Abstract
This study was designed to compare scores on a pretest—the Personal Orientation Inventory (POI) (Shostrom, 1974)—taken immediately after a stressful experience (as inferred from measures on a polygraph) with scores on the posttest taken two weeks after the removal of the stressful condition. In this exploratory construct validity study the central objective was to ascertain whether hypothesized changes in the mean scores on the subscales of the POI would occur to a statistically significant degree in directions reflecting a higher degree of self-actualization after elimination of the stressful condition and after verbal reassurance of one's perceptual capabilities. The twenty-one subjects were randomly selected from one hundred-seventy graduate students enrolled in a school counseling-training program. Significant differences in the predicted direction were found on two of the twelve subscales, Self Regard and Self Acceptance on the POI.
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