A new methodology to measure body/self-concept based on personal construct theory

Abstract

The objective of this dissertation is to describe and test the reliability and validity of the Body/Self-Concept Methodology (BSC). It measures body attitudes as consequences of body/self-concept. The BSC Methodology was constructed from insights of the debate about the self in American psychology. This debate included philosophical, neurological, psychological, spiritual, and theological issues. These were integrated into Kelly's methodology producing a psychotheological research perspective. This methodology consists of a research philosophy, theory and measures for body/self-concept, and statistical methods. The BSC Method is the six techniques for collecting qualitative and quantitative data. This collection depended on a computer. The quantitative data are ratings of bipolar adjective pairs and a Q-sort of body items. The BSC Method was tested in a study with 40 subjects. The qualitative results included affective self-report data. It was concluded that some of these results implied that this method pierced denial defense mechanisms. The quantitative results were highly valid and reliable for the attitude ratings, but less for the Q-sort. It was concluded that there was sufficient reliability and validity to justify further development of the BSC Methodology. The next step is to write a computer program for data collection and analysis.