Differential Relationships of Objective and Projective Dependency Scores to Self-Reports of Interpersonal Life Events in College Student Subjects

Abstract

Eighty-three undergraduate subjects (58 women and 25 men) participated in a prospective study in which they (a) completed widely used objective and projective measures of dependency, and then (b) provided monthly reports of the frequency and impact of various types of life events during a 1-semester (3-month) period. As expected, subjects' projective dependency scores predicted their frequency estimates and impact ratings of interpersonal life events but were unrelated to frequency estimates and impact ratings of other types of life events (e.g., achievement-related, legal). Objective dependency scores were unrelated to all life event frequency estimates and impact ratings. Findings are discussed in the context of recent theoretical frameworks that distinguish implicit dependency needs (which are assessed via projective measures) from self-attributed dependency needs (which are assessed via self-report tests). The importance of the type of dependency measure used in studies of the dependency-life events relationship is emphasized.

Explicit Rejection of an Implicit Dichotomy: Integrating Two Approaches to Assessing Dependency

“…To address the relations between self-report and more indirectly assessed dependency, Bornstein's group (Bornstein, 1998a(Bornstein, , 1999(Bornstein, , 2002Bornstein, Bowers, & Robinson, 1995) examined how the relations vary as a function of method and environmental demands. In essence, the question asked is, Under what conditions will self-report and indirect dependency scores be more aligned, and under what circumstances are they more discrepant?…”

Figure drawings: A popular method

“…Literature on narratives as the projective measure and questionnaires as the objective measure suggests that objective and projective measures assess different aspects of a given construct (McClelland, Koestner, & Weinberger, 1989). Moreover, neither these objective nor projective measures alone will necessarily yield a thorough assessment (Bornstein, Bowers, & Robinson, 1995). Parallel literature involving figure drawings as the projective measure is unavailable, leaving a gap in the knowledge base for practitioners and an unanswered question for researchers.…”

Relationships of Objective and Projective Dependency Scores to Sex Role Orientation in College Student Participants

“…Along slightly different lines, studies have shown that objective dependency measures are more susceptible to self-report and self-presentation biases on the part of participants than are projective dependency measures (Bornstein, Rossner, Hill, & Stepanian, 1994), in part because objective dependency measures (which require participants to rate the degree to which a series of dependency-related self-statements apply to them) have higher face validity than projective dependency measures (which simply ask participants to provide open-ended responses to a series of ambiguous stimuli such as inkblots). Finally, objective measures of dependency show somewhat better predictive validity than projective measures of dependency in structured laboratory situations, whereas projective dependency measures show better predictive validity than objective dependency measures in field settings (Bornstein, Bowers, & Robinson, 1995). McClelland, Koestner, and Weinberger (1989) provided an overarching theoretical framework that helps to explain the central differences between objective and projective dependency tests.…”

“…To date, there have been 97 published studies wherein objective or projective dependency measures (or both) were administered to male and female participants under identical conditions (Bornstein, 1995). The results of these studies were clear and unambiguous: Whereas women almost invariably obtain significantly higher scores than do men on objective dependency tests, men and women almost invariably obtain comparable scores on projective measures of dependency.…”

“…The results of these studies were clear and unambiguous: Whereas women almost invariably obtain significantly higher scores than do men on objective dependency tests, men and women almost invariably obtain comparable scores on projective measures of dependency. Bornstein (1992Bornstein ( , 1995 speculated that this pattern of results may reflect differences in mens' and womens' willingness to acknowledge dependent traits, attitudes, and behaviors on self-report tests. As Bornstein (1992) noted, boys are generally discouraged from expressing openly dependant feelings and needs, yet girls have historically been encouraged to exhibit these feelings, because passive, dependent behavior has traditionally been regarded as consonant with the female (i.e., feminine) sex role.…”