Practical 1- SSCT

- Lavanya Sharma (21)

Aim

To assess the attitude and emotional conflict of the subject using Sacks Test developed by
Joseph M. Sacks and Levy Sidney.

Introduction

The word “personality” originates from the Latin “persona”, which refers to a theatrical
mask worn by Roman actors in Greek dramas to project a role or false appearance. No single
definition is accepted by all personality theorists; however, one definition of personality was
given by Roberts & Mroczek (2008), stating that it is “a pattern of relatively permanent traits
and unique characteristics that give both consistency and individuality to a person’s
behaviour.” Traits contribute to individual differences, temporal consistency of behaviour,
and stability of behaviour across situations. Characteristics are unique qualities of an
individual, including such attributes as temperament, physique, and intelligence. Today, the
American Psychological Association defines personality as “the enduring configuration of
characteristics and behaviour that comprises an individual’s unique adjustment to life,
including major traits, interests, drives, values, self-concept, abilities, and emotional
patterns.”

Theories of Personality

Many different perspectives have developed on how to best explain personality. These
perspectives differ in their assumptions and focus on different aspects of behaviour:

Psychodynamic Theory: Pioneered by Sigmund Freud, this approach focuses on the early
childhood experience and on relationships with parents as guiding forces that shape
personality development. As per this view, the unconscious mind and motives are much more
powerful than the conscious awareness. Psychoanalysis uses dream interpretation to uncover
unconscious thoughts, feelings, and impulses as treatment of neurosis and mental illness.
Over the decades, it has moved away from its emphasis on sexuality and increased its focus
on social and cultural forces.
Behaviouristic Theory: Pioneered by Ivan Pavlov, J. B. Watson and B. F. Skinner, this view
focuses only on behaviour, not on hypothetical and unobservable internal states like thoughts,
feelings, or drives. According to this theory, all behaviours are learned through association
and/or its consequences (which may be reinforcing or punishing). To shape behaviour, one
must understand and then establish the conditions that bring about those particular
behaviours. This is done through classical conditioning, operant conditioning, behaviour
modification, etc.

Humanistic-Existential Theory: Pioneered by individuals such as Abraham Maslow, Carl

Rogers and Rollo May, the primary assumption of this approach is that people strive toward
meaning, growth, well-being, happiness, and psychological health. People are driven by a
search for meaning, but negative experiences like failure, awareness of death, death of a
loved one, and anxiety, are also a part of the human condition and can foster psychological
growth.

Types of Personality Tests

According to the American Psychological Association, personality tests are “any instrument
used to help evaluate personality or measure personality traits.” In general, personality tests
measure typical behaviour. There are several types of personality tests-

Structured personality tests provide statements and require the subject to choose between
two or more alternative responses such as “True” or “False”. The scoring of such tests is
objective, and the results are interpreted according to standardized norms. In a self-report
measure, participants select items that describe themselves. Questionnaires involve a set of
questions or prompts used to obtain information from a respondent about a topic of interest. A
personality assessment consists of a series of statements covering various characteristics and
behavioural patterns to which the participant responds by choosing among fixed answers, as
applied to themselves. Rating scales enable the observer to indicate both the presence or
absence of a behaviour, and its prominence. These may be either self-rating scales or observer
rating scales. Examples include the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), 16
Personality Factor Questionnaire, etc.

Projective personality tests are unstructured; either the stimulus or the required response- or
both- are ambiguous. The subject is generally asked to provide a spontaneous response, as
these tests assume that a person’s interpretation of an ambiguous stimulus will reflect their
unique characteristics. Thus, they are able to measure both the conscious and unconscious
aspects of a participant’s personality. The Rorschach Inkblot Test is an example of a fully
projective test. On the other hand, semi-projective tests are partly structured- for example, the
Sentence Completion Test (SCT).

Sacks Sentence Completion Test (SSCT)

Sacks Sentence Completion Test (SSCT) was designed to obtain significant clinical material
in four representative areas of adjustment- family, sex, interpersonal relationship and self-
concept. It was developed by Joseph M. Sacks and other psychologists of New York Veteran
Administration Mental Hygiene Service in 1950.

The test includes a total of 60 items. Each area of adjustment is divided into sub-domains,
and each of the 15 sub-domains consists of 4 items. Clinician rate the examinee’s overall
response to each sub-domain on a continuum that ranges from “no significant disturbance”
(i.e. 0) to “severely disturbed” (i.e. 2).

