A good deal is said these days about being oneself. It is supposed to be healthy to be oneself. While it is a little hard for me to understand how one could be anything else, I suppose what is meant is that one should not strive to become anything other than what he is. This strikes me as a very dull way of living: in fact, I would be inclined to argue that all of us would be better off if we set out to be something other than what we are. Well, I'm not so sure we would all be better off--perhaps it would be more accurate to say life would be a lot more interesting. (Kelly, 1964, p. 147)

a phenomenological theory: our perceptions shape our experience and determine our actions

people as scientists: formulating hypothesizes about the world and testing these hypotheses against their experiences in daily life

we construe our world/experiences through our own unique view of events: our construct system

our most basic constructs are dichotomous perceptions

our constructs are constantly being evaluated and revised in light of our experiences: this adaptability Kelly referred to as constructive alternativism

Kelly's fundamental postulate was: "A person's processes are psychologically canalized by the ways in which he anticipates events" (Kelly, 1955, p. 32)--thinking is directed by the ways in which we anticipate events

people attempt to anticipate (predict) what will happen so they can best respond

our predictions are based on our past experiences, which have lead us to a a set of interpretations (general rules) about the world (constructs)

constructs can develop outside the person's awareness; Kelly rejected the notion of "unconscious" and used the term "preverbal"

construct formation could be implicit or automatic, this is consistent with some current work in cognitive science (Abrams & Reber, 1988; Litman & Reber, 2005)

Kelly perceived people as rational beings, working at adapting to the challenges of their world, capable of learning from their experiences, and fundamentally free in their choices

he rejected historical determinism -- and view humans as possessing free will

he rejected most motivational constructs -- we are motivated by being alive

each person is motivated, "for no other reason than that he is alive." (Kelly, 1958, p.49)

"Motivational theories can be divided into two types, push theories and pull theories. Under push theories we find such terms as drive, motive, or even stimulus. Pull theories use such constructions as purpose, value, or need. In terms of a well-known metaphor, these are the pitchfork theories on the one hand and the carrot theories on the other. But our theory is neither of these. Since we prefer to look to the nature of the animal himself, ours is probably best called a jackass theory." (Kelly, 1958, p. 50)

validation of your construct system replaces reinforcement/reward in Kelly's system

Kelly's perspective on assessment: "credulous attitude"

direct interviewing: "If you don't know what is going on in a person's mind, ask him; he may tell you!" (Kelly, 1958, p. 330)

self-characterization sketch

Role Construct Repertory Test (REP Test)

Kelly's approach to therapy

role playing

fixed-role therapy

group therapy

Critiques of Kelly's Theory of Personal Constructs

limited attention to issues of growth and development

Kelly and Piaget: a stage model of cognitive development

Kelly and Vygotsky: language and thought shaped by social interaction

limited attention to issues of emotion

This remains a serious challenge for many "cognitive" theories and the therapies based on these models.

The most serious "competitors" to current cognitive-behavioral therapies are psychotherapies which give greater emphasis to emotional variables/elements/influences, such as:

Dialectical Behavior Therapy

Interpersonal Therapy

has remained insular

While Kelly's ideas have influenced a number of current developments in personality theory, his theory has not be influenced by continuing developments in psychology and allied disciplines, and has not continued to grow and develop ("George Kelly" and his theory are interchangeable labels in a way that is not true of Freud, Rogers, Skinner, and the trait theorists)

Kelly's legacy

a unique and positive view of human behavior

Kelly stressed human capacity for improvement and positive change

an early foundation for the development of cognitive therapy

Kelly was an early voice emphasizing the imporance of how people view and think about their world

an early voice for social constructionism as a legitimate position in psychological theory

Kelly believed that conscious experience should be the primary focus of psychology, and that our conscious experience helped shape our "reality"

for Kelly, all meaning in life is constructed by the observer--there is nothing in life with inherant meaning

an impressive stimulus for research in personality, psychopathology, organizational and industrial psychology

although not founding a "school" of personality theory that was carried on by devoted disciplies, Kelly's work intellectually challanged many personality and clinical psychologists, and has lead to and influence a great deal of work, especially in applied psychology

Friday mental health moment:

Kelly's thinking and theory emphasized woman's and man's rational, positive, and adaptive aspects; but not in a naive or Polly Anna manner. He recognized the people could be terribly cruel, selfish, judgmental, and harsh; but he also saw evidence that we always have within us the capacity to change--to become more reasonable, more tolerant, more empathetic. And he truly believed that we could change ourselves in positive ways through deliberate efforts on our own part. For Kelly, deciding what kind of person you wanted to be and consciously deciding to act that way as much as possible, wasn't a wistful pipedream; it was a real plan for living.