Measuring Proximity Among Affect Profiles in Hermans' Self-Confrontation Method

Abstract

In the Self-Confrontation Method (SCM), proximity relations among affect profiles of valuations are traditionally represented by means of Pearson's correlation coefficient. In this article, we address a variety of technical and practical problems when using a correlational measure as a means for studying the structure of a person's valuation system. We consider the difference between shape and distance measures of proximity in the context of the SCM and present some numerical examples that illustrate the drawbacks of using correlation. We corroborate these theoretical exercises with an empirical study using real SCM data, and elaborate on the advantages of using a Euclidean distance measure as an alternative to correlation.

We thank Annet te Lindert and Ilse Schuurmans for performing several SCM investigations during their traineeship at the Department of Clinical Psychology and Personality. We are also grateful to Els Hermans-Jansen for putting SCM grids from her practice at our disposal.