Inter-rater reliability of the test was found to be between .48 and .57. According to Sacks and
Levy (1950), 77% of the test statements were rated in “close agreement with clinical
findings”. The norms or appropriate ages of test takers have not been reported.

SSCT is a projective test; it promotes the respondents to disclose their concealed feelings. It
is used in personality analysis, clinical application, attitude assessment, achievement
motivation and measurement of other constructs. A limitation of the test is that its
interpretation is highly subjective, and prone to vary from clinician to clinician.

Preliminaries

Name: A

Age: 22

Gender: Female

Instructions

“Below are 60 incomplete statements. Read each one and finish it by writing the first thing
that comes to your mind. Work as quickly as you can. Do not spend too much time on a
particular item. If you cannot complete an item outright, encircle the number and return to it
later. Remember that there are no right or wrong answers.”

Procedure
 The subject was seated comfortably in a quiet room. The purpose of the test was explained to
them, and informed consent was taken. Instructions were given, and the subject was given
sufficient time to fill the items. The responses were then scored and interpreted as directed by
the manual.

Materials Required

SSCT Manual, paper, pencil, eraser.

Result

Table 1 shows the scores obtained by the subject in each sub-domain of SSCT.

Table 1: SSCT Scores

Area Score Interpretation

Family Area

1. Attitude towards Mother 1 Mildly Disturbed

2. Attitude towards Father 1 Mildly Disturbed

3. Attitude towards Family Unit 0 No Significant Disturbance

Sex Area

4. Attitude towards Women 0 No Significant Disturbance

5. Attitude towards Heterosexual 0 No Significant Disturbance

Relationships

Interpersonal Relationship

6. Attitude towards Friends & 0 No Significant Disturbance

Acquaintances

7. Attitude towards Superiors 1 Mildly Disturbed

8. Attitude towards People Supervised 0 No Significant Disturbance

9. Attitudes towards Colleagues 0 No Significant Disturbance

10. Fear Rating 2 Severely Disturbed

Self-Concept
11. Guilt Feeling 2 Severely Disturbed

12. Attitude towards Own Ability 1 Mildly Disturbed

13. Attitude towards Past 0 No Significant Disturbance

14. Attitude towards Future 1 Mildly Disturbed

15. Attitude towards Goal 1 Mildly Disturbed

Interpretative Summary

Family Area

1. Attitude towards Mother- Emphasises on maternal love- fierce and unconditional.

Concerned about excessive closeness with mother; resents mother’s desire to
control.
2. Attitude towards Father- Strongly feels that father does not take matters as
seriously as he should, yet wishes he would stop hovering. Shows awareness of
his advancing age.
3. Attitude towards Family Unit- Views family as a nuclear unit of mature
individuals- emphasis is on the mutual acknowledgement of maturity and
individuality of each family member.

Sex Area

4. Attitude towards Women- Shows positive attitude towards women as an ideal.

Keenly aware of women’s societal disadvantage; shows resentment for behaviours
perceived to prop up women’s subservience to men.
5. Attitude towards Heterosexual Relationships- Idealised view of relationships.

Interpersonal Relationship

6. Attitude towards Friends & Acquaintances- Places importance on support,

acceptance and loyalty. Dislikes displays of superiority.
7. Attitude towards Superiors- Feels vaguely pressured by superiors. Determines
superiority of others based on their willingness to self-improve.
8. Attitude towards People Supervised- Shows tendency towards authoritativeness
and authoritarianism.
 9. Attitudes towards Colleagues- Mutually positive relationship- emphasis placed on
goodness and responsibility.
10. Fear Rating- Strong fear of failure and future deprivation. Reports shutting down
of brain under stress.

Self-Concept

11. Guilt Feeling- Strong feelings of guilt due to perceived inaction; due to perceived
coldness/heartlessness.
12. Attitude towards Own Ability- Views self as capable of success but prone to self-
sabotage.
13. Attitude towards Past- Positive attitude with focus on childhood innocence and
freedom.
14. Attitude towards Future- Mixed emotions regarding the future- considers it bleak
yet hopes for a happier life.
15. Attitude towards Goal- Major goals involve financial security and relationship
security.

Impression

The subject’s SSCT reveals mild disturbance in the family area, with a mildly disturbed
relationship with each individual parent but no disturbance in the family unit. The sex area
contains no disturbance. The interpersonal relationship area is also free of disturbance,
besides the “attitude towards superior” sub-domain which shows mild disturbance, and the
fear sub-domain, which shows severe disturbance. The self-concept area is mildly disturbed-
only “attitude towards past” being free of any disturbance, and “guilt” being responsible for
severe disturbance.