Self-Report Reconsidered: A Further Look at its Advantages as an Assessment Technique

Laing (1988) has discussed some of the potential virtues of the use of clients' self-reports in the assessment process. In this article I respond to some of the issues raised by Laing and attempt to provide counselors with some additional information on the value and the limitations of the use of self-report in psychological assessment. The empirical literature is used as a basis for making recommendations about when and for whom reliance on self-report is appropriate and how the accuracy of self-report data can be maximized.