the appeal of PCP

Introduction:
Philosophy of PCP  |   Person-the-scientist
Construing and the nature of constructs  |   The fundamental postulate

PCP in diverse settings:
PCP in educational settings  |   PCP in organisational settings

INTRODUCTION

The philosophy of PCP

(by Peggy Dalton & Gavin Dunnett)

It is unusual for a theory of personality to begin in the realm of philosophy, but in fact this is really quite essential. Unless there is some understanding of the world in which the individual operates psychologically, it is very easy to make assumptions about that world. Indeed, most psychological theories make philosophical assumptions about the world in which they operate, but generally they do not do so explicitly.

Kelly, on the other hand, quite explicitly brings up this issue at the outset, defining his philosophy as that of constructive alternativism. This imposing title is rather daunting but it is not really difficult to understand. It comprises Kelly's convictions about the universe and about our relationship to that universe. He writes: 'The three prior convictions about the universe ... are that it is real and not a figment of out imagination, that it all works together like clockwork, and that it is something that is going on all the time and not something that merely stays put'.

Essentially, there is a real world out there. It exists, is interconnected and is in continual motion. An individual being is always trying to grasp that real world but in fact only constructs their own version of it. However, the constructions we make are infinitely variable. A huge range of alternative ways of construing and making sense of the same event are available. However, to the individual, whatever construction we make is real to us. In one of his most often quoted paragraphs, Kelly wrote:

We take the stand that there are always some alternative constructions available to choose among in dealing with the world. No one needs to paint themselves into a corner; no one needs to be completely hemmed in by circumstances; no one needs to be the victim of their biography.

For all of us there is a huge range of alternatives only bound by the rules we impose on ourselves. Those rules, being created personally, can be altered by personal choice also.

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Person-the-scientist

Scientists examine a particular phenomenon and endeavour to come up with theories about how a phenomenon works, or what it actually is. They make predictions based on their theories and carry out experiments to see whether these predictions are correct. If the experiment provides a positive response, it is regarded as validating all or part of the theory that spawned it, whereas a negative response is regarded as invalidation, and the theory has to be re-examined to try to explain the problem.

Kelly thought that, essentially, this was the type of activity in which all people are engaged. Everyone is making their own theories about the real world out there. They are doing this in order to make predictions about the future. Once these theories have been formulated, people went ahead and discovered from their experimentation whether or not they worked out in practice. If the predictions worked, that part of the theory would be incorporated into the person's psychological system. If not, re-evaluation and reorganisation would need to take place.

For example, a young person who has always been shy is invited to a party for the first time. From listening to her sister's stories and seeing them on television, she has a picture in her mind of a noisy crowded room, full of people talking brightly and ignoring her because she is quiet and dull. She is terrified but she goes. If what she has anticipated matches her experience, her theory will be proved, and probably she will not want to try again. If, however, she finds that it is not a noisy affair, that several people talk to her and seem to find her interesting, she will probably reconstrue and her anticipations of parties will be modified in future.

Construing and the nature of constructs

Construing means essentially placing an interpretation on something. In order to make sense of an event, and action or a situation, we attempt to construe it, to give it shape and meaning.

It is important to emphasise from the beginning that construing is not the same as thinking. We construe as we look, listen, touch, taste, feel and move. As we perceive something visually or auditorily, we are interpreting what we see and hear. As we taste, say, that mouthful of tea, we are giving it meaning without any ‘thoughts’ in our heads at all. And some of our constructions of events remain as feelings, sensations we scarcely notice. Lastly, action or behaviour is very much part of the construing process. If we reach out to pick something up, we are, in a sense, testing out a theory about what it will be like when we hold it. If we approach another person with certain feelings, we are again checking out our expectations of that person.

If construing is the process by means of which we try to make sense of our world, a construct is one piece of that sense-making structure. By comparing and contrasting aspects of our world we create bipolar constructs. We understand light by contrasting it with dark, hard with soft.

Many of us may accept those constructs in general, but most constructs are the personal creation of the individual and may therefore be unique to that person. A contrast that one person finds meaningful may not be so for another. For example, one may have a construct of ‘strong v weak’, whereas another may have a construct of ‘strong v gentle’. If we really want to understand another person, we need to listen for the meanings that constructs have for that individual rather than try to impose our own.

Constructs are psychological entities. We often use words to symbolise them but the words we use merely represent the construct: they are not the construct itself. Many constructs have no verbal labels. They may be non-verbal or pre-verbal.

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The fundamental postulate

Being fundamental, this postulate is not open to question. It is taken to be true for the purposes of the rest of the theory. That is not to say that it cannot be disputed. Let us make the assumption that what it states is so. This enables us to build the remainder of the theory upon it.

'A person's processes are psychologically channelised by the ways in which they anticipate events'

In our consideration of the processes of construing we have seen how psychological constructs operate through a network of pathways (channels) which has a clear structure but which is also flexible. And it is our anticipation that brings this about. Kelly continually emphasised the importance of anticipation, saying 'it is both the push and pull of the psychology of personal constructs'. A person is trying to anticipate real events. 'It is the future that tantalises us, not the past. Always we reach out to the future through the window of the present'.

These brief extracts are from A Psychology for Living
by Peggy Dalton & Gavin Dunnett.
Click here to buy this book on amazon.co.uk

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DIVERSE APPLICATIONS

The appeal of PCP in educational settings
  written by Tom Ravenette

A number of themes which Kelly put forward made an immediate impact on me and provided the inspiration to adopt a Kellyan approach to being an educational psychologist:

Behaviour as an experiment provides a way of giving a positive aspect to that which others see as a problem.

Constructive alternativism, the insistence that there is always a different way of construing events, provides a challenge to the imagination and loosens the bonds which the notion of 'cause and effect' so often creates.

No one needs to be a victim of their biography points away from the determinism of history whilst acknowledging its importance.

The implication running through the theory that importance lies in meanings rather than events, leads to evaluating a person’s history in experiential terms, thereby undercutting the view that personal history is a set of facts, each of which cuts its mark on the individual.

Kelly's simple suggestion that if you want to know, then ask, his observation that 'a pat answer is the enemy to a fresh question' (with the corollary 'a pat question is the enemy to a fresh answer') all provide ideas for an overall style of enquiry.

Overriding all this, his insistence on the provisional nature of psychological findings gives a freedom from the expectation placed upon us as 'experts' that there is a correct explanation to be found and the consequent feelings of guilt when we fail to match up to those expectations.

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The appeal of PCP in organisations
  written by Mary Frances

PCP is about all of us, all of the time - a 'psychology for living'. Its emphasis on understanding individuals in their social and cultural contexts makes PCP a particularly relevant and robust theory for application to organisational and business settings. It has been used enthusiastically by organisational psychologists, business managers, personnel and human resources specialists, and management and training consultants, to help make sense of the complexity of life in organisations.

PCP is particularly applicable in understanding more about:

• the process of individual and collective change,
• the significance of core beliefs and values, and their impact on our behaviour,
• the exploration of 'resistance' to change,
• the effects of social and hierarchic roles on communication,
• decision-making processes and how they can be improved,
• individual differences and the management of diversity,
• group processes and how to work creatively with them.

PCP is compatible with a wide range of existing tools and procedures currently used in education, training, management, and group-work.

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