Images As Tools for Social Research

It is not easy to study the deep constructs of personality, such as social values, because “social desirability”, self-presentation strategies, and defense mechanisms tend to hide them. A person being interviewed is mostly in a self-defensive position. Additionally, they may interpret the questions differently from the researcher who formulated them, may not understand the functioning of the data collection technique used, or may be unaware of their own value orientations.

To reduce the risks of distortion and attempt to capture deeper meanings, I have conducted research using alternative techniques to the more commonly used ones, including visual techniques, by presenting images that could elicit less controlled reactions and meaningful narratives.

I employed some plates from the T.A.T. (Thematic Apperception Test) and some advertising images to investigate: a) conceptions of gender relations; b) the values of people belonging to a subculture in which drug use is present; c) intergenerational relationships. A tendency was noted for the advertising images to direct interviewees’ reactions toward political correctness, something that was not observed when using the T.A.T. plates. The ambiguity of the latter’s drawings likely encouraged less controlled reactions.

In another study – on so-called 'gender fluidity' – the question was whether the idea of gender as a "master status" could change, given the emerging possibility of self-identifying as “non-binary.” Five images were used: two taken from the T.A.T. and three depicting characters of ambiguous gender; each subject was asked to develop short stories based on each of them. One of the findings is the persistence of gender as a “master status”: indeed, first and foremost, the participants defined the gender of the depicted subjects.

I would be pleased to present other findings and share the images that, in my studies, elicited the most profound and significant reactions.