Self-Actualization Survey _______________________________________________________________________ Indicate your agreement or disagreement with each of the following statements by placing the appropriate number in the blanks before each item. Then consult the scoring key to get your score and what it means. 1= disagree 2= somewhat disagree 3= somewhat agree 4= agree ----- 1.I do not feel ashamed of any of my emotions. ----- 2.I feel I must do what others expect me to do. ----- 3.I believe that people are essentially good and can be trusted. ----- 4.I feel free to be angry at those I love. ----- 5.It is always necessary that others approve of what I do. ----- 6.I don't accept my own weaknesses. ----- 7.I can like people without having to approve of them. ----- 8.I fear failure ----- 9.I avoid attempts to analyze and simplify complex domains. -----10.It is better to be yourself than to be popular. -----11.I have no mission in life to which I feel especially dedicated. -----12.I can express my feelings even when they result in undesirable Consequences. -----13.I do not feel responsible to help anybody. -----14.I am bothered by fears of being inadequate. -----15.I am loved because I give love. -----16.Age-----M-----F The Self-Actualization Survey measures four aspects of self-actualization: autonomy, self-acceptance, acceptance of your emotions, and trust and responsibility in interpersonal relations. To get your score, responses placed before items 2, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13, and 14 should be reversed (4=1, 3=2, 2=3, 1= 4). Then add the resulting numbers to the responses before the rest of the items. Total scores can range from 15 to 60. College students had an average score 45 to 60. Females tend to score slightly higher than males. Also, scores on this survey are positively related with other scales. Thus, high scores on this index tend to live in the present rather than in the past, with guilt and regret, or in the future, with over idealized goals and fears. High scorers also tend to be inner-directed. Extra-verted, and rational in their thoughts and behaviors. Suggestions For Becoming More Self-Actualizing 1.Experience life fully in the present moment rather than dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. 2.Make choices that will enhance growth, by taking reasonable risks that will develop your potential rather than by sticking with the safe and secure. 3.Listen to your needs and reactions, and trust your own experience. 4.Be honest with yourself and with other people. 5.Strive to do your best in accomplishing the tangible goals in everyday life. 6.Be assertive in expressing your needs, ideas, and values. 7.Recognize and live by the inspiration of special moments or peak experiences in which you feel especially close to fulfilling your potential. 8.Be open to new experiences. Identify your defenses and be willing to put them aside in order to revise your expectations, ideas, and values. 9.Commit yourself to concerns and causes outside yourself since self- actualization comes more as a byproduct of developing your full capacities than from the egocentric pursuit of growth itself. 10.Remember that self-actualization is a lifelong process; it is never fully achieved.