psych of personality exam 4 personal construct theory

George Kelly

• personal construct theory,

• attempted to understand the psychological activities of the everyday theory

• person-as-scientist view of person

person-as-scientist

• we develop theories about ourselves, others, and the world to make predictions

• future oriented

• think actively about the environment and “try on” different constructs

• free will and self-determination

personal construct

an element of knowledge, a concept used to interpret the world, helps us to categorize events and make sense of them, automatic process using what you already know

verbal construct

expressed in words

preverbal construct

used but no words to describe, things we learn before we develop language like safe vs unsafe

submerged

not available for verbalization, insisting that others only do “good” things suggests awareness of the opposite of “bad”

structure of construct theory

core, peripheral, superordinate, subordinate

core construct

basic to functioning but can only be changed with significant consequences to a person’s overall construct system

peripheral construct

less basic, altered more easily (strong vs weak beliefs)

superordinate constructs

animal, dog

subordinate

corgi, welsh corgi, dorgi

The Role Construct Repertory (Rep) Test

List people who play various roles in your life, including self (20-30 people), Pick three specific figures from the list and asks the test taker to indicate how two of these people are alike and are different from a third

threat

awareness than an imminent comprehensive change is about to occur in one’s core structure

anxiety

recognition that the events with which one is confronted lie outside the range of awareness of one’s construct system

fear

a new construct is about to enter the construct system