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Sack’s Sentence Completion Test

Tvisha Singh (2337563)

Department of Psychology, Christ (Deemed to be University), Bangalore

MPS352: Psycho- Diagnostic Lab 2

Dr. Uma Krishnan

September 17, 2024

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Sack's Sentence Completion Test (SCT)

Sack’s Sentence Completion Test, developed by Joseph Sacks & Sidney Levy in the
1950s, is a semi-structured projective test that consists of 60 sentence prompts (Sacks & Levy,
1950). It requires the test taker to complete the prompts to form sentences by freely writing down
the first thing that comes to their mind after reading the prompt. The test takers are encouraged to
not contemplate much. SCT then uses these responses to understand the test-taker’s adjustment
and attitudes towards themselves, those around them, and their lives (Abt & Bellak, 1950). SCT
is used for personality analysis, clinical application, attitude assessment, achievement motivation
and measurement of other constructs, in several different disciplines such as psychology,
management, education, and marketing.
History
The origins of this test are based in the early 20th century, building on the work of
Hermann Ebbinghaus and Carl Jung. Their work explored methods of revealing subconscious or
latent content through word and sentence associations. Jung’s Word Association Test (1906) is
considered to be an early precursor to sentence completion tasks. Additionally, it introduced the
notion that stimuli responses could reveal unconscious psychological conflicts.
Arthur Payne, in 1928, introduced the use of formal sentence completion method for
personality assessment for guidance purposes in asylums and institutions, in addition to assessing
career- related personality traits (Schafer, Rotter & Rafferty, 1953). After him, several others
came who used the test to fulfil different purposes such as Alexander Tendler using it to study
emotional reactions by using ‘I’ statements which revealed annoyances, fears, aversions, likes,
interests and attachments. Amanda Rhode used it as a general personality test instead of focusing
on specific aspects of the personality. This led to the development of the first validated
personality measure of this kind, discussing a broader range of personal issues and experiences
(Rhode, 1957). This test was used to “reveal latent needs, sentiments, feelings, and attitudes
which subjects would be unable or unwilling to recognize or to express in direct communication”
(Weiner & Greene, 2008).
Based on these earlier works, Sack’s and Levy designed the Sacks Sentence Completion
Test, to be a more comprehensive and structured approach to sentence completion, aimed at
assessing both the individual’s personality and interpersonal relationships at the New York
Veterans Administrative Mental Hygiene Service (Sacks & Levy, 1950).
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Domains
The test consists of 15 subdomains under 4 main domains.
● Family
➔ Attitudes toward mother
➔ Attitudes toward father
➔ Attitudes toward family unit
● Sex
➔ Attitudes toward women
➔ Attitudes toward heterosexual relationships
● Interpersonal relationships
➔ Attitude toward friends and acquaintances
➔ Attitude toward colleagues at work or school
➔ Attitude toward superiors at work or school
➔ Attitude toward people supervised
● Self concept
➔ Fears
➔ Guilt feelings
➔ Goals
➔ Attitude toward own abilities
➔ Attitude toward past
➔ Attitude toward future
Psychometric Properties
The reliability of the test was established by clinician impressions of patients who filled
SCT and degree of disturbance reported by psychiatrist. The inter-rater reliability revealed
coefficients of .48 and .57 (standard errors .02, in both). Interpretations of test responses were
also rated by mental health professions and about 77% of the findings were in close agreement to
the clinical findings, which indicates the usefulness of the SCT (Sacks & Levy, 1950). Validation
studies with Rorschach and TAT test also established (Sacks & Levy, 1950). Research supports
SCT’s construct validity and internal consistency. It is found to be a reliable tool for assessing
ego development, demonstrating appropriate internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and
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divergent validity in various populations, including undergraduate students and adult psychiatric
outpatients.
Advantages and Disadvantages
Advantage
The test covers a wide range of psychological domains, allowing a comprehensive
assessment (Sacks & Levy, 1950). Furthermore, the semi-structured nature of the test results in a
balance between standardised stimuli and free response, resulting in information that might not
be revealed in structured assessments (Holaday et al., 2000). The test also boosts efficiency,
being faster and easier to score than other projective tests (Abt & Bellak, 1959) and clinical
utility by helping generate hypotheses about an individual’s psychological functioning and
treatment planning. Additionally, the test is considered to be less threatening as it doesn’t involve
direct questioning, leading to more open responses (Rabin & Zlotogorski, 1981) and cultural
adaptability.
Disadvantages
The test, despite its advantages, has limited psychometric properties, and is highly
subjective leading to inconsistencies between different raters. Furthermore, there is a lack of
standardised scoring and potential for bias (Abt & Bellark, 1959).
Test Administration, Instruction and Scoring
The test can be administered both in groups and to individuals, on their own. It usually
takes about 20 to 40 minutes to complete the test. The sentence completion sheet is handed to the
test taker and the following instruction is given, “Partly completed sentences are given. Read
each one and finish it by writing the first thing that comes to mind. Work as quickly as you can.
If any item cannot be completed at that particular moment, circle the number and return to it
later.”. Once the test-taker is finished, the sheet is collected from them and scoring is initiated.
Each sentence is then assigned a score of 0, 1 or 2 based on the intensity of negative
emotions displayed, with 0 being no maladjustment or negativity and 2 being severe
maladjustment or negativity. Interpretation can be done in two different ways: subjective
intuitive analysis of the underlying motivations projected in the subject’s responses and objective
analysis by the means of scores.
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References
Abt, L. E., & Bellak, L. (1950). Projective psychology: Clinical approaches to the total

