Do self-descriptive inventories like the LSI have any validity?

Concern exists in the field of psychological measures that much psychological theory is based not on what people do, but on what people say they do in self-descriptive inventories. We believe when the instrument is used for its intended purpose – an individual’s self-development – rather than as a tool for someone else to make decisions about him or her, we automatically eliminate the motivations that tend to distort self-report instruments. Research evidence shows that people are fairly accurate self-perceivers. Assuming the person wants an accurate picture of himself or herself (as we can in self-development applications), we feel self-description is one the most powerful perspectives on behavior. Self-descriptions can be more valid for some activities than other descriptions. For example, what people think about themselves may be a better predictor of the choices they will make than how they actually behave; we generally decide what career to pursue based on our self-perceptions, ...  more