Construct Validity of Shostrom's Personal Orientation Inventory: A Systematic Summary

A large body of evidence supports the validity of Shostrom's Personal Orientation Inventory. The major issue regarding validity concerns construct validity (i.e., does the scale measure what it purports to measure). Although a large quantity of data on the POI has been summarized by Knapp, his work seems to lack systematic presentation of evidence on construct validity, particularly for the two major subscales, inner-direction and time-competence. After a brief summary of evidence for the POI as a measure of self-actualization, this article presents such a systematic summary for the inner-direction and time-competence scales; it should prove valuable for decision-making with regard to use of these two scales for diagnosis and research.