Effects of a personal growth group on positive and negative self-references.

Studied whether participation in a Gestalt-oriented personal growth group would increase positive and decrease negative self references. 18 college students received 5 2-hr sessions of personal growth training. An additional 18 controls in the same age range participated in a group discussion of current events. In each group, 2 observers counted the number of positive and negative self-references emitted by group participants. Results indicated that the number of positive self-references given by experimental Ss increased significantly as compared with controls. There was no significant difference between the groups in regard to negative self-references.