George Kelly’s theory of personal constructs

In 1955, George Kelly presented the theory of personal constructs as an alternative to the two main approaches that were current to understand human understanding: behaviorism and psychodynamic theories (psychoanalysis). This current challenged existing psychological thinking.

Traditionally, psychological research has considered all the people it studies as subjects; Thus, they differentiate them from someone who, like themselves, tries to make sense of events. In this sense, Kelly suggested that we need to change the nature of how we view science. if applied to human beings.

Premises of the theory

The premise of George Kelly’s personal construct theory was direct, but radical. He stated that people never know the world directly, but only through images they create of it. In this way, it conceives the human being as a scientist who builds and modifies his knowledge and hypotheses with experience.

Constructs, therefore, are the mental maps we have of reality, in addition to their opposites. As a result, to define what something is you need to find out what it is not, according to Kelly’s theory. For example, being happy for you may be different from being happy for someone else, depending on how each of us interprets what it means to be bad on an emotional level.

George Kelly’s theory of personal constructs invites us to understand how each of us sees the world. Instead of using complex psychological concepts to understand people, this school of thought Try to understand people on their own terms.

Psychology of personal constructs

During the 1950s, behavioral and psychoanalytic perspectives were still predominant in psychology. Kelly, on the other hand, saw people as active creators of their reality. This was opposed to the ideas of both currents, in which the subject can do little to change their vision of the world.

Kelly argued that, from the moment we are born, we develop a set of personal constructs. These are essentially mental representations that we use to interpret events and give meaning to what happens. They are based on our experiences and observations.

Instead of seeing human beings as passive subjects at the mercy of the associations, reinforcements and punishments they find in their environment (behaviorism), or their unconscious desires and childhood experiences (psychoanalysis), Kelly believed that people play an active role in how they collect and interpret knowledge.

Throughout our lives, we perform “experiments” that They test our beliefs, perceptions and interpretations. If these experiments work, they strengthen our current beliefs. When they don’t, we can change our views. For Kelly’s theory of personal constructs, this is fundamental.

Because of this process, we experience the world through the “lens” of our beliefs. They are used to predict and anticipate events, which in turn determines our behaviors, feelings and thoughts.

Kelly also argued that all events that happen are open to multiple interpretations. In his work, he referred to them as constructive alternatives. When we try to make sense of an event or situation, we can also choose which construction we want to use to explain it.

The functioning of the constructs

Kelly argued that The process of using mental constructs works similarly to how a scientist uses a theory. First, we start with a hypothesis about why a situation occurs. We then test it by applying the construct and predict the outcome we think will occur.

If we get it right, then we know that the mental construct is useful in this situation, and we retain it for future use. However, When our predictions do not come true, we can take three paths:

Reconsider how and when we apply the construct. Alter the construct. Abandon it entirely.

Besides, The recurrence of a situation plays an important role in the theory of personal constructions. Constructs arise because they reflect things that are frequently repeated in our experience.

Besides, Kelly believed that our ways of seeing the world tend to be organized hierarchically. Thus, more basic constructs can be found at the base of the hierarchy; while the more complex and abstract constructions would be located at higher levels.

According to Kelly, the constructs are bipolar. That is, in essence, each construction consists of a pair of opposite faces. The side that a person applies to an event is known as the emergent pole. The one that does not apply, on the contrary, is the implicit pole.

Finally, it is essential to remember the emphasis on individuality in the theory of personal constructs. Constructs are intrinsically personal because They are based on each person’s life experiences. Each person’s belief system is unique and it is the individual nature of these experiences that forms the differences between people.

The 11 corollaries of Kelly’s theory

Regarding how this theory is used, Kelly stated 11 fundamental pillars to understand the functioning of personal constructs. You can read them below:

Construction: Abstract thinking allows us to build mental models of reality to, among other things, make predictions of future situations.Individuality: Two people differ or are similar based on the similarity of their construct systems.Organization: Since constructs are used to predict possible futures, it is necessary to create a hierarchy with them. Otherwise, contradictions appear when processing the information.Dichotomy: People conceive reality from opposite concepts, that is, dichotomous. If, on the other hand, only one of the extremes of said dichotomy is known, we speak of a submerged construct.Choice: Construct systems that are more restrictive minimize the probability of failure, but encompass fewer future possibilities. In contrast, broader constructs lead to less cautious behavioral styles.Ambit: Each construct is effective in predicting a certain range of phenomena, that is, for the so-called “convenience center.”Experience: Life experience modifies the system of constructs, since it is not impermeable to reality. This occurs through the creation of constructs from these events.Modulation: It is about the ability of a construct to introduce new elements into its structure. Their hierarchy within the system is also susceptible to modification.Fragmentation: It is the ability of a system of constructs to add subsystems that allow it to operate with contradiction without becoming disorganized.Communality: Culture also has an impact on construct systems. Therefore, two people within the same culture will have a greater probability of being similar in their way of constructing reality.Sociability: Continuing with the previous corollary, it can be stated that it is more likely to understand another person and feel affinity with them if we have the ability to reproduce their system of constructs within our own mind.

Validity of the theory of personal constructs

George Kelly argued that The validity of any theory lies in its usefulness. In the case of his theory, its usefulness has been proven in very different fields; among others, linguistics, history, psychotherapy, administration, organizational development, market studies, sociology, psychiatry, and psychology.

Currently, The theory of personal constructs remains alive and active, with organizations researching them in the US, Europe and Australia. Therefore, if you want to continue delving into this paradigm and its applications, do not hesitate to search for more information.

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