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This dissertation has been microiiimed exactly as received 66-1790 HINKLE, Dennis Neil, 1935- THE CHANGE OF PERSONAL CONSTRUCTS FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF A THEORY OF CONSTRUCT IMPLICATIONS. The Ohio State University, Ph,D., 1965 Psychology, general University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan

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Page 1: The change of personal constructs from the viewpoint of a theory of construct implications

This dissertation has been microiiimed exactly as received 66-1790

HINKLE, Dennis Neil, 1935- THE CHANGE OF PERSONAL CONSTRUCTS FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF A THEORY OF CONSTRUCT IMPLICATIONS.

The Ohio State University, Ph,D., 1965 Psychology, general

University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan

Page 2: The change of personal constructs from the viewpoint of a theory of construct implications

THE CHANGE OF PERSONAL CONSTRUCTS FROM THE

VIEWPOINT Or A THEORY OF N

CONSTRUCT IMPLICATIONS

Dissertation

Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of

The Ohio State University

by

Dennis Neil Hinkle, B.A., M«A,

The Ohio State University

1965

Approved by

Adviser Department of Psychology

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Acknowîedgmshtâ

The author would like to acknowledge a profound sense of gratitude

for the inspiration provided by his adviser, Dr. George A, Kelly. By so

doing, the author Joins those legions which for decades will acknowledge

the ir indebtedness to th is patient prophet.

The many fine hours of conversation with Dr. Don Bannister and

Mr. Ralph Cebulla and the in te res t of Ed Moore and Jack Adams-Webber

were much appreciated.

Finally , i t was my wife, Joyce, who made th is experience possible.

i i

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter Page

I. INTRODUCTION'. T ......................... ...................................... 1

II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ............................................ 5

I I I . A FORMAL THEORY OF CONSTRUCT IMPLICATIONAND CHANGE........................... ........................................... 15

Background and in i t ia l formulation . . . . . . 15

C o ro l la r ie s ........................... 19

Terms .......................................................................... 22

The In i t ia l formulation of a theory ofconstruct change ....................................................... 25

IV. PROCEDURE, INSTRUMENTS, SCORING, ANDSPECIFIC EXPERIMENTAL PREDICTIONS ........................... 28

Introduction and general hypotheses ................ 28

S u b j e c t s ............................................................... 29

Procedure .............................................................. 30

Scoring .............................................................. 40

The hypotheses stated operationally...................... 44

V. RESULTS........................................................................ 46

VI. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH . 54

VII. A BRIEF AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE PRESENT RESEARCH . . 67

VIII. SUMMARY............................................................................ . 74

APPENDIX ............................................................................................... 75

Instructions ........................................................... 76Data ........................................................... 79

BIBLIOGRAPHY.......................................................................... 107

A utobiography ............................................................................. . 113

i i i

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Ockham's razor Is a sharp and bloody Instrument, In the surgical

excision of complexity, the u se r 's unsteady hand a l l too often leaves

the t issue of oversimplification as well as that of simplicity. In the

meantime, human lives hang in the balance while "heaters” debate the

merits of the ir respective«and respectable-microscopic perspectives.

Dr. Don Bannister (Visiting Professor, The Ohio State University, Spring,

1965; personal communication) recently made the observation that in a l l

other sciences except psychology, a s c ie n t i s t 's explanation for a given

phenomenon Is considerably more complex than the layman's explanation

for the same phenomenon. The continuation of a rapacious reductlonlsm

in psychological theorizing with Its resulting psychology of minimal

men w il l , however, be rejected as being an Inferior explanation by lay­

men, who assuredly have the good sense and wisdom to do so. Professor

George A, Kelly's Psychology of Personal Constructs, however, has as

i t s s ta r ting point the complex personal constructions of a man's out­

look on the vjorld. I t a lso has the audacity of being se lf-re flex ive;

that Is , I t applies to psychologists and th e ir psychologizing as well

as to those who are psychologized, i t s focus of convenience concerns a

human being's anticipations of the a lterna tive constructions of his l i f e ,

i t has as i t s psychotherapeutic goal constructive psychological movement.

1

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It assumes that a man is not condemned by his past history. As such, i t

aspires to be "a psychology of the optimal man"—not the minimal man,

but the optimal man.—man in the process of being human (37)«

The ex p lic i t ly stated model of Man from the viewpoint of personal

construct theory Is Man, the s c ie n t is t . —one who predicts, wagers, an tic-

:ipates, expects, and implies, for the purpose of further predicting,

wagering, an tic ipa ting , expecting, and-ImH^Ing, The philosophy of

constructive a lternativism , upon which personal construct theory is

based, says that the model of Man as a sc ien t is t is but one of the pos­

sib le a lterna tive constructions of Han. Personal construct theory,

therefore, does not limit i t s e l f to the passing of judgments about what

a man is , but rather i t focuses on what a man is trying to be and the

process of his becoming, that is , the process of constructive psycholog­

ical movement.

It is the process of the changing of personal constructs—recon­

struction and psychological movement—that is the primary concern of

th is d isse rta tion . The main question asked is "What determines the

re la tive resistance to change of personal constructs?" In addition to

some relevant empirical findings with respect to th is question, the

following contributions are also offered:

1. An in i t ia l formulation of a theory of construct implication.

Briefly , th is theory develops the idea that construct d e fin i­

tion must involve a statement of the location of a construct

dimension in the context of a hierarchic#! n e t w o r k construct

Implications, Here, "implication," "prediction," "an tic ipa tion ,"

and "expectation" are regarded as being synonymous terms. The

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3

theory wîll o ffer some ten tative defin itions of personal

construct theory terms from the viewpoint of an implicative

network of construct relations» From th is viewpoint, con­

s truc ts will be regarded as having only one charac te ris tic ,

qua lity , or property; namely, a construct has d iffe ren tia l

implIcat ions in a given hierarchical context»

2, Construct implication methodology. This research concerns

i t s e l f with the re la tive resistance to change of personal

constructs in a hierarchical context from the viewpoint of

a theory of construct implications. The following three

methodologies will be presented;

a« The hierarchical method for the e l ic i ta t io n of superor­

dinate constructs. This was developed to te s t several

hypotheses about the hierarchical level of superordina­

tion of constructs.

b. The re la tive resistance to slo t change grid. Since the

resistance to change of personal constructs is to be

the major dependent variable of the study, th is tech­

nique represents the procedure that operationally defines

th is variable,

c . The implication grid . This procedure presents, in sys­

tematic form, the network of inpllcations that re la te a

set of constructs in a given hierarchical context.

Much will be said of I t la te r .

3. Questions and suggestions for further research. The general

approach of th is Investigation has raised a host of theoretical,

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4

methodological, and empirical questions» Hopefully, the

reader will find these to be the most significant "resu lts"

of th is d issertation .

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CHAPTER il

REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

In view of the intentions of th is research as se t forth in the

f i r s t chapter, th is review will be limited to those studies conducted

within the context of personal construct theory which re la te to the

general area of construct change. The d isserta tions of Landfield (40)

and Levy (46) provide relevant reviews fran other orientations. Levy,

for example, includes research from information tteory , experimental

extinction, discrimination learning, intolerance of ambiguity, and

rig id ity . The body of personal construct theory research was reviewed

and relevant studies were selected with the following two c r i te r ia in

mind: (1) The constructs investigated or u t il ized in the research

should be theore tically related to construct change. (2) The research

should be capable of being interpreted in the light of a theory of the

network of construct implications and should be suggestive of further

research along these lines.

Several of the various measures derived from the grid form of

the Rep Test which re la te to reconstruction are measures of constel-

la to riness , permeability, and propositionality , Bennion (2) and

Levy (46) were concerned with the e ffec ts of invalidation on prepo­

sitional and consteilatory constructs. They operationally defined

constellatory constructs as those which were s ignificantly loaded on

5

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6

the general factor of a conventional analysis of the Repgrid. Flynn

(7) Investigated construct constellatoriness and cognitive complexity

as related to role v a riab il i ty . He used the explanatory power of the

f i r s t construct fac tor as a measure of cognitive complexity and defined

the degree of constellatory structure as the explanatory power of the

f i r s t figure factor on a Repgrid modification* He found that role

v a r ia b il i ty vBs s ign ifican tly related to construct conste lla toriness ,

but not to cognitive complexity*

In terms of a theory of construct implication, constellatoriness

refers to the re la tion between a given construct and others such that

a polar position on the given construct Implies polar positions on the

other constructs# Pre-emptiveness, from th is frame of refernece, means

tha t a position on the given construct implies those poles of the other

constructs upon which an element is not to be located, e ither because

the element is outside the range of convenience of the other construct,

or because the element is to be located on the opposite pole of the

other construct, i . e . , a prior constellatory relationship , e .g . ,

"Psychologists are useful, not hyperbolic, and not i l l e r a t e ." What

we mean by the degree of constellatoriness or pre-emptiveness presents

an Interesting question. The contrast of constellatoriness and pre­

emptiveness would seem to be propositionality; however, these terms

can perhaps more usefully be seen as the extremes of a continuum which

delineates the degree of certa in ty—expressed as a probability function-

as to the u t i l i t y of Implying, or pre-emtively not Implying, certain

construct relationships in terms of the principle of maximizing the

to ta l number of construct Implications within the personal construct

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system. Propositions! thinking thus implies a suspension of judgment

( l , e , , a superordinate construction) as to the implicative gain of

each of the a lte rna tive patterns of construction under consideration,

Constellatoriness and pre-emptiveness indicate an expectation of high

probability that certa in patterns of construction will increase the

to ta l implicativeness of the system more than others. Proposition­

a l i t y , conste lla toriness , and pre-emptiveness are thus not seen as

a quality of a single construct, but rather, as the probabilistic

superordinate an ticipation of the to ta l implicative gain that would

resu lt i f tv» or more construct dimensions were placed in an implica­

tive relationship to one another. It is a superordinate statement

about the probable u t i l i t y of a given implicative network. When

—defined in th is manner, a construct network may be e ith e r preposi­

tional or constella tory . The Repgrid defin itions of constella toriness

used by Bennion, Levy and Flynn are based on the principle of frequency

of conjunction; thus, i f a wide variety of objects were to be entered

on the Repgrid as figures, and constructs of color, shape, height,

weight, and hardness were e l ic i te d , and if most of the objects were

construed as heavy, hard, short, chartreuse, parallelepipedons, then,

fay the principle of frequent conjunction, these constructs v»uld be

said to be constella tory , in th is example constella toriness is

c learly a function of the population sample. To say, therefore,

that these particu lar constructs imply one another Is a most tenuous

assumption—although not an altogether unreasonable one. In view

of th is , the Implication grid technique developed In th is d isse r ta ­

tion provides a promising means of exploring the general problem of

constella toriness and propositionality of personal constructs.

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8

The constructs of permeability and range of convenience are

theore tically related to construct change, Binner (4) and Gettesman

(8) allov^d people to mark a zero on the Repgrid if neither construct

nor contrast could be applied on a figure, and used th is as a measure

of permeability—impermeability. Hess (10) used the same operation

as a measure of the range of convenience of the constructs. This

suggests tha t perhaps I t would be more useful to define a permeable

construct as one whose range of convenience is re la tive ly unexplored.

Once i t s range of convenience has been fu lly elaborated and c la r if ied ,

i t becomes impermeable. According to the theory of the present

research, the convenience—or inconvenience—of rela ting constructs

Is a function of the effects such a relation would have on the

respective Implicative networks of each of the constructs. For

example, if I combine a geometrical and a zoological construct and

come up with a parabolic toad—the offspring of an exponential

mother and a hyperbolic father—then my problem in assessing the

implicative u t i l i t y of such a union consists of finding points of

compatible implications. What does the meaning of toads say about

the meaning of parabolas, and vice versa? By contrast, where are

the points of compatible sim ilarity between the implications of the

constructs of roundness and b i l l ia rd balls? Or cubical b i l l ia rd

balls? Or compassionate psychological research?

The meaning of th is toad fe t ish for the present investigation

is somewhat obscure, so le t us return to the c it ing of scripture.

The studies of Isaacson (13) and Cromell and Caldwell (6) reported

that ratings on personal constructs were significantly more extreme

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than on provided constructs. These resu lts could be predicted from a

theory of construct implications i f the d ifferen tia l implications of

personal constructs is shown to be significantly greater than the

implications of provided constructs. That is to say, i t would be

more important to resolve constructions! ambivalence on constructs

of high Implicative significance»-due to the greater threat potential

of misconstruction—than on constructs of low significance.

Resnlck and Landfield (54) in th e ir investigation of the

Dichotomy Corollary distinguished between logical dichotomous con­

struc ts (e .g . , mature— immature) and peculiar dichotomous constructs

(e .g . , in te l l ig en t—bad). This suggests that peculiar dichotomous

constructs represent a highly constellatory relationship between two

constructs (e .g . , in te l l ig en t—stupid and good—bad), A way of testing

to see whether peculiar constructs represent a relationship of two

construct dimensions would be to ask the subject whether a l l events

which are described by the negation of one pole of the construct must

necessarily be described by the opposite pole of that construct.

Validation, invalidation, range of convenience, type and length

of social in teraction , focus of a tten tion of the construer, perceived

self-movement, constella toriness , propositionality , and h o s t i l i ty are

dimensions which have been u til ized in the various investigations of

the Experience Corollary, This corollary stated that a person's

construction system varies as he successively construes the replica­

tions of events. These investigations are , therefore, relevant to

the general problems of construct change.

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ÎO

Bîerî (3) and Lundy (48) assessed the effects of social In ter­

action on construction, in a la te r study Lundy (49) specified other

dimensions determining the d irection of change in interpersonal per­

ception, He demonstrated a relationship between incorporation and

d iffe ren tia t ion (focus of a tten tion upon one se lf or upon another

person) and the notions of assim ilatlve pro lection end differentia!

accuracy. It may be tha t these studies were pinning down some of

the possible superordinate construction^ about the process of con­

struing another, e .g . , "He is like me; unlike me. How do i see him;

how does he see me; how does he see himself; how do I see my re la ­

tionship to him; h%f does he see I t ; how does he see the way t see

our re la tionship—or myself—or him, e tc .?"

Poch (53) investigated the sh if t change of constructs (change

from one dimension to another) and found that such change was

greater for invalidated constructs than for validated ones. Newman

(51) measured construct change by the amount of element (Repgrid

figures) switching on various construct dimensions. Among other

things, he found that change—defined in th is way—was more likely

following invalidation on those constructs along which one perceives

himself to be moving in time than on the stable se lf-constructs .

Using the implication grid technique, one would expect to find that

the se If-movement constructs would imply s ign ifican tly fewer changea

on other constructs under conditions of s lo t change than would be the

case with the stable se lf constructs. The general hypothesis here is

that change of subordinate implications (element switching) Is

fa c i l i ta te d by s tab il iz ing the superordinate implications of a

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î î

construct» For example, i t would be more threatening to say to a

beginning the rap is t , "You don 't understand what your patient is trying

to t e l l you" than I t would be to say "You show signs of making a fine

and sensitive c lin ic ian , but right now you don't understand what your

patient is trying to t e l l you," This seems to be an important princi­

ple which needs to be experimentally demonstrated.

In addition to the above-mentioned threat interpretation of

Newman's study, i t Is also likely that the stable self constructs are

those along which movement is limited by the absence of an elaborated

a lte rn a tiv e , i . e . , anxiety. Thus, movement on stab le se lf constructs

may be limited by e ithe r extensive implicative invalidation—threa t—

or the absence of an elaborated a lte rna tive—anxjetjr. The converse

should a lso be true for the se if-movement constructs.

