quality
– 1963: line quality was considered as
flexibility of personality, adaptability.
– 1964: repeated it is most significant
characteristic.
• Size

• Placement of drawing

• Order and organization of drawing

 General interpretation

• Interpretation of House
(mother house)
• Different parts of the house
present

• Size
– small house indicates rejection

– large house indicates

frustration
 Roof & Windows
• Walls and roof of the house depicts
the EGO of the subject

• Over emphasis of Peripheral

boundaries of wall & roof indicates
Conscious effort to maintain control

• Faint Peripheral boundaries : weak

ego
• ROOF: represent well balance interaction
with environment.

• EAVES OF ROOF: overly defensive

attitude
• Walls
Walls represent the persons
relative degrees of ego strength

Horizontal dimension of the

walls leads satisfaction
 Door and Windows
• Omit door: poor social or
interpersonal relations

• Small door: Hostile, shy and

withdrawn from the variation of HTP.

• Open door and many windows:

strong need for contact
with others.
• Very large windows: over
dependence on others

FRONT PART OF DOOR:

ingress or egress equally

LOCK DOOR: defensiveness

 Irrelevant details
Pathway
– Wide and direct to the door:
accessible personality
– LONG WALKWAY: lessened accessibility

• Sun: Greatest Authority or Emotional

Valence
• Clouds: Generalized Anxiety
• Mountains : Defensive Attitude & Need
for dependence
 CHIMNEY
• Chimney can relate either person
availability or degree of power
• Missing Chimney: a lack of psychological
warmth in person’s home life
• Excessive amount of smoke: inner
tension
 Interpretation of Tree
(Father Figure)
More towards top; unrealistic thinking.
Center: healthy personality.

• Foliated tree: sense of fulfillment of

confidence in ones own creative
abilities
• With fruits: Healthy, social,
creative and confident personality.
• Delicate branch: OBSESSIVE
COMPULSIVE PATIENT
• Dead Tree: feel victimized
by external forces

• Pine Tree: Goal Oriented &

having high achievement
need.

• Palm Tree: Adventures,

defensive in new situation
 PARTS OF TREE
• Leaves and Branches
Broken Branches: Trauma
Tiny Branches: Inability to derive
satisfaction.
Exposure Branches: Either the person
is well adjusted or having OCD.
SHADED BRANCHES: most mature
personality
UPWARD MOVING BRANCHES:
Ambitious and reaching for opportunities
 Trunks and Roots
Trunk can be seen is representing inner
strength and self esteem
• LARGE TRUNK: ego strength and self
esteem
• SHADING BARK: anxiety about herself
• NO ROOTS : repressed emotions
• THICK TRUNK: presentation level of
adjustment.
• Roots that taper easily in the ground:
Imply good reality contact
 Irrelevant details
• Arc like Ground line: maternal
dependence

• Animal peeking from a hole:

dependency in adults or teens
 Interpretation of a person
• Head
represents area of intelligence
(control) and phantasy
Emphasis on Peripheral lines of head:
strong effect to control facial expression

Small Head ; Obsessive Compulsive patients

Large Heads: emphasis phantasy as a source of
satisfaction
• Hair
• If overly emphasized head to sexual
preoccupations.
 FACIAL CHARACTERISTICS
• Facial features
– Eye: index of soul
– Omit or closed: relation problem
– Large: delusion
• Mouth
• Sexual gratification
• Emphasize: eating problem
• Omit: aggressive
• Simple eye brow: no disdain or proud.
• Nose
• Long, pointed and excessive shading
related to sexual problems.
• Absence of nose, ears &mouth:
Limited contact with reality
• Ears
– Large: paranoid tendencies
– Omission: well adjusted subjects with
low intelligence
• CHIN: masculinity symbol
- Over emphasis: need for social
dominance
• Neck
– Neck reflects integration of and
emotional aspects of personality.
– Short and thick: stubborn
– Long and thick: rigid
– Omission: immature
• Shoulders and Arms
– Shoulders are an index of the feelings
of basic strength or power physical as
well as psychological.

• large folding arms: denial rejection and

hosiery.

• Omitted; guilt or depression

• Hands
are refined tools for defensive
actions within environment

– Absence : high level of intelligence &

feeling of inadequacy

– Heavily shaded hand: masturbatory

guilt
• Leg and Feet
– Very large legs: autonomy
– Very short legs: construction feelings
• Feet
– small Feet: dependent
– emphasis on feet: sexual problem
– Omitted: helplessness
• Clothing
– Buttons: strong dependence on mother
– Tie : feeling of impotence
 Questions
Before interpretation About 60 questions are
asked
Person
• Who is he/she?
• How old is he/she?
• What is he/she doing?
Tree
• What kind of tree is that?
• Is that tree alive?
• About how old is that tree?
 House
• Is that your own house?
• Who lives here?
• Do people visit here?
Qualitative analysis and Quantitative analysis

