Investigations Into the 'Self‐concept’i. The W‐a‐y Technique

Abstract

One of the newer candidates m the field of personality theory is the Self-Concept theory of personality organization This view received Its first formal statement by Raimy in 1943, although related lines of thinking are to be identified both previous to and since that time, as for example, some of the discussions of Gordon Allport (1), Lecky's Self Consistency theory (4), and m the wntings of Gardner Muri^y (6) This view holds that the behavior of the individual IS pnmanly determined by and pertinent to his phenomenal field and, m particular, that aspect of the field which is tlK individual's concept of himself Refers (8), Snygg and Combs (9) and others have given especial support to this view in showing its value in explaimng or descnbing the results achieved through nondirective counseling and psychotherapy There is no reason, however, why the Self-Conceirt: theory must be sdely identified with the nondirective techmque The present writers have felt that the postulate of the Self-Conce^A may be eml^oyed to good effect in other phases of psychol<^cal practice and by psychologists of other persuasions As an example of an interview technique arising frcan the Self-Ccmcept theory frame of reference and available to any interviewer, the present paper reports on a device which has been found productive m exploring the interviewee's self perceptionsIn the course of interviewing varied types of clients-college students, psychiatnc patients, veterans seeking vocational guidance, etc.-the authors experimented with various questions and sets of questions in an endeavor to find a means for quickly eliciting some • expression of the counseke's manner of viewing himself Of the various attempts, that one apparently affording the most revealing informaticm and yet requiring a minimum of complication m admmistratiMi proved to be what may be termed the "W-A-Y" or "Who Are You?" question.

Self‐concept in Profoundly Deaf Adolescent Pupils

“…(Bugental & Zelen, 1950;Kuhn & McPartland, 1954;L'Ecuyer, 1978;Rodriguez Tom& Behar, Martinez, & Bariaud, 1982;Wylie, 1974).…”

Personality and the location of identity1

“…In general, individuals who are asked to describe themselves using a relatively open-ended format (e.g., the Who Are You technique: Bugental & Zelen, 1950;Kuhn & McPartland, 1954), support William James's (1890) contention that a person's concept of self includes several different aspects: e.g., a material, a social, and a spiritual self. Gordon (1968) has proposed an even more complex scheme for analyzing the several aspects of a person's concept of self.…”

Defining and Measuring Self-Concept Change

“…Examples of this assessment include the Who Are You? Method (WAY; Bugental and Zelen 1950), and the Twenty Statements Test (Kuhn and McPartland 1954). Although reactive self-report measures are more popular and make analysis easier, spontaneous self-report measures are generally higher in construct validity (Brinthaupt and Erwin 1992).…”