PSYCHOLOGICAL TEST NO.
2
SELF CONCEPT QUESTIONNAIRE (SCQ) BY DR. RAJ KUMAR SARASWAT
(PLEASE DO NOT COPY THE CONTENT HIGHLIGHTED IN YELLOW COLOR AS IT IS. READ AND WRITE
ACCORDINGLY BY CAREFUL THINKING.)
AIM
To assess the self- concept of the subject using Self Concept Questionnaire by Dr. Raj Kumar Saraswat.
BASIC CONCEPT
Self
Self refers to totality of an individual’s conscious experiences, ideas, thoughts and feelings with regard to
himself and herself. These experiences and ideas define the existence of an individual both at the personal
and at social levels.
Development of Sense of Self
A newly born child has no idea of its self. As a child grows older, the idea of self emerges and its formation
begins. Parents, friends, teachers and significant others play a vital role in shaping a child’s ideas about
self. Our interactions with other people, our experiences and the meaning we give to them serve as the
basis of our self. The structure of self is modifiable in the light of our own experiences and the experiences
we have of other people.
Kinds of Self
• Biological Self- The first elements of self may be noticed when a newborn child cries when it is hungry.
Although, this cry is based on reflex, this later on leads to development of awareness that ‘I am hungry’.
This awareness about one’s biological needs and processes can be called biological self.
• Personal Self- This leads to an orientation in which one feels primarily concerned with oneself. Emphasis
is laid on those aspects of life that relate only to the concerned person, such as personal freedom, personal
responsibility, personal achievement, or personal comforts.
• Social self- The social self emerges in relation with others and emphasizes such aspects of life as
cooperation, unity, affiliation, sacrifice, support or sharing. This ‘self’ values family and social
relationships. Hence it is also called familial or relational self.
Self- Concept
The way we perceive ourselves and the ideas we hold about our competencies and attributes is called self-
concept. This can be either positive or negative, for example, an individual may have a positive view of
her/his athletic abilities or bravery but a negative view of his academic talent. Several other terms have
synonymously been used for self- concept like ‘self- image’, ‘self- perception’ etc. Rogers (1951) has
defined self- concept as an organized configuration of perceptions of the self which are permitted into the
awareness. It is composed of such elements like perceptions of one’s characteristics and abilities, one’s
relation to others and the environment and the goals and ideals which are perceived as having positive or
negative valence. Saraswat and Gaur (1981) have described self- concept as the individual’s way of
looking at himself. It signifies one’s way of thinking, feeling and behaving.
METHODOLOGY
Details of the subject
Name : ABC
Age : ____ yrs
Sex : Male/Female
Occupation : _______ (Mention if student)
Place : Psychology Laboratory
Materials Required
Self- Concept Questionnaire Manual and test booklet, Pencils and Eraser
Description of the test
The Self- Concept Questionnaire provides six separate dimensions of self- concept namely, physical,
social, intellectual, moral, educational and temperamental self -concept. Besides the scores on these six
dimensions, the questionnaire also gives a total self- concept score. The six dimensions are:
1. Physical- Individuals’ view of their body, health, physical appearance and strength.
2. Social- Individuals’ sense of worth in social interactions
3. Temperamental- Individuals’ view of their prevailing emotional state or of predominance of a
particular kind of emotional reaction.
4. Educational-Individuals’ view of themselves in relation to school, teachers and co-curricular
activities.
5. Moral- Individuals’ estimation of their moral worth and right and wrong activities
6. Intellectual- Individuals’ awareness of their intelligence and capacity of problem solving and
judgments.
The SCQ contains 48 items. Each dimension contains eight items. Each item is provided with five
alternatives. Responses are obtained on the test booklet itself. There is no time limit assigned to complete
the test but 20 minutes have been found as sufficient to respond to all the items. Table 1 indicates the item
numbers included under different dimensions of SCQ.
(Draw the following table on the plain side)
Table 1: Self Concept Dimensions along with their Item Numbers
Self- Concept Dimensions Code Numbers Item Numbers
Physical A 2,3,9,20,22,27,29,31
Social B 1,8,21,37,40,43,46,48
Temperamental C 4,10,14,16,19,23,24,28
Educational D 5,13,15,17,25,26,30,32
Moral E 6,34,35,41,42,44,45,47
Intellectual F 7,11,12,18,33,36,38,39
Reliability
Reliability of SCQ was found out by test- retest method, and it was found to be 0.91 for the total self-
concept measure. Reliability coefficients of its various dimensions vary from 0.67 to 0.88. Table 2 shows
the test reliability coefficients for all dimensions of SCQ.
(Draw the following table on the plain side)
Table 2: Test-Retest Reliability of SCQ
Code Numbers Self- Concept Number of Items Reliability Coefficients
Dimensions
A Physical 8 0.77
B Social 8 0.83
C Temperamental 8 0.79
D Educational 8 0.88
E Moral 8 0.67
F Intellectual 8 0.79
Total Self Concept 48 0.91
Validity
Experts’ opinions were obtained to establish the validity of the inventory. 100 items were given to 25
psychologists to classify the items to the category to which it belongs. Items of highest agreement and not
less than 80% agreement were selected. Thus, the content and construct validity of SCQ were established.
Standardization and Norms
The SCQ was standardized on 1000 students of 20 higher secondary school of Delhi. The students were
from IX and X classes ranging from 14-18 years of male and female sexes. The data was used to formulate
the norms of SCQ.