• Detail
• Proportion
• Perspective
• Line quality
• Color
 Detail
Essential for
House
One door, window, wall, roof, chimney or
smoke.
Tree
A trunk and at least one branch.
Person
A head, a trunk, two legs and two arms.
Facial characteristics
Two eyes, a nose, a mouth, two ears.
 Non essential for
• House
• Window curtain, drawing out or shaded
material for wall, chimney or roof.
• Tree
• Foliage (leaves), bark, branch system
shaded,
• Person
• Neck, hands, feet, hair or clothing etc.
 Limit use of non essential indicate
• Good reality testing
• Sensitivity
• Well balanced inter action with
environment.
 Proportion (size relationship)
Average proportion is
One third – two third
Indicate: ability to make judgment easily and
flexibility to solve problem.
Small from average
Indicate: feelings of inadequacy, withdrawn
from environment.
Large from average
Indicate: frustration produced by restricted
environment, tension , irritability,
 Perspective (spatial relationship)
Average (center)
Show index of ability to grasp and
react successfully to the broader,
more complex,
more abstract and
more demanding aspect of life.
 Person
Left of average
Behave impulsively, frank, emotional
satisfaction, over concerned with self
and past.

Right of average
Behave in stable, controlled fashion, be
willing to delay satisfaction, over concern
with environment and future.
 Tree
Left of average
• Strive for unattainable goal
• Seek satisfaction in intellectualization or
phantasm
• Full frustrated
Right of average
• Feel insecure and inadequate
• Seek satisfaction in reality
• Feel at least mildly disturbed
 House
Left of average
• Never attain high level of conceptual
maturity
Right of average
• Never has a whole placed.
Center
• Rigid in behavior, anxious and insecure.
 Line quality
Heavy lines: generalized tension
Baseline/ topmost heavy lines:
• Struggling to maintain contact with
environment, fantasy as a source of
satisfaction
Faint lines; generalized feeling of
inadequacy.
 Color choice
• Red: strong emotional response
• Orange: extroversion, life to death struggle
• Yellow: cheerfulness, anxiety,
• Green: healthy ego, homeostatic aspect of
personality
• Blue: Calm, controlled emotions
• Purple: Personal identification, inner
emotional
• Brown: security, rigidity and guilt
• Black: Depression, fear
• Repressed people used more colors.
• For house 3-5 colors
• For tree 2-3 colors
• For person 3-5 colors
Represent the average range.
Shy person, used black or pencil color.
 Interpretation
• After 30 minutes, client completed to draw HTP.
Then we interpret the house, tree and person
according to manual given by John N.Buck.
• House
• Tree
• Person
• Question asked about
• Window and door
• Roots and leaves
• Arm and face.
 HOUSE
ROOF: represent well balance interaction with
environment.
EAVES OF ROOF: overly defensive attitude
FRONT PART OF DOOR: ingress or egress equally
LOCK DOOR: defensiveness
LONG WALKWAY: lessened accessibility
PERIPHERAL LINES: conscious effort to control
and ego strength
 HOUSE INTERPRETATION
WINDOW WITH CURTAIN:
Consciously controlled some anxiety, reserved.
CHIMNEY:
Emotional warmth and balance
GREAT AMOUNT OF SMOKE:
Inner tension and unsatisfactory relationship.
Average proportion
ability to make judgment easily and flexibility to solve
problem.
Perspective (center)
Anxious, rigid and insecure.
SUMMARY
Overall well adjusted and defensive personality
 INTERPRETATION OF TREE

LARGE TRUNK: ego strength and self esteem

SHADING BARK: anxiety about herself
SHADED BRANCHES: most mature personality
UPWARD MOVING BRANCHES
Ambitious and reaching for opportunities.
FRUIT: social, healthy, creative, and confident.
NO ROOTS : repressed emotions,
THICK TRUNK: presentation level of adjustment
More towards top; unrealistic thinking.
Center: healthy personality.
SUMMARY
Overall mature and ambitious personality
 INTERPRETATION OF PERSON

INDICATE• strong effect to

• Peripheral lines
SYMBOL
control facial
of head expression.
• Heavily shaded • anxiety over
hair thinking
• no disdain or
• Simple eye brow proud.
• Short and thick • Stubborn
neck personality
SYMBOL
• Large eyes with eyeball INDICATE
• Reluctance to accept
• Nose stimuli
• Close mouth with smile • Relation with organ
• Denial of needs or
passive aggression
• Neck
• Integration between
mind and body
• One arm is open • Willingly to engage in
environment
• One arm is closed • Defensive behavior
 INDICATE
• Pointed fingers
SYMBOL • Aggression
• Strong legs • Support in crises,
striving for
autonomy
• Long feet • Striving for
Security and
independence
• Skirt: social, acceptable, organized and
civilized behavior.
• Summary: Healthy personality.
MADAM SHUMAILA
 SUBMITTED BY
• RABIA SHAHAB
• AAFIA ZIA
• QURRAT UL AYESHA
• FAZLA SHEREEN