Defense Mechanism Test (DMT)

Abstract

The Defense Mechanism Test (DMT), developed by Ulf Kragh in 1960, is a specialized projective instrument designed to evaluate an individual’s precognitive defensive organization. Its primary applications are in psychological diagnosis and rigorous personnel selection, particularly in high-stakes environments. The DMT is typically administered in a group setting, employing repeated subliminal exposure to stimuli reminiscent of TAT-like pictures. These stimuli incorporate a peripheral threat intended to elicit conflict and stress in the subject. Exposure durations are systematically varied, beginning as briefly as 1/100 of a second and gradually extending up to a maximum of 2 seconds. Across 18 to 20 presentations, participants are instructed to sketch or mark what they perceive and provide a brief written commentary. Defensive organization is subsequently quantified by trained raters using a precise 5-degree rating scale, utilizing either a comprehensive or an abbreviated coding system focused on primary defensive types. The DMT has demonstrated interrater reliability that is comparable to, or surpasses, that typically observed in other projective assessment methods.

Keywords

Defense Mechanism Test, DMT, Ulf Kragh, Precognitive Defensive Organization, Defense Mechanisms, Psychological Assessment, Personnel Selection, Diagnosis, Subliminal Perception

Authors

Ulf Kragh

Purpose

The fundamental purpose of the Defense Mechanism Test (DMT) is the assessment of precognitive defensive organization. This evaluation serves a dual function, making the instrument valuable for both clinical diagnosis and critical personnel selection processes. By observing how individuals process and react to threatening stimuli presented outside of conscious awareness, the DMT aims to reveal underlying defense strategies that might predict behavior under stress or conflict.

Specifically, in contexts such as military or aviation screening, the DMT is employed to identify candidates whose defensive profiles suggest robustness or vulnerability. The test provides quantifiable data on defensive patterns, aiding professionals in making informed decisions regarding suitability for demanding roles where psychological stability is paramount.

Construct

The DMT is primarily designed to measure two interrelated psychological constructs: Defense Mechanisms and Precognitive Defensive Organization. Defense mechanisms, rooted in psychodynamic theory, are unconscious psychological strategies used to cope with anxiety and maintain self-esteem. The DMT focuses on these mechanisms as they operate before conscious recognition occurs (precognitively).

Precognitive Defensive Organization refers to the habitual, automatic structure and hierarchy of an individual’s defense mechanisms. The test posits that these automatic, early-stage responses to threat are highly predictive of an individual’s overall psychological function and capacity to handle conflict. By analyzing responses to the subliminal exposure, raters determine the type and intensity of the Defense Mechanisms being deployed, such as denial, repression, or isolation.

Validity

The validity of the DMT, as reported in early studies, showed promising results, though performance varied by rater. For the primary rater (designated as Rater A), validity was consistently high across various samples, with the notable exception of one specific group: the officer cadets assessed in 1958. This suggests that the primary rater’s training and experience were crucial to achieving reliable and meaningful validity metrics.

In contrast, the validity findings for the two co-raters were generally rated as satisfactory. These results underscore the instrument’s reliance on highly trained and experienced personnel for accurate interpretation and scoring, a common characteristic of complex projective methods. Despite this variability, the evidence presented supported the DMT’s utility in assessing defensive structure for its intended purposes, such as personnel selection.

Reliability

Reliability for the DMT is primarily assessed through interrater reliability, given the interpretive nature of the scoring process. The reported interrater reliability coefficients span a range from .57 to .90, yielding an overall average of approximately .70 across different trained raters. This range indicates variability in agreement depending on the specific defense mechanism being coded or the complexity of the subject’s response.

When comparing this metric to other standardized psychological tests, the reliability is considered low to satisfactory relative to typical objective aptitude tests. However, the reliability measures of the DMT are reported to meet or exceed the reliability standards commonly observed in other projective assessment methods, establishing its robustness within that category of psychological instruments.

Factor Analysis

Based on the initial development and validation studies, there is no factor analysis indicated for the Defense Mechanism Test (DMT). The assessment relies fundamentally on qualitative coding and clinical judgment concerning specific, theoretically defined Defense Mechanisms rather than empirical determination of underlying latent factors through statistical reduction techniques.

Instrument

Test Type: Test (Projective/Perceptual-Defense Test)

Format: Subjects create sketches or markings of what they observe during the brief stimulus exposure and concurrently write brief comments describing their perception. Responses are subsequently evaluated and coded by trained raters using a 5-degree rating scale. The coding utilizes either a comprehensive system detailing all defensive organizations or an abbreviated system focusing on primary defensive types.

Language Available: Original studies conducted in Swedish and Danish contexts, suggesting availability in these languages. (Specific list of all available languages is not provided in the source material.)

Population Group: Humans; Male; Female

Age Group: Adolescence (13–17 years); Adulthood (18+ years); Young Adulthood (18–29 years)

Population Details: The initial validation samples included specific, high-risk operational groups such as Swedish Aviation Cadets (Ages 17–22) and Danish Attack Divers. The test development primarily occurred in Sweden and Denmark.

Test Methodology: The test involves 18–20 repeated exposures of a stimulus containing a peripheral threat. Administration is conducted in a group setting. Exposure timing is controlled, starting at 1/100 second and increasing incrementally to 2 seconds to capture the precognitive processing of the threat via subliminal exposure.

Keywords

Projective Test, Precognitive, Ulf Kragh, Psychological Test Construction, Interrater Reliability, Defense Mechanisms, Diagnosis, Military Psychology

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: N/A

Affiliation Email addresses: N/A

Correspondence Address: Institute of Military Psychology (Affiliation at time of publication)

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Test Year: 1960 (Based on initial publication)

Permissions and Fees: Information regarding current licensing, permissions, and fee structures is not provided in the original source material and must be sought from subsequent publishers or research groups utilizing the DMT.

Reference’s

• Kragh, U. (1960). The Defense Mechanism Test: A new method for diagnosis and personnel selection. Journal of Applied Psychology, 44(5), 303–309. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0046004

Items of the Defense Mechanism Test (DMT)

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

18–20 exposures of a stimulus containing a peripheral threat designed to evoke conflict and stress. Subjects sketch or mark what they perceive and provide a brief written comment.