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Self-Actualization Index (SAI)
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About Self-Actualization Index (SAI)
Scale Name
Self-Actualization Index (SAI) also known as Short Index of Self-Actualization (SISA)
Author Details
Alvin Jones and Richard Crandall
Translation Availability
Not Sure
Background/Description
The desire to understand and measure human potential led Abraham Maslow to propose the concept of self-actualization – the highest level of psychological maturity and fulfillment. While Maslow developed the Personal Orientation Inventory (POI) to assess this construct, its lengthy format presented practical challenges. Enter Alvin Jones and Richard Crandall in 1986.
Building on Maslow’s work, Jones and Crandall sought to create a briefer, yet reliable and valid, measure of self-actualization. This led to the development of the Short Index of Self-Actualization (SISA), a 15-item questionnaire designed to capture the essence of self-actualized individuals.
Rationale for the SISA
The development of the SISA stemmed from three key motivators:
- Accessibility: The POI’s 150 items posed a time constraint for both administrators and respondents. The SISA aimed to offer a quick and efficient way to assess self-actualization.
- Specificity: While the POI provided a broad picture of personality, the SISA focused specifically on core characteristics of self-actualized individuals, such as self-acceptance, autonomy, and meaningful living.
- Psychometric soundness: The SISA aimed to maintain rigorous statistical standards for reliability and validity, ensuring accurate and trustworthy measurements of self-actualization.
Construction and Content of the SISA
Jones and Crandall carefully crafted the SISA by:
- Selecting key items: They analyzed the POI and chose 10 items with the highest correlations to the overall score, representing facets like trust, autonomy, and emotional acceptance.
- Adding complementary items: Four additional items from the POI were chosen based on their strong links to specific self-actualizing qualities.
Incorporating new perspectives: Five items emerged from the Personal Orientation Dimensions, a later refinement of Maslow’s theory, further enriching the SISA’s scope.
The resulting 15 statements offer a balanced mix of positive and negative statements, ensuring a nuanced assessment of self-actualization tendencies.
Introduction and Impact of the SISA
The publication of the SISA in 1986 provided a valuable tool for researchers and practitioners interested in:
- Studying self-actualization in various contexts: The SISA’s brevity and validity made it ideal for exploring self-actualization in diverse populations and situations.
- Clinical applications: Understanding individual levels of self-actualization could inform therapeutic interventions and promote psychological well-being.
- Personal development: Individuals could use the SISA to gain insight into their own self-actualizing tendencies and identify areas for personal growth.
Administration, Scoring and Interpretation
- SISA questionnaire: This can be obtained in print format or through online versions. Make sure you’re using a reliable and validated version of the SISA.
- Answer sheet: Provide an answer sheet where participants can mark their responses.
- Pencils or pens: Ensure participants have writing tools.
- Introduction: Briefly explain the purpose of the SISA, outlining its focus on assessing self-actualization tendencies.
- Reading instructions: Read aloud the instructions provided on the SISA questionnaire, ensuring clarity and understanding.
- Individual or group administration: You can administer the SISA individually or in a group setting. For group administration, ensure clear audio and minimize distractions.
- Question format: Each statement in the SISA requires participants to rate their agreement on a 5-point scale (e.g., strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, strongly agree). Encourage participants to respond honestly and based on their own experiences.
- Answer time: Allow sufficient time for participants to read and respond to each item. Aim for around 15-20 minutes for completion.
- Clarifications: Encourage participants to ask any questions they might have during administration.
- Scoring: After completion, participants can score their own questionnaires using the provided scoring instructions or you can score them yourself. The SISA manual or online resources typically provide detailed scoring instructions.
Reliability and Validity
The SISA, as mentioned previously, has been investigated for both reliability (consistency) and validity (accuracy) since its development in 1986. Here’s a breakdown of the findings:
- Internal consistency: Jones and Crandall reported an alpha coefficient of .65, indicating moderate internal consistency of the items within the SISA. Subsequent studies have yielded alpha coefficients ranging from .60 to .80, suggesting reasonable consistency in responses across items.
- Test-retest reliability: The correlation between scores obtained at two different points in time provides insights into test-retest reliability. Jones and Crandall reported a test-retest reliability of .69 over a twelve-day period, suggesting relative stability of scores over time. However, longer intervals between test administrations might yield lower reliability coefficients.
- Face validity: The content of the SISA items directly corresponds to Maslow’s theorized traits of self-actualized individuals, enhancing its face validity. This means the statements appear to measure what they intend to measure.
- Criterion validity: This type of validity assesses the correlation between the SISA scores and other measures of self-actualization or related constructs. Research has shown moderate correlations between the SISA and other self-actualization scales like the POI, suggesting moderate criterion validity. Additionally, studies have found positive correlations between the SISA and measures of psychological well-being and life satisfaction, further supporting its validity.
- Construct validity: This type of validity examines whether the SISA scores reflect the underlying theoretical construct of self-actualization. Factor analysis studies have yielded mixed results, with some supporting the four-factor structure originally proposed by Jones and Crandall, while others have identified different factor structures. This suggests potentially nuanced interpretations of the SISA subscales and the need for further research on its construct validity.
Available Versions
15-Items
Reference
Jones, A., & Crandall, R. (1986). Validation of a short index of self-actualization. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 12(1), 63-73.
Important Link
Scale File:
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the SISA?
A 15-item questionnaire measuring core traits of self-actualized individuals like autonomy, acceptance, and purpose.
Why was it developed?
To offer a shorter and more efficient alternative to longer self-actualization measures like the Personal Orientation Inventory (POI).
Is it reliable?
Yes, moderate internal consistency and test-retest reliability reported.
Is it valid?
Yes, moderate evidence for face, criterion, and construct validity, though further research needed on subscale interpretations.
Limitations?
Sample bias, self-report bias, limited research compared to POI.
How is it administered?
Individually or in groups, quick and easy to complete (around 15-20 minutes).
Who uses it?
Researchers, therapists, and individuals interested in exploring self-actualization tendencies.
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