10/28/08 1 Personality Psychology Psychology 370 Sheila K. Grant, Ph.D. Professor California State University, Northridge CHAPTER THIRTEEN KELLY: Personal Construct Theory Chapter Overview  Illustrative Biography: Richard Nixon  Constructive Alternativism  The Fundamental Postulate  The Process of Construing  The Construction, Experience, Choice, and Modulation Corollary  The Structure of Construct Systems  The Dichotomy, Organization, Fragmentation, and Range Corollary  The Social Embeddedness of Construing Efforts  The Individuality, Commonality, and Sociality Corollary  The Role Construct Repertory (REP) Test  Cognitive Complexity10/28/08 2 Chapter Overview  Personality Change  Emotions Related to Change  Effective Action: The C-P-C Cycle  Loosening and Tightening Constructs: The Creativity Cycle  Therapy  Understanding the Client’s Constructs  Exploring and Changing Constructs  Fixed-Role Therapy  Constructs in Context: Personal Stories  Research Findings  Clinical Populations  Business Applications and Vocational Choice  Other Research  Constructivism, Social Constructionism, and Postmodernism Illustrative Biography: Richard Nixon • Development • Description • Cognition • Adjustment • Society • Biology http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1968/childs-face http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJs80eBGYlM Preview of Kelly’s Theory10/28/08 3 George Kelly • Born in Kansas in 1905 • Undergraduate at the University of Edinburgh • Doctorate at the University of Iowa • Practiced school psychology in Kansas • Professorships at University of Maryland and Ohio State University • Died in 1967 George Kelly In order to emphasize that his theory was concerned with the "nature of the animal" rather than with environmental forces, Kelly called his theory a “Jackass Theory” Constructive Alternativism  Personal construct  Man-the-scientist  Constructive Alternativism  The Fundamental Postulate10/28/08 4 constructive alternativism the assumption that people can interpret the world in a variety of ways " I believe in the power of hard work (so far, but maybe I’ll change my mind later) " The teacher is (a) a tyrant, or (b) a professional with high standards Definition: Examples: Personal Construct A person’s concept for predicting events. Cognitive structures we use to interpret and predict events. " personal constructs are bipolar. " --we classify relevant objects in an either/or fashion with each construct. " E.g., friendly-unfriendly, tall-short, intelligent-stupid, masculine-feminine. " After applying the original black-and-white construct we can use other bipolar constructs to determine the extent of blackness or whiteness. " E.g., If you think a person is intelligent, you may then apply the construct, “academically intelligent or commonsense intelligent.” --provides a clearer picture! Definition: Examples: Fundamental Postulate “A person's processes are psychologically channelized by the ways in which (s)he anticipates events”:10/28/08 5 The Process of Construing  The Construction Corollary " “A person anticipates events by construing their replications.” " preverbal constructs - can produce psychosomatic disorders " Example: If you ask John to explain how he feels about his father, he has little to say. Yet every time his father is mentioned he becomes tense) The Process of Construing  The Experience Corollary  “A person's construction system varies as he successively construes the replications of events.”10/28/08 6 The Process of Construing  The Choice Corollary " “A person chooses for himself that alternative in a dichotomized construct through which he anticipates the greater possibility for extension and definition of his system.” " the “elaborative choice” permeable construct a construct that is open to adding new elements " people I like " movies I enjoy (assuming that I’m open to liking new people and enjoying new movies) Definition: Examples:10/28/08 7 The Process of Construing  The Modulation Corollary  “The variation in a person's construction system is limited by the permeability of the constructs within whose ranges of convenience the variants lie.” concrete construct a construct that is not open to new elements " miracles [by one who doesn't believe they happen now] " honest politicians [by one who believes they are all crooked] Definition: Examples: The Structure of Construct Systems  The Dichotomy Corollary  The Organization Corollary  The Fragmentation Corollary  The Range Corollary10/28/08 8 Dichotomy Corollary:  “A person's construction system is composed of a finite number of dichotomous (2-sided) constructs.”  ex: “good-bad”; “difficult-easy”; “fair-unfair”  One pole of the construct system seems more desirable than the other.  The contrast pole might not be what you expect.  success — failure  success — learning experiences Within one person, we expect one or the other pole to be active at a given time. Because constructs are personal, we can't assume that the same objective reality will be recognized by everyone. slot movement abrupt change from one pole of a construct to its opposite, often precipitated by stress  an honest cop who turns to crime  a former drug addict who recovers and becomes a counselor Definition: Examples:10/28/08 9 Organization Corollary: “Each person characteristically evolves, for his convenience in anticipating events, a construction system embracing ordinal relationships between constructs.” • superordinate constructs: apply broadly; generally abstract • core constructs: central to identity • peripheral constructs: narrower and more readily changed A subordinate construct may be subsumed within one side of the superordinate construct, like this: Friendly-Unfriendly Outgoing-Quiet • Here, people are judged as either friendly or unfriendly. • If judged as friendly, they are then judged as either outgoing or quiet. You might, however organize your constructs this way: