Personal Construct Theory of George Kelly

1. GEORGE KELLY
PERSONAL-CONSTRUCT
THEORY

2. BIOGRAPHY
• George Kelly was born in Perth, Kansas, USA on
April 28,1905

3. BIOGRAPHY
• George Kelly was born in Perth, Kansas, USA on
April 28,1905

4. VIEW OF HUMAN NATURE
• All human beings can develop their own
theory which allow them to anticipate in
future events accurately.
• It is like making decisions and choosing
alternative actions.
• More valid information about the person
could be discovered if the person unravel
himself. So, he devised Role Construct
Repertory Test or Rep Test.

5. BASIC POSTULATE
• PERSONAL CONSRUCT
-An intellectual hypothesis that we devise and
use to interpret, explain, give meaning or predict life
events.
• Constructive Alternatives
-We are not controlled by our constructs but are
free
to revise or replace them with other alternatives.
“A person’s processes are psychologically
channelized by the ways in which he anticipates in
events”.

6. THE ELEVEN COROLLARIES
1. Construction Corollary
Because repeated events are similar, we can
predict or anticipate how we will experience such
an event in the future.
2. Individual Corollary
People perceive events in different ways.
3. Oganization Corollary
We arrange our constructs in patterns,
according to our view of their similarities and
differences.

7. THE ELEVEN COROLLARIES
4. Dichotomy Corollary
Constructs are bipolar and consist of pairs of
opposite. Ex. Good - bad
5.Choice Corollary
A person chooses for himself that alternative
in a dichotomized construct through which he
anticipates the greater possibility for extension
and definition of his system.

8. THE ELEVEN COROLLARIES
6. Range Corollary
A construct is convenient for the
anticipation of a finite range of events only.
7. Experience Corollary
We continually test our constructs
against life’s experiences to make sure they
remain useful.

9. THE ELEVEN COROLLARIES
8. Modulation Corollary
We may modify our constructs as a
function of new experiences.
9. Fragmentation Corollary
A person may successively employ a
variety of construction subsystems which
are inferentially incompatible with each
other.

10. THE ELEVEN COROLLARIES
10. Commonality Corollary
A person may successively employ a variety
of construction subsystems which are inferentially
incompatible with each other.
11. Socially Corollary
We try to understand how other people think
and predict what they will do, and we modify our
behavior accordingly.

11. INTERPRETATION OF TRADITIONAL
PSYCHOLOGICAL CONCEPTS
❑MOTIVATION
-Humans are born motivated and every person
is motivated for no other reason than that he or
she is alive.
❑ANXIETY
-recognition that the events with which one is
confronted lie outside the range of convenience
of one’s construct system. WHEN WE CANNOT
COSTRUE AN EVENT, WE EXPERIENCE
ANXIETY.

12. INTERPRETATION OF TRADITIONAL
PSYCHOLOGICAL CONCEPTS
❑HOSTILITY
-Continued effort to extort validation evidence in
favor of a type of social prediction which has
already proven itself a failure.
❑AGGRESSION
-The active elaboration of one’s perceptual field.

13. INTERPRETATION OF TRADITIONAL
PSYCHOLOGICAL CONCEPTS
❑GUILT
-Perception of one’s apparent dislodgement
from his core role structure.
❑THREAT
-Awareness of imminent comprehensive change
in one’s core structures.

14. INTERPRETATION OF TRADITIONAL
PSYCHOLOGICAL CONCEPTS
❑FEAR
-Results when a peripheral element of one’s
construct system is invalidated.
❑THE UNCONSCIOUS
-Constructs with low cognitive awareness could
be considered as unconscious.

15. INTERPRETATION OF TRADITIONAL
PSYCHOLOGICAL CONCEPTS
❑LEARNING
-The constant alteration of one’s construct
system with the goal of increasing its predictive
efficiency. Any change in in one’s construct
system.