The general princip le of maximizing the to ta l number of implica­

tions within a construct system can also be related to the studies of

Bieri (3) and Lemcke (45). The Bieri generalization gradient—also

supported by Lemcke*s d isse r ta t io n—indicates that the generalization

of construct change does not follow the c lassical generalization

gradient as found In conditioning studies . Invalidation of a construct

tends to s ta b il iz e those constructs which are most similar to i t . This

e ffec t could be accounted for by a theory of construct implications if

i t is shown th a t the sim ilarity of constructs is d irec tly related to

the degree of interrelatedness of th e ir implicative networks. Thus,

when invalidation of a construct threatens an Implicative network with

invalidation, s tab il iza tion of similar constructs will function to

preserve the implicative u t i l i t y of the threatened netvsrk to which

they are re la ted . For example, if being e ither a productive researcher

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M

or an e ff ic ie n t therapis t implies one's usefulness as a psychologist,

then invalidation of one of these c r i te r ia will probably lead a per­

son to in i t ia te a s tab iliz ing strategy with respect to the other in

order to maintain the conception of himself as being a useful

psychologist. Is not th is strategy reflected in the profession today?

The relationship of these hypotheses to research in the f ie ld of cog­

nitive dissonance is probably clear enough to require no elaboration.

The implication grid provides a promising means for testing these

notions.

The paper by Howard and Kelly (12)—based on Howard's d isse r ta ­

tion (11)—argued th a t cl^nges in a person's behavior must follow his

construing of the change. This follows from the Fundamental Postulate

of personal construct theory. In terms of implications, th is says that

a person cannot move along meaningless dimensions and that he therefore

cannot behave meaninglessly.

The previously cited work of Levy (4?) reported that a f te r

high invalidation reconstruction was greater on constellatory con­

struc ts (defined by high loading on the f i r s t Rep te s t fac to r) , and

that with increasing Invalidation the increase of change for constella­

tory constructs was greater than the increase of change for the prop-

iwsitional ones. He also hypothesized tha t under conditions of low

Invalidation change of prepositional constructs would be greater than

change of constellatory constructs, Tl% resu lts were in the predicted

direc tion , but did not reach significance. Bennion (2/ was also

interested in th is sane problem. Interestingly, he found consistent

individual differences in that some subjects resisted change on

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13

constellatory constructs, while others resisted change on proposi t Iona1

ones* While Landfield (40,41,42,44) was concerned with a movement

Interpretation of th rea t rather than the constellatory problem, his

work—along with the research of Levy and Bennion=>»can be interpreted

in light of construct implications* From th is frame of reference,

psychological movement—construct change—will be resisted when such

a change is anticipated as leading to an insninent comprehensive

reduction of the to ta l number of predictive implications of the personal

construct system ( th rea t) , or as creating a re la tive absence of pre­

d ictive implications rela ting to the events with which one is con­

fronted (anxiety). Stated in i ts non-defensive form, th is is the

corollary that a person always changes in that d irection which he

anticipates will maximize the to ta l number of predictive implications

in his system* This can be accomplished by e ith e r the expansion or

c la r if ica t io n (definition) of his system, or both, Landfield, among

other things, found that a person tends to perceive as threatening

those people who are as he was in the past but no longer wishes to be

and who expect him to be as he was In the past but no longer wishes to

be»and tha t the individual will perceive himself as being less predict­

able to himself in social relationships Involving threatening acquaintances

than in those involving non-threatening acquaintances. This suggests

an Inferential Incompatibility between a rejected past se lf construc­

tion and a person's present or future construction of himself, such

that acceptance of the past construction Is anticipated to create a

reduction or absence of predictive implications.

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Î4

i t is a lso assumed that when a construct subsystem is validated,

invalidated, or found that i t s range of convenience does not cover the

events In question, then th is same determination can also be applied

to those superordinate constructs which governed the process of con­

structing the subsystem in question. Constellatoriness and proposi­

t io n a l i ty are regarded as being one class of such superordinate con­

struc tions, and not as qua lit ie s of particu lar construct dimensions.

The constructions which determine the process of construing for various

people constitu te a v i ta l research area. It is hoped that modifications

of the implication grid will be useful in these areas.

Finally, with reference to Landfield's paper (43) on the close­

ness of opposites—reaction formation, extreme behavioral transformation,

e t c . , as considered from the point of view of personal construct theory,

the above elaborated implication hypotheses would lead one to predict

that behavioral transformation (s lo t movement) would occur only on

those constructs which have well elaborated networks of Implications

for both poles of the construct. Indexing the Implications of each

pole of constructs w ill f a c i l i t a t e d iffe ren tia l predictions with

respect to the d irection and ease of psychological reconstruction.

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CHAPTER III

A FORMAL THEORY OF CONSTRUCT IMPLICATION AND CHANGE

This chapter presents the background and in i t ia l formulation of a

theory of construct implications, defines various coro llaries and terms,

and f in a l ly applies the formulation to the problem of construct change.

Background and in i t ia l formulation

This theory of construct implication arose In response to three

observations. The f i r s t concerned the visual representation of construct

subsystems. Kelly represents a construct as a s tra igh t line with a dot

or small c irc le a t each end. A subsystem consists of an unconnected

c lu s te r of such representations a t various angles to one another in

space. Perhaps due to an electronics background, I had tended to

v isualize subsystems In terms of three dimensional binary interconnected

c i rc u i ts and drew them in the form of three dimensional genealogical

tab les . The second issue concerned the conceptualization of constella­

toriness and propositionality . Kelly (15, p. Î5S) writes "A construct

which permits i t s elonents to belong to other realms concurrently, but

fixes th e ir realm membership, may be called a constellatory construct"

and "A construct which leaves i t s elements open to construction in a ll

other respects may be called a prepositional construct," The degree

of constella toriness of a construct seemed to me—by analogy—to be

something akin to the strength of a magnetic f ie ld eminating from each

15

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16

pole of a construct. The greater a pole 's f ie ld strength, the

greater the number of constructs which clustered around I t , Also by

analogy, the looseness and tightness of constructs seemsito have some­

thing to do with the e la s t ic i ty of the line which separated the poles.

The third issue dealt with construct defin ition , A superordinate

construct “ is one which Includes another as one of the elements In Its

context"; a subordinate construct " Is one which Is Included as an

element In the context of another" (Kelly, p. 532). With the exception

of the constructs a t the top and bottom of a hierarchy, a l l other con­

struc ts are both superordinate and subordinate. Also, If a construct

can be loose or t ig h t , permeable or impermeable, prepositional or

constellatory from time to tin®, what then defInes a construct? This

constitu tes the essential point of departure for th is d isserta tion .

For Kelly, propos!t io n a l l ty , pre-emptiveness, constella toriness,

looseness, tightness, permeability, impermeability, e tc . , are qua lit ies

or properties of a given construct. The only unchangeable quality of

a construct is I ts dichotomous nature. Now, what If we accept the

Dichotomy Corollary, but re jec t these other notions as being con­

struc t q u a li t ie s , how then can they be usefully defined? This will

be discussed shortly.

According to Construct Theory, the function of a construct

is an tic ipation . The Choice Corollary indicates tha t we anticipate

events (e .g . , other constructs) in order to expand or c la r ify our

systen of an ticipa tions. Thus, construct theory assumes that a per­

son always chooses those constructions which he anticipa tes will

maximize the to ta l number of anticipations within his personal construct

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17

systen. The Fundamental Postulate Indicates that a person's system

of anticipations psychologically channelizes his anticipatory proe-

:esses--h ls construing. The epistomologlcal basis of th is theory

implies that constructs always an tic ipa te or subsume other constructs,

not things=in=themselves. Thus, the theory being formulated focuses

on construct an ticipations.

In the present theory, the term "implication" has been substi­

tuted for "an tic ipa tion ." A polar position on a given dichotomus

construct implies polar positions on certain constructs, and th is

polar position may, in turn, also be Implied by polar positions on

other constructs. The construct positions which a given construct

implles are called the superordinate implIcations of tha t construct;

when the polar positions on the given construct are fmplied by posi­

tions on other constructs—either singularly or in combination (d is­

junction or conjunction)—these construct relationships are called

the subordinate implications of the given construct. I t follows that

the defin ition (c la rif ica tion ) of a construct would require a s ta te ­

ment of both the subordinate and superordinate implications of each

of i t s poles. Such a de fin ition—in context—Is called the range of

implication of tha t construct. I t is the sum of the subordinate and

superordinate ranges of implication. The to ta l number of implications

in the range of implication of a construct could be used as a measure

of the meaningful ness of that construct. The subordinate range of

Implication provides a measure of th& level of superordination of a

construct. The range of convenience of a construct (Kelly, p. 137)

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18

covers a l l those contexts In which the user found i t s application useful.

In contrast, the range of implication of a construct is an Index of the

extensiveness of I ts subordinate and superordinate network of implica­

tions in a given context. It would thus be possible to Investigate

the ranges (plural) of implication for a given construct In various

contexts.

Let us now turn our a tten tion b riefly to the various forms of

implication between two constructs; for example, construct A=B and

construct X-Y. A wide variety of specific implicative combinations

are possible, but four commonly observed patterns are the p a ra l le l ,

orthogonal, reciprocal, and ambiguous forms, which are described as

follows;

1. P a ra l le l ; A implies X and B implies Y. (e .g . , love—hate;

pleasantness—unpleasantness).

2. Orthogonal; A implies X, but B does not imply Y; also A

Implies X and B implies X, but neither implies Y. (e .g . , employed-

unemployed; has income—has no income). Also, good—bad; e v a lu a t iv e -

objective),

3« Reciprocal : A implies X and B implies V and X Implies A and

Y Implies B, ( e .g . , nervous—calm; tense—relaxed). This kind of a

relationship suggests a functional equivalence of the construct labels.

The significance of reciprocal Implications in terms of a factor

analysis of the implication grid will be discussed in Chapter Yl.

4 . Ambiguous; A and B Imply X, and B implies Y; a lso A Implies

X and Y, and B implies X and Y. One subject, for example, when re la t ­

ing desirable—undesirable and real ism—ideal ism, said tha t realism

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19

and Idealism both Implied desirable and undesirable aspects for him.

Conflict theory and double-bind theory re la te to these Implicative

dtlengnas. Such situations seem to result fran (1) an incomplete ab­

straction of the differences between the contexts In which the construct

was used: or (2) In the case of the example abovs—the subject used

one construct label for tvio Independent constructs, e .g . , real Ism -

Ideal ism in the sense of tes ting ldeas~not tes ting Ideas and realism—

Idealism In the sense of not having goals—having goals. When c la r i ­

f ied , the subject could then re la te each of these usages of real ism -

ideal Ism to desirable—undesIrable in the unambiguous parallel form,

in th is sense psychological movement, conflic t resolution, and Insight

depend on the locating of such points of ambiguous Implication and the

resolving of them into paralle l or orthogonal forms.

The logical combinations of poles, number of implications, and

direction of Implications suggest other forms, but th is will suffice

to Indicate the te r r i to ry opening up for th is aspect of construct

theory research.

Corollaries

So fa r we have said that constructs are dichotomus, i . e . , have

d iffe ren tia l implications, and each pole has a subordinate and super­

ordinate range of Implication of the various forms described in a given

context of usage. The range of convenience of a construct refers to

the number of contexts In which I t has been found to be useful, i t is

essential to maintain the d is tinc tion betwen the symbol of a construct

{verbal labels, e tc ,) and the construct I ts e lf in a given context.

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20

The indexing of the range of implications is regarded as a necessary

feature of construct defin ition . In view of these notions, le t us

now review several of the eleven basic corollaries of personal con­

s truc t theory (Kelly, p. 103).

!e Organization Corollary: "Each person charac te ris tica lly

evolves, for his convenience In anticipating events, a construction

system embracing ordinal relationships between constructs." This

says that construct implication is typically unidirectional, e .g . ,

A implies X, but X does not imply A. Constructs will therefore vary

with respect to the number of constructs implying them and the number

of constructs which they imply. I t should be noted that constructs

may be used e ither conjunctively or disjunctively to imply a polar

position on a given construct, e .g . , A and B together imply X, but

neither A nor B alone implies X; and e ither A, or B, or both, imply X,

2. Range Corollary: "A construct is convenient for the a n t ic i ­

pation of a f in i t e range of events only." That is , polar positions

on a given construct are implied by a f in i t e number of polar positions

on other constructs. This has been called i t s subordinate ranges of

implication. The superordinate ranges of implication of a construct

are similarly res tr ic ted ,

3, Choice Corollary: "A person chooses for himself tha t a l t e r ­

native in a dichotomized construct through which he anticipates the

greater poss ib ili ty for extension and defin ition of his system." Since

e i th e r extension or defin ition resu lts in an increased number of

implications, the Corollary can be reworded to s ta te that a person

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21

chooses for himself tha t a lte rna tive in a dichotomized construct through

which he an tic ipa tes the greater poss ib ili ty for increasing the to tal

number of Implications of his system. That is to say, a person always

chooses in that direction which he antic ipa tes will Increase the to tal

meaning and significance of his l i f e . State in the defensive form, a

person chooses so as to avoid the anxiety of chaos and She despair of

absolute certa in ty . This corollary of maximizing the to ta l number of

predictive implications in one's personal implicative network provides

the theoretical basis for the present d isserta tion ,

4. Fragmentation Corollary: "A person may successively employ a

variety of construct subsystems which are in feren tia lly incompatible

with each o ther .” In view of the Choice Corollary discussed above,

th is suggests that inferential incompatibilities will be resolved

only when such a resolution is anticipated to maximize the to tal

implicativeness of the personal construct system. This highlights the

v ita l importance of the personal constructions about the process of

construing for the general problem of construct change.

5. Modulation Corollary: "The variation in a person's con­

struction system is limited by the permeability of the constructs

within whose range of convenience the variants l i e . " A construct

is permeable " i f i t will admit to i t s range of convenience new

elements which are not yet construed within i t s framework" (Kelly,

p. 79)« Thus, permeabi 1 i ty—"the capacity to embrace new elements"

(Kelly, p. 80)—represents the yet unexplored range of convenience of

a construct* From the viewpoint of construct implications permeability

is equivalent to inferential compatibility. Thus, the varia tion in a

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22

person*s construction system is limited by the inferential compatibil­

ity between the variants and those constructs within whose range of

convenience the variants l ie . (The variation is also limited in

accord with the principle of maximizing the to ta l implicativeness

of the construct system.)

