George Kelly

Aggression.

Effort to expand one's construct system so it is capable of assimilating a greater range of experiences.

Anxiety.

Feeling one has when one realizes that an experience lies outside one's construct system.

Choice corollary.

States that people will choose a construct that will either further define or extend their construct system. See also Definition of a construct system and Extension of a construct system.

Circumspection phase.

That phase of the CPC cycle in which a person ponders several constructs that might be useful in construing a novel situation.

Cognitive theory.

Any theory that focuses on the study of mental events.

Cognitively complex person.

Person with many well-differentiated constructs in his or her construct system.

Cognitively simple person.

Person with only a few poorly differentiated constructs in his or her construct system.

Commonality corollary.

States that people can be considered similar not because of similar physical experiences but because they construe their experiences in a similar fashion.

Construct.

See Personal construct.

Construct system.

Collection of constructs used by a person at any given time to construe the events in his or her life.

Construction corollary.

States that constructs are formed on the basis of the recurring themes in one's experience.

Constructive alternativism.

Term that reflects Kelly's belief that there are numerous ways of construing one's experience and therefore one is free to choose from a number of construct systems.

Construe.

One's active effort to interpret, ex-plain, and give meaning to experiences.

Control phase.

That phase of the CPC cycle in which people choose a pole of the construct chosen in the preemptive phase of the cycle and act in accordance with that pole.

Core role structure.

Roles we play while interacting with the important people and groups in our lives.

Core structures.

Those constructs on which we rely most heavily when construing experience-that is, those that have been most consistently validated.

CPC cycle.

Series of activities engaged in by a person confronted with a novel situation. See also Circumspection phase, Control phase, and Preemption phase.

Creativity cycle.

Three-phase cycle in which innovative ideas are sought. Phase 1 involves loosening one's construct system to allow realignments of elements and con-structs. Phase 2 involves retightening one's construct system after an innovative idea has been found. Phase 3 involves testing the idea and retaining it if it is found useful and discarding it if not.

Credulous attitude.

Assumption that the information provided by clients about them selves can be trusted as accurate and valid.

Definition of a construct system.

Choice of a construct in construing a situation that has already been successful in construing similar situations. Such a choice has the effect of further validating one's construct system.

Dichotomv corollary.

States that each construct has two poles, one of which describes what characteristics the events to which the construct is relevant have in common, the other of which describes events without those characteristics. For example, if one pole of a construct describes beautiful things, the other pole may describe things without beauty, or ugly things.

Existential theory.

Any theory that focuses on the nature of, or the problems related to, human existence.

Experience corollary.

States that mere passive experience is unimportant. It is the active construing of experience that ultimately results in a more effective construct system.

Extension of a construct system.

Choice of a construct, in construing a situation, that has never been tried. Such a choice has the potential effect of extending one's construct system so that it is capable of assimilating a greater range of experience.

Fear.

Feeling one has when a relatively unimportant construct is about to be invalidated, thus requiring a minor change in one's construct system.

Fixed-role therapy.

Clinical technique that asks clients to act as if they were other people. Thus clients become actors, and the therapist becomes a supporting actor. The idea is to have the clients try different ways of construing their experiences in a non-threatening situation as the therapist provides validating information about their new construct systems.

Focus of convenience.

Events within the range of convenience of a construct to which that construct is maximally significant.

Fragmentation corollary.

States that as a construct system is being tested, revised, or extended, certain inconsistencies in behavior may result.

Guilt.

Feeling one has when one acts contrary to a role one has assumed while interacting with a significant person or group in one's life.

Hostility.

Attempt to force the validation of a prediction that has already proved to be erroneous.

Humanistic theory.

Any theory that assumes that humans are basically good and rational and their behavior is purposive.

Individuality corollary.

States that each person is unique in his or her manner of construing experience.

Jackass theory of motivation.

Kelly's description of his own theory because it claimed that motivation is inherent to human nature. Therefore, there is no need to postulate events that push or pull humans into action.

Learning.

Any change in one's construct system.

Modulation corollary.

States that a construct system is more likely to change if the constructs contained in it are permeable. See also Permeable construct.

Motivation.

For Kelly, a synonym for life.

Organization corollary.

States that constructs are arranged in a hierarchy from most general to most specific. See also Subordinate construct and Superordinate construct.

Permeable construct.

Construct that easily assimilates new experiences.

Personal construct.

Idea or thought that a person uses when construing personal experience. Sometimes simply called a construct.

Personality.

For Kelly, the term personality refers to a person's construct system.

Phenomenologist.

One who studies intact, conscious experience.

Preemption phase.

That phase of the CPC cycle in which people decide which construct to use to construe a novel situation.

Preverbal construct.

Construct formulated early in one's life, before language was adequately developed. Although such a construct cannot be labeled verbally, it can still be used to construe one's experiences.

Propositional construct.

Construct that is cognitively tested as one that might be useful in construing a situation.

Psychotherapy.

Because Kelly equated people suffering emotional problems with bad scientists, therapy was regarded as a setting in which the client could learn to be a better scientist—that is, learn to develop a more effective construct system.

Pull theories of motivation.

Those theories that emphasize terms such as purpose, value, or need. Kelly also called these carrot theories.

Push theories of motivation.

Those theories that emphasize terms such as drive, motive, and stimulus. Kelly also called these pitchfork theories.

Range corollary.

States that a construct is relevant to only a finite range of events. See also Focus of convenience and Range of convenience.

Range of convenience.

Finite range of events to which a particular construct is relevant.

Role.

For Kelly, a role is acting in accordance with another person's expectations of how one will act.

Role construct.

Awareness of another person's expectations.

In a sense, a role construct involves seeing the world through someone else's eyes.

Role Construct Repertory Test (Rcp test).

Test developed by Kelly to identify the constructs clients use to construe the relevant people in their lives.

Self-characterization.

Sketch that Kelly sometimes had his clients write about themselves (in the third person) in order to learn what constructs they used to construe themselves and other people.

Slot movements.

The abrupt shifting from the use of one pole of a construct to its opposite that is often precipitated by stress.

Sociality corollary.

States that to engage in constructive social interaction with another person, one must first understand how that person construes his or her experiences. Only then can one play a role in that person's life. See also Role.

Submergence.

Situation in which one pole of a construct is used, but the other pole tends not to be. The unused pole is said to be submerged or unconscious.

Subordinate constructs.

Constructs that are subsumed under a more general construct.

Superordinate construct.

General construct that subsumes other constructs.

Suspension.

Situation in which an experience has low cognitive awareness because it is incompatible with one's current construct system. If one's construct system is changed so it can assimilate the experience, it (the experience) will enter full awareness; that is, it will no longer be suspended.

Threat.

Awareness that one or more important constructs will be invalidated, thus requiring a major change in one's construct system. See also Core structures.

Unconscious.

Constructs with low cognitive awareness. See also Submergence and Suspension.

Validation.

Results when a construct or a construct system successfully anticipates an experience