MANUAL FOR

sELF S

CONCEPT C

QUESTIONNAIRE Q

Dr. Raj Kumar Saraswat

Reader in Psychology
Dept. of Ed. Psychology, Counseling& Guidance
National Council for Educational Research & Training
NEW DELHI - 110 016

AGA

Estd. 1971 O (0562) 364926

NATIONAL PSYCHOLOGICAL CORPORATION

4/230. KACHERI GHAT, AGRA 282 004 (INDIA)
 MANUAL
FOR
SELF CONCEPT QUESTIONNAIRE

INTRODUCTION
Self-concept is a dominant element in personality pattern, therefore, the
measurement of self-concept becomes essential. A variety of methods and
techniques have been developed to measure self-concept. The problem of
measuring the self-concept to a large extent still remains unsolved. The difficuty
in conducting research in such an area is that the concept of self is not very well
defined and is in a state of flux. There are several terms that are virtually
synonymous with self-concept among them are "Self-image", the "Ego"
"Self-understanding", "Setf-perception" and "Phenomenal Self"
Setf-concept has been referred by Lowe (1961) as one's attitude towards
self, and by, Paderson (1965) as an organized configuration, of perceptions,
beliefs, feelings, attitudes and values which the individual views as a part of
characteristics of himself. Rogers (1951) defined self-concept as "An organized

configuration of perceptions of the self which are admissible to awareness. It is

compared of such elements as the perceptions of one's characteristics and
abilities, the percepts and concepts of the self in relation to others and to the
environment, the value qualities which are perceived as associated with
experiences and objects, and the goals and ideals which are perceived as having

positive or negative valence." Saraswat and Gaur (1981) described self-concept

as "The self-concept is the individual's way of looking at himsetf. It also signifies

his way of thinking. feeling and behaving".

Lynche, Norem-Hebeisen and Gergen (1981) have quoted William Fitt's

attention should be shifted from global measures of the
suggestion that
 Manual for S C Q | 3
self-concept to configurations of responses across selí-concept dimensions.
Such configurationak patterns should be mere sensitive to environmental effects.

An examination of various instruments developed to measure self- concept

reveals that these measures have not incorporated many important components
of self-concept presumed in theory and in observation. These measures do not
deal with all aspects of self- concept, but provide narrow and limited information
e depending upon purpose and interest of investigators.
Adolescence is a period of life with its own peculiar characteristics and
f
problems. Hence for deep penetration into their perceptions their own physical,
social, temperamental, educational, moral and intellectual spheres of self-concept
need to be explored. As such, an attempt has been made in this questionnaire
for eliciting information regarding adolescent's perceptions and characteristics.

Description of Self-Concept Inventory

The self-concept inventory provides six separate dimensions of self-concept,
viz., Physical, Social, Intellectual, Moral, Educational and Temperamental Self-
concept. t aiso gives a total self-concept score. The operational definitions of
self-concept dimensions measured by this inventory are
1. Physlcal-Individuals' view of their body, health, physical appearance
and strength.

2. Social-Individual's sense of worth in social interactions.

3. Temperamental-Individuals view of their prevailing emotional state or

predominance of a particular kind of emotional reaction.

4. Educational-Individual's view of themselves in relation to school,

teachers and extracurricular activities.

5. MoralIndividual's estimation of their moral worth; right and wrong

activities.
6. Intellectual. Individuals' awareness of their intelligence and capacity of

problem solving and judgements.

 4| Manual for S C Q
Table 1 indicates item numbers included in different
self-concept
dimensions.
TABLE 1
Sell-Concept Dimensions Alongwith their Item Numbers

Self-Concept Dimensions Code No. Item Numbers

Physical A 2, 3, 9, 20, 22, 27, 29, 31

Social B 1, 8, 21,37, 40, 43, 46, 48
Temperamental C 4, 10, 14, 16, 19, 23, 24, 28
Educational D 5, 13, 15, 17, 25, 26, 30, 32
Moral E 6, 34, 35, 41, 42, 44, 45, 47,
Intellectual F 7,11, 12, 18, 33, 36, 38, 39

The inventory contains 48 items. Each dimension contains eight items. Each
item is provided with five alternatives. Responses are obtained on the test
booklet itself. There is no time limit but generally 20 minutes have been found
sufficient for responding all the items. Instructions for the time of administration of
the inventory are also given on the test booklets.
Instructions for Administering the Inventory
1. Let the students be seated with proper seating arrangement.

2 Before the test starts, let all books and note-books be kept aside or inside
the desks.

3. Make sure that the respondent has a pencil or per

4. Tell students the purpose of the test.

5. Assure students that the responses obtained on the test will be kept

secret.

6. Any doubts raised by the students should be answered frankly.

 Manual for S CQ |5
pt 77 Distribute the test booklet of Self-concept inventory to the students.