Terms

This in i t ia l formulation of a theory of construct implication

a lso suggests a number of ten tative defin itions of various other per­

sonal construct theory terms:

I . A construct. Earlier we indicated that construct de fin i­

tion should include a statement of the subordinate and superordinate

implications of the construct. The problem here is how much can these

implications change from context to context before the identity of the

construct is lost? Essentially , a construct is a specific basis for

d if fe ren tia l an ticipations or responses. Since a given construct

symbol may represent a variety of specific bases (constructs), i t is

important tha t a construct and i t s symbol not be equated. For

example, what a person considers to be “honest" in the context of

criminals may be vastly d iffe ren t from “honest" in the context of in­

timate friends. Since the subordinate and superordinate implications

of “honest—dishonest" could be expected to d if fe r widely between

these two contexts, in what sense could we say that the same construct

is being used in each situation? The trans-contextual identity of a

construcf can perhaps be defined as the points of Identical subordinate

and superordinate Implications. For example, if in context X, A, B,

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23

and C Imply honesty, and honesty Implies I , 2, and 3 while in context

Y, A, D, and E imply honesty, and honesty implies 1, 4, and 5, then the

trans-contextual identity of honesty consists of A and 1. This defin­

ition is defin ite ly a ten tative one,

2. Looseness-tightnessa, This refers to the va riab il i ty of the

predictions made from a construct, A loose construct can be defined

as one whose superordinate Implications, or subordinate implications,

or both, vary from context to context, e .g . , i t s c lass!fleet Ion c r i te r ia

and/or i t s significance may vary. Notice that i t is possible to loosen

or tighten independently e ither the superordinate Implications or the

subordinate implications, as well as to loosen or tighten both. Thus,

I t is possible for a person to be loose about what constructs imply

one's position on a given construct and tigh t about what that position

implies—or vice versa-“Or both. Defined In th is way looseness-tightness

describes the extent of v a riab il i ty or construct relationships and not

qu a li t ie s of a particu lar construct. This defin ition is also ten tative

and needs refInement—especially in terms of the lim its that inferential

compatibility places on loosening and tightening and the maintenance of

the trans-contextual identity of constructs,

3. Subordinate and superordinate constructs. In an implicative

relationship between two constructs that construct which implies polar

positions on the other construct is called the subordinate construct;

that construct whose polar positions are implied by the other construct

is called the superordinate construct.

4. Core and peripheral constructs. This d is tinc tion separates

constructs according to the net loss of the to ta l number of Implications

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24

which would resu lt If the construct dimension were to be removed

from the construct system. Peripheral constructs are those whose

e l ifflînation—or addition—v«îuld not appreciably a l t e r the implies^

t îve u t i l i t y of the system.

5. Permeabi11 tv— impermeabi1i ty . The permeability of a con­

s truc t refers to t te number of new constructs with which i t Is found

to be in feren tia lly compatible. In th is sense, i t is the yet unex­

plored range of convenience of a construct.

6. Prepositionality . constellatorlness and pre-emptIveness.

This has been previously discussed a t greater length in Chapter I t .

With respect to the principle of maximizing the to ta l significance of

the construct system, these terms refer to the degree of certain ty one

has about the implicative u t i l i t y of rela ting (or not re la ting—in the

pre-emptive case) certain construct dimensions. As such, they are

superordinate constructs about various construct networks and not

q u a li t ie s of particu lar constructs. Prepositional thinking means th a t

one has suspended judgment about the ultimate significance of the

various construct patterns under consideration. Constel la to ri ness and

pre-emptiveness mean that such a judgment has been rendered. One may

frequently re la te certain construct dimensions either because one Is

certa in of the u t i l i t y of the particu lar relationship, or because no

a lte rna tive relationships have yet been envisioned.

7. Anxiety. Anxiety Is the awareness of the re la tive absence

of implications with respect to the constructs with which one is con­

fronted.

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^58, Threat. Threat can be seen as the awareness ( e ,g , , a super-

ordinate construction and anticipation about the construct system) cf

an 1m inent comprehensive reduction of the to tal number of predictive

implications of the personal construct system, Landfield (40), for

example, using a content approach to th rea t, found—airong other things—

that the po ss ib il i ty of accepting a rejected past se lf construction vras

threatening. The acceptance of a rejected past se lf construction would

not leave a person without predictive implications, but—presumably--

the person an tic ipates tha t the acceptance of the rejected construction

would resu lt in a net reduction of the to ta l number of predictive im­

plications as compared with his present implicative network due to the

Inferential incompatibilities between the past and present se lf con­

structions. Threat, then, is the anticipation of a net implicative

loss, (in addition, the construction of one^s construct system as

e ithe r having suffered a substan tia l, unalterable Implicative loss, or

as being no longer expandable, might provide a useful basis for a

theory of depression.)

The in i t ia l formulation of a theory of construct change

Within the general context of personal construct change, three

types of change can be delineated. Shift change refers to a change

from one construct dimension to another, e .g . , viewing a person along

a mature—iRgnature dimension, then sh ifting to an honest—dishonest

dimension. The change from one a lterna tive of a dichetcmus construct

to the other a lte rna tive is called slo t change, e .g . , viewing a person

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26

as mature, then regarding him as immature. Scalar change is a slo t

change in the magnitude used to describe a construct a lte rna tive , e .g . ,

less mature and more mature in contrast to immature. The focus of

convenience of th is d isse rta tion concerns the slo t change of personal

constructs.

From the viewpoint of construct implications, the Choice Corol­

lary says that a person chooses for himself that a lterna tive in a

dichotomized construct through which he anticipates the greater possi­

b i l i ty for increasing the to ta l number of implications of his system.

Thus, a person would re s is t movement in the direction of reduced impli­

cativeness (threat) or the re la tive absence of implications (anxiety).

The Modulation Corollary indicates tha t the variation In a person's

construction system Is limited by the inferential compatibility between

the variants and those constructs within whose range of convenience the

variants lie* I t follows, then, that s lo t movement would be more

likely to occur on those constructs that have a similar number of

implications for each pole and for which each set Is equally compatible

with the res t of the construct system than would be the case for con­

s truc ts of a markedly unequal number of polar implications, or con­

s truc ts for which the acceptance of one of the sets of polar implicaé

tions would lead to extensive inferential incompatibilities in terms

of the re s t of the system. Also, s lo t imvement is more probably on

constructs of few polar Implications, because the anticipated threat

and anxiety would be correspondingly less.

The Organization Corollary says that construct implication is

typically un id irectional, tha t is , constructs on me level imply the

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27

polar positions of constructs a t the next level and these constructs

in turn imply polar positions on constructs a t a s t i l l higher level,

and so on, so as to form construct hierarchies. The higher up the

hierarchy a construct is located, the greater will be the number of

Implications in I ts subordinate range of implications, e .g . , the more

constructs th a t will be needed to define I ts polar positions. Thus,

If one knows his polar position on a construct functioning a t a high

level of superordination, then he can also probably an tic ipate his

polar positions on the wide variety of subordinate constructs which

imply that position. That is , the polar positions of a superordinate

construct can be used to monitor probab&Wsticaliy the polar positions

of constructs within i ts subordinate range of implication. Since the

poiar positions of constructs operating a t a high ievel of superordin­

ation should have a broader range of implication. I t is expected that

they will also show a greater resistance to slo t change than constructs

functioning a t a low level on the hierarchy. This is predicted, because

the degrees of threat and anxiety are assumed to be a function of the

number of Implications available.

The re la tiv e resistance to slo t change of personal constructs

is the major dependent variable of the study discussed in the following

chapters. This will be related to the polar implications of constructs

and the ir hierarchical level. In addition to a number of issues which

will be discussed subsequently, th is study provides a te s t of the

u t i l i t y of a number of formulations which have been presented in th is

chapter, particu larly the Choice Corollary.

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CHAPTER IV

PROCEDURE, INSTRUMENTS, SCORING, AND SPECIFIC EXPERIMENTAL PREDICTIONS

Introduction and general hypotheses

The purpose of th is study was threefold; Primarily, f t attempted

to develop a methodology whereby a person could communicate aspects of

his networks of construct implications In a standardized and systematic

fashion. Hopefully, these systematic representations would then provide

a f e r t i l e basis for the generation of a number of hypotheses fo r further

research exploration. Secondly, the study would provide the Informa­

tion necessary for an Internal analysis of the charac te ris tics of the

implication grid methodology Itself* As I t turned out, many of the

Important charac ter is tics of the Implication grid had not been realized

un til a f te r the data had been collected. Finally, specific predictions

about the change of personal constructs—which had been derived from

the theory of construct impiicatlons—would be tes ted . This would

provide a demonstration of the u t i l i t y of the theory and associated

methodology.

The four general hypotheses which were derived from construct

Implication theory and investigated In th is study are as follows:

I. The re la tive resistance to s lo t change of personal constructs

will be d irec tly related to the superordinate range of implications of

those constructs. This is based on the principle of maximizing the

28

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29

to ta l liTiplicatlveriess of the system and the notion that the anticipated

degree of threat will be a d irec t function of the number of Implica­

tions Involved In the change»

2. Constructs functioning a t a higher level of superordI nation

In a hierarchical context will have a larger superordinate range of

Implications than constructs functioning a t a low level. This would

not be predicted for constructs functioning a t the highest level of

superordI netIon In a hierarchy,

3. Constructs functioning a t a higher level of superordInation

In a hierarchical context will have a larger subordinate range of

implications than constructs functioning a t a low level,

4 . Constructs functioning a t a higher level of superordination

In a hierarchical context will show a greater re la tive resistance to

s lo t change than constructs functioning a t a low level, (This

hypothesis assumes the va lid ity of hypothesis 2, above.)

Although the data permit the testing of a number of additional

hypotheses (to be elaborated In Chapter VI), these were the ones of

principal In terest In th is in i t ia l Investigation of construct Impli­

cation, The exact operational defin itions of these hypotheses will

be presented following a discussion of the general procedure, Instru­

ments, and scoring methods.

Subjects

The subjects of th is experiment were undergraduate students

taking Psychology 401, an Introductory psychology course. As part

of the course requirements,gad&student was required to partic ipa te

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30

as a subject In four hours of psychological experimentation. The sign­

up sheet for th is study stated simply that i t was a four hour extensive

personality interview; that the resu lts were completely confidential;

and that each subject would have an opportunity to have the mathemati­

cal analysis of his interview explained if hs requested i t , A to tal

of 28 people participated in t l^ experiment—II males and 17 females»

The mean age was 20 years with a range from IS to 31. Most of the

subjects were in th e ir freshman or sophomore year in college.

Procedure

1. The introduction. When a subject appeared for his "person*

a l l t y Interview," he was told tha t we were interested in having him

explain himself to us in a particu la r fashion which could la te r be

mathematically analyzed. The resu lts of the interview would be ex­

plained to him la te r i f he wished and they were completely confiden­

t i a l , He would be free to leave with the fu ll four hours of experi­

mental c red it as soon as he completed the interview, (The average

running time per subject was actually ju s t under 3 hours.) The sub­

je c t was informed tha t 5 minute breaks would be taken a f te r each

aejor section of the interview, and that breaks could be taken a t

any time the subject requested them.

2. E lic ita tion of figures. The subject was then asked to

give the f i r s t names of nine people who currently played an important

role in his l i f e and whom he knew well. Parents, siblings nearest

the subject In age, boy friends, g ir l friends, employer, and room­

mates were suggested as possible figures* The only res tr ic tions

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31

placed on the selection of figures were that the subject must have

known the person for a t least 6 months and must regard the person as

currently playing an Important part In his l i f e .

3. E lic ita tion of the ten subordinate constructs. Since the

hierarchical context used In th is study was to be the sub ject 's con­

struction of himself as he would prefer to be, tr iad s were generated

u ti l iz in g a l l nine of the e l ic i ted figures and the subject himself as

one of the elements In every tr ia d . Using the subject as an element

In each tr iad assures that the e l ic i ted constructs will be se lf re le ­

vant, In order to generate the f i r s t subordinate construct the subject

Is to ld , "We are Interested In understanding you and these people who

play an important part in your l i f e . Now think about these three

people for a moment; Yourself, (person's name), and (person's name).

Is there sane Important way In which any two of these people are

a like In contrast to the third?" The process is repeated nine more

times using new tr iads In each case. After the subject generates his

f i r s t construct, he Is asked not to repeat any construct which he

has previously given; that Is , he Is asked In e ffec t to generate ten

constructs which fo r him are clearly d ifferen t from one another.

When he has generated ten constructs using himself and a l l nine of

the figures, he Is then asked to read over the l i s t In order to

assure that none of the constructs is merely a rewording of some

other l is ted construct. I f , a f te r th i s , sane of the constructs

appear to be similar to the experimenter, the experimenter then

asks t t e subject to explain the differences between the particu lar

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32

constructs Sn question. When both the subject and the experimenter

are sa t is f ied tha t the ten e l ic i ted constructs are c learly d ifferen t

from one another, then they proceed to the next step,

4. Side preference of the subordinate constructs. The subject

is now asked to indicate which side of each construct dimension is

clearly descriptive of the kind of person he prefers to be. It is

indicated that he Is not being asked which side describes him now,

but rather which side describes his preferred self-construction.

Occasionally a construct will have no c lear side preferences ( i . e . ,

both sides preferred or neither side preferred); in th is case, new

constructs are generated from the tr iad s until the c r i t e r ia of step

3 above, and th is step are sa t is f ie d . This requirement of a clear

side preference is made in order to assure that the constructs will

have c learly d iffe ren tia l implications. These ten constructs are

entered in the implication grid as constructs 1 through 10 and con­

s t i tu te the subordinate constructs of the preferred self-construction

hierarchy.

5, The hierarchical technique for e l ic i t in g the superordinate

constructs of the preferred se lf hierarchy. The subject is now

asked to construe the superordinate implications of his subordinate

constructs. His f i r s t subordinate construct is selected and he is

instructed as follows:

"Now on th is construct you preferred th is side to tha t side.

What I want to understand now is why you would prefer to be here

rather than there (pointing). What are the advantages of th is side

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33

în contrast to the disadvantages of that side, as you see it?" The

subject will now generate a construct dimension which has a preferred

side, (Subject 4, for example, said that he preferred to be reserved

in contrast to emotional, because being reserved implied being relaxed

while emotional Implied being nervous; thus relaxed-nervous is his

f i r s t superordinate construct in the preferred se lf hierarchy,) The

subject is stopped and the same question above Is asked of the con­

struc t which he ju s t generated, (Subject 8 replied that being relaxed

Implied a be tte r performance, while nervous Implied a poorer perform­

ance; thus be tter performance—poorer performance is h is second super­

ordinate construct,) The subject will again generate a construct with

a c iearly preferred side. The same question is now asked of th is

construct. The process is continued until (1) the subject can no

longer generate a construct dimension or (2) until he has generated

ten such superordinate constructs which he regards as being clearly

d if fe ren t , though rela ted , from one another and for which he has

indicated a c lea r side preference. If he reaches the top of his

hierarchy before he generates ten d iffe ren t constructs as he sees

them, then the second subordinate construct Is selected and the pros-

-ess repeated until the ten superordinate constructs have been

e l ic i te d .

Earlier p i lo t work showed that people can typically generate

about 8 to 12 such superordinate constructs (using subordinate con­

s truc ts e l ic i te d as described) before reaching the top of the

hierarchy, in the p i lo t work, the complete hierarchies for each of

the ten subordinates were e l ic i te d . While th is was most in teresting

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34

information. I t was time consuming to obtain. Fortunately I t m s found—

as Is theoretically expected In construct theory—that the chain of

superordinate constructs In the hierarchy generated from the f i r s t

subordinate was almost Invariably repeated In the hierarchies of the

remaining subordinates. That Is to say, we were tapping Into the

general construct hierarchy about one*s preferred se lf a t various sub»

ordinate points. The Organization Corollary predicts that the lines

of implications of these constructs should converge a t higher levels

of superordlnatlon, and th is Is exactly what was found. It should be

emphasized that the specific Information yielded by th is hierarchical

technique Is enormously suggestive of further theoretical research.

Subjects were extremely Interested and Involved with th is part of the

experimental procedure, because—in effect-*they are being asked to

delineate some of th e ir most fundamental commitments In the ir present

l i f e . They are a t the same time rank ordering these commitments In

terms of a scale of values—or over-arching principles of choice.