PROCEDURE
Rapport Formation
The test material was kept ready on the table beforehand. Thereafter, the subject was called to the
laboratory and was seated comfortably. A short conversation was held to make the subject feel at ease. A
glass of water was also offered to the subject in an attempt to lower his/her anxiety related to being tested.
It was conveyed to the subject that this test was like a simple activity carried out as a part of the
psychology curriculum and was not meant to check any psychological abnormality. Thereafter, the
important ethics of informed consent, voluntary participation and confidentiality of results were shared
with the subject. The subject was instructed clearly on filling in the required demographic details and about
how to attempt the test.
Instructions
The following instructions were clearly read out to the subject in a friendly and conversational manner:
“This is a self- concept questionnaire. There are 48 items in it. Against each item, there are five responses.
You have to read each item carefully and respond to it by marking a tick (✔) on any one of the five
responses given against that item, which you think describes you well. There is no right or wrong answer.
The right answer is only what you feel about yourself. Try to give your responses according to what you
feel about yourself with reference to that statement. Your answers will be kept confidential.”
After these instructions, the example given on the test booklet was explained to the subject and they were
encouraged to attempt the questionnaire items at their pace.
Precautions
i. The laboratory must be quiet and free form distractions.
ii. The room should be well-lighted, and the seating should be comfortable.
iii. Materials should be kept ready before the subject is called to the laboratory for attempting the test.
iv. The test administrator must be familiar with what the test is, what it assesses, the duration that is
roughly allowed to complete the test (around 20 minutes), the instructions to be given, the ethics to
be shared and the process of administration in advance.
v. Proper rapport should be established before starting the practical.
vi. The instructions should be read more or less in the same way as they are given on the test sheet, in a
clear, an unhurried, and a friendly conversational manner.
vii. If the subject lingers too long on a question, (s)he should be prompted to carry on and come back to
it later.
viii. The administrator must check that no item has been left unanswered.
ix. It should be made sure that only one answer has been marked for each question/ test item.
Test Administration
Test material was kept ready before-hand. The subject was called to the psychology laboratory and was
made to sit comfortably. A rapport was established with the subject. The clear instructions were given to
the subject to mark responses accordingly. He/she was instructed not to linger on too much on a particular
item, to answer the subsequent test items first and then, coming back to the missed test item. The subject
was given roughly a span of twenty minutes to attempt the test items. The test booklet was scrutinized for
missed items and double responses. Thereafter, the subject was asked to write an introspective report by
reflecting on their experience of doing the test. Subsequently, the scoring and interpretation for the results
were carried out.
Introspective report
“ ……… ” (as written by the subject and must be written in the double quotes exactly as the subject wrote)
Behavioral Report
(Note that the behavioral report of your subject will differ according to the subject’s behavior you are
observing. DESCRIBE THE BEHAVIOR OF YOUR SUBJECT AS PER YOUR OBSERVATIONS.)
Scoring
The respondent is provided with five alternatives to give his responses ranging from most acceptable to
least acceptable description of his self-concept. The responses are in such a way that the scoring system for
all the items remain the same i.e. 5,4,3,2,1 whether the items are positive or negative. If the respondent puts
a tick (✔) mark for first alternative the score is 5, for second alternative the score is 4, for third the score is
3, for the fourth it is 2 and for the fifth and the last it is 1. The summated score of all the eight items in each
self-concept dimension provide the total self- concept score for that particular dimension. A high score on
this inventory indicates a higher self- concept, while a low score shows low self-concept. All the scores of
each dimension are added to get the total self- concept score of an individual.
Results
Refer to the Table3: Test Results
(Draw the following table on the plain side.)
Table3 : Test Results
Self- Concept Dimensions Raw Scores Obtained Interpretation
Physical
Social
Temperamental
Educational
Moral
Intellectual
Total Self- Concept Score
Analysis and Interpretation
The subject got a score of ______ on the Physical dimension of SCQ, which means he/she has _______
self concept of his/her own body, health, physical appearance and strength.
The subject got a score of ______ on the Social dimension of SCQ, which means he/she has _______ self
concept of his/her sense of worth in social interactions.
The subject got a score of ______ on the Temperamental dimension of SCQ, which means he/she has
_______ self concept about his/her prevailing emotional state or about the predominance of a particular
kind of emotional reaction.
The subject got a score of ______ on the Educational dimension of SCQ, which means he/she has _______
self concept of his/her relation to the school, teachers and co-curricular activities.
The subject got a score of ______ on the Moral dimension of SCQ, which means he/she has _______ self-
concept of his/her moral worth and the judgment about right and wrong activities.
The subject got a score of ______ on the Intellectual dimension of SCQ, which means he/she has _______
self- concept of his/her intelligence and capacity of problem solving and judgments
The total self- concept score of the subject is _____, which indicates that the subject has a _______ level of
perception about himself/herself and his/her way of thinking, feeling and behaving.
Conclusion
(SUMMARIZE THE RESULTS BY INDICATING WHICH DIMENSIONS SHOWED A HIGH, ABOVE
AVERAGE, AVERAGE, BELOW AVERAGE OR LOW SELF-CONCEPT. A SAMPLE IS GIVEN BELOW:)
(E.G., THE SUBJECT GOT HIGH SELF CONCEPT ON PHYSICAL AND INTELLECTUAL DIMENSIONS
AND ABOVE AVERAGE SELF CONCEPT ON EDUCATIONAL AND MORAL DIMENSIONS AND LOW
SELF CONCEPT ON SOCIAL AND TEMPERAMENTAL DIMENSIONS. THE TOTAL SELF CONCEPT
WAS AVERAGE.)
References
SCQ Manual
NCERT Psychology textbook, XII