The adjective generation technique: consistency of self-description in psychiatric patients

There has been considerable controversy about whether human behavior is consistent across situations and time. Using the adjective generation technique (AGT), Allen and Potkay (1973, 1977a) found that subjects' self-favorability was quite variable and concluded that this did not support Bem and Allen's (1974) position that the consistency would be greater if idiographic assessment techniques were utilized. Bem (1977) criticized this conclusion, making the points that the AGT is not idiographic and that the favorability value of each day should be considered as a single item in a larger test rather than be considered independently. The present study was designed to address both the consistency of behavior across time and also the controversy regarding the AGT. Eleven psychiatric inpatients completed the AGT for 30 consecutive days. The results indicated that while AGT values are highly variable on a day-to-day basis, these values are quite consistent when averaged across even short periods of time. These results are very similar to those reported by Epstein (1979).