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Basic Postulate of Kelly's Personal Construct Theory
"A person's processes are psychologically channelized
by the ways in which he anticipates events"
George Kelly, The Psychology of Personal Constructs,
page 46
Corollaries
As presented in Jess Feist's Theories of Personality, pages 587,
588
- Construction Corollary. We anticipate future events
according to our interpretations of recurrent themes.
- Individuality Corollary. People have different
experiences and therefore construe events in different ways.
- Organization Corollary. We organize our personal
contructs in a hierarchical system, with some constructs in a superordinate
position and others subordinate to them. This organization allows us to
minimize incompatible contructs.
- Dichotomy Corollary. All personal constructs are
dichotomous, that is, we construe events in an either/or manner.
- Choice Corollary. We choose the alternative in
a dichotomized construct that we see as extending our range of future choices.
- Range Corollary. Constructs are limited to a particular
range of convenience, that is, they are not relevant to all situations.
- Experience Corollary. We continually revise our
personal constructs as the result of experience.
- Modulation Corollary. Not all new experiences
lead to a revision of personal constructs. To the extent that constructs
are permeable they are subject to change through experience. Concrete or
impermeable constructs resist modification regardless of our experience.
- Fragmentation Corollary. Our behavior is sometimes
inconsistent because our construct system can readily admit incompatible
elements.
- Commonality Corollary. To the extent that we have
had experiences similar to others, our personal contructs tend to be similar
to the construction systems of those people.
- Sociality Corollary. We are able to communicate
with others because we can construe their constructions. We not only observe
the behavior of others, but we also interpret what that behavior means
to them.
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