Obese Israelis and controls were administered the Rorschach, TAT, and a level-of-aspiration task. The obese Ss scored higher on oral dependence than the control Ss on both the Rorschach (p=.01) and TAT (p=.02). There were no differences on either test for oral sadism, although the Rorschach subcategories of overwhelming figures and burdens and TAT themes of deprivation discriminated significantly between the groups. The most sensitive oral dependence subcategories were nurturers, supplicants and food organs (Rorschach), and themes of passivity, optimism, and helplessness (TAT). When only those Ss who scored above or below the median on both tests were considered, predictions regarding obesity were 90% accurate. Contrary to expectation, the obese Ss set level-of-aspiration goals more realistically than the controls.