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Tennessee Self-Concept Scale

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Synonym

TSCS

Definition

Self-concept refers to the entirety of an individual’s thoughts and feelings about the self (Rosenberg 1979). The Tennessee Self-Concept Scale (TSCS) is a self-report, multidimensional measure that aims to capture this construct.

Introduction

Much like early theories of intelligence, the first notions of self-concept emphasized a unidimensional – or general – approach for conceptualization. However, as it became more common for instruments to be developed in accordance with a priori theory and factors as opposed to post hoc attempts at imposing structure, a number of researchers (e.g., Marsh et al. 1985) began to suggest that self-concept was multidimensional in nature (Marsh and Richards 1988). In contrast to most early measures, Fitts (1965) recognized the need for an instrument that was “multi-dimensional in its description of self-concept” (p. 1) and created the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale to meet this need.

Characteristics and Revisions

The Tennessee...

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References

  • Bishop, S. L., Walling, D. P., & Walker, B. A. (1997). The emperor’s clothes: Assessing the validity of scores on the Tennessee self-concept scale. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 57, 150–163.

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  • Fitts, W. H. (1965). Tennessee self concept scale. Los Angeles: Western Psychological Services.

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  • Fitts, W. H., & Warren, W. L. (1996). Tennessee self-concept scale: TSCS: 2: Manual. San Diego: Western Psychological Services.

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  • Marsh, H. W., & Richards, G. E. (1988). Tennessee self concept scale: Reliability, internal structure, and construct validity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 55, 612–624.

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  • Marsh, H. W., Barnes, J., & Hocevar, D. (1985). Self-other agreement on multidimensional self-concept ratings: Factor analysis and multitrait-multimethod analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49, 1360–1377.

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  • Roid, G. H., & Fitts, W. H. (1988). Tennessee self-concept scale (TSCS): Revised manual. Los Angeles: Western Psychological Services.

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  • Rosenberg, M. (1979). Conceiving the self. New York: Basic Books.

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  • Vacchiano, R. B., & Strauss, P. S. (1968). The construct validity of the Tennessee self concept scale. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 24, 323–326.

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Correspondence to Michael R. Pauldine .

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Pauldine, M.R., Warren, J.A., Swails, J.A. (2017). Tennessee Self-Concept Scale. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_93-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_93-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8

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