Adjective Check List as a Measure of Self-Perception

The Adjective Check List (ACL) and a self-rating schedule (SRS) made up of Murray's needs taken from the ACL manual were administered to 27 graduate students in psychology on two separate occasions. Test-retest reliabilities were low for both tests, SRS reliabilities being appreciably lower than those for the ACL. Correlations between these two measures of self-description were also low and varied considerably from one testing to the next. Correcting the average cross-correlations for unreliability in the two scales still indicated that slightly less than half of their reliable variance was held in common. Reasons for the poor reliabilities and the poor cross-correlations were discussed and avenues for further research suggested.