A TECHNIQUE FOR ASSESSING THE CONGRUENCE OF PUBLIC BEHAVIOR AND PRIVATE EXPERIENCE

The Public/Private Congruence Technique for assessing the degree of si milarity between private states and public displays is reported In thi s case, public display is defined as amicable and prosocial behaviors such as smiling and conversational reciprocity. Private states are def ined as less amicable proclivities such as the desire to escape or avo id an ongoing social exchange. The essential concept here is that peop le can appear friendly and engaging while sustaining private motivatio ns that are appreciably less sociable than their overt actions. Men an d women college students examined pictures of a person-the target-beha ving in socially incongruent ways (e.g., wearing a bogus smile) and co mpleted two scales which measured the degree they associated with the target's public/private social incongruence. The summed scale values-t he PPCT scores were reliable, and correlated with convergent and discr iminant criteria in a pattern that supports the construct validity of the psychological congruence measured by the Public/Private Congruence Technique. PPCT scores also significantly predicted concurrent maladj ustment criteria as would be anticipated from congruence theory (e.g., Rogers, 1959). The convergent and concurrent validity results were co nfirmed by a partial replication. The findings are discussed from a co nstituencies-of-self perspective, and additional applications of the P ublic/Private Congruence Technique are suggested.