Ego-alien aggression shows up in story villains the subject disowns

Evidence

In the TAT stories as well as the interview protocols it is said to be possible to recognize ego-alien negative feelings. What are the signs? One prejudiced subject told no stories in which the hero was aggressive against either a father or any sort of “fatherfigure.” Since the storyteller is presumed to identify himself with the hero we might say that there was no consciously accepted aggression of this kind. However, aggression of this kind was exhibited by characters in the story whom the storyteller took pains to reject. The heroes identified themselves with authority but figures from whom the subjects dissociated themselves attacked authority. It is this kind of pattern that is taken to be evidence of ego-alien aggression. — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 545

Categorization

• DEFINE: Shows how TAT narrative structure — hero rejecting an attacking figure — reveals disowned hostility toward authority.