In 1938, the American psychologist Henry Murray developed a system of needs as part of his theory of personality, which he named personology.
According to Murray, human needs are psychogenic in origin, function on an unconscious level, and can play a major role in defining personality.
[1] Frustration of these psychogenic needs plays a central role in the origin of psychological pain.
Murray differentiated each need as unique, but recognized commonalities among them, codified at least partially in his categorization system.
Murray argued that environmental factors play a role in how psychogenic needs are displayed in behavior.
Murray's system of needs has influenced the creation of personality testing, including both objective and subjective measures.
[2] A personality test is a questionnaire or other standardized instrument designed to reveal aspects of an individual's character or psychological makeup.
[5] Henry Murray, along with Christiana Morgan, developed the thematic apperception test (TAT) as a tool to assess personality.
The TAT is based on the assumption that human unconscious needs are directed towards an external stimulus.
The TAT is administered by an assessor, who chooses a subset of cards (generally concerning a particular theme, or those that they feel best suit the subject) out of the 32 available; Murray recommended selecting 20.
Murray's concept of the "press" and his emphasis on the importance of environmental events (and their subjective interpretation) were also highly significant to later psychological research.
[7] Although Murray's theory has had a substantial influence on personality testing and research, some critics say that his system of needs is too broad and rather subjective.