personality. In Alfred A. Knopf eBooks. https://doi.org/10.1037/11452-000

Holaday, M., Smith, D. A., & Sherry, A. (2000). Sentence completion tests: a review of the

literature and results of a survey of members of the Society for Personality Assessment.

Journal of personality assessment, 74(3), 371–383.

https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327752JPA7403_3

Rabin, AI & Zlotogorski, Z 1981, ‘Completion methods: word association, sentence, and story

completion’, in AI Rabin (ed.), Assessment with projective techniques, Springer, New

York, pp. 121–49

Sacks, J. M., & Levy, S. (1950). The Sentence Completion Test. In L. E. Abt & L. Bellak (Eds.),

Projective psychology: Clinical approaches to the total personality (pp.357-402). Alfred

A. Knopf. https://doi.org/10.1037/11452-011
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Psychological Assessment Report

Demographic Details
Name: M.A.M. Age: 38 years
Gender: Male Hailing from: Chennai
Languages Known: English, Hindi, Tamil, Urdu Native Language: Tamil
Socio-economic status: Upper Middle Class
Education: BA Hotel Management
Referred by: Psychiatrist
Informant: Self, the informant is reliable.
Language tested in: English
Background
The client was brought to the rehab centre by his family due to his alcohol use. He has
been abusing alcohol since the age of 19, and has tried to reduce his intake over the years but
was not able. He’s had difficulties with romantic relationships, indulging in extra-marital affairs,
multiple businesses and occupations, being easily influenced by friends and having difficulties in
dealing with stress and responsibilities. The client’s alcohol intake and associated complaints
such as social disturbance had increased significantly, leading to the family bringing the client to
the rehabilitation centre.
Presenting Complaints
Alcohol Use Disorder (Alcohol Use since 2005)
Suspected Cluster B Personality Disorder
Purpose of Testing
The test was conducted in order to analyse his attitudes towards women, and assist in the
diagnosis and treatment planning for personality disorder by identifying areas with maximum
dysfunction.
Behavioural Observations
The client was cooperative, and rapport was established easily. The client performed the
test enthusiastically, however, did enquire about the length and duration of the test left twice.
Test Administered
Sack's Sentence Completion Test
Date of administration: 12/09/2024
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Test Findings
Responses

Family.

(1) Attitudes towards mother

My mother is my jannah
My mother and I are mother and son
I think most mothers mothers are always great
I like my mother but still I scared if her wen she is angel
(2) Attitudes towards father
I feel that my father seldom shout
If my father would only; this sentence was modified to my father is my hero in my
life
I wish my father is there with me miss u DaD
I feel that my father is my pride and my everything
(3) Attitudes towards family unit
Compared with most families, mine betterrrrrr
My family treats me like no words thanks almighty for giving me such a great
family
Most families I know very good
When I was a child, my family was very poor
Sex.
(4) Attitudes towards women
My idea of a perfect woman Islamic (clarification: because they are submissive
and not like his ex-wife; she was bold, independent and angry)
I think most girls FAKEEEE and money seekers
I believe most women FAKEEEE/ money seekers
What I like least about women ego and anger issues
(5) Attitudes toward heterosexual relationships
When I see a man and a woman together, I feel jealous
My feelings about married life is tough
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If I had sex relations feels very very happy

