Cognitive Theory to Personality - Kelly

George Kelly (1905 – 1966) was a clinical psychologist who developed a rural clinical service in Kansas.
He had a diverse academic background: Bachelor's in Physics, Master's in Sociology, and Ph.D. in Psychology.

Developed primarily from contact with clients in therapy.
Emphasizes the whole person and how they construe or interpret events.
Highlights the human capacity to reflect on oneself, the world, and the future.
An individual’s personal construct system includes constructs (ways of interpreting events) and the relationships between them.

Labeled as cognitive because it focuses on human thinking processes.
People's constructs comprise their knowledge of the world, helping them make sense of things.
People use constructs to interpret daily events.

A construct is an idea or category people use to interpret their world.
People use constructs to categorize events and guide their behavior.
Individuals experience events, interpret them, and place structure and meaning on them.
For example, the statement "Don is a nice person" evokes an idea in the listener's mind.

Good-bad is a common construct people use to consider events.
A personal construct system includes constructs and the relationships among them for interpreting events.

Personal constructs are bipolar, classifying objects in an either/or fashion (e.g., friendly-unfriendly, tall-short, intelligent-unintelligent).
Further bipolar constructs determine the extent of a characteristic like intelligence (e.g., academically intelligent vs. commonsense intelligent).
Differences in personality stem from differences in how people “construe the world.”

To understand your personal constructs, consider what you notice when you first meet people.
The initial thoughts that come to mind likely represent constructs you use to make sense of others and their behavior.

Core constructs: Basic to a person’s functioning; changing them has significant consequences.
Peripheral constructs: Less basic; can be altered without major structural modification.
Superordinate constructs: Broad and abstract.
Subordinate constructs: Narrow and specific.

Kelly rejected the idea that psychological disorders are caused by past trauma.
Instead, disorders arise from defects in one’s construct systems.
Anxiety occurs when personal constructs fail to make sense of life events (e.g., interview, relationship issues).
Therapy aims to help clients adopt new templates to regain their ability to make sense of the world.

Constructive alternativism: We can alter our interpretations of events or adopt entirely new ones.
We have free will, but our thoughts and behavior are influenced by goals and the views of others.

Behaviorists use the "black box" model for stimuli and responses.
Cognitive personality psychologists focus on the elements between stimulus and response to understand personality and behavior.
Various cognitive variables (cognitive-affective units) account for individual differences.

Cognitive-Affective Units:
- Encodings: Categories (constructs) for encoding information about self, others, events, and situations.
- Expectations and Beliefs: Expectations for what will happen in certain situations, outcomes for certain behaviors, and personal efficacy.
- Affects: Feelings, emotions, and emotional responses.
- Goals and Values: Individual goals, values, and life projects.
- Competencies and Self-Regulatory Plans: Perceived abilities, plans, and strategies for changing and maintaining behavior and internal states.

Individual differences arise because each person possesses a different set of mental representations (goals, expectations, values).
Access to information stored in memory varies among individuals.
The same situation can lead to different responses.
Example: A Christmas tree can evoke religious values, family joy, or an escape from work life.

Features of situations interact with the cognitive-affective system to produce behaviors.

Explain how people develop, organize, and apply their personal constructs.
Each corollary describes a different way people construct reality, shaping their perceptions, personality, and behavior.

Construction: We anticipate future events based on past experiences. For example, if someone was friendly before, we expect them to be friendly again.
Individuality: People interpret experiences differently based on personal constructs. Two people might see a strict teacher as disciplined or unfair.
Organization: We organize constructs in hierarchies based on importance. 'Honesty' might be more important than 'politeness'.
Dichotomy: Constructs exist in opposing pairs (e.g., good vs. bad). We categorize people as 'trustworthy' or 'untrustworthy'.
Choice: We choose constructs that help us predict outcomes better. If risk-taking seems rewarding, we continue taking risks.
Range: Each construct applies only to certain situations or people. 'Kindness' applies to people, not objects like 'cars'.
Experience: Constructs evolve based on new experiences. Someone who thought 'all dogs are friendly' may change their view after being bitten.
Modulation: Some constructs are flexible, while others are rigid. A person open to new experiences adapts more easily to change.
Fragmentation: People may have inconsistent constructs in different contexts. A strict boss at work may be playful at home.
Commonality: People with similar experiences develop similar constructs. Friends who grew up together may share political beliefs.
Sociality: Understanding others requires recognizing their constructs. A therapist must understand a client's worldview to help them.

Mental structures centered around a specific theme that helps us organize social information.
Schemas are mental categories that contain knowledge about people, events, and concepts.
Schemas influence what we attend to and how we interpret things.
They can bias and distort our thoughts, perceptions, and behaviors.
Example: Schema about "princess."

Mental representations unique to an individual play a central role in how we process information and interact with the world.
Self-schema: Cognitive representations of ourselves that we use to organize and process self-relevant information.

Observe how people perceive and use information presented to them.
Example: If someone immediately agrees to being a competitive person, they likely have a strong competitiveness schema.
People without a strong competitiveness schema process the information more slowly.

Psychotherapy is the process of reconstructing the construct system.
Some constructs need replacement or addition; some need tightening, others loosened.
It is the psychological reconstruction of the self and life.

A cognitive-behavioral intervention to explore and adopt new personal constructs by