Influence of stimulus properties of the Sentence-Completion-Method on projection and adjustment.

Abstract

Summary The influence of stimulus properties of the Sentence-Completion-Method (SCM) were investigated by creating a two dimensional SCM. The first dimension consisted of positive, negative, or neutral stems, and the second dimension involved phrasing the stems in an impersonal manner or in the first person mode. Combining the two dimensions yielded six possible combinations which were utilized in an analysis of variance model with Belgian school children. The various combinations were scored for projection and “adjustment.” Results indicate that neutral items and first person items outdistanced impersonal items. For “adjustment,” positively toned items were judged more highly than negative or neutral ones and first person items more highly than impersonal ones.