Unfortunately, the content of these hierarchies Is only very tan-

gentlally related to the Interests of th is present d isserta tion , but

le t me strongly Invite the reader to spend a few mlnuts exploring his

own construct system—or that of a friend—with th is technique.

Constructs functioning a t th is level of superordlnatlon are of

fundamental Importance; an awareness of them is essential for under­

standing the world of another human being—or ourselves, (In keeping

with the philosophy of constructive alternatlvism, le t me quickly

append a propos I t Iona1 "perhaps" to th ^ la s t statement! The invita­

tion , however, s t i l l stands.)

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35

The themes of achievement and a f f i l ia t io n were frequently ob­

served in the hierarchies of the people participating in the study.

This re f lec ts the vocational and interpersonal concerns which seem to

typify la te adolescence In th is subculture. The following is a sample

of those constructs which terminated ( i ,e« ; the most superordinete con­

structs) the hierarchies of the subjects: get less—get trasre out of

l i f e ; have purpose in l i f e —have no purpose; accomplish nK)re—accom­

plish less; happy—unhappy; l i f e —death; good time—bad time; s a t is ­

fa c t io n - f ru s t r a t io n ; feel wanted—feel unwanted; stimulating—dul 1

and boring; new ideas—same ideas; goals—no goals; cold f e e l in g -

warm feeling; c la r i ty —confusion; more fun—less fun; moody—stable;

people will help you—people won't; miss a lo t—have good times; have

respect of others—be a social outcast; more knowledge—less knowledge;

change—sameness: be worth n h lie—be worthless; and fu l f i l le d in l i f e -

un fu lf il led , For Kelly, the principle that subsumes a l l choice points

is the principle of the Elaborative Choice, the Choice Corollary, in

construct form, th is principle might be worded as: expands or

c la r i f ie s my outlook versus reduces or obscures my outlook. Personal

construct theory assumes that th is is the ultimate principle of choice.

Construct alternatlvism implies that there could be others.

The subject is now asked to review his l i s t of superordinate

constructs to assure tha t they are d iffe ren t from one another. The

ten superordinate constructs a re then entered on the Implication Grid

as constructs 11 through 20,

6. The determination of the re la tive resistance to slo t change

of the e l ic i ted constructs. The twenty e l ic i ted constructs are presented

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3b

to the subject two a t a time In such a way tha t each construct Is

paired with every other construct. They are written on 3" x 5" cards,

and the preferred side of each construct Is Indicated with a check

mark. Constructs 1 and 2 are presented to the subject. He Is In-

structed: "Look a t these t w constructs. The check marks Indicate

the sides you said you would prefer to be on. Now, l e t ' s assume for

the moment that you had to change from tl% preferred side to the un­

preferred side on one of these constructs, but could remain the same

on the other. Which of these two constructs would you prefer to remain

the same on? Remember, you will have to change on the other one. What

we are trying to find out here Is If you had to change which of these

two changes uould be the more undesirable, as you see i t? We would

prefer you to make a choice whenever possible, but there are two

circumstances In which you will find I t Impossible to make a choice.

The f i r s t is when the two changes both appear to be undesirable to

exactly the same degree, in most cases, however, you will be able to

detect some difference between the two which will enable you to make

a decision. The second Instance Is when I t is not logically possible

to change on one construct and a t the same time remain the same on

the other. This Is the case where changing on one construct logically

Implies that you must also have changed on the other construct. Let

me know when e ither of these two circumstances occur. Any questions?"

Construct I Is now paJred with a l l other constructs, then I t is

removed fron the deck, and construct 2 is paired with a l l of the remain^

Ing constructs; I t Is then removed. This process is continued until

a l l th# constructs have been paired togeth®* with a l l other constructs.

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37

The re la tive resistance to s lo t change of the twenty constructs can be

determined by rank ordering them in terms of a scoring formula which

takes into account the number of times each construct resisted being

changed during the pairing sequence* The exact scoring procedure will

be discussed later* The resistance to s io t change grid for each subject

is included in the Appendix*

7e The implication grid technique* Basically, the implication

grid is a matrix of the superordinate and subordinate implications that

In te rre la te a se t of constructs* In th is study only those relationships

of implication which were of the para lle l or reciprocal forms were In­

dexed. The subject was instructed as follows; "Consider th is construct

for a moment (construct I ) . Now, i f you were to be changed back and

forth from one side to the other-^that i s , If you woke up one morning

and realized that you were best described by one side of th is construct

while the day before you had been best described by the opposite s id e »

if you realized that you were changed in th is one respect—what other

constructs of these nineteen remaining ones would be likely to be

changed by a change In yourself on th is one construct alone? Changing

back and forth on ju s t th is one construct will probably cause you to

to predictably change back and forth on which other constructs?

Remember, a change on ju s t th is one construct is the cause, while the

changes on these other constructs are the e ffec ts implied by the

changes from one side to the other on th is construct alone. What I 'd

like to find out, then. Is on which of these constructs do you probably

expect a change to occur as the resu lt of knowing that you have changed

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38

from one side to the other of th is one construct alone* A knowledge of

your location on th is one construct could probably be used to determine

your location on which of these remaining constructs?" Construct I is

then paired with each of the remaining constructs* The subject then

Indicates In e ffec t the superordinate Implications of paralle l or recip­

rocal form of construct I with respect to the set of constructs* This

same process Is repeated for each of the twenty constructs so as to

Index the superordinate Implications of each construct with respect

to the remaining set of nineteen.

After completing the Implication grid , the subject has—in

e ffec t—construed 21 d ifferen t personalities for himself. Each of

the 20 columns on the implication grid represents a possible a lterna­

tive self-construction which the subject has envisioned. The twenty-

f i r s t personality is his preferred se lf construction, and th i s Is

represented by his side preferences on t te 20 constructs. The f a c i l ­

ity with which people complete th is task Is remarkable; I t hints at

the complexity and multitude of a lterna tive self-constructions which

each of us can an tic ipate for ourselves—and for others, as well.

The role v a riab il i ty within persons Is potentially enormous. Even

between people who might be using the same constructs (as defined by

Identical subordinate Implications), there can s t i l l be great Indi­

vidual differences in the superordinate Implications of these con­

struc ts .

Each subject*: Implication grid is included in the Appmdix.

(Since each of the 28 subjects construed 21 personalities, the collec­

tion portrays 588 anticipated self-constructions.) The column patterns

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39

represent the superordinate implications of the various constructs.

The row patterns, however, do not match the corresponding column

patterns. The row patterns represent the subordinate implications

of the various constructs with respect to the set of constructs.

That Is, a row pattern indicates those constructs of the set which

could be used to imply one's polar positions on a given construct.

The given construct, therefore, is the common superordinate impli­

cation (of paralle l or reciprocal form) of these constructs. These

row and column patterns of the Impgrid (and why not!) are analogous

to the construct and figure patterns of the Repgrld, The Repgrld

is a matrix of constructs about d ifferen t constructs ( I . e . , the

f igures), while the Impgrid is a matrix of the superordinate and

subordinate network of implications tha t in te rre la te a specific

-e t of constructs within a give oontdxt. The context in th is study

was the person's anticipated self-constructions; numerous modifi­

cations of context are possible. Many methods of scoring and

factoring the implication grid are also possible; some of these

will be discussed la te r ,

8, Post experimental interview and debriefing. After com­

pleting the implication grid a l l subjects v^re asked to comment on

the experiment, particu la rly with reference to what they thought

I t s purpose vas. The vast majority reported that i t had been very

absorbing and Interesting and that they had experienced a sense of

being Intimately understood. They also frequently reported gaining

an increased understanding of th e ir own outlook as a resu lt of

th e ir participation . (So well received was the experimental

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ko

procedure în fa c t , that the experimenter was contacted by over one

dozen friends of the subjects asking If they could partic ipa te also.

Most were not students In the Introductory psychology course,} Al#

m s t a l l of the subjects reported having no Idea about the purpose

of the experiment. Three subjects ventured the guess that the

experiment was designed to t e s t the "logical consistency" of the ir

thinking. The subjects were then questioned in detail about what

basis they had used to make th e ir decisions about which constructi

they preferred to remain the same on during the determination of

the re la tive resistance to s lo t change phase of the experiment

(Step 6). Not one subject was able to formulate an explanation for

the basis of his decisions. That Is , how did they know which to

choose? Why did they choose the one they chose? The usual response

was " i don*t know; I Jus t seemed to know; i t ju s t f e l t r igh t,"

This line of questioning le f t the majority of subjects rather

perplexed. The experimenter then answered in de ta il any of the

sub jec t 's questions about the experiment. The average length of

time required to complete the experiment was 2 hours and 53 minutes

with a range from 1 hour and 5 minutes to 4 hours and 40 minutes.

Scoring

A wide varie ty of scoring systems for the data of the

resistance to change grids and the implication grids are possible,

A number of them were t r ie d ; the resu lts of these methods corres­

ponded quite closely to the resu lts obtained f r s s the scoring

systems presented below. The scoring systems f in a lly used In th is

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h\

study were developed primarily as an attempt to eliminate tied scores

In the data,

Io Resistance to change grid scoring method. The purpose of

th is method is to rank order the 20 constructs In terms of their

re la tive resistance to s lo t change. Because change on some con=

struc t pairs appeared to the subject to be (I) equally undesirable

or (2) logically Incompatible, the number of actual choice pairings

for each of the constructs varied. I t was also observed tha t, not

Infrequently, the pairings of three or more constructs would violate

the logical principle of t ra n s i t iv i ty , that Is, If A Is greater

tian 6, and B Is greater than C, then A Is greater than C, For

example, In the construct pairs A-B, B-C, and A-C, subjects would

occasionally say tha t they would change on B rather than A, change

on C rather than B, but then they would Indicate that they would

rather change on A than C, These Instances might Indicate that

constructs A, B, and C are practically equal in Importance to the

subject, ( I t Is worth noting that the latency time between the

presentation of a construct pair and the final decision by the sub­

je c t was markedly longer for pairings of highly similar constructs;

thus, latency measures could be used In subsequent Investigations,)

The Important point here Is that a forced rank ordering of highly

similar constructs (particu larly Is th is so with a cognitively

simple structure) Increases error variance. Since the following

scoring method does force a rank ordering of the constructs along

a 20 step scale, the resu lts reported In th is study are conserva­

t iv e , To rank order the 20 constructs, the following rules are

applied In order of precedence:

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42

U For each construct obtain t te to ta l number of times

I t resisted being changed in a ll of i ts pairings ( i t s resistance

score). Obtain the total of the number of actual choice pairings

for each construct ( i t s actual choice score). The actual-choice

score is 19 minus the sum of the number of logically Inconsistent

pairings and the number of equally undesirable pairings,

2. Locate a l l those constructs which were never changed in

th e ir pairings. Of these, the one with the highest resistance

score Is designated rank 1, the remainder are then rank ordered

in terms of decreasing resistance scores. (When tied scores occur

here, each of them is assigned the average of the ranks which would

have been assigned had no t ie s occurred.)

3. The remaining constructs are ranked in order of decreasing

resistance scores unless:

a. Tj^ or more constructs have equal resistance scores.

These constructs are then ranked in terms of which one resisted

change more often when paired with the others of the tied se t.

If th is cannot be determined from the grid ( I . e . , no actual choices

occurred between the s e t ) , then they are ranked in order of in­

creasing actual choice scores (e .g . , a construct which resisted

change in 9 of 13 actual choice pairings would be given a lover

numerical rank—indicating a greater resistance to change—than a

construct which resisted change in 9 of 19 actual choice pairings.

The logic here is that the resistance score of the f i r s t construct

might have been higher i f the number of actual choice pairings had

been equal.).

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43

b. Two untied constructs have resistance scores that

d if fe r by only one point, if the actual choice score is equal to ,

or greater than the actual choice score of the other construct,

the rank order between these two constructs will be determined by

the ir pairing on the grid , that is , the one that resisted change

in th is pairing will be assigned the lovsr rank order number»»

Indicating a greater resistance to change* If the pairing is

indeterminate, then they will be ranked in order of decreasing

resistance scores,

A simpler, though somewhat less accurate scoring method

for the resistance to change grid would be to rank order the con­

s truc ts according to the percentage cf times each resisted being

changed in i t s pairings. This will increase the number of tied

scores, however. Notice that the rankings produced by e ith e r of

these methods re f lec t an approximate hierarchy of values or com­

mitments for the subject. The logically incompatible pairings

probably indicate constructs of high fac to ria l sim ilarity ,

2, The Implication grid scoring method.

The varie ty of ways in which the implication grid can be

analyzed are s t i l l being explored. Some of these will be d is ­

cussed In Chapter VI* in th is study the grid was scored as

follows:

a. The column for each construct was summed to indicate

i t s f i r s t order superordinate range of implications. Then the

superordinste ranges of implication for the specific constructs

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44

In the superordinate range of Implication for a given construct were

sumned. This sum represents the second order range of implications

for the given construct. The 20 constructs were then rank ordered

in terms of the ir second order superordinate implications. The

numerical rank of I denotes that construct which has the greatest

number of second order implications. The second order range of im­

plications was used to minimize t i e scores; actually , the correla­

tion between the f i r s t order ranks and the second order ranks was

extremely high, thus, the use of second order implications was

probably superfluous. ( I t should be noted that the superordinate

range includes construct re la tions of both the parallel and recip­

rocal forms.)

B, The superordinate range of Implications for the subor­

dinate constructs were, respectively, the sum- of the sums of

columns 1 through 10, and the sum of the sums of the columns 11

through 20.

c. The subordinate range of Implications for the subordinate

and the superordinate constructs were, respectively, the sum of

the sums of rows 1 through 10, and the sum of the sums of rows

11 through 20.

The hypotheses stated operationally (see p. 29 for the general

statement).

1. The rank order of the constructs as derived frqn the

resistance to change grid should be highly positively correlated

with the rank order derived from the implication grid.

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45

2* The sum on the implication grid of the sums of columns

I-10 will be significantly less than the sum of the sums of columns

II-20 for the group,

3, The sura on the implication grid of the sums of rows

1-10 will be significantly less than the sum of the sums of

rows 11-20 for the group,

4« Constructs 11-20 will have a lower mean resistance to

change rank order (indicating a greater resistance to slo t movement)

than constructs 1-10,

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CHAPTER V

RESULTS

The beet resu lts of th is study have l i t t l e to do with the

hypotheses set fo rth in the las t chapter. This research provided a

series of observations about (1) the process of "doing" research

i t s e l f , (2) the individuals who participated in the study, (3) others '

constructions of what the study was a l l about, and (4) the character­

i s t ic s of the techniques employed. These observations raised a myriad

of questions; I t Is these questions which constitu te the best resu lts

of the study.

As an i l lu s t ra t io n , le t m ecffethe f i r s t two people who partic ­

ipated (Appendix, subjects 1 and 2). Subject 1 was a 19-year-old,

in te l l ig en t, poised, very a t t ra c t iv e , well dressed sorority g i r l—

from one of the "best" so ro r i t ie s , a t tha t. Noticing the conspicuous

displaying of a rather large diamond ring, the experimenter asked

whether she had recently became engaged—to which she replied with a

radiant warmth, "Oh yes! Two weeks ago today!" In response to a

question about when the happy event was to take place, she said—

with equal radiance--, "in ju s t two and a half years!" This was

s ligh tly unnerving, but th e experiment flowed along smoothly; in

fac t we were ahead of schedule and had enjoyed three leisurely ten-

minute breaks. Then, to construct 16 of the Implication grid , in

addition to the Indicated responses, th is subject became enuretic,

46

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47

You read i t correctly . This unnerving; i t had not a t a i! been

taken into account by the d isserta tion prospectus. To spare the girl

the embarrassment of acknowledgment, the experiment was quickly com­

pleted and a ruse concocted so tha t she could leave with aplomb—and

a wet bottom. Now, there continued to be some discussion a s to whether

or not th is represented the application of a preverbal construct.

