Gurdjieff and Ego-Enhancement: A Powerful Alliance

Abstract

24 housewives wishing to take more control over their lives were matched on their Control of Life Thermometer scores, one member of each pair being randomly allocated to either an Experimental or a Control group. While this latter group read material on how they might achieve the increased control they desired, the Experimental group had two 50-minute sessions during which they learned how to embed suggestions derived from the work of Gurdjieff into a framework designed to maximize their acceptance. The Control of Life Thermometer was administered on two further occasions, one immediately after completion of the second training session and one as a follow-up six months later. After completion of this first stage of the study, Control group housewives experienced the same two treatment sessions as had the Experimental group. Results indicated that control of life, as operationally defined by the Thermometer, was significantly greater both immediately after treatment and at the six month follow-up.