George KellyConstruct Theory

• Early Cognitive Personality Theorist

• Phenomonological –Subjective experience

• Clinician–Emphasis on interpretation not content of interpretation

George Kelly’s Construct Theory

• Fundamental Motivation: to understand, explain, and predict our world– People are scientists

• Constructive Alternativism: All explanations are equally valid– Phenomonological view; reality is in the head

Fundamental Postulate and Corollaries

• Fundamental Postulate: A person’s processes are psychologically channelized by the ways in which he anticipates events

• Construction: A person anticipates events by construing their replications

• Individuality: Persons differ from each other in their constructions of events

• Organization: Each person characteristically evolves a construction system embracing ordinal relationships between constructs

Corollaries continued

• Dichotomy: A person’s construction system is composed of a finite number of dichotomous constructs

• Experience: A person’s construction system varies as he successfully construes the replications of events

• Modulation: The variation in a person’s construction system is limited by the permeability of the constructs within whose ranges of convenience

• Sociality: To the extent one person construes the construction processes of another, he may play a role in a social process involving the other person

George Kelly’s Construct Theory

• Act on the basis of interpretations– Action follows cognition

• Interpretation requires categorization

• Categorize with constructs

• Constructs bipolar categories– Good-bad work-play friendly-unfriendly

• Constructs automatically applied

George Kelly’s Construct Theory

• Constructs develop over time as people notice similarities and differences

• Individual Differences– Construct content

• E.g., intelligent-unintelligent vs. friendly-unfriendly

– Construct endpoints• Friendly-unfriendly vs. friendly-hostile

– Number of constructs

Construct Assessment

• Rep Role Grid

• Used by researchers and clinicians

• Respondents generate a list of role names and words regarding their differences and similarities

Rep Role Grid

• Part A Instructions: Please write the name of the persons indicated in the blanks provided below. Do not repeat names. If any role title appears to call for a duplicate name, substitute the name of another person whom the second role title suggests to you.

Rep Role Grid Part A

1. Your mother or person who has played the part of mother in your life. _________________

2. Your father or person who has played the part of father in your life. _________________

3. Your brother nearest your age (or person who is most like a brother). ______________

4. Your sister nearest your age (or person who is most like a sister). ______________

5. A teacher you like. _________________

6. A teacher you dislike. _______________

Rep Role continued

• 7. Your last closest girl(boy) friend (ex-flame). _______• 8. Your spouse or present boy(girl) friend. __________• 9. An employer during a period of stress. ___________• 10. A person who dislikes you (for no apparent reason) _• 11. A person you would like to know better. ________• 12. A person you would like to help. _______• 13. The most intelligent person you know. _________• 14. The most successful person you know. ________• 15. The most interesting person you know. ________

Rep Role Grid Part B

• Part B Instructions: The set of three numbers in the following sorts refer to numbers 1-15 in part A. For each sort, consider the three people for whom you have listed for these numbers. In what important way are two of these people alike and different from the third? Write that word down in the construct column. Then, write down what you believe to be the opposite of that in the contrast column.

Rep Role Grid Part B

• Sort Persons Construct Contrast

• 1 9, 11, 14 _______ _______

• 2 10,12,13 _______ _______

• 3 2, 5, 12 _______ _______

• 4 1, 4, 8 _______ _______

• 5 7, 8, 12 _______ _______

• 6 3, 13, 6 _______ _______

Construct Theory and Psychopathology

• Anxiety

• Depression

• Schizophrenia

Construct Theory

• Criticisms– Too cognitive– Limits of language