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SUMMARY:The Psychology of Personal Constructs and the Repertory Grid (Inte
 rview) Technique: Methodological Reflexions and Methodical Practice - Nina
  Thieme\, Leibniz University of Hannover\, Germany.
DTSTART:20111111T090000Z
DTEND:20111111T130000Z
UID:TALK34428@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Moritz Sowada
DESCRIPTION:In this workshop\, we will start with the discussion of the Ps
 ychology of Personal Constructs which was established by George A. Kelly\,
  an American psychologist\, therapist and educator\, in 1955. His main mot
 ivation for developing this new theory of personality was a critique of th
 e paradigm of Behaviourism that dominated the psychology at that time. Whi
 le Behaviourism\, as Bannister and Fransella point out\, “sees man […]
  as a just-cleverer-than-the-average-rat” (1974\, 10) the Psychology of 
 Personal Constructs defines man as “man-the-scientist” (Kelly 1963\, 4
 ). In a nutshell\, with this metaphor Kelly links the basic assumptions of
  the Psychology of Personal Constructs which consists of the Theory of Per
 sonal Constructs and the philosophical position of Constructive Alternativ
 ism: Each “individual man formulates in his own way [so-called personal]
  constructs through which he views the world of events [and actively const
 rues reality]. As a scientist\, man seeks to predict\, and thus control\, 
 the course of events” (Kelly 1963\, 12). With regard to their accuracy a
 nd validity these personal constructs are tested continuously in different
  ways\, e.g. that man compares them with the events after they have occurr
 ed and/or “goes to one’s social context to validate one’s construing
 “ (Warren 2004\, 40) and if necessary modifies his constructions. \n\nTo
  collect these personal constructs consisting of two dichotomous poles Kel
 ly developed the Repertory Grid (Interview) Technique which we will practi
 ce in the workshop following the discussion of the theoretical basics of t
 he Psychology of Personal Constructs: “The simplest\, and probably the m
 ost [...] useful type of approach to a person’s personal constructs\, is
  to ask him [or her] to tell us what they are” (Kelly 1955\, 201). \nThe
  Repertory Grid Technique is a structured interview procedure to investiga
 te the personal constructions of reality of the interviewees. Firstly\, th
 e interviewee is asked to name so-called elements. These elements depend o
 n the object of research\, e.g. persons (politicians\, clients\, beloved p
 ersons etc.)\, things\, events and so on form such elements. In a second s
 tep\, the interviewee puts three of the collected elements together in a s
 pecific way: Two elements are construed as being alike and a third element
  is dichotomously separated from the other two. This description of the th
 ree elements with two dichotomous attributes is named the personal constru
 ct which presents a repertory from the personal construct system of the pe
 rson that contains a variety of different personal constructs to describe 
 different events and things. The elements as well as the personal construc
 ts are written down in a special worksheet\, a grid. Thirdly and lastly\, 
 if the Repertory Grid Technique is practised qualitatively (for the method
 ological argumentation see Thieme 2012)\, the interviewee is asked to expl
 ain his or her personal constructs\, e.g.\, by giving examples. These narr
 atives can be recorded and transcribed. The transcription can be used for 
 different methods of interpretation.\n\n*References*\n* Bannister\, Don & 
 Fransella\, Fay 1974\, Inquiring Men. The Theory of Personal Constructs\, 
 London\, Reading & Fakenham: Cox & Wyman.\n* Kelly\, George A. 1955\, The 
 Psychology of Personal Constructs. Volume One. A Theory of Personality\, N
 ew York: Norton & Company.\n* Kelly\, Georg A. 1963\, A Theory of Personal
 ity. The Psychology of Personal Constructs\, New York & London: Norton & C
 ompany.\n* Thieme\, Nina 2012\, Kategorisierung in der Kinder- und Jugendh
 ilfe. Zur theoretischen und empirischen Erklärung eines Schlüsselbegriff
 s professionellen Handelns\, Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschafte
 n.\n* Warren\, Bill 2004\, Construing constructionism: some reflections on
  the tension between pcp and social constructionism\, in: Personal Constru
 ct Theory & Practice\, Volume 1\, Issue 2\, pp. 34 – 44.\n
LOCATION:Room 2S8\, Donald McIntyre Building\, Faculty of Education\, 184 
 Hills Road\, Cambridge
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