Interestingly; construct 3» wants to get married—doesn't want to

get married, implies rea liS tic—naive (number 9), se lf -c en te red -

broader outlook (number 16), and narrow-minded—well rounded (number

17)* It Is Implied by needed—unneeded (number 15), useful—unuseful

(number 20), and self-centered—broader outlook (number 16), Thus,

construct 16 and construct 3 are reciprocally rela ted; th is is the

only reciprocal implication of construct 3* Construct îô , however.

Is very heavily reciprocally loaded on the other constructs of the

Grid, while construct 3 is not. Apparently the subject had not

elaborated the Implications of wanting to get married, since a

reciprocal Implication is taken to indicate a very high degree of

functional sim ilarity between constructs. Thus, extending the impli­

cations of 16 may have indicated to her the significance of wanting

to get married. At any ra te , she produced in teresting “ resu l ts ."

Following th is episode and with much trepidation—the experi­

menter hesitantly began the interview with subject 2. This subject

was a 23-year-old, th in , unshaven, dishevelled, suspicious, de libera t­

ing male. He seemed to be most interested In the task and frequently

became deeply absorbed in his thoughts, particu la rly with respect

to his unusual elaboration of the Buddhist conception of unity (see

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48

construct î4, unîfîed—Isolated), He produced a remarkably syniîïietrîeèî-

1y patterned implication grid through the process of lengthy in te l­

lectual Ized discourses about each implication. At the end of the

experiment, he asked to see his implication grid . He studied i t for

some time, then commented on i t s symetry and Interrelatedness, He

asked if the experiment was to te s t the "logical consistency" of his

thinking, and was told "No." He then said, " I t ' s kind of paranoid,

i s n ' t i t?" ; to which the experimenter replied; "I'm not quite sure !

understand what you mean by 'paranoid '." He said, "Well, if i t s really

confidential in here, I ' l l t e l l you. I'm kind of in therapy»with a

psych ia tr is t—group therapy. You know? He says I'm paranoid schiz.

I'm withdrawn, paranoid, and a drug addict—primartly marijuana, but

I 've been off i t for awhile now." He related that he had been quite

socially withdrawn for about the las t five years and used th is to

explain the consistency of his thought. " I f you have nothing else

to do—if you're as withdrawn as I have been—then you'd only have

your thoughts le f t . That's what I do, I put them in order, th a t 's

most a l l I do . . . . Oh, I get depressed often. The world can

never be changed, so I guess I 've Just given up, th a t 's a l l , " His

one ambition In l i f e Is to become a writer (construct 12). His com°

mentary suggests that the maintenance of such an extraordinarily

t ig h t and simple structure would necessitate the following tac t ic s :

1) the use of excessively lopsided, loose, or permeable constructs;

2) the frequent extortion of va lIda tion -hostili ty ; 3) the general

withdrawal from validational—invalidational s ituations ( i . e . , con=

s t r ic t io n of the perceptual f ie ld ) . Notice that the invalidation of

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49

almost any one of hi s constructs would produce a massive Implicative

sh if t in the direction of threat; i t is perhaps for th is reason that

he cannot conceive of a changing, evolving "world." His Smpgrid Is

also unusual In that there are no significant differences between his

subordinate and superordinate constructs with respect to the ir super-

ordinate range of implications (Ch! square = -0.15)» or the ir sub­

ordinate range of Implications (Chi square = + 0.04). (A negative

sign means that subordinate constructs had more Implications than

superordinate constructs.) The th rea t hypothesis (re la tive resistance

to s lo t movement correlated with superordinate range of implications),

however, was highly significant for th is man (rho = + 0,82, p ^ .0005,

one tailed t e s t ) .

Subject 15, should perhaps also be mentioned. He was a t a l l ,

lanky, crew cut, 18-year-old, Freshman baseball player. He described

himself as "the only child—and spoiled! I rea lly am not very good

a t b a ll , but I need people to t e l l me I'm Important; I like to see my

name in the paper. I guess i t s 'cause i'm hanging on by my fingernails

in baseball . . . . Me and Mom--we're together! We use Dad, 1 guess.

He doesn 't like baseball, but Mom—well, she likes everything I do.

She's rea lly great. She's my best fan. Comes to a l l the games. You

know what my goal is? (Shyly) I want to make vars ity , and when I

graduate I want to give Mom my le t t e r sweater, so she can wear I t to

her women's clubs. She'd be proud with i t on; she already told me

th a t ," And la te r , "To be a success and be able to feel Important,

th a t 's the main thing I want out of l i f e . " Aside from being reminis­

cent of a morbid scene from Edward Albee's play The American Dream, he

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50

did produce an interesting implication grid. Construct 20 = feèl

Important—feel unimportant—shows the greatest resistance to slot

movement and the highest number of superordinate implications, i t

also has a fa i r ly large number of subordinate implications. This

dimension seems to represent a point of unstable equilibrium^-sr

positive feedback—in th is subsystem, because i t is both the cause

and e ffec t of numerous changes in the system. Thus, s lo t movement

OR th is construct will probably produce a spiraling of ela tion or

depression. Construct 8 - Jewish—Presbyterian—-Is in teresting , be­

cause i t showed the second highest resistance to s lo t change, yet i t

had no superordinate implications—which is ju s t the reverse of what

would be expected according to the threat hypothesis. When questioned

about s lo t movement in the direction of becoming Jewish, the subject

replied that he liked Christmas trees and pork, and so, saw no advan­

tages to being Jewish, He reported that he had met a Jewish person

once and hadn't much liked him. The obvious paucity of constructs

related to the Jewish pole of the construct suggests that high res is ­

tance to s lo t change here represents the avoidance of anxiety rather

than th rea t. Being Jewish is a context that is outside the range of

convenience of his system, except for some few, vaguely unfavorable

connotations. Another construct that functioned in a similar way on

several other grids was the dimension masculine—feminine. Here

several males had high resistance to change scores for th is dimension,

but th e ir impgrlds revealed that feminine—masculine had few d ifferent

t ia l implications fo r them (except that movement toward the feminine

pole was to be highly res is ted ) . Perhaps, in pa rt , the s ta b i l i ty of

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Si

personality , ro îes, moral a tt i tu des and opinions, e t c . , results from

the re la tive absence of d if fe ren tia l construct implications relating

to s lo t movements; that is to say, the strategy of censorship and other

forms of repressive control are based, in part, on the maintenance of

conditions of anxiety with respect to various s lo t movements. Virtue

in th is form is a synonym for ignorance. I t should be noted that the

presence of these anxiety constructs in th is study constitu te a con=

siderable source of error variance with respect to the threat hypothe­

s is being investigated; they had not been anticipated. The technique

of locating constructs tha t are highly resistance to change, but that

have few implications, should be of considerable in te res t in subsequent

research in the area of anxiety, i t is hoped that these i l lu s tra tions

will give the reader some indication of the hypotheses which can be

generated by a careful examination of the data contained in the

Appendix.

The s ta t i s t i c a l analysis of the data In terms of thé specific

hypotheses gave the following resu lts :

Hypothesis 1. The re la tive resistance to s lo t change of

personal constructs will be d irec tly related to the superordinate

range of implications of those constructs,

A Spearman rho was calculated for each subject using the

resistance to change rank order and the second order superordinate

implications rank order fo r the 20 constructs. These individual cor­

re la tions are reported in the Appendix, The 28 correlations were

then converted to Fisher Z scores in order to calculate the mean

Spearman rho for the group. In spite of the presence of the anxiety

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52

constructs previously discussed, the threa t effect was substantial

and very highly significant (mean rho = + 0.59, t = 3.708, p ^ .0005,

one-tailed , df = 26),

Hypothesis 2. Constructs functioning a t a higher level of

superordination in a hierarchical context will have a larger super­

ordinate range of Implications than constructs functioning a t a low

level.

The significance of the difference in frequency of the super­

ordinate and subordinate constructs for each subject was determined

by the chi square d is tr ibu tions . The individual resu lts are reported

in the Appendix, For the group, superordinate constructs had almost

18 per cent more superordinate implications than subordinate constructs

( 17.89 %, chi square = 618.34, df = 27, p very significantly less than

.001, since the chi square required for th is value is 55.48,),

Hypothesis 3, Constructs functioning a t a higher level of

superordination in a hierarchical context will have a larger subordin­

a te range of implications than constructs functioning a t a low level.

The individual chi squares are to be found in the Appendix,

A difference of nearly 19 per cent more subordinate implications for

superordinate constructs was found (18,89 %, chi square = 1012.65,

df = 27, p very s ign ifican tly less than ,001, since the chi square

required for th is value Is 55.48 ).

Hypothesis 4. Constructs functioning a t a higher level of

superordination In a hierarchical context will shows greater re la ­

t ive resistance to slo t change than constructs functioning a t a low

level.

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53

The mean resistance rank for each of the two subordinate and

superordinate groups of constructs was calculated for each subject.

The rank order range is from 1 to 20, where 1 indicates the highest

re la tive resistance to s lo t change. For the group, the mean

resistance rank for superordinate constructs was 7.86; the mean

resistance rank for subordinate constructs was 13.14; the mean

difference of 5.28 is very highly significant ( t = 10.369, p ^ .0005,

one-tailed, df = 27).

Further analyses of the data which are now in progress will

be discussed in the following chapter.

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CHAPTER VS

DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

The resu lts of th is study have furnished substantial in i t ia l

evidence for the u t i l i t y of the theory of construct Implications and9

the associated methodologies of the hierarchical method> the resistance

to slo t change grid, and the implication grid. The broader theoretical

significance of these resu lts is that they provide support for the

Choice and Organization Corollaries of personal construct theory. In

addition, the findings again highlight the importance of Kelly's

F irs t Principle: " I f you don 't know, ask the person; he ju s t might

te l l you!" Basically, the methodologies of th is study were the means

whereby a person could explain his outlook, in a systematic fashion,

to a rather thick-headed experimenter.

Now, in a chapter such as th is , I t is perhaps a b i t redundant

to say that a d isserta tion about implications has implications for

further research, but such is the case. These ideas are by no means

integrated a t th is point In time, so they will be presented in a

cafeteria s ty le :

I . The construct implication rationale and methodologies

obviously require experimental cross-validation using various t r e a t ­

ment conditions within subjects, and perhaps various non-verbal

behavior correlates as well. The present study was a correlational one,

54

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55

2e Since scalar change is a s lo t change In the magnitude used

to describe a construct a lte rna tive , the general approach of this

study should be useful for investigating th is intriguing form of

construct change, i t is interesting to note tha t scalar reconstruc­

tion may, or may not. resu lt in a change of implication; thus, scalar

changes can be used to s ta b il iz e , or a l t e r , an implicative network,

depending on other fac tors. The use of scalar constructions seems to

re la te to the process of loosening and tightening subsystems. Scalar

change appears to be determined by the Increase or decrease in the

number of subordinate constructs which can be used to imply a polar

position on a given construct,

3. The Choice Corollary and the inferential compatibility

in terpretation of the Modulation Corollary suggests an approach to

the determination of the rela tive permeability of constructs. If so,

th is might enable a therap is t to an tic ipa te the e ffec ts of linking

various constructs. (Inference, here, refers to psychological infer­

ence; th is is not necessarily equivalent to logical inference.)

4. Constellations, pre-emptiveness, and propositionality have

been previously defined as being a particu lar class of superordinate

constructs about various construct subsystems. The fac t of construct

interrelatedness is in no way taken as a measure of constellatorlness

or propositionality . Such a defin ition provides a new point of

departure for subsequent research.

5. The importance of a person's syperordinate constructs about

subsystems and the process of construing i t s e l f is enormous and

re la tive ly unexplored. Chapter Vi I was written to i l lu s t r a te ju s t

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56

th is pointe The concern with hierarchical location in th is study

re f lec ts a strong in te res t in tapping Into the highly superordinate

network of constructs about the process of construing, that is , recon­

struction , Impulsivlty, r ig id ity , propositionality , the decision­

making and c rea tiv ity cycles, a ll seem to be related to these super-

ordinate constructs about the management of construing and the antîs>

ipated sta tus of the resulting construct system. This notion of the

monitoring of the process of construing provided a basis for the slo t

movement hypotheses of th is study. The Choice Corollary and the

associated threat hypothesis are constructions which were apparently

shared in some measure by the majority of the people in the experiment.

At any ra te , we need to know a good deal more about people's personal

an ticipations and constructions about the process of anticipating—

th e ir principles of "systems management," as It were. Creativity can

be regarded as being a set of such superordinate principles; i f so,

these principles can be communicated and modulated.

6, As an I l lu s tra tio n of the issue Just raised, the following

hypothesis received some support in a p i lo t study; Change in the

subordinate implications of a construct ( l , e , , loosening or tightening)

will be f a c i l i ta te d by the prior s tab iliza tion of the superordinate

implications of that construct; likewise, change in the superordinate

implications will also be fac i l i ta ted by the prior s tab iliza tion of

the subordinate implications of that construct. This Idea was derived

from the th rea t hypothesis and the principle of maximizing the total

system implicativeness as cited in th is d isse rta tion . A psychotherapy

analogue is the resolution of transference by the use of the technique

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57

of reassurance. This is the notion that constructura! reorganization

can take place only frœn a position of re la tive s ta b i l i ty . The impli­

cation grid technique will soon be used in a formal te s t of these

hypotheses,

7. The implication grid seems to hold promise as a technique

for locating those construct dimensions along which reaction formation

or extreme behavioral transformation would probably occur.

8. in the present study only the parallel and reciprocal forms

of construct implication were indexed by the Impgrid. The orthogonal and

ambiguous forms could also be Investigated by th is technique. Orthogonal

relationships might indicate the points of trans it ion from one hierarch­

ical subsystem to another. The implicative dilemmas of the ambiguous

linkages seem related to conflic t and double-bind theory, and are,

therefore, of particu lar c lin ica l in te res t.

9. The trans-contextual identity of constructs has been pre­

viously mentioned as a problem in need of resolution. Perhaps the

indexing of the ranges of implication of a construct will be useful

here.

10. The excellent d isserta tion of Jennings (14) involved the

experimental a lte ra t ion of the loosening and tightening phases of the

c rea tiv ity cycle, i theory of construct implication suggests that

the subordinate implications, or the superordinate implications of a

construct, or both, maybe e ither loosened or tightened. The systematic

e ffec ts of these variations remain to be explored. (See also 6, above.)

11. A number of investigators have been interested in the

differences between personal and provided constructs. Isaacson (13)

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58

and Cromwell and Caldwell (6), for example» found that personal con­

s truc ts resulted In more extreme ratings than provided constructs.

The d is tinc tion is a rb itra ry , however, because a l l constructions are

personal constructions. This d isserta tion supports the hypothesis

that the threat potential of a construct is a function of i t s impli­

cative ü ign îf icance. Now, if i t can be shown that the d iffe ren tia l

systematic implications of “personal" constructs are s ignificantly

greater than the implications of "provided" constructs, then one

would expect that i t would be more important to c learly resolve con­

structional ambivalence on these constructs of high implicative sig­

nificance than on those constructs of low significance.

