The Q sort reevaluated

A study is reported examining movement in psychotherapy using the Butler-Haigh Q Sort, comparing before and after therapy self- and ideal-self ratings of 79 high school and college students. Especially important was the examination of congruence (a concept offered by Rogers) in relation to therapeutic change; data do not support Rogers' findings regarding self moving toward ideal during and after therapy; the general notion of congruence is questioned on the basis of relatively unvarying self-ideal correlations and on the basis of item shifts on a before- and after-therapy basis. (16 ref.)