The humanistic view of personality focuses on the person’s world as he perceives it. It is the individual’s perceptions and interpretations of experiences that determine behavior.
To understand a person’s behavior we need4aknow not only the external situation is but, how it looks to the individual. But, to study the individual’s experiences scientifically we need objective measurements of subjective experiences.
1. Measuring self-concepts:
Various methods have been used to measure a person’s self- concept. One way is to have the individual select from a number of statements describing a person (e.g., “I am self-confident”, “I am unusually fearful”, “I work efficiently”, etc.) those that apply to him.
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The self-concept arrived at by this method can be compared to the individual’s ideal self by having him also select statements that describe the person he would like to be. Orchis self-concept can be compared with the picture others have of him by asking friends and relatives to select statements that describe him. Thus, it is possible to determine congruence between self-concept and ideal self, and between self-concept and self as viewed by others.
Some interesting results have been obtained with methods of this type but, as with other self- report tests (such a personality inventories), the individual’s test-taking attitude may bias the results. He may not be willing to admit he is as dissatisfied with himself as he really is. For example, a study of adolescent girls with behavior problems showed that some of the girls actually rated their self- concept higher than their ideal self (Cole and others, 1967). In view of the kinds of problems these girls were having, it seems unlikely that they really that pleased with themselves.
2. Measuring self-disclcsure:
An individual’s willingness to expose his inner self to others has also been studied experimentally. The self-Disclosure Questionnaire (Jourard, 1971) consists of 60 items of information about a person; some are concerned with attitudes and interests-for example, “My favorite ways of spending spare time”-while, others are highly personal-“The facts of my sex life” or “how I feel about different parts of my body”.
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The subject indicates (on a four-point scale) the extent to which he has talked about each item to each of five different people-mother, father, male friend, female friend, and spouse. The summed ratings provide a measure of how much the subject reveals about himself and to whom.
Studies with the Self-Disclosure Questionnaire show that women generally disclose themselves more than men, both sexes reveal themselves more to people who are open and honest in return, and greater mutual disclosure takes place in marriage than in any other relationship (Jourard, 1971).
Portraying oneself accurately to others is often assumed to be characteristic of a healthy personality; the emotionally disturbed individual, in contrast, may not accept or know his “real” self and may be unable to reveal it to others. Research with the Self-Disclosure Questionnaire tends to support this assumption.
For example, college students who applied for psychological help at a student counseling center tended to have lower self-disclosure scores than a matched group of students who did not seek help. But, some of the applicants for counseling had unusually, high disclosure scores, particularly in relation to their parents. This suggests that excessive self-disclosure may be as indicative of emotional immaturity as very low disclosure.