12, Resnick and Landfield (54) in the ir investigation of the

Dichotomy Corollary distinguished between logical constructs (e .g .,

mature—immature) and peculiar constructs (e .g . , in te l l ig en t—bad).

Perhaps peculiar constructs represent a highly constellatory Impli­

cative relationship between two construct dimensions (e .g . , i n t e l l i ­

gent—stupid and good—bad). A way of testing to see if pecular con­

struc ts represent such a re la tionship would be to ask the subject if

a ll events which are described by the negation of one pole of the

construct must necessarily be described by the opposite pole in a ll

cases.

13. Newman*s (51) d is tinc tion between stab le self-constructs

and se lf movement constructs suggests—in terms of construct implica­

tions—that movement on stable se lf constructs may be limited by either

extensive implicative invalidation—threa t—or the absence of an

elaborated a lte rna tive—anxiety. The converse kould be predicted for

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59

the se lf movement constructs* The Impgrid methodology could be used

to te s t th is hypothesis.

14. This same methodology could be used to c la r ify the meaning

of the fascinating Bieri generalization gradient (3), This e ffec t

could be accounted for if i t Is shown that the sim ilarity of con­

s tru c ts is d irec tly related to the degree of In terrelatedness of

the ir superordinate implications in a given hierarchical context.

Thus, when invalidation of a construct threatens the hierarchical Im­

p lica tive network with invalidation, s tab iliza tion of similar constructs

will function to preserve the Implicative in tegrity of th is network.

15. The indexing of the polar implications of constructs should

allow one to d iffe ren tia te more c learly between threat and anxiety con­

s truc ts , I t should also provide a basis for d if fe ren tia l predictions

concerning the re la tive degree of threat or anxiety, since these

degrees are regarded as being a function of the range of Implication

of the available constructs.

16. Core and peripheral constructs could be d ifferen tia ted by

indexing %he number of implications in th e ir respective ranges of im­

plication . This Information would be of particu la r in te res t to the

psychotherapi s t .

17. During the e l ic i ta t io n of construct hierarchies by the

hierarchical method, i t was observed that occasionally a specific

construct label would be given a t several d iffe ren t levels in the

hierarchy, e .g . , i f constructs A, B, and G Imply X, and X Implies

D, E, and F, then occasionally D, E, and F would imply X again, and

th is would, in turn , imply G, H, and I. The construct th a t functioned

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60

most frequently in th is fashion was "happy—unhappy," The theoretical

significance of th is is not clearly understood. I t may mean only that

construct labels will have to be "indexed" Ifj the manner of General

Semantics with subscripts indicating th e ir locations In a hierarchy,

18. The data of the Impgrid Is readily amenable to the various

factor analytic techniques that have been used with the Repgrid, The

host of measures that are made possible by a factor analysis of e ither

the columns or rows of the Impgrid are s t i l l in the process of elabora­

tion, It Is planned that the data of th is study will be reanalyzed in

light of these measures in the near future. Hopefully, some additional

hypotheses can be tested , as well,

19. A variety of comparisons betweenthe data of the Impgrid and

the Repgrid are possible. To date, we have only a limited number of

protocols from people who completed both designs. The p i lo t studies

of both J , R, Adams-Webber and E. L, Morse (The Ohio State University,

1965) are—among other things—throwing light on th is aspect of con­

struct theory research. The advantages of using the combined data

from these two techniques are s t i l l , as yet, untapped,

20. While many modifications of the Impgrid are possible. I t

was used in th is study to indicate the parallel and reciprocal forms

of Implication among constructs of the preferred self hierarchy. I t

is possible to also analyze the patterns of the parallel and reciprocal

relationships separately. On the Impgrid, the c e l ls indicating recip­

rocal relationships are the points of column and row synsnetry for each

construct, A reciprocal relationship between two constructs is taken

to Indicate a very high degree of functional sim ilarity between the

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61

two constructs. Notice that ths remainder of the implication grid

patterns for the two reciprocally related constructs may d if fe r widely,

as was the case for constructs 16 and 3 for subject ! cited in Chapter

V, or they may be neariy identical. As was suggested by ,*he^perience

of subject 1, markedly d ifferen t patterns might have c lin ica l s ig n if i ­

cance, Now, if reciprocal relationships Indicate functional s im ila rity ,

then i t seems c learly probable tha t (1) the number of such reciprocal

relationships and (2) the specific reciprocal relationships for each

construct could be easily used to predict the factorical s im ila rity—

or c lus te r membership—of a ll of the constructs on the implication grid.

That is , the construct which shows the highest number of reciprocal re­

lationship with the other constructs on the Impgrid should appear as

the center of the f i r s t c lus te r in a factor analysis of the grid. The

Impgrid for subject 8 (see Appendix) furnishes perhaps the c learest

i l lu s t ra t io n . Notice particu larly the two blocks of reciprocal impli­

cations for constructs 17, 18, 19, and 20 and constructs 10, 11, 12,

13, 15, and 16. These should appear as two separate c lus te rs when

factored. Notice tha t constructs 11 and 16 have the highest number

of reciprocal implications within the impgrid matrix; they should

thus have the highest loadings in a factor analysis. What is being

suggested here is that perhaps It would be psychologically more

advantageous to factor the patterns of reciprocal implications only.

This variant is presently being explored,

21, Ths Implication grid methodology was developed primarily as

a means to d irec tly assess construct relationships. Many modifications

are possible. For example, one could generate implication grids for a

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62

wide variety of contexts and conditions of administration ( I t would be

interesting to see whether the to ta l number of implications on a grid

varied as a function of examiner credulousness, for example.). One

intriguing variation would be to ask a subject to think about a partie-

;u iar person (a Repgrid figure, for example). Then, ask him to indi­

cate what other construct locations they could probably imply about

th is person if they only know his location on a given construct and no

others. The resulting Impgrid would portray the ir network of implica­

tions about th is one person. The procedure would then be repeated using

d iffe ren t figures in each case. I t is expected that certain constructs

might be related In the context of certain people, but not in others.

Such variations would be of particu lar c lin ica l in te res t . This pro­

cedure could be used as a measure of loosened construction; or, perhaps,

the formation of impersonal perceptions by controlling such parameters

as the amount and kind of information supplied, i t a lso offers an

approach to the problem of constellatorlness and propositionality .

Subjects could be asked to rate the ir degree of certa in ty about the

u t i l i t y of each of the construct implications they form, (The impgrid

instructions should s tre ss the idea of probable—not logical—impli-

cation .) These ratings should then indicate areas of potential

loosening and tightening, since they are taken to be measures of con­

s te l latoriness and propositionality . As such, they are one of the

predictors of psychological movement. The factors affecting the fo r­

mation and a lte ra t io n of them, as well as the systematic consequences

of such a l te ra t io n , will be experimentally Investigated in the near

fu ture. The Impgrid can a lso be used to indicate the superordinate

networks which link various construct subsystems.

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63

22. The scoring procedures of the Impgrid are also widely

variable (see 18 and 20, above). I t is possible to calculate an in­

dex of logical inconsistency for each Impgrid, This scoring system

is based on the principle of t r a n s i t iv i ty , I . e . , If A implies B, and

B implies G; then A should a lso Imply C. Thus, if construct 1 implies

constructs 3, 7» and 8, then i t should a lso probably Imply everything

that 3, 7, and 8 imply; i t may also Imply additional constructs as

well, but i t should a t leas t imply the constructs implied by 3» 7, and

8. The instances where th is has not been the case—where the probable

implications have not been extended—are of particu lar c lin ica l and

theoretical in te res t . This logical inconsistency Index could be used

as an operational defin ition for insight. The data of the present

study will be reanalyzed using a correction factor for the re la tive

lack of logical extension of construct implications, since not extend­

ing the implications of a construct will create a considerable error

in the superordinate implications rank order for that construct.

I t will be of considerable theoretical in te res t to see if the corre­

lation between the re la tive resistance to s lo t change ranks and the

superordinate implications ranks ( i . e . , the threa t hypothesis) can

be increased by a correction for the lack of implicative extension,

23. The rows of the impgrid indicate those constructs which

can be used by the subject to imply his polar location on a given

construct; that is , the given construct monitors changes on the con­

struc ts within i t s subordinate range of implication. The rows, there­

fore, are related to the re la tive range of convenience of the constructs,

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64

Now, the Choice Corollary of personal construct theory Implies that

every time a person chooses an a lternative of a dichotomous construct

he must have made some prior decision about whether or not the choice

will elaborate his system. Thus, each person is expected to have a

personal theory or philosophy about what constitu tes the greatest

pathways of elaboration for him. I t is to these constructs that he

refers when making choices among construct a lte rna tives; that is,

the choices must a t least be compatible with these over-arching

personal principles of choice. In order to function effectively these

principles must have an extremely broad range of convenience, since

presumably they monitor a l l construct a lte rna tive choices. Therefore,

if the row patterns indicate the re la tive monitoring range for each

construct, then i t follows that those constructs wW ch have the broad­

es t subordinate range of implications should be the ones which consti­

tu te these pervasive principles of elaborative choice within the set

for the particular person. Readingthe:Constructs of the implication

grid in order of th e ir row weightings will thus provide a picture of

the hierarchical arrangement of principles within the set which a per­

son is using to elaborate his l i f e . To i l lu s t r a te , the following

constructs are a sample of those constructs which had the highest

subordinate range of implications for the people In the study: more

responsibility—less; happy==unhappy; nervous—self-controlled; more

friends—fewer friends; accomplish more—accomplish less; c o n te n t-

discontent; easier to get along with—harder; broad in te res ts—narrow;

understand people—misunderstand; mature—insna tu re; fu ll l i f e —average

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65

l i fe ; feeling of w ell-be ing-frustra ted ; do more—do less; get more

rewards—get fewer; self-centered—generosity; easy going—worried;

find out more about se lf and l i f e —less; more job opportunities—

fewer; gain respect of others—loose; have success—have l i t t l e

success.

Notice that the personal meaning of these terms can be defined

by th e ir respective row and column Implications, This provides a means

for locating and c larify ing the directions in which a person is

elaborating his l i f e . In th is sense, they are somewhat related to the

Adlerian concept of Life Style. Whether these ideas about the signify

:'!csnce of Impgrid rows will be substantiated by la te r research remains

to be seen.

24. Individual difference measures such as to ta l number of

implications, number of reciprocal implications, logical inconsistency

(22, above), ra tios of implications for subordinate and superordinate

constructs, construct sim ilarity Indexes, e tc . , might be useful in

future research,

25. The hierarchical method of construct e l ic i ta t io n and the

row analysis of the impgrU both gave hierarchical arrangements of

achievement and a f f i l ia t io n themes. These techniques might be of

in teres t to those interested in these constructs,

26. If the research in the f ie ld of cognitive dissonance

is viewed as basically the evoking of In feren tia lly incompatible con­

s truc ts and the subsequent reconstruction to reduce the Incompatibil­

i ty , then, by the use of the implication grid technique. I t should be

possible to predict what particu lar personal constructs pairs would

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66

be "dissonant" and to what degree. One should also be able to make

some wagers about the direction of "dissonance reduction," as well,

27* Lastly, the most Important single Implication for further

research Is the propost ion that in order to understand another person,

one must understand the network of implications which rela te and

define his personal constructs in specific contexts.

The next phase of research will be to apply the general approach

of th is study to the remaining two aspects of the problem of construct

change; namely, the sh if t change and scalar change of personal con­

s tru c ts . Eventually, the resulting theory of construct change will

be brought to bear on the problem of tie analysis of the process of

reconstruction occurring within the context of interacting construct

systems—that i s , the process of two-person social relationships.

The author would very much welcome communication from others whose

research in te res ts might be related to the issues set forth in th is

d isse r ta t ion .

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CHAPTER VII

A BRIEF AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE PRESENT RESEARCH

This d isse rta tion represents both the end point of a cycle of

experience and the beginning of one. The purpose of th is chapter is to

present a b rief autobiographical overview of the six-month cycle of

experience which terminated with the writing of th is manuscript. The

beginnings of a new experience cycle have been delineated in the d is ­

cussion of the implications for further research in Chapter VI, Since

the focus of convenience of th is research concerns the general problem

of construct change—reconstruction—, the additional requirement of

the self-reflexiveness of psychological theorizing implied by personal

construct theory suggests that such an autobiographical section is

i t s e l f relevant to the general topic of th is d isserta tion . If nothing

e ls e , i t documents tha t experience does not come forth full-blown from

the side of Jove. Experience—in the construct theory sense—is the

interweave of events and constructs, thus th is autobiography documents

a cycle of people in interaction with ideas.

The educational origins of th is research are complex and d if f ic u l t

to t rac e , but i t seems to reflec t the convergence of four interrelated

streams of thought. When , was in i t ia l ly considering "doing" a d isser­

ta t io n , (I now know that It is a living one), i t was of the utmost

67

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68

împOPtàftce for me to know that I would be able in th is research to ask

people a significant question about the direction of the ir lives, the

answer to which would be significant for me and them and would““ ln t u r n -

lead to further questions. This statement is related to the following

four concerns;

U Meaning and significance In psychology

Z, Change and process conceptions

3, Models of Man

4, The rela tion of science to Man

The word "concern" Is used to Indicate these broad areas of

personal envoivement. It was essentia l that the d iesserta tion experience

should be concerned with nujch more than i ts own completion.

The issue of meaning and significance had become quite sa lien t

for me a f te r completing preparations for the General Examinations in

c lin ica l psychology. Apart from the question of the theoretical s ig n if­

icance of the various studies punctuating the geometrical progression

of psychological research, the question of the human significance became

an even more important issue. Granted, the term "human significance"

lacked the elegance—and simple-mindedness—of operational defin ition ,

but there was no denying that i t was fu l l of meaning—and | was not a t

a l l sure that i t s meaning was simply surplus. It Is of in terest that

the most exciting concept I remember from my S-R psychology and learning

theory days was Clyde Nobel's m, meaning —defined as the number of as­

sociates to a given stimulus. Here, 1 thought, was an inroad to the

person.

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69

Several other issues concerned me. Why was i t that most proponents

of various theoretical positions did not use th e ir espoused position

self-reftexively? That is , why did they use one system of conceptual­

ization for themselves and th e ir intimates and another for the ir

"experi^m tal subjects"? is there to be no psychology of psychologists?

What is gained if we regard the phrase "experimental subjects" as a

euphemism for "experimental objects"? What Is gained if we abandon the

hypothetico-deductive ambition to deduce Man? What is gained if we

regard the purpose of psychology as being the creation of Man rather than

his reduction? What Isgplned if we examine Logical Positivism and Dia­

lec tical Materialism as modern sides of an ancient coin—the problem of

Being and Becoming? Since each philosophy can be used to construe the

other, are they not a lte rna tive constructions about construing? Can

the structure versus process dichotomy be usefully resolved by regarding

man as structure-in-process? If a psychologist were God-omniscient and

omnipotent*'po3Sessing perfect prediction and control—what then would he

do as psychologist? in the naive realism sense, shall the purpose of the

science of psychology be to discover the secrets of Man by l i f t in g the

nightgown of Nature? This is the ob jec tif ica tion of Man—Man, the object.

Not to acknowledge the existence of another—is that not the ultimate

hosti li ty? What happens i f science is viewed as the human ac tiv ity of the

expansion and a rticu la tio n of anticipations? In what sense can the goals

of science be seen to be human libe rty ; human consnunity—in the sense of

the ccmmunion of persons; and f in a l ly , the evolving awareness of the

beauty and awesomeness of human existence?

