Assess psychological traits with a full sphere of descriptive adjectives
Harrison G. Gough & Alfred B. Heilbrun, Jr.
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for Research * ACL Assessment Scales (brief)
Assessment Scales
Modus Operandi -
Four scales assessing ways in which the respondent has approached
the task of describing self or others |
| Number Checked |
The total number of adjectives checked |
| Favorable |
The number of socially desirable) adjectives checked |
| Unfavorable |
The number of unfavorable (socially undesirable) adjectives
checked |
Communality
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Correspondence of responses to the pattern of checking typically
found among people-in-general |
Need Scales - Fifteen
scales assessing psychological needs or wants identified as important
in Henry A. Murray’s need-press theory of personality |
| Achievement |
To strive to be outstanding in pursuits of socially recognized
significance |
| Dominance |
To seek and maintain a role as leader in groups, or to be influential
and controlling in individual relationships |
| Endurance |
To persist in any task undertaken |
| Order |
To place special emphasis on neatness, organization, and planning
in one's activities |
| Intraception |
To engage in attempts to understand one's own behavior or the
behavior of others |
| Nurturance |
To engage in behaviors that provide material or emotional benefits
to others |
| Affiliation |
To seek and maintain numerous personal friendships |
Heterosexuality
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To seek the company of and derive emotional satisfaction from
interactions with opposite-sex peers |
| Exhibition |
To behave in such a way as to elicit the immediate attention
of others |
| Autonomy |
To act independently of others or of social values and expectations |
| Aggression |
To engage in behaviors that attack or hurt others |
| Change |
To seek novelty of experience and avoid routine
|
| Succorance |
To solicit sympathy, affection, or emotional support from others |
| Abasement |
To express feelings of inferiority through self-criticism, guilt,
or social impotence |
Deference
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To seek and maintain subordinate roles in relationships with
others |
Topical scales
- Nine scales assessing a diverse set of attributes, potentialities,
and role characteristics |
| Counseling Readiness |
Readiness to accept counseling or professional advice in regard
to personal problems, psychological difficulties and the like |
| Self-Control |
The extent to which self-control is imposed, and valued |
| Self-Confidence |
Self-confidence, poise, and self-assurance |
| Personal Adjustment |
Good adjustment in the sense of the ability to cope with situational
and interpersonal demands, and a feeling of efficacy |
| Ideal Self |
Strong sense of personal worth; or, harmony between what one
is and what one wants to be |
| Creative Personality |
The desire to do and think differently from the norm, and a
talent for originality |
| Military Leader |
Steadiness, self-discipline, and good judgment of the kind required
in positions of military (or related) leadership |
| Masculine |
Role-qualities such as ambition, assertiveness, and initiative
associated with everyday notions of masculinity |
Feminine
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Role-qualities such as helpfulness, sympathy, and affection
associated with everyday notions of femininity |
Transactional Analysis - Five scales, an Egogram,
assessing components of ego functioning from the Transactional
Analysis (TA) theory of personality developed by Eric Berne |
| Critical Parent |
Attitudes of evaluation, severity, and skepticism associated
with the concept of a "critical parent" |
| Nurturing Parent |
Attitudes of support, stability, and acceptance associated with
the concept of a "nurturing parent" |
| Adult |
Attitudes of independence, objectivity, and industriousness
associated with the concept of a "mature adult" |
| Free Child |
Attitudes of playfulness, impulsivity, and self-centeredness
associated with the concept of a "free" or very expressive
child |
| Adapted Child |
Attitudes of deference, conformity, and self-discipline associated
with the concept of an "adapted" or very dutiful child |
Origence-intellectence
- Four scales assessing the balance between preferences for affective-emotional
and rational-realistic modes of functioning from George Welsh’s
structural dimensions of personality |
High Origence -
Low Intellectence |
Feelings and emotion (high origence) valued more highly than
detachment and rationality (low intellectence). High scores suggest
informality, vitality, and playfulness |
High Origence -
High Intellectence |
High value place on both affect (origence) and rationality (intellectence).
High scores suggest versatility, unconventionality, and individuality |
Low Origence -
Low Intellectence |
No particular value placed on either origence or intellectence.
High scores suggest contentment, conventionality, and optimism |
Low Origence -
High Intellectence |
Rationality and analysis (intellectence) valued more highly
than feelings and emotion (origence). High scores suggest logicality,
industriousness, and cognitive clarity |
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Uses of the ACL
Self Description
The most frequent application of the ACL is to obtain
self-descriptions. The self-description method typically generates the
thirty-seven scales in the ACL profile.
Descriptions from Observers
The ACL is used to describe individuals who have been
interviewed or observed in specific situations. For example, one is asked
to describe significant others (spouse, parent, child, etc.) or persons
they have observed in various situations or roles. The method could be
used, for example, to compare the manner in which well-known politicians
are perceived by their public.
Self and Observer
If both self description and other description are
obtained, a comparison can be made between the different perspectives. The
ACL manual describes several indexes such as Insight that can be derived
from this method. For example, with the Intropunitiveness index, low
scores are self-enhancing and high scores are self-detracting.
Assessing the Ideal Self
The real self reflects immediate circumstances, experiences,
and self characterization. The ideal self relates to the future
by setting goals to which the individual aspires. A number of
researchers have looked at these differing perspectives and the implications
in, for example, client centered counseling, personal adjustment, occupational
groups, and gender.
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Historiography
The ACL can be used in researching cultural archetypes,
those individuals whom society has identified as instrumental in the
shaping of its history and who have become psychological models of what
society admires or what it rejects. An example can be seen in D.K.
Simonton, Presidential Personality: Biographical Use of the Gough Adjective
Check List. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1986, 51, 149-160.
Environmental and Consumer Psychology
The item pool can be used to characterize a variety
of non-person concepts which, nevertheless, can be meaningfully personified. One
example was the use of the ACL to study environmental topics in which
a class in introductory psychology described the cities of Rome and Paris. Another
example was to describe Fiat and Volkswagen automobiles.
Descriptions of Stereotypes
The ACL has frequently been used in studies of stereotypes
and beliefs. Some studies have been applied to beliefs about men, women,
persons in particular occupations and professions and even specialties
within professions such as medical specialties. Clinical categories
have been described by the ACL such as one study in which more-experienced
and less-experienced therapists were asked to characterize a typical
female schizophrenic patient.
Gender Roles
The ACL was selected as the gender role measurement
in an large international study as documented in Measuring Sex Steroeotypes:
A multinational study (1990) by John E. Williams and Deborah L.
Best: “This book reports the results of an extensive cross-cultural
research project. Our objectives were to identify the beliefs commonly
held in many cultures about the psychological characteristics associated
with men and women and to examine these sex-trait stereotypes for evidence
of cross-national similarities and differences.” (Preface)
Cross-Cultural Applications
The ACL is available in a number of languages (see
complete list here) and a number of studies have used the ACL to
describe cultural differences. A good example is
J.E. Williams, R.C. Satterwhite, & J.L. Saiz,
1998. The Importance of Psychological Traits: A Cross-Cultural Study.
New York: Plenum Press
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