Short Index of Self-Actualization Scale

Abstract

The Short Index of Self-Actualization Scale (SISA) is a brief, 15-item psychometric instrument developed by Jones and Crandall (1986) to assess beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors indicative of an individual’s level of Self-Actualization. It was created as a concise alternative to the much longer Personal Orientation Inventory (POI), consisting of items selected from the POI based on high item-total correlations. Although the SISA primarily measures self-actualization—a central dimension of Humanistic Psychology—it has proven highly relevant in religious research. Specifically, subsequent research by Watson, Morris, and Hood (1990) utilized the SISA to investigate the relationship between self-actualization and religious commitment, deriving Proreligious and Neutral subscales from the original items to explore the concept of Religious Self-Actualization.

Keywords

Self-Actualization, SISA, POI, Humanistic Psychology, Religious Self-Actualization, Personality Assessment, Psychometric Scale, Self-Functioning, Jones and Crandall.

Authors

Jones, A., Crandall, R.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the SISA is to provide a brief, efficient measure of self-actualization suitable for research settings, serving as a condensed alternative to the 150-item Personal Orientation Inventory (POI). The scale aims to capture key behavioral and attitudinal markers associated with self-actualizing tendencies, which are rooted in the theories of third-force psychology.

A secondary, but significant, purpose emerged from the work of Watson, Morris, and Hood (1990), who utilized the SISA to challenge the assumption that religious commitments inherently interfere with self-actualization, a finding often generated by measures like the POI. Their objective was to determine if a religiously sensitive measure—termed Religious Self-Actualization—could be derived from the SISA, identifying items perceived as either Proreligious or Neutral by religious respondents.

Construct

The SISA measures the psychological construct of Self-Actualization, defined as the realization or fulfillment of one’s talents and potentialities, a concept popularized by Abraham Maslow and central to Humanistic Psychology. The scale assesses the extent to which an individual exhibits characteristics such as autonomy, self-acceptance, acceptance of emotions, and effective interpersonal trust.

The exploration of the SISA’s relationship with religiosity highlighted a theoretical conflict regarding the nature of the “self.” While humanistic frameworks view the self as inherently good and something to be realized, religious perspectives often view the self as “ambivalently nuanced.” The SISA, particularly its derived Proreligious subscales, was found to be consistent with healthy self-functioning among religious respondents, suggesting that specific aspects of self-actualization are compatible with religious belief systems.

Validity

The validity of the SISA is supported by strong correlations with its parent instrument and related psychological constructs. Jones and Crandall (1986) reported a significant correlation of 0.69 between the SISA full score and the full-scale score of the Personal Orientation Inventory (POI), confirming its utility as a short-form alternative. Furthermore, the SISA demonstrated significant correlations with measures of self-esteem (0.41), rational behavior and beliefs (0.44), and a negative correlation with neuroticism (-0.30).

When used with religiously committed populations, the SISA was found to be overwhelmingly perceived as “proreligious,” making it a valuable tool for assessing self-functioning in this demographic. The derived Proreligious and Neutral subscales established concurrent and discriminant validity through correlations with related measures of self-functioning and Intrinsic/Extrinsic religiosity. Both subscales correlated significantly with self-esteem and self-acceptance, while only the Proreligious subscale correlated significantly with the Intrinsic scale of religiosity. Crandall (1991) concluded that the evidence supporting the validity of the SISA is “overwhelming.”

Reliability

The initial psychometric analysis provided by Jones and Crandall (1986) established acceptable levels of reliability for the SISA. They reported an internal consistency coefficient alpha of 0.65. Additionally, the instrument demonstrated stability over time, with a test-retest reliability coefficient of 0.69 measured across a 12-day period. Watson et al. (1990) did not report new reliability data in their study utilizing the SISA subscales.

Factor Analysis

Jones and Crandall (1986) conducted a principle components analysis on the SISA using a Varimax rotation of factors with eigenvalues greater than one. This analysis resulted in the extraction of five distinct components. Four of these components were objectively interpretable through independent judges, suggesting a multidimensional structure underlying the SISA scale. The four interpretable factors identified were:

• Autonomy or self-direction.
• Self-acceptance and self-esteem.
• Acceptance of emotions and freedom of expression of emotions.
• Trust and responsibility in interpersonal relations.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report paper-and-pencil measure

Format: 15 items utilizing a 4-point Likert-type scale ranging from “agree” to “disagree.”

Language Available: English (as reported in source literature)

Population Group: General adult population; used specifically in research with religiously committed populations (e.g., students primarily from Protestant backgrounds).

Age Group: Adolescents and Adults

Population Details: The scale items were derived from the POI, originally developed for clinical and non-clinical populations.

Test Methodology: The measure is easily administered and requires approximately 10 minutes for completion. It has no special scoring requirements, although scoring directionality (positive vs. negative items) must be handled for accurate interpretation, especially when constructing the Proreligious and Neutral subscales.

Keywords

Self-Actualization Scale, SISA, POI, Self-Esteem, Religiosity, Intrinsic Religiosity, Test-Retest Reliability, Internal Consistency, Factor Structure, Psychological Measurement.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not reported

Affiliation Email addresses: Not reported

Correspondence Address: Not reported

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Permissions: Information regarding permissions and usage fees is not explicitly detailed in the source material. Researchers should consult the original publishers (Jones & Crandall, 1986).

Fee: Not reported

Test Year: 1986 (Original SISA publication)

Reference’s

Jones, A., & Crandall, R. (1986). Validation of a short index of self-actualization. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 12, 63-73. (The original SISA)

Watson, P. J., Morris, R. J. & Hood, R. W. (1990). Intrinsicness, self-actualization, and the ideological surround. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 18, 40-53. (Specifies the Proreligious and Neutral subscales of the SISA.)

Crandall, R. (1991). Issues in self-actualization measurement. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 6(5), 339-344. (Summary of SISA research)

Shostrum, E. I. (1974). Manual for the personal orientation inventory. San Diego: Educational and Industrial Testing Service.

Items of the SHORT INDEX OF SELF-ACTUALIZATION SCALE

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

Please respond to each item below using the following rating scale:

• I = agree
• 2 = somewhat agree
• 3 = somewhat disagree
• 4 = disagree

1. (P) I do not feel ashamed of any of my emotions.
2. (P) I feel I must do what others expect me to do.
3. (P) I believe that people are essentially good and can be trusted.
4. (P) It is always necessary that others approve of what I do.
5. (N) I feel free to be angry at those I love.
6. (P) I don’t accept my own weaknesses.
7. (P) I can like people without having to approve of them.
8. (N) I avoid attempts to analyze and simplify complex domains.
9. (P) It is better to be yourself than to be popular.
10. (P) I have no mission in life to which I feel especially dedicated.
11. (P) I can express my feelings even when they may result in undesirable consequences.
12. (P) I do not feel responsible to help anybody.
13. (P) I am loved because I can give love.
14. (P) I am bothered by fears of being inadequate.
15. I fear failure. (Original SISA item omitted from Watson et al., 1990) P= Proreligious items, N= Neutral items