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70

What you have just read i l lu s t ra te s the kind of thinking which

characterized the rather misty and global origins of th is dissertaion.

As a s ty le of thinking I t was d ila ted , loose, propos!tional. Invita tional,

and an expression of personal învoivement and deeply-felt concern. In a

very important way these issues set the outer parameters of the present

Kork. Realizing tha t outer parameters do not.make d isse rta tions , a very

patient George Kelly chided me by suggesting tha t a d isserta tion on the

Nature of Man would be perfectly acceptable—to which I replied tha t I had

not yet finished my thinking on the Nature of God and the Universe#

Wisely, he then allowed me enough rope to hang myself; th is communicated

fa i th and c la r if ied responsib ility .

From th is point on the process of construing was primarily one

of successive pre-emption and choice, tightening, and seeking and acknow­

ledgment of confirmation and disconfirmation. A quotation from John Dewey-

"Conventionalists and extrem lasare not Inquiring."—which I read during

the national e lections, provided a significant turning point. I equated

inquiry with change and decided to focus on the problem of change i t s e l f ,

A sample of the constructs I was elaborating with respect to th is problem

included change—sta b i l i ty , ambiguity—certa in ty , re la t iv i ty —absolutism,

freedom—lim itation, seeking—avoiding, expression—repression, c rea tlv ity -

conformity, fu ture—past, process—en ti ty , expansion—constric tion , f lex ­

ib i l i ty —fig id ity.open—dogmatic, identity—identity loss, s ta t ic s ta b il i ty -

dynanlc s ta b i l i ty , consonance—dissonance, congruity—incongruity, balance-

imbalance, leveling—sharpenirig, in ternal—external locus of change, h ig h -

low r isk taking, high—low sk i l l a t role playing, the balance of person

predictability versus environment predictability, sociological variables,

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71

and the temporal dimensionalizatlon of kitchen sinks. My pre-emption

a t th is level had a t least taken me from the sea, but I t landed me in

an atheoretical swamp. I t was here that I tr ied on George Kelly's

freely offered and amazing set of glasses—and caught sight of land—

with mountains to climb.' Magnificent mountains.'

The problem nav becanfô to see what diange meant in terms of

construct theory, research, and related methodologies. It became quite

apparent—even though ! had "read" Kelly--that the s i g n i f i c a n c e o f

personal construct theory can not be grasped until one has envisioned

with i t . I t is f e r t i 1i ty —significance not yet envisioned.

But vision is not enough, i t is necessary to be involved with the

people who are the subjects of th is science. My armimentarium now con­

sisted of such notions as superordination—subordination, v a l id a t io n -

invalidation, construct density, complexity, propositionality, pre-emption,

conste1latorI ness, permeab i 1i ty--impermeabi l ity , 1ooseness—t ightness,

d i la t io n —constric tion , repertory design, seria l Invalidation, e tc . , and

these constructs now stood in a nomothetic network. During th is phase

of the research I was involved in a number of extensive interviews and

small, intensive p i lo t studies. The major lesson here was to learn

how to ask questions about change so as to enable the person to explain

himself to m? systematically. At this time my conceptualizations were

c lu ttered with many individual differences hypotheses which obscured

the s truc tu re-in“process conception I was working toward. Basically, I

explored the things I could do to produce a change and the variety of

ways a person construed change In his l i f e . Since the conception was to

se lf -re f lex ive , I became my most useful subject.

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72

The pressure of time became a decisive fac to r, since Î was pre­

paring for a Research Fellowship in London, England for the following

year. As i sat staring a t the mass of hypotheses, microtheories, pro­

tocols, and f ie ld notes ! had compiled, i acknowledged that the t ine for

tightening and constric tion, pre-emption and choice—was now. i t is

important to mention that a t th is moment ï experienced a sense of de­

pression, because—for me—tightening Implied a loss of Implication,

tiœaning, and significance. It was not until my d isserta tion subjects

were well along in th e ir task of explaining themselves systematically

to me that I realized—profoundly—that c la r if ic a t io n and unequivocal

prediction are the means whereby we prec ip ita te ourselves into a new

experience, new meaning, and new significance. Many of the characteris tics

of the Implication grid were to ta l ly unimagined un til a f te r the leap had

been made and the data collected. The sense of the Mystery of existence

is not lost by c la r if ic a t io n and commitment; i t is gained.

I had now specifica lly focused the problem to the construct im­

plications of s lo t change. I elaborated the notion that construct de­

finition must involve a statement of the superordinate and subordinate

implications—the focus and range of Implication—as well as I ts focus

and range of convenience. The final issue was one of measurement tech­

niques and methodology. By th is time I had become sensitive to the

loosening-tightening-testing sequence and could modulate the process,

so that the hierarchical method end the implication grid/technique readily

evolved. The actual running of subjects was highly intimate and meaningful;

i t could hardly have been otherwise, since I was indexing significant

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73

personal constructs and the network of Implications rela ting them

for twenty-eight on-going human beings. The running of subjects

represented the end of one cycle experience, but the Intimate

contact and perspective which th is cycle has provided now creates

a magnificent v is ta . In th is sense, determination and in i t ia t iv e

are Inexorably linked.

One final note; This research was a lived human experience.

Science is not a disembodied e n ti ty —a mere exercise in voyeuristic

ob jec tif ica tion ; i t is a human a c t iv i ty —perhaps the human ac t iv i ty .

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CHAPTER V in

SUMMARY

This d isse rta tion was conducted within the context of personal

construct theory and addressed i t s e l f to the general problem of the

change of personal constructs. Specifically , i t presented an In i t ia l

formulation of a theory of construct implications which was then applied

to an analysis of the re la tive resistance to slo t change of personal

constructs. The hierarchical method for the e l ic i ta t io n of superordinate

constructs, the re la tive resistance to s lo t change g rid , and the impli­

cation methodologies were used to te s t several hypotheses which related

superordinate implications,level of superordination, and resistance to

s lo t change. The findings were substan tia l, highly s ign if ican t, and pro­

vided support for the u t i l i t y of the Choice and Orgainization Corollaries

of personal construct theory. Numerous theo re tica l , methodological, and

empirical quest ionswere raised and suggestions for further research

presented.

74

Page 79: The change of personal constructs from the viewpoint of a theory of construct implications

APPENDIX

75

Page 80: The change of personal constructs from the viewpoint of a theory of construct implications

Instructions

This appendix presents the complete data for each subject vdio

participated in the study. The following instructions apply to the

interpretation of these tables;

1. The sex of each subject is indicated a f te r the subject

number,

2. Constructs 1 - 10 are the subordinate constructs; constructs

1 1 - 2 0 are the superordinate ones. The side of the construct which is

typed f i r s t is the side which the subject preferred for his self-construe-

tion,

3. The matrix a t the top of the page is the re la tive resistance

to slo t change grid. The number of each of the twenty constructs is

indicated along the side and bottom of the grid. The rank order of each

construct is indicated d irec tly below i ts number on the bottom of the

grid. The rank order of 1 designates the highest re la tive resistance

to slo t change. A dash under a rank order number means that 0.5 is to

be added to the indicated whole number rank order. An "x" in a column

indicates those constructs on which a subject preferred to make a slo t

change order to remain the same on the given constructs indicated by

the column. A blank in a column indicates, therefore, those constructs

which a subject preferred not to make a slo t change, but was willing to

change the column construct in order to do so. An "x" or a blank in a

row, however, has ju s t the opposite meaning. The le t te r " i ” is used

76

Page 81: The change of personal constructs from the viewpoint of a theory of construct implications

77

to indicate those construct pairs for which a change on one while

remaining the same on the other is iogicaiiy incompatible. Construct

pairs for which no choice could be made, because both changes were

equally undesirable, are indicated by the le t te r "e ."

4. The bottom matrix Is the implication grid . The number of

each of the twenty constructs is Indicated alor^ the side and bottom

of the grid. The rank order of each construct is indicated d irec tly

below i t s number on the bottom of the grid. The rank order of I

designates the highest number of second order superordinate implica­

tions . A dash under a rank order number means that 0.5 is to be added

to the indicated whole number rank order. An "x" in a column indicates

the paralle l superordinate implications of the column construct. An

"r" in a column indicates the reciprocal superordinate implications

of the column construct.

5. The Spearman's rho for each subject for hypothesis I follows

the le t t e r "A" a t the bottom of the page. The correlations for

various p values using a one-tailed t t e s t and an N of 20 are as

follows;

rho p

0.378 .050.515 .010.561 .0050.679 .0005

6. The data for each subject for hypothesis 2 follows the

le t t e r "B‘‘ a t the bottom of the page. The f i r s t number is the sum of

the sums of columns I - 10; the second the sum of the sums of columns

II - 20. The th ird number is tte chi square value for each subject.

Page 82: The change of personal constructs from the viewpoint of a theory of construct implications

78

A negative sign means the sum for columns 1 » 10 was greater than the

sum for columns 11 - 20. The p values the individual chi square

values, df = 1, are as follows:

chi square p

2.71 .103.84 ,055.4; .026.64 ,01

- 10.83 .001

7. The data for each subject for hypothesis 3 follows the

le t te r "C" a t the bottom of the page. The f i r s t number is the sum of

the squares of rows 1 - 10; the second, the sum of the sums of rows

II - 20. The third number is the chi square value for each subject.

A negative sign means the sum for rows 1 - 10 was greater than the

sum for rows 11 - 20. The p values are the same as in 6, above.

Page 83: The change of personal constructs from the viewpoint of a theory of construct implications

Subject 1 p

73

ii %

XXX i X X i

î Xe

i ex x x x x x x x i x e e e e e eXXX X X i X X i X

i X Xi 1 1 i

X X X X X1 i i l e

2019181716151413121110 9 8 7 5 5 4 3 2 1 31711 9 8 3 318 3 3 3141613101219 72015

x x x x x x x x e e e -------

1 1. quick temper—gentleX 2

3 2. leade r— fb ilowe rX X 4X 5 3. wants to get married—

*•%X

67 4.

Xmoutgoing—keeps to s e l f

X X 8X 9 5. common sense—sc a tte re 10 brained

i l l 6 . conse rvative—radical12

% 13 7. modem ideas—i 14 old fashioned ideas1 15 8. doesn't l e t people takeX 16 advantage of thea-“doesX 17 9. r e a l i s t i c — naiveX 18X xl9 10 . believes in college fo1 —20 women—doesn't

X X X r X XX r X X X X XX r XX X r XXX X XX X r X X r XX X X X r X r X XXX

rr r r r r rr r r r r rX X r r X XX r r r r rr r r rX r r X r r X r r t X r r r r r r r X X r X r r X

r r2019181716151413 113 2 7 9_3u_616

r r XXXX

r X

r t-

XX X X X X

r X X r r

r r r X r

r r r

rr r X

r r r r

X X Xr r r r r r X r r r r r XX X Xt r

121110

rr

XXX

X r r X

X r r X

r X X X X X

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 25 4 8181411101516192012

A;0.750 B;65,129,63.01 0:85,109,6.78

1X 2

345678 9

10mr l 2xl3

1415

ri61718

xl920

1

11. persuades people— causes arguen^nts

12. friendly re la tions— causes arguemnts

13. more friands— fewer

14. security—insecurity

15. needed—unneeded

16. broader ou tlook- self-centered

17. well-rounded- narrow minded

18. get more out of l i f e — get less

19; havB more responsibility —have less

20. useful—unuseful

Page 84: The change of personal constructs from the viewpoint of a theory of construct implications

Subject 2 M

80

1i i

X X X X X X X

iX

i i

X Xi iX X X X XXX XXX

Xi i i i 1 iX X i Xe i1 X X X

X X

iiIiiXXii

iXiX

ii X

XXX1 ii i

XiX

X Xi i

xlOi l la

2019181716151413121110 9 16191914 51312 5 5 51110

1 1 X X X X1 iX X

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 18 7 6 5

55154 3

51817

1 113 X 114 X xl5 1 116 X xl7 X xl8 X xl9 X x202 1 5 5

1. l ib e ra l—conservative

2. lower class a tt i tud es— middle class a ttitudes

3. s tra ig h t forward»» round about

4. concentrate»»drift

5. concerned with a r t— recognition

6. gets by—doing what is expected

7. likes ru ral things— likes urban things

8. ind iffe ren t to dis­approval—conce me d

9o flexible . toward morals— s t r i c t

10. consistently honest a with s e l f —incon­s is te n t ly honest

11. open minded—closed

12. could be a w riter—

r r r r r X

r r

r r r r

r r

r r r r r X r r r r r r 1 couldn 't ber r r r r r r r r r r r 2 13. aware—unaware

XJ4 14. unified—isolated

r r r r r r r r r r X r r r 5r r r r r r r r X r r r r 6 15. happy—unhappy

X X X r r r 7r r r r r r r r r r r r r r 8 16. hones t —dishone s tr r r r r r r r r r r r 9r r r r r r r r r r r r 10 17. respect s e l f -

r r r r r r r r r r r r l i d islike s e l fr r r r r r r r r r r rl2 18. worry le ss— worryr r r r r r r r r r r rl3r r r r r r r r r r r rl4 19. solving problems—

r r r r r r r r r r r X X xl5 bogged downr r r r r r r r r r r rl6 20. accomplish more—

X r X X X X r r r r r X X xl7 accomplish lessr r 18r r r 19X r r 20

2019181716151413121110 19161614 313 8 8 8 3 3

9 8 7 6 5 4 38 31512 82018 111

A:0.817 8:105,101,-0.15 0:102,104,0.04

Page 85: The change of personal constructs from the viewpoint of a theory of construct implications

Subject 3 M

81

1X 2

1 x 3 1 4

5

i iX i

i i l lXX 1X X X X

i 1 X X X 1x x x x x x x x x x X

X X %X X X% X XXX X iX X XX 1 XXX

Xi

X i

X X5 4 3

10xl lxl2113114151617181920

2019181716151413121110 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 16 7 6 3 2 1 5 81414 910201917 411131812

r r r r r r r X r X 1X X X X X X X r r X r r X r X 2

r r X r r X 3X X r X r X r r 4

5X r r 6

X X X X X r X X X r X r r r 78

r r X r r 9X X r 10

X X X X X X r r X X r r r l lX X X X X X X X X X X X r rl2

X X X X r r X X rl3X X X r r r r X X rl4r X 15

X X X X xl6r 17

X r X X X r 18r X X X r 19

X X X X X X X X 202019181716151413121110 9 8 ? 6 5 4 3 2 1

1 . u n d e r s t a n d i n g - - demanding

2. se lf-con tro lled— nervous

3. have goals—d rif t in g

4. considerate of others— self-centered

5. normal sex—abnormal

6. more knowledge—less

7. family harmony- family tension

8. a r t i s t i c ta len t—none

9. weighs the fac ts—jumps to conclusions

10. believe in conditioning —no in te re s t in i t

11. others gain confidence —others loose

12. gain friends—loose

13. people approach you— people avoid you

14. understand people— misunderstand

15. useful—useless

16; wanted—unwanted

17. active—inactive

18. d irection—d rif t in g

19. developing s e l f - staying the Sfflne

20. excitement— boredom

17 9 6 1 4 3 616191018 8201415 2111212 4

A:0.749 B:62.75,2.?3 0:63,74,1.92

Page 86: The change of personal constructs from the viewpoint of a theory of construct implications

82

Subject 4 M

X X X

X X

X X

XX

XXX

X i X

i i X X X % X X X X X

X Xi 1

i i XX X 1 X X X X X

20191S1716151413121110 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 9 2 3 5 810 6 6 4 112131820151113151318

