Chapter 19 Kelly: Psychology of Personal Constructs
I.
II.
III. IV. V. Overview of Personal Construct Theory – people are not victims of
circumstances because alternative constructions are always available
(constructive alternativism); we construe the world in our own way
Biography – George Kelly born April 28, 1905 in Kansas; died on March 6,
1967
Kelly’s Philosophical Position – human behavior is based on reality and
our perception of reality
A. Personal Constructs – our ways of interpreting and explaining events
– are the keys to predicting behavior
B. Constructive Alternativism – assumption that “all of our present
interpretations of the universe are subject to revision or replacement;
facts can be looked at from different perspectives and a person’s
interpretation of an event is more important than the event itself
Personal Constructs – all people continually create their own view of the
world; some people are inflexible and seldom change their way of seeing
things; they cling to their view of reality even though the real world has
changed; personal constructs shape an individual’s behavior; the world is
constantly changing so what is accurate at one time may not be accurate
at another
A. Construction Corollary – no two events are exactly alike yet we
construe similar events so that they are perceived as being the same;
people construe or interpret future events according to recurrent
themes
B. Individuality Corollary – people differ from each other in their
construction of events; we have different experiences so we construe
the same event in different ways
C. Commonality Corollary – two people do not have to experience the
same or similar events for their processes to be psychologically
similar; they must merely construe their experiences in a similar
fashion; no two people ever interpret events exactly the same
Abnormal Development – unhealthy people stubbornly cling to
outdated personal constructs, fearing validation of any new constructs
that would upset their present comfortable view of the world; Kelly
defined disorder as “any personal construction which is used repeatedly
in spite of consistent invalidation”
A. Threat – perceive stability of basic constructs is likely to be shaken
B. Fear – more specific and incidental; psychological disturbance results
when either threat or fear persistently prevents a person from feeling
secure
C. Anxiety – new experiences take us out of our comfort zone
D. Guilt – behave in ways that are inconsistent with their sense of who
they are; perceive undesirable aspects in self VI. Psychotherapy – client, not the therapist, sets the goal(s); client is an
active participant in the therapeutic process; client must begin to
interpret life from a different perspective
