Projective Tests in Vocational Counseling

In Switzerland, the role of projective techniques in vocational counseling is currently under debate. The author of a recent book on the Zulliger-test — a three card, Rorschach-type instrument — claims to have identified a number of syndromes that reflect vocationally relevant personality characteristics. His results are criticized on methodological grounds, and an alternative approach is proposed that emphasizes the expressive and essentially idiographic nature of projective test records. Their main contribution is to permit a better understanding of client motivations and attitudes, resulting in a more effective counseling interaction. Accordingly, these tests should be validated against attitudinal criteria and measures of counseling progress rather than long-term vocational behavior and success on the job.     

Putting Self-Regulation Theory into Practice: A User's Manual

Cervone, Shadel, Smith, and Fiori (2006 ) propose that theories of personality architecture may provide an integrative theoretical framework for self-regulation research. Building further on this argument, the present paper considers one comprehensive modern approach to personality architecture, personality systems interactions (PSI) theory. The authors provide a brief overview of PSI theory and discuss a simple, three-step "user's manual" that has guided applications of the theory to real-life behavior. Work on PSI theory highlights some of the integrative potential of personality science in the field of self-regulation. The authors conclude that theories of personality architecture may improve the quality and precision of the counselling, coaching, and training that psychologists in many diverse areas provide.     

The Counselor Selling Method: Concepts and Constructs

The concepts, constructs and theoretical underpinnings of the counselor selling method are presented. The method is based on a contingency approach to selling and has three components—personality knowledge, microskills and strategies, and processes. Personality knowledge is based upon dimensional personality theory, transactional analysis theory and Berne's PAC model. Microskills and strategies are derived from work in the counseling field. Finally, the sales process is adapted from the Ivey and Matthews meta-model of counselor interviewing. The components are empirically tested and the implications are discussed.     

Becoming who you are: An integrative review of self‐determination theory and personality systems interactions theory

One of the enduring missions of personality science is to unravel what it takes to become a fully functioning person. In the present article, the authors address this matter from the perspectives of self‐determination theory (SDT) and personality systems interactions (PSI) theory. SDT (a) is rooted in humanistic psychology; (b) has emphasized a first‐person perspective on motivation and personality; (c) posits that the person, supported by the social environment, naturally moves toward growth through the satisfaction of basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. PSI theory (a) is rooted in German volition psychology; (b) has emphasized a third‐person perspective on motivation and personality; and (c) posits that a fully functioning person can form and enact difficult intentions and integrate new experiences, and that such competencies are facilitated by affect regulation. The authors review empirical support for SDT and PSI theory, their convergences and divergences, and how the theories bear on recent empirical research on internalization, vitality, and achievement flow. The authors conclude that SDT and PSI theory offer complementary insights into developing a person's full potential.     

Handbook of Psychological Assessment (2nd ed.)/Developmental Assessment in Child Psychology (Book)

This study investigated differences between Mexican- and Anglo-American college students on the Psychological Screening Inventory (PSI; Lanyon, 1970, 1973)—a brief personality instrument designed to detect persons who might benefit from more extensive evaluations in mental health settings. Further, this study controlled for the Mexican Americans' acculturation level, age, and socioeconomic status (SES), as these variables have routinely been shown to covary with other psychosocial variables. From data on 107 Mexican-American and 105 Anglo-American college students, we found that Mexican-American subjects had higher PSI scores on the Alienation and Defensiveness subscales and lower scores on the Social Nonconformity and Expression subscales than did Anglo-American subjects. With acculturation covaried, however, these differences were no longer statistically significant. With age and SES covaried, the two ethnic groups differed on Alienation, Expression, and Defensiveness, suggesting that Mexican Americans' performance on the PSI varies as a function of acculturation, age, and SES. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

The SCL-90-R as a screening instrument for severe personality disturbance among outpatients with mood and anxiety disorders

