How Exactly Does Personal Construct Theory Work?
Kelly believed that we start by first developing a set of personal constructs, which are essentially mental representations that we use to interpret events. These constructs are based on our experiences and observations.
During the early 1950s, the behavioral and psychoanalytic perspectives were still quite dominant in psychology. Kelly proposed his personal construct theory as an alternative view that departed from these two prominent points of view.
Rather than viewing human beings as passive subjects who were at the whims of the associations, reinforcements, and punishments they encountered in their environments (behaviorism) or their unconscious wishes and childhood experiences (psychoanalysis), Kelly believed that people take an active role in how they collect and interpret knowledge.
“Behavior is not the answer to the psychologist’s question; it is the question,” he suggested.
As we live our lives, we perform “experiments” that put our beliefs, perceptions, and interpretations of the test. If our experiments work, they strengthen our current beliefs. When they don’t, we are able to change our views.
What makes these constructs so important? Because according to Kelly, we experience the world through the “lens” of our constructs. These constructs are used to predict and anticipate events, which in turn determines our behaviors, feelings, and thoughts.
Kelly also believed that all events that happen are open to multiple interpretations, which he referred to as constructive alternativism. When we are trying to make sense of an event or situation, he suggested that we are also able to pick and choose which construct we want to use. This sometimes happens as an event unfolds, but we can also reflect back on our experiences and then choose to view them in different ways.
How Do We Use Constructs?
Kelly believed that the process of using constructs works in much the same way that a scientist utilizes a theory. First, we begin by hypothesizing that a particular construct will apply to a particular event. We then test this hypothesis by applying the construct and predicting the outcome. If our prediction is correct, then we know that the construct is useful in this situation and we retain it for future use.
But what happens if our predictions don’t come true? We might reconsider how and when we apply the construct, we might alter the construct, or we might decide to abandon the construct altogether.
Recurrences play an important role in personal construct theory. Constructs emerge because they reflect things that frequently recur in our experience. Kelly also believed that constructs tend to be organized in a hierarchical fashion. For example, more basic constructs might lie and the base of the hierarchy, while more complex and abstract constructs lie can be found at higher levels.
Kelly also believed that constructs are bipolar; essentially, each construct consists of a pair of two opposing sides. Some examples include “active versus passive,” “stable versus changing,” and “friendly versus unfriendly.” The side that a person applies to an event is known as the emergent pole. The side that is not being actively applied is the implicit pole.
It is essential to remember the emphasis on individuality in personal construct theory. Constructs are inherently personal because they are based on each person’s life experiences. Each person’s system of constructs is unique, and it is the individual nature of these experiences that form the differences between people.