This article describes a case study where the Q Methodology approach was applied to explore the self-image of a person in short-term therapy. The person gained increased self-understanding and resolved an internal conflict related to a self-image issue that was underlying the presenting problem. Furthermore, theQMethodology approach, combined with PerceptualControl Theory (PCT), suggested some ideas about the nature of the self-concept that can be explored in future research.
American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders(4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
2.
Block, J. (1978). The Q-sort method. Palto Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
3.
Brown, S. R. (1980). Political subjectivity. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
4.
Chignell, M. H.,& Patty, B. W. (1987). Unidimensional scaling with efficient rankingmethods. Psychological Bulletin, 101, 304-311.
5.
Goldstein, D. M. (1989). Q Methodology and control systems theory. Operant Subjectivity, 13, 8-14.
6.
Goldstein, D. M. (1991). QMethodology and control theory: II. General considerations. Operant Subjectivity, 14, 61-74.
7.
Goldstein, D. M. (1998). Clinical psychology: The facilitation of reorganization. In R. J. Robertson& W. T. Powers (Eds.), Introduction to modern psychology: The control theory view(chap. 14, pp. 185-204). Connecticut: Benchmark.
8.
Goldstein, D. M. (2001). PCT psychotherapy(on-line). Retrieved from http://home.earthlink.net/%7Ermarken/goldstein1.html
9.
Levin, T. (1961). The function of the idealized self-image in transference formation. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, New York University.
10.
Mahrer, A. (1989). How to do experiential psychotherapy. Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press.
11.
Marken, R. S. (1990). Spreadsheet analysis of a hierarchical control system model of behavior. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments and Computers, 22, 349-359.
12.
Marken, R. S. (1997). The dancer and the dance: Methods in the study of living control systems. Psychological Methods, 2, 436-446.
13.
Millon, T. (1990). Toward a new personology: An evolutionary model. New York: JohnWiley.
14.
Powers, W. T. (1973). Behavior: The control of perception. Hawthorne, NY: Aldine.
15.
Powers, W. T. (1998). Making sense of behavior. Connecticut: Benchmark.
16.
Ricks, D. (1956). “I” and “Me”: A study in self consistency. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Chicago.
17.
Robertson, R. J., Goldstein, D. M., Marmel, M.,& Musgrave, M. (1999). Testing the self as a control system: Theoretical andmethodological issues. International Journal ofHuman-Computer Studies, 50, 571-580.
18.
Stephenson, W. (1953). The study of behavior. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
19.
Stephenson, W. (1990). My self in 1980; a study in culture. Operant Subjectivity, 14, 1-19.
20.
Stricklin, M. (2000). PCQ Analysis Software for Q Technique: For Windows, Academic Edition, Version 1.40. [Computer Software]. Nebraska: Author.
