Reassessing Psychometric Techniques in Exploration of a Relational Self

Abstract

It has been argued that the application of self-report inventories in investigation of the self has permitted a set of 'esoteric psychometric qualities' (Bracken, 1992) to determine psychological understanding of the self-concept. The desire to achieve solid psychometric foundations for measures ofthe selfhas meant that the self-concept is often measured as an independent entity, separate from the contexts in which it is constructed. This article describes the development of a new measure of the self that takes greater account of the way individuals ruminate their external actions to inform and maintain their self-image. An item pool designed to measure the social impact of the school context upon the self was tested on adolescent school pupils (n = 1,002) from eight contrasting secondary schools in the UK. Factor analysis revealed six structurally independent constructs related to pupils' school related self-perceptions. The ensuing scale revealed how it is possible to utilize psychometric techniques to produce more ecological means of investigating the self. The implications of this study for existing measures of the self are then discussed.