Measurement of Personality: True or False

Loevinger, Jane

doi:10.1207/s15327965pli0401_1

Cited by 82 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…The most recent version of the WUCST places respondents in 1 of 8 major stages of ego development ranging from Impulsive (Lowest) to Integrated (Highest). The WUSCT has demonstrated impressive construct validity in numerous studies by independent investigators (see Hauser, 1976;Loevinger, 1993, for reviews), and fulfills our criteria for empirical support. For example, scores on this instrument correlate (a) moderately to highly with ego level as assessed by interviews (e.g., Lucas, 1971), (b) moderately with scores on Kohlberg's (1981) moral judgment test even after controlling statistically for age (e.g., Lambert, 1972), (c) negatively and substantially with indexes of delinquency and antisocial behavior (Frank & Quinlan, 1976), (d) positively with successful adaptation after divorce (Bursik, 1991), (e) positively with the openness to experience dimension of the "Big Five" personality taxonomy (McCrae & Costa, 1980), and (f) positively with observer ratings of ego resiliency and morality (Westenberg & Block, 1993).…”

Section: Recommendations For Building a Valid Projective Techniquementioning

confidence: 69%

“…In addition, the WUCST was constructed and revised throughout numerous cycles of test development. In each cycle, (a) preliminary scoring instructions were devised and applied to previous samples, (b) the data from these samples were used to revise the scoring instructions and, in some cases, the items and conceptualization of the ego development stages themselves, and (c) the revised scoring instructions and items were applied to new samples (see Loevinger, 1993Loevinger, , 1998. The most recent version of the WUCST places respondents in 1 of 8 major stages of ego development ranging from Impulsive (Lowest) to Integrated (Highest).…”

Section: Recommendations For Building a Valid Projective Techniquementioning

confidence: 99%

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The Scientific Status of Projective Techniques

Lilienfeld

Wood

Garb

2000

Psychol Sci Public Interest

605

391

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Abstract-AlthoughControversy has been no stranger to the field of personality assessment, and no issue in this field has been more controversial than the scientific status of projective techniques. Indeed, the novice reader attempting to make sense of the sprawling and bewilderingly complex literature on projective techniques is immediately confronted with a striking paradox. On the one hand, during the past four decades a litany of personality assessment researchers (e.g., Anastasi, 1982;Gittelman Klein, 1986;Dawes, 1994) have come forth to decry the reliability and validity of most projective techniques (see Lilienfeld, 1999). Jensen's (1965) famous quotation, although 35 years old, still captures the sentiments of many contemporary scientists toward the Rorschach Inkblot Test and numerous other projective techniques: ". . . the rate of scientific progress in clinical psychology might well be measured by the speed and thoroughness with which it gets over the Rorschach" (p. 238). On the other hand, clinicians in the United States and to a lesser extent those abroad continue to use projective techniques with great regularity, and many contend that these techniques are virtually indispensable to their daily practice (Watkins, Campbell, Neiberding, & Hallmark, 1995). The crux of this paradox was incisively summed up by Anastasi (1982), who observed that "Projective techniques present a curious discrepancy between research and practice. When evaluated as psychometric instruments, the large majority make a poor showing. Yet their popularity in clinical use continues unabated" (p. 564).Indeed, despite the sustained and often withering criticisms directed at projective techniques during the past several decades (Dawes, 1994;Lowenstein, 1987), numerous surveys demonstrate that such techniques continue to enjoy widespread popularity among clinicians. Durand, Blanchard, and Mindell (1988) reported that 49% of the directors of clinical psychology graduate programs and 65% of the directors of clinical psychology internships believed that formal training in projective techniques is important. Watkins et al. (1995) found that 5 projective techniques, including the Rorschach and Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), were among the 10 instruments most frequently used by clinical psychologists. For example, 82% of clinical psychologists reported that they administered the Rorschach at least "occasionally" in their test batteries and 43% reported that they "frequently" or "always" administered it. There is some indication, however, that the popularity of certain projective techniques may be waning. In a recent survey of practicing clinicians, Piotrowski, Belter, and Keller (1998) reported that several projective techniques, including the Rorschach and TAT, have been abandoned by a sizeable minority of users. Some authors (e.g., Piotrowski et al., 1998; Piotrowski & Belter, 1989) have attributed the recent decline in the popularity of projective techniques to the advent of managed care, although at least some of this decline may al...

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Section: Recommendations For Building a Valid Projective Techniquementioning

confidence: 69%

Section: Recommendations For Building a Valid Projective Techniquementioning

confidence: 99%

The Scientific Status of Projective Techniques

Lilienfeld

Wood

Garb

2000

Psychol Sci Public Interest

605

391

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…The WUSCT has been developed as a measure of ego development, which, particularly in its description of the lowest stages of ego development, shows some surprising parallels to the concept of psychopathy. Loevinger's (1993) theory of ego development is in many respects similar to Kohlberg's theory of moral development or to Jesness's theory of Interpersonal Maturity (I-level) that has been of some influence in criminal psychology (cf. Andrews and Bonta, 1998).…”

Section: Psychometric Approaches To the Assessment Of Psychopathymentioning

confidence: 98%

The language of the psychopath: Characteristics of prisoners' performance in a sentence completion test

Endres¹

2004

Criminal Behav Ment Health

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“…The study was also designed to incorporate a number of features that take account of critical comments made in the context of intervention studies in the area of cognitive development (Wohlwill, 1973), moral development (Lawrence, 1980), and ego development (Loevinger, 1976(Loevinger, , 1993. This meant the employment of a true experimental design with random allocation of participants either to an intervention or a control group, the duration of the intervention being sufficient for the occurrence of stage change, followup evaluation of the sustainability of any changes precipitated by the intervention, and the use of alternate short forms of the WUSCT for the pre-, post-, and follow-up assessments, to avoid measurement error effects found in short-term repeat testing (Redmore & Waldman, 1975).…”

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confidence: 99%

Promoting Advanced Ego Development Among Adults

Durkin

Manners

Nesdale

2004

Journal of Adult Development

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An intervention study was conducted to investigate whether advanced ego development could be promoted if account was taken of the factors likely to be involved in the ego stage transition process in adulthood. A conceptual framework that identified such factors was described, in which it was hypothesised that stage transition occurs in response to life experiences that are structurally disequilibrating, personally salient, emotionally engaging, and interpersonal. The intervention was designed in accordance with these proposed types of life experiences, and was targeted toward adults at the modal stage of ego development. Using an experimental design, a significant increase in ego level was found in 2 equivalent intervention groups, with no increase found in a matched control group. The findings demonstrate the possibility of continued ego development in adulthood, including development to the advanced ego stages, and provide clarification regarding some of the processes involved in such development.

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Measurement of Personality: True or False

Cited by 82 publications

References 39 publications

The Scientific Status of Projective Techniques

The Scientific Status of Projective Techniques

The language of the psychopath: Characteristics of prisoners' performance in a sentence completion test

Promoting Advanced Ego Development Among Adults

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