| Abstract: | Describes the administration and scoring of the Personal Orientation Inventory (POI), developed by E. L. Shostrom, to measure values and behavior considered by therapists to be important for self-actualization. A review of POI reliability and concurrent validity is presented. The POI is criticized for the following reasons: (a) the decision that POI Time Competence and Inner-Directed Support subscales are the variables most basic to self-actualization is an arbitrary one, (b) traits defined as self-actualizing are culture-specific, (c) neither the therapist nor the client standardization sample is described, and (d) no distinctions are made between the concepts of self-actualization and mental health. It is concluded that the POI may be used as a therapeutic device to facilitate personal exploration of life style but is of limited value as either a diagnostic or research instrument. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
