280 Part III Humanistic/Existential Theories
Measuring Self-Actualization
Everett L. Shostrom (1974) developed the Personal Orientation Inventory (POI)
in an attempt to measure the values and behaviors of self-actualizing people. This
inventory consists of 150 forced-choice items, such as (a) “I can feel comfortable
with less than a perfect performance” versus (b) “I feel uncomfortable with any-
thing less than a perfect performance”; (a) “Two people will get along best if each
concentrates on pleasing the other” versus (b) “Two people can get along best if
each person feels free to express himself ”; and (a) “My moral values are dictated
by society” versus (b) “My moral values are self-determined” (Shostrom, 1963).
Respondents are asked to choose either statement (a) or statement (b), but they
may leave the answer blank if neither statement applies to them or if they do not
know anything about the statement.
The POI has 2 major scales and 10 subscales. The first major scale—the Time
Competence/Time Incompetence scale—measures the degree to which people are
present oriented. The second major scale—the Support scale—is “designed to mea-
sure whether an individual’s mode of reaction is characteristically ‘self’ oriented or
‘other’ oriented” (Shostrom, 1974, p. 4). The 10 subscales assess levels of (1) self-
actualization values, (2) flexibility in applying values, (3) sensitivity to one’s own
needs and feelings, (4) spontaneity in expressing feelings behaviorally, (5) self-
regard, (6) self-acceptance, (7) positive view of humanity, (8) ability to see oppo-
sites of life as meaningfully related, (9) acceptance of aggression, and (10) capacity
for intimate contact. High scores on the 2 major scales and the 10 subscales indicate
some level of self-actualization; low scores do not nece ssarily suggest pathology but
give clues concerning a person’s self-actualizing values and behaviors.
The POI seems to be quite resistant to faking—unless one is familiar with
Maslow’s description of a self-actualizing person. In the POI manual, Shostrom
(1974) cited several studies in which the examinees were asked to “fake good” or
“make a favorable impression” in filling out the inventory. When participants fol-
lowed these instructions, they generally scored lower (in the direction away from
self-actualization) than they did when responding honestly to the statements.
This finding, indeed, is an interesting one. Why should people lower their
scores when trying to look good? The answer lies in Maslow’s concept of self-
actualization. Statements that might be true for self-actualizers are not necessarily
socially desirable and do not always conform to cultural standards. For example,
items such as “I can overcome any obstacles as long as I believe in myself” or
“My basic responsibility is to be aware of others’ needs” may seem like desirable
goals to someone trying to simulate self-actualization, but a self-actualizing person
probably would not endorse either of these items. On the other hand, a truly self-
actualizing person may choose such items as “I do not always need to live by the
rules and standards of society” or “I do not feel obligated when a stranger does
me a favor” (Shostrom, 1974, p. 22). Because one of the characteristics of self-
actualizing people is resistance to enculturation, it should not be surprising that
attempts to make a good impression will usually result in failure.
Interestingly, Maslow himself seemed to have answered the questions hon-
estly when he filled out the inventory. Despite the fact that he helped in the con-
struction of the POI, Maslow’s own scores were only in the direction of