Our objective was to examine whether the SCL-90-R, a widely used self-report measure of distress and psychopathology, could screen for personality disorders in general and for severe personality disturbance (SPD) in particular, at the time when patients seek treatment for a state (mood or anxiety) disorder. The SCL-90-R was administered to 112 consecutive outpatients with various mood and anxiety disorders. The personality severity index (PSI) score, defined as the mean value of the scores on the SCL-90-R subscales of interpersonal sensitivity, hostility, and paranoid ideation, was compared with the current symptom index (CSI) score, defined as the mean value of the scores on the remaining six SCL-90-R subscales. A positive screen was considered if PSI > CSI. SPD was defined as the presence of any DSM-III-R Cluster A and/or Cluster B personality disorder. The accuracy of the screen was verified by means of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R Personality Disorders. The sensitivity of the PSI > CSI criterion to screen for SPD was 89.4%, while its sensitivity to screen for any DSM-III-R personality disorder was 72.9%. The SCL-90-R subscales that contributed the most to the screening discriminability of this SCL-90-R-derived screening measure were hostility, paranoid ideation, somatization, and obsessive-compulsive behavior. The SCL-90-R may be used to screen for SPD in routine work with outpatients with mood and anxiety disorders, but the results of the screening need to be verified because of the possibility of false negatives and false positives, although that possibility is apparently low. These findings may have important prognostic and treatment implications.     

Personality assessment and counseling psychology

This article examines the place of personality assessment in counseling psychology. Three areas are considered: (a) the types of tests counseling psychologists use, (b) the perspective counseling psychologists apply to the use of tests, and (c) projective techniques and counseling psychology. Each area is examined, and the issues it raises for counseling psychology are presented. Some conclusions about personality assessment practices in counseling psychology are made, and several directions for future training are identified.     

Personality Assessment and Counseling Psychology

This article examines the place of personality assessment in counseling psychology. Three areas are considered: (a) the types of tests counseling psychologists use, (b) the perspective counseling psychologists apply to the use of tests, and (c) projective techniques and counseling psychology. Each area is examined, and the issues it raises for counseling psychology are presented. Some conclusions about personality assessment practices in counseling psychology are made, and several directions for future training are identified.     

Integrating Personal and Career Counseling: A Challenge for Counselors

In recent years career counseling has often been viewed as separate and distinct from personal counseling, ignoring a long tradition in the career development field that has consistently recognized the importance of personality factors in the process of choosing and maintaining a career. This paper argues for the use of an eclectic career counseling model that embraces both personality and career development theories. The model requires the counselor to be able to move back and forth between the active and directive role of the career counselor and the facilitative and exploratory role of the personal counselor. A case is presented to demonstrate its application and implications for counseling and training are discussed.     

Forgive and Forget? Forgiveness,Personality, and Wellness Among Counselors‐in‐Training

Forgiveness as a method of addressing “wounds” has been linked to enduring aspects of personality and improved physical and mental health outcomes. The aim of this study was to understand the effects of forgiveness on counseling students’ overall wellness. Counseling students (N= 115) from 5 universities completed self‐report measures of forgiveness, wellness, and personality. Results indicate that, when personality factors are controlled, forgiveness contributes a significant proportion (10%) of the variance in wellness for counseling students. Implications for counselor training and counseling are discussed.     

Emotional and personality-related aspects of persistent career decision-making difficulties

This study focused on examining the persistent aspects of career decision-making difficulties, using the Emotional and Personality-related Career decision-making Difficulties scale (EPCD; [Saka, N., Gati, I., & Kelly, K.R. (in press). Emotional and personality-related aspects of career decision-making difficulties. Journal of Career Assessment]). The contribution of four personality measures—general indecisiveness, self-esteem, trait anxiety, and identity status—to the prediction of persistent career decision-making difficulties was tested on 747 students, using a longitudinal design. Results indicated that individuals with high EPCD scores at the beginning of the academic school year had less confidence in their choice and were less close to making a decision about the major into which they wanted to be admitted at the end of the year. The moderate correlations between the EPCD score and the four personality measures supported the validity of the EPCD. Implications for counseling and future research are discussed.     

Application of Personality Theories and Counseling Strategies to Clients With Physical Disabilities

This article describes how certain relevant theoretical concepts, intervention methods, and criteria for determining therapeutic change, which are borrowed from several personality theories and counseling approaches, can be useful in counseling people with physical disabilities. The clinical utility of each discussed personality theory is explored in the context of the efforts directed at (a) gaining insight into the psychosocial impact of physical disability, (b) counseling for personal adjustment to the disability, and (c) becoming familiar with theory-specific guidelines for assessing therapeutic changes. It is argued that counselors who serve clients with disabilities ought to choose those interventions most congruent with their own theoretical orientation, academic training, work setting, and nature of the disability condition.     

