The Fairy Tale Test is a projective personality test designed for children aged 6 to 12 [year]s. The structure of the test rests mainly on the association between fairy tales and unconscious processes. This association was elicited from various sources, which included the origins and the evolution of the tales, the specific characteristics of fairy tales and the relationship between the tales and child development. The theoretical background is psychodynamic, based principally on the theories of the ego and of object relations.
The FTT evaluates and assesses a large number of Defense Mechanisms. Because of its stimulus material, seven sets of cards, three cards per set, it facilitates the emergence of a large number of Defense Mechanisms and in particular the mechanisms of Undoing, Reaction Formation, and Splitting. During the presentation some examples of Defense Mechanisms are introduced with some of their developmental characteristics and their association with personality factors.