88. Let all the entries of the response booklet be filled in one by one.

9.
9. Read the instructions clearly from the test booklet, while the individuals
read silently.

10. Ensure that the instructions have been understood correctly.

11. Invite doubts or querries and clear them before they start responding the
itens.
12. Supervise the group, i. e. take rounds in the room and make sure that all
are responding in a desired way.
13. If someone needs to know the meaning of certain words, he/she should
be toid. However the responses have to be decided independently by the

candidates themselves.

14. Count the test booklets at the end of the testing and be sure that all the
test booklets have been returned.

Instructions to Students
Read the following instructions from the inventory in Hindi or English as the

case may be-

"The is a seif-concept inventory. There are 48 items in it. Against each item

there are five responses. You have to read each item carefully and respond to it
by marking a tick (V) on any one of the five responses given against that item,
which you think describe you well.
what you feel
There is right or wrong answer. The right answer is only
no
what you feel about
about yourself. Try to give your responses according to
a statement. Your answers will be kept
yourself with reference to that
confidential"

After the above instructions, administrator should explain the EXAMPLE

given on the inventory.
 6
Manual for S C Q r e s p o n s e s

his
to give
Scoring Method a l t e r n a t i v e s

self-concept
with five of his
provided description
respondent
is
The acceptable that.the scoring
to least a way
in such
acceptable
from m o s t arranged the items
ranging are whether
1
5, 4, 3, 2,
responses
or
The
alternatives

the same i. e.
alternative
the
remain
items will mark for first
for all the put ( V) for
system
If the
respondent
alternative
score is 3,
o r negative.
are positive
the score is 4, for third The
s c o r e is
alternative one.
for second a l t e r n a t i v e the
s c o r e is 5, last
and of
for the fifth score
fourth it is 2 and the total self
concept
the items provide while
of all the forty-eight
summated s c o r e indicates a higher self-concept,
s c o r e on this
inventory front
high o n the
an
individual. A
Transfer the score of each item
shows low self-concept. that
a low
score
eight items given in
item. Now add all the s c o r e s of
that
page against dimension of
Self-concept.
for that particular
column, this will
you score
give

Reliability test-retest method, and it was

was found by
Reliability of the inventory coefficients of its
measure. Reliability
total self-concept
found to be .91 for the table shows the
to.88. The following
various dimensions varies from .67
dimensions.
test-retest reliability for each
TABLE 2

Test-Retest Reliability of the Self-concept Inventory

coefficients
Code No. Self-concept Dimension No. of ltems | Reliability
8 .77
A Physical
B Social 8 83
C Temperamental 8 .79
D Educational 8 88
E Moral 8 67
F Intellectual 8 .79

Total Self-concept 48 91
 I 7
Manual for S C Q

Validity 100
were obtained to establish the validity of the inventory.
Experts opinlon to
items were given to 25 psychologists to calssify the items to the category
agreement and not less
than 80% of
which it belongs. Items of highest
were
selected. Thus the content and construct validity
agreement were

established
Standardlzation and Norms
1000 students of 20
The Self-concept Questionnaire wa_ standardized on

schools of Delhi pertaining to Delhi Administration and Central

Higher Secondary
ranging from 14 to 18
Schools. The students were from IXth and Xth classes

years of both the

sexes.

TABLE 3
for all Dimensions
Interpretation and Classification of Raw Scores

Setf-concept Dimension Score Interpretation (Category)

33 to 40 High Self-concept
25 to 32 Above Average Self-concept
17 to 24 Average Self-concept
9 to 16 Below Average Self-concept
Upto.8 Low Self-concept

TABLE 4
Total Self-Concept
Interpretation and Classification of Raw Scores for

Raw Score Interpretation

193 to 240 High Self-concept

145 to 192 Above Average concept

97 to 144 Average concept

Below Average conct pt
49 to 96
1 to 48 Low concept
8 Manual for S Co

REFERENCES
Lowe, C.M. (1961): The Self-concept: Fact or artifact ? PsychologlcalBuletin,
58, 325-326.
Lynche, M.D.; Norem-Hebeisen, AA. and Gergen, K.J. (1981) : Ser

Contemplations-self-concept: Advance in Theory and Researcn,

Cambridge, Mass Ballinger.
conscious and
Pedersen, D.M. (1965) Ego strength and discrepancy between
unconscious self-concept. Perceptual and Motor skills,
20, 691-692.

curent Practice, Implications

Rogers, C.R. (1951): Client Centered Therapy-its
and Theory. Boston, Houghton.
measurement of
J.S. (1981): Approaches
for the
Saraswat, R.K. and Gaur, 16 (3). 114-119.
Indian Educational Review,
sell-concept-An Introduction.

Act.
violatlon of Copyright
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reserved. Reproduetion in any
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Questionnaire (sca).
Manual for Self-concept