African and African American Graduate Students' Racial Identity and Personal Problem-Solving Strategies

This study examined differences on the Racial Identity Attitude Scale (RIAS; Helms & Parham, 1985) and the Problem Solving Inventory (PSI; Heppner, 1981, 1988) among 34 African and 48 African American graduate students. Significant differences were found on the preencounter and internalization scales of the RIAS. There were no group differences in coping ability as measured by the PSI. In addition, the African group experienced an acculturation effect as time in the United States was extended beyond 3 years. These differences in racial identity states have implications for cross-cultural counseling.     

Personality Assessment Training in Counseling Psychology Programs

Although data about personality assessment training in clinical psychology programs have often been gathered, little comparable data have been collected about assessment training in counseling psychology programs. To collect such information, we conducted a survey of all programs identified as part of the Council of Counseling Psychology Training Programs. A two-page questionnaire was sent out to the 64 program directors, with 56 (88%) of the questionnaires being returned. Information about availability of required personality assessment courses, availability of elective assessment courses, and types of personality tests covered in the counseling curriculum is presented and discussed.     

Personality assessment training in counseling psychology programs

Although data about personality assessment training in clinical psychology programs have often been gathered, little comparable data have been collected about assessment training in counseling psychology programs. To collect such information, we conducted a survey of all programs identified as part of the Council of Counseling Psychology Training Programs. A two-page questionnaire was sent out to the 64 program directors, with 56 (88%) of the questionnaires being returned. Information about availability of required personality assessment courses, availability of elective assessment courses, and types of personality tests covered in the counseling curriculum is presented and discussed.     

Is the Political Skill Inventory Fit for Personnel Selection? An Experimental Field Study

The political skill inventory (PSI) assesses social effectiveness in organizations by self‐reports and has demonstrated strong evidence of validity. It was the purpose of this experimental field study to investigate construct and criterion‐related validity of the PSI when used under conditions of personnel selection. In the experimental group (n=102), the instructions asked job incumbents to work on the PSI, a social desirability scale, and a Big‐Five personality inventory as if they took part in a personnel selection procedure for a personally very attractive position. Additionally, they were asked to report yearly income. In the control group (n=110), job incumbents were asked to answer the items honestly. As expected, in both conditions, the PSI did not correlate with social desirability, but it correlated positively with extraversion, conscientiousness, and income, and negatively with neuroticism, thus demonstrating construct and incremental criterion‐related validity under both conditions. Implications and limitations are discussed.     

A Survey of College Counseling Facilities

Of 1,136 senior colleges surveyed in the United States, 71 per cent of the 415 responding reported that they had student counseling facilities. The median ratio was 1 counselor per 770 students; 18 per cent make use of graduate students as assistants; 8 per cent exclude certain groups of students from these facilities. The majority of counseling services are connected with student personnel divisions, and more than half routinely test entering freshmen for academic aptitudes or achievement, personality factors, or vocational interests. Over three-quarters offer optional testing of intelligence, personality factors, vocational and academic aptitudes, and vocational interests. Over half limit counseling to “normal” problems, and the largest specific orientation is Rogerian; most, however, consider their approach “eclectic.”     

Vocational Personality Traits in Counselor Education and School Psychology Students

We assessed the vocational personality of 104 graduate students in school counseling, mental health counseling, and school psychology programs using Holland's ( 1997 ) theory of personality and career choice. The correlational findings confirmed the importance of vocational personality traits in relation to the academic performance of graduate students. Among the Self‐Directed Search–Revised vocational personality types, the Investigative type emerged as a consistent predictor of performance on all sections of the Graduate Record Examination. The participants from 3 graduate programs predominantly identified Social as their primary vocational personality type, with variability in the secondary and tertiary code positions. The student group with the highest degree of congruence, defined as the degree of fit between one's personality and the environment, had the highest graduate grade point average, indicating the relationship between the degree of congruence and achievement. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.     

lay psychology books as an aid to counseling

Counseling literature is replete with research articles and position papers that attempt to draw sharp dichotomies between various counseling theories and techniques. Yet counseling strategies employed by practitioners have, by necessity, often been the result of subjective observation and intuition. In this article the author discusses a “common sense” technique—the use of lay psychology books—and proposes guidelines for use of the procedure as a viable counseling strategy.     

Counseling Theories Within a Postmodernist Epistemology: New Roles for Theories in Counseling Practice

Counseling theories have traditionally been considered within a modernist epistemology. Reconsidering theories from a postmodern vantage point opens up new possibilities for theory utilization in the counseling process. The author discusses 3 of these possibilities—theories as narrative structures, theoretical truth redefined as pragmatic utility, and egalitarianism in the counseling relationship—along with their implications for counseling practice.