Unit 18—Kelly: Psychology Of Personal Constructs

Front 1

State Kelly's philosophical position of constructive alternativism

Back 1

___ assumption is that alternative interpretations of events are constantly accessible to an individual.

People interpret experiences are subjective. As they attempt to align them to their own personal constructs, rather than the objective reality.

Interpretations of the world are subject to revision or replacement, an assumption he called ___.

Can interpret their world from a variety of angles, and observations may be valid at one moment, however can be false at a later time.

Front 2

Discuss the fundamental postulate of Kelly's theory

Back 2

The driving force of human behaviour as teleological.

It assumes that people’s behaviour is formed by anticipating future outcomes.

Front 3

List the 11 supporting corollaries to the
fundamental postulate of personal construct theory

Back 3

1) Construct corollary

2) Individuality corollary

3) Organizational corollary

4) Dichotomy corollary

5) Choice corollary

6) Range corollary

7) Experience corollary

8) Modulation corollary

9) Fragmentation corollary

10) Commonality corollary

11) Sociality corollary

Front 4

Explain the following supporting corollaries to the
fundamental postulate of personal construct theory:

1) Construct corollary

Back 4

1) people interpret similar events in the same way, even though no two experiences are the same.

Front 5

Explain the following supporting corollaries to the
fundamental postulate of personal construct theory:

2) Individuality corollary

Back 5

2) The same event can be interpreted in a variety of ways because humans have distinct experiences, unique to them.

Front 6

Explain the following supporting corollaries to the
fundamental postulate of personal construct theory:

3) Organizational corollary

Back 6

3) Personal constructs are organized in a hierarchal system. This means that constructs are not all the same and fit in a variety of levels, including superordinate and subordinate levels.

Front 7

Explain the following supporting corollaries to the
fundamental postulate of personal construct theory:

4) Dichotomy corollary

Back 7

4) People interpret an event in an either/or approach. For example: They view an experience as either good or bad.

Front 8

Explain the following supporting corollaries to the
fundamental postulate of personal construct theory:

5) Choice corollary

Back 8

5) Human’s generally select the best alternative in the dichomotized construct that will aid in expanding the number of future choices.

Front 9

Explain the following supporting corollaries to the
fundamental postulate of personal construct theory:

6) Range corollary

Back 9

Constructs are not relevant to all situations therefore they are restricted to specific selection of convenience.

Front 10

Explain the following supporting corollaries to the
fundamental postulate of personal construct theory:

7) Experience corollary

Back 10

7) An individual will constantly revise their personal constructs because of the events they experience.

Front 11

Explain the following supporting corollaries to the
fundamental postulate of personal construct theory:

8) Modulation corollary

Back 11

8) Basic assumption is that concrete constructs are capable of resisting change through experiences and that permeable constructs lead to change.

Front 12

Explain the following supporting corollaries to the
fundamental postulate of personal construct theory:

9) Fragmentation corollary

Back 12

9) Because human’s construct systems are able to easily accept incompatible elements, our behaviour can be inconsistent.

Front 13

Explain the following supporting corollaries to the
fundamental postulate of personal construct theory:

10) Commonality corollary

Back 13

10) Our personal constructs usually align with other people’s construction systems because we share experiences with them.

Front 14

Explain the following supporting corollaries to the
fundamental postulate of personal construct theory:

11) Sociality corollary

Back 14

11) People are able to communicate with other because of our ability to interpret other people’s constructions.

Front 15

Define Kelly's concept of role, including A) core role and B) peripheral role.

Back 15

___ fits under the umbrella of Sociality corollary. It is defined as the pattern of behaviour that comes from our understanding of people’s constructions.

An individual has a A) and variety of B) roles. Our sense of identity is at the central to our existence of our A) Alternatively the B) re not as dominant to our self-concept.

Front 16

Define threat from Kelly's point of view.

Back 16

Four common elements in most human disturbances: fear, anxiety, guilt and threat.

According to Kelly, ___ is one of the common elements in most human disturbances. It is defined as our awareness that one of our most basic constructs could be manipulated significantly.

Front 17

Define anxiety from Kelly's point of view.

Back 17

According to Kelly, ___ is one of the common elements in most human disturbances. It is defined as an individual’s awareness that they do not have the adequate skills to handle the new experience put before them.

Front 18

Discuss Kelly's view of abnormal development.