My sex life -
Interpersonal relationships.
(6) Attitudes toward friends and acquaintances (clarifications done for the same)
I feel that a real friend is my childhood friends
I don’t like people who are fake
The people I like best are who are thruth
When I’m not around, my friends I miss my childhood friends
(7) Attitudes towards superiors at work or school
The men over me might be better than me
In school, my teachers teach us better
When I see the boss coming, I feel nothing
People whom I consider my superiors are great
(8) Attitudes towards people supervised
If I were in charge I try my best to be good with workers
If people work for me I treat them like my family
The people who work for me are good
In giving orders to others, I basic things
(9) Attitudes toward colleagues at work or school
At work I get along best with colleagues
Those I work with are good
I like working with people who are hard work
People who work with me are always good to me
Self-concept.
(10) Fears
I know it is silly but I am afraid of my anger
Most of my friends don’t know that I am afraid of lie
I wish I could lose the fear of fake people
My fears sometimes force me to no words
(11) Guilt Feelings
I would do anything to forget the time I my past
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My greatest mistake was love (wrote divorcing/alcohol, then wrote love)

When I was younger, I feel guilty about started smoking
The worst thing I ever did alcoholic
(12) Attitudes towards one’s own abilities
When I am in difficulty, my family was always there to help me (spoke about how
he finds it difficult to do it on his own, however family helps him)
I believe that I have the ability be best in my future
My greatest weakness is alcoholic
When luck turns against me I feels shame on me
(13) Attitudes toward past
When I was a child, I am very naughty
Before, I was very religious and good
If I were a child again, I wants to be only religious
My most vivid childhood memory first time my father slap me
(14) Attitudes toward the future
To me the future looks a better than my past
I look forward to be best in future
Someday I will be better than past
When I am older I really wants to b a ISLAMIC
(15) Goals
I always wanted to be a good but society makes me crazy
I could be perfectly happy if I was not alcoholic
My secret ambition in life is to give good future to my daughter
What I want most out of life with bad friends

The scores are mentioned in Table 1.

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Table 1
Rating table showing scoring and interpretation

General Summary
Principal areas of conflict and disturbance. Attitudes towards mother, attitudes
towards women, attitudes towards heterosexual relationships, attitudes toward friends and
acquaintances, fears, guilt feelings, attitudes toward own abilities, attitude towards past, goals
Interrelationships among the attitudes. Past experiences as a ‘rowdy’ teenager, and
maladjustments due to extended alcohol use may have affected the clients relationships in
multiple domains, additionally, putting the client in the company of people whom he attributes
his alcohol use to. Additionally, the client’s experiences with romantic relationships, which are
also affected by his alcohol use, may have affected the client’s perception of relationships and
women. Overall, the severe disturbances in family, sex, and interpersonal areas suggest deeply
rooted relational issues that likely interconnect. Self-concept problems (fear, guilt, abilities and
past) appear to be closely linked to interpersonal difficulties and possibly contribute to or stem
from alcohol abuse. The severe ratings in goals may be related to low self-esteem and guilt
feelings, which could be exacerbated by alcohol abuse. Furthermore, the client displays
personality disturbances (inference from previous investigations), which could be interlinked to
his difficulties in areas mentioned. Additionally, it could exacerbate the alcohol use or vice versa.
Personality Structure.
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Mode of response. Likely emotionally charged and potentially erratic, given the severe
ratings across multiple domains.
Emotional adjustment. Poor, with significant disturbances in self-concept, interpersonal
relationships and sex area.
Maturity. Potentially low, indicated by severe issues in handling relationships and
self-concept. Additionally, the way of writing sentences.
Reality level. May be compromised due to alcohol use and denial. Exploration needed.
Expression of conflicts. Likely expressed through problematic relationships, alcohol
abuse, and internal struggles.
Impression
The client shows severe levels of disturbances in categories of attitudes towards mother,
attitudes towards women, attitudes towards heterosexual relationships, attitudes toward friends
and acquaintances, fears, guilt feelings, attitudes toward own abilities, attitude towards past, and
goals. The client shows significant psychological distress across multiple life domains. The
long-standing alcohol abuse appears to be both a symptom and a contributing factor to these
issues. Sex area, self concept and attitudes towards friends and acquaintances seem to be the
most impaired. Further exploration is recommended.

Recommendations
Firstly, further exploration and looking into personality disturbances is recommended. A
comprehensive substance abuse treatment problem addressing both alcohol abuse and underlying
psychological issues is required. Individual psychotherapy for self-esteem, past traumas, and
interpersonal skills would benefit the client.
Family therapy addressing severe disturbances in family relationships and alcohol abuse
is recommended. Furthermore, regular psychological evaluation, ongoing monitoring and relapse
prevention training is recommended.
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