Self-Assessment Test of Congruence

The following is a version of a "Q sort", a self-assessment test of Congruence. It tests

the difference between your real self and your ideal self, with a view of identifying a healthy
person. It is a self-scoring test. Please follow the instructions as stated below, beginning with
part A and then moving on to part B.

Part A

Select ten adjectives from the list below, which you feel best describes what you are
like. (You may find it useful to write them down on a sheet of paper, or print this page, and cut
them out individually.) Please attempt to be as honest and accurate as possible in making your
choices to describe yourself. (For example, don't leave out an adjective that best describes you
just because it's negative, like "anxious".) Once you have selected the ten which best describe
you, then arrange them in order, from the most important/significant, to those which are least
important/significant in describing your personality. Write them down, with the rank order, on a
piece of paper, then fold it and put it aside. Place all the words together, shuffle them, and then
go on to part B.

ANXIOUS, ATTRACTIVE, CARELESS, DEPRESSED,

DISHONEST, ENERGETIC, FUNNY, HAPPY,
HONEST, INTELLIGENT, KIND, LAZY,
OPTIMISTIC, ORGANIZED, OUT-GOING, PLAIN,
RELAXED, SAD, SERIOUS, SHY,
SLOPPY, STRONG, UNHELPFUL, WEAK.

Part B

Next do the same task again, but this time selecting ten terms to describe what you
wish you were like - i.e. your ideal personality (you may be shy, but would like to be
extraverted). Do not refer to the list from part A in making your choices! This has to be a
complete new list! Once you have selected ten, arrange them in rank order, from the most
important/significant, to those which are relatively unimportant/insignificant in your imagined
ideal personality. As in part A, write them down, in ranked order, on a piece of paper.

Scoring

Take the list from both part A and B, and assign values to the ranks in each list, with the
first term = 10, the second term =9, final term = 1 etc. Now, identify what adjectives (if any)
that do not appear in both lists (the position or rank of the words doesn't matter). For any
terms which do not appear in both lists, change the value to zero. For terms which appear in
both lists, give the value assigned for the term in list A to the term in list B. Then, using the
values you have assigned to the two lists (including the zero terms), apply the following
formula:

(sum of list A + sum of list B)/(1.1) = score

 The score range is from 0 to 100, with 100 representing a perfect match of
self and ideal self (i.e., complete congruence); if half the terms appear in both lists
(but with different ranks), the median score would be approximately 50. In general,
the lower the score, the less congruent the relationship is between one's self and
ideal self.

Note - this demonstration is not a serious clinical device, and no claims are made as to
its validity or reliability! It is provided here simply as a learning tool, to better understand
Rogers' concepts of self, ideal self, and congruence.

Reference:

Glassman, W. E. (2009). Approaches to Teaching and Learning Psychology. In A Self-

assessment of Congruence. Retrieved March 25, 2011, from
http://www.ryerson.ca/~glassman/Qsort.html.