Back 18

Normal people are able “competent scientists who test reasonable hypotheses, objectively view the results and willingly change their theories when the data warrant it. Alternatively, ____ not capable of validating own personal constructs against their experiences in the world, cling to outdated constructs, they fear new constructs that may disrupt the status quo of their world. The unhealthy person will reject or distort new approaches .An individual’s construction system does not exist in <3hood experiences nor future events, solely in the present. Objected to the traditional classification system of abnormalities - constructs as unique to the person not universal. Unhealthy individual’s personal constructs do not pass the permeability test in the following two ways. 1: Can be too flexible, & the person aren't capable of adjusting to reality. Ex: Abused child may interpret intimacy with a parent as bad. Or if it is too loose “leads to disorganization & inconsistent pattern of B.

Front 19

Describe the procedure for fixed-role therapy.

Back 19

the client engages in a predetermined role for a number of weeks. The purpose of playing this role is designed help the client find uncovered parts of themselves that they were previously unaware of.

Front 20

Explain the use of the Rep Test in personality assessment.

Back 20

By implementing the Rep Test it will help the client find different ways to interpret and understand the people in their life who are significant. It is done by having the individual create a repertory grid with the names of people they know. They use this grid to label and highlight the similarities and differences of the group

Front 21

Discuss recent research using the Rep Test.

Back 21

In the US and UK, the Rep Test has generated large quantities of empirical research. In the field of social cognition, many researchers have implemented the same phenomenological measures as the Rep test or test along the same lines. In recent history, the method of the Rep test has been implemented to analyze various construct systems of individuals who have been abused verses not.

Front 22

Explain the difference between:

A) construct

B) concept

Back 22

A) How one perceives and interpret our experiences in reality. Unique to the person. How we view the world around us. Shape our behavoir. Can be accurate or inaccurate. They are our means to predict and control our environment. No underlying drives or motivations. “It is life itself that accounts for movement”
Differs from a concept in that concepts are logical, not mental.____ are usually hypothetical. They are mental pictures, totally abstract, of the essence of the reality of anything. ___ are the bases of learning and cognition.

B) Awareness of our characteristics and experiences in life. Can be inaccurate but not incongruent to our own idea of our self. May be modified or distorted. ___ involve organizing and discerning abstract thoughts, unlike percepts; however, ____ deal with the human ability to classify ideas which involves placing logically like-kind ideas into classes

Front 23

List Kelly's four elements that result in psychological disturbance.

Back 23

According to Kelly, there are 4 common elements in most human disturbances.

1) Threat is characterized as our awareness that one of our most basic constructs could be manipulated significantly.

2) As opposed to a threat that is a complete change in one’s personal core structure. Fear is more specific and incidentally.

3) Anxiety defined as an individual’s awareness that they do not have the adequate skills to handle the new experience put before them.

4) Guilt is "the sense of having lost one's role structure."

Front 24

List two criticisms of the Rep Test.

Back 24

Unfortunately, it pays scant attention to problems of motivation, development, and cultural influences. On the six criteria of a useful theory, it rates very high on parsimony and internal consistency and about average on its ability to generate research. However, it rates low on its ability to be falsified, to guide the practitioner, and to organize knowledge.

Front 25

Discuss at least two research reports that have used the Rep Test.

A) STUDY: Gender As a Personal Construct

Back 25

RESEARCHER: Marcel Harper & Wilhelm Schoeman
PARTICIPANTS: College students in South Africa
HYPOTHESIS: The REP test will show people have individual differences in the the degree people internalize cultural views of gender.
METHOD: REP Test
FINDINGS: Less info an individual has about a person the greater the person will implement stereotypic gender schemes to judge the person. In other words, participants used gender stereotypes to evaluate strangers generally had restricted knowledge of the people’s personalities.

Front 26

Discuss at least two research reports that have used the Rep Test.

B) STUDY: Smoking and Self-Concept

Back 26

RESEARCHER: Peter Weiss, Neill Watson, and Howard Mcguire
PARTICIPANTS: h smokers and non-smokers i
HYPOTHESIS: used the REP test to investigate the hypothesis that smokers would identify with and rate their own personalities more similar to the personality descriptions they have of other smokers than of non-smoker.
METHOD: Rep test.
FINDINGS: As predicted, both smokers and non-smokers identified with and valued more highly the traits of non-smokers (such as quiet, studious, etc.) than of smokers. However, the prediction that smokers would have lower self-esteem (greater real versus ideal self disparity) did not hold. Weiss et al concluded that not only is the Rep test useful for assessing self-concept, but it also may be a more valid and individualized tool than standard questionnaires.