î2345678 9

1011121314151617181920

X X r X r X 1r 2

r r X r X r r r X X r r r r X X r 3X X X X r r X X X r r 4X r X r r r r r r X X 5

r 6X X r r r X r X 7

X r X X r X X X r r X r 3X r X r X r r r X X r r 9X X X X X X r r X X X X X r X xlOr r r r r r r 11r r r r r r r X r r X 12X X X X X r r r r r X X X r X r X xl3

X X X X X r X X r X X X X X r xl4r r r r r r X r X r r r 15r r r r X r r r X 16r r r r r r X r X X X r X r X 17r r r r r r X l ar r r r r s r r r X r r X xl9

V X r r r r r r 2020 1918171615141312 1110 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1. likes sports-- indifferent

2 . coord inated-- uncoordinated

3. s tab l e - - fly off the handle

4 . f a d d i s h — c o n s e r v a t i v e

5. confidence—lack of

6. unmarried—married

7. college degree— no college degree

8. s i l ly —serious

9. se ttled in goals— unsettled

10. relaxed—nervous

11. masculine—feminine

12. being " in "—outcast

13. friends--fewer friends

14. conversation—fewer conversations

15. feel smart— feel dumb

16. confidence—afraid

17. a tta in goals— fa iling to

18. worthwhile- worthless

19. respect— lack of

20. good job—no job

3 2 4 8 4 61916 8 11913141115 717121018

A;0.584 8:93,120,7.84 0:95,118,5.57

Page 87: The change of personal constructs from the viewpoint of a theory of construct implications

Subject 5 M

83

XXe

123456 7

X X 8X X X X X X X X 9

i i 10i i 11

i X i 12i i X i X 13

i i i i 14i i i i i i X i i i 15

i i i i i 16X i X X X X X i X i i X i il7

x x x x x x x x X X X X X X i X xl8i i i i i i i 19

i i i i i i i i 202019181716151413121110 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 13 32015 114 510 S 9 31911 71213 6171315

X X X r r X 1r 2

X r r 3X r 4

X r X X X 5X r 6

X 78

X X X r 9r X X X X 10x x x x r r x r r x X X X X xl lx x r x x X r r X rl2X X X r X r r 13

X 14X r r X X r X X r xl5

r r r X X 16XX X r X r X X 17

X X X X r X X 1819

r 202019181716151413121110 9 S 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1 21611 4 613 814 9 61819201516 411 311

1 . o p e n l y s e n t i m e n t a l —» hidden sentiment

2 . parent—child

3. boyish—g ir l ish

4. lilte science—• indifferent to

5. independent-- dependent

6. modem—old fashioned

7. relig ious—agnostic

8. higher nativein te 1ligence—lowe r

9. adapt to s o c ie ty - rebelled

10. open minded- prejudiced

11. accomplish more-- accomplish less

12. good feeling— bad feeling

13. feel l i fe is great— feel l ife is bad

14. purpose—no purpose

15. more knowledge--less

15. make correct decisions —incorrect decisions

17. more freedwn—less

18. comfort—discomfort

19. progress—sta tus quo

20. being yourself—being a carbon copy

A;0.427 3:38,55,7,61 0:29,64,42,24

Page 88: The change of personal constructs from the viewpoint of a theory of construct implications

Subject 6 F

84

1 1 . i r r e s p o n s i b l e -2 r e s p o n s i b l e3 2 . a g r e e a b l e -

X 4 d i s a g r e e a b l ei 5 3 . s t a n d o n o w n t w o f e e t -

X X X X 6 - f o l l o w sX X X X 7 4 . e a s y g o i n g -

i X X X 8 e x c i t a b l ei i X X X X 9 5 . b r i g h t - - d u 1 1

i i 10X X X X X X X i l l 6 . h u m o r o u s - - n o s e n s eX î 1 i X X 12 o f h u m o r

X X X X X 13 7 . f r i e n d l y - - s n o b b i s hX X X X X X 1 4

X X X X i X X X 1 5 8 . k i n d — n a s t yX X X X X X X 1 6

i i 1 7 9 . f o r g i v i n g - - u n f o r g i v i n gi 1 1 1 8

i i i X 1 9 1 0 . a n i b i t i o u s - -X X 1 X X 2 0 u n a m b i t i o u s

2 0 1 9 1 8 1 7 1 6 1 5 1 4 1 3 1 2 1 1 1 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1 1 . u n p i e d i c t a b l e - -5 3 1 6 1 2 1 1 9 1 0 8 1 8 4 1 6 1 4 1 7 1 5 1 1 3 7 1 9 2 0 p r e d i c t a b l e

1 2 . p o p u l a r - - u n p o p u l a r

r X 1 1 3 . s a t i s f a c t i o n —X r r r X X X r 2 d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n

r r r 3 1 4 . d o m o r e t h i n g s - -X X r X r 4 d o l e s s t h i n g s

r r r r x x r r 5 1 5 . b r o a d m i n d e d -X r 6 n a r r o w m i n d e d

X X r X ï 7 1 6 . u n d e r s t a n d o t h e r s —X X r r r 8 m i s u n d e r s t a n d o t h e r sX X r r r 9 1 7 . l e a r n m o r e —

r r r r 10 l e a r n l e s sr r r l l 1 8 . m o r e o f a f u t u r e -

r r r r r r r r 12 l e s s o f a f u t u r er X X X X 1 3 1 9 . a t t a i n g o a l s —

X X r X 1 4 u n a t t a i n e d g o a l sX r i 5 2 0 . h a p p y — u n h a p p y

X r X 1 6r X r 17

r r X r r r X 1 8r X X r r X X 1 9

X X X X X r X X X 2 0

1914 ô 9 312 519 114 7 8101416 21611 418

A:0.271 3:44,55,2.75 0:47,52,0.53

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Subject 7 F

8S

1 1. have <n-7n way about2 home—easy going

X 3 2. adult—childishX X 1 41 1 1 5 3. show emotions—

i i X 1 6 suppress emotionsX X X X X X 7 4, relig ion important—XX X X X 8 relig ion rules1 1 X X 1 9 5. takes In i t ia t iv e —

X X XX X X 10 doesn’ t1 1 1 X 11 6. public s p i r i t e d -

i 1 i 12 m ilitan ti i X X 13 7. lik es to work with

XXX X XX X X 14 hands—doesn 't1 1 1 X X X 15 8. a c tiv ity minded—

i i l l X 1 X 16 homebodyi 1 1 17 9. s t r i c t —lenient with

i 1 X X 18 c h ild 's safety% % % X X X X 1 1 X 119 10. doesn 't like toX X X i X 1 X 1 1 1 120 tease—does

2019181716151413121110 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 11. con ten t —dis con ten t1012 2 1 61315 7 4 817 51520 8141911 318

12. adjusted-»-maladjusted

X X X r r X 1 13. people like you—r 2 people d islike you

r X r X r r 34

14. people do favors fo r you—people won't

r r X r r r r X r 5 15. free atm osphere-r r r r X

X67 16.

stra inedunderstand one another

X X X X X 8 —misunderstandX r r X X

XX 9

1017. mature—regress

X X X X X r X r X X X X X X 11 18. be respected—beX X r r r r r X X r r X X 12 looked down onX r X r X 13 19, choose—obeyX X X X X xl4X X X X r X r r X XX r X 15 20. people not allowed to-X r X r X X

r rXr

1617

- people step on you

X X r r r X X 18X X r X r

X r XXX

19x20

2019181716151413121110 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 17 811 1161319 n. 51519 91419 3 417 6 2 9

A;0.582 8:60,59,-0,02 0:40,79,38.02

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Subject 8 M

86

12

1 , r e s e r v e d ° « = e m o t i o n a l

X X 3 2 . m a r r i e d — u n m a r r i e dX X 4X 5 3 , p r i v i l e g e d -

X X 6 d e p r i v e dX 7 4 , p a t i e n t — I m p a t i e n t

X X X X X X X 8X X 9 5 . i n i t i a t i v e — t i m i dX X 1 0

X X X X X X X X 1 1 6 . u n s e 1 f i s h — s e I f i s hX i X X 1 2

i X X X X 13 7 . m a t u r e — i m m a t u r ei X X X X X X X 1 4

i X X 1 5 8 , s m o k e s — d o e s n ' ti X X X X 1 6

i i i 1 7 9 . e d u c a t e d — u n e d u c a t e di i i i X 1 8

i i i i i i 1 9 1 0 , h a p p y — u n h a p p yi i i i i i i 2 0

2 0 1 9 1 8 1 7 1 6 1 5 1 4 1 3 1 2 1 1 1 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1 1 , r e l a x e d — n e r v o u s4 4 6 310 815121118 7 920 214131816 118

X X X X r r X X r X X X r X X 1r 2

X X X X X X 3X X X X r X X X r X X X X X r 4X 5X X % 6X X 7

89

X X X X r r r r r X X X X X 10X X X X r r r r r X X r X X r l lX X X X r r r r r X X X X 12X X X X r r r r X X X X 13

X X X X X X X X 14X X X X r X r r r X X X X X X rl5X X X X r r r r r X X X r X X rl6r r r r 17r r r X 18r r r X 19

r r r X 202019181716151413121110 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

12, b e tte s performance- poorer performance

13, higher s a la r y - lower salary

14, buy more things— buy fewer things

15, s a t i s f i e d - d issa tis f ie d

16, eas ie r to get along with—harder

17, companionship- lone liness

18, warm fe e l in g - cold feeling

19, complete as a man- incomplete

20, f u l f i l l purpose- u n fu lfilled

1 5 3 21114191111 8111519 6111718 7 416

A;0,723 8:62 ,91 ,13 .56 0 :57 ,96 ,26 ,68

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87

Subject 9 F

1 1. i n d e p e n d e n t -2 dependent

X 3 2. mature—immature1 4

i X i 5 3. emotional—stableX X X X 6 e m o t i o n s

X X X X X X 7 4. broad in te re s ts—i X 8 narrow in te res ts

X X X X X i X X 9 5. leader— followeri 10

. X 11 6. open with friends—i i X X il2 r e s e r v e d

i i i i l3 7. o r i g i n a l —i X i i i 14 non-creative

X X X X X X X X X X xl5 8. modem-X X i i i i X 16 old-fashioned

e e 17 9. consistant—i X X X X i X X 18 inconsistan t

i e e 19 10. th o u g h tfu l-X X X X X X 20 impulsive

2019181716151413121110 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 11 . s a t i s f i e d -5 1 8 21218 ? 611 4 920131916141017 315 d issa tis f ie d

r r X r X r 1 13.r r X r r 2

X X X 3 14.X X r r r r r r X X r r 4

X r r r X r X r 5 15.X X X X X X X X 6X r r X X X X r r X 7 16.

17.r

X X X X X89

X X X r X X X 10r r r r r r r r X 11 18.r X X r r r r r r 12

X r r r r r r r r rl3 19.X X r X X r r r r rl4

X X r r r r X r X r X 15 20.X X r X r r r r r r r 16r r r 17X X X r X r X r 18r r r 19

r r r r 2020191817 16151413121110 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

12. feeling of accomp­lishment— lack of

13. feel free—feel tied down

14. growing up—staying young

15. new experience- same experience

16. s tim u la tin g - du ll and boring

17. respect—lack of

short term friends

pessim istic

5 615 2 7 912 4 3 1171812161910 8191014

A:0.657 3:44,99,68.75 C;65,78,2.60

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88

Subject 10 M

1 1, broader relig iousX 2 ou tlook--narrowe ri 3 2. reserved—emotional

X X 4XX X 5 3. enjoys school—

X X X X X 6 doesn 'ti 7 4c in te res ted in

X X X X X X 8 p o li t ic s —uninterestedX X X i X 9 5. enjoys a r t—doesn 'tX X i xlO

i i l l 6, likes hunting—i 1 12 d islik es hunting

i l l i X il3 7. values accomplishsenti i I i i 14 —doesn* t

1 X X X i xl5 8. likes foo tball—i i i X X X X xl6 d is lik es

X i 17 9. adult d r e s s -i i l l 18 teenage dress

i X X 1 1 1 i xl9 10. believes conmmn sensel i t i X 120 important—common

2019181716151413121110 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 sense unimportant4 6 2 111131012 5 8141619 3201715 918 7 11. understand people—

misunderstand12. contribute—

r X r X i not contributer X 2 13. livable society—

r r r r x x r x r r X X 3 unlivableX XX X X X r 4 14. happiness—X XX X 5 unhappiness

X XX X 6 15. masculine—femininer r X r X r r 7

X X X 8 16. acceptance—rejectionX 9

r 10 17, learn more—learns x x r x x r r r X r X r l l lessr r r r x t t r r r 12 18. prepared--unpreparedr r r r r r r x 13r r r r r x r r r r X xl4

1519. success--failuxs

X X X X x r r 16 20, new ideas—same ideasr r r X r r X r X 17r r r r r r X r r 18X r x x r r r x r r X 19

r r r r r r r r202019181716151413121110 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1 9 5 71012 3 2 412151818 7181816 61014

A;0.709 8:33,99 ,132.00 0 :45 ,87 ,39 .20

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Subject 11 F

89

1 1 . tolerant»»X 2 in to le ran t

3 2 . o rgan ized-i 4 disorganized

X X X 56

3. mature—immature% % % %

X 7 4. down to e a r th -i X X 8 fligh ty

X X X X X X i 9 5. in te llig en t-»1 0 less in te llig e n t

i l l 6 . a r t i s t i c —i X X 12 u n a rtis tic

X K 13 7 . serious—dreamer1 X X X X X 1 4

i X X X 15 8. deeper—shal lowe rX X X X 1 6

i 17 9. accepts—argues over18 l i t t l e things1 9 1 0 . devoted-wishy-washy

X X X X X X X X 2 0

X 1 i X

X X X X2019181716151413121110 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 15 2 3 1 7 411 9 8 510181412201713 61916

11

12

x r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r X

r r X r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r

r r r r

r r r r r r r r

r r r r r

r r r r r r

r r x 2019181? 13 112 7

r r r r r r r x xXX X r r X r r r x r r x r r r r r r r r r x x x x r r r x r r r i r

X X X x r r

r r r x x x r r x r r x r r r x r r r r X r r r x r r r x r r r r r r r r x r r r r r r r r r r r r

rr r x r r r r r r r r x r r r r r r

r r X r r r r r r r r x r r r r rr r r x r r r r x x r r r r r r r r r r x r r x x r r r r r 16151413121110 9 8 7 6 5 4 4 8 2 2 8 6

r r r r

rr r rr r xr r r

rr

r r r r r r

r r r r4 3 2

1 2345678

r 910

r l l rl2 rl3 rl4 rl5 rl6

r 17 r rl8 r rl9

201

e a s ie r to get along with—harder people with you»® people stay away

13. people help you— people unable to

14. f^el enjoyment— fee l lonely

15. happy—unhappy

16. l i f e seems e a s i e r - l i f e seems harder

17. goals in l i f e —no goals, aimless

18. contented— fru stra ted

19. people t ru s t and respect you— people apprehensive

20. perm itted to do more- perm itted to do less

5111315201916101817

AjO.758 B ;107,157,2.34 0:123,141,2.63

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Subject 12 F

90

12

X X 3 X 4

i i i 5 6

i 7i i i 1 8

x x x x x x x x S X X X X X X X xlO i l l X i l l

X i i X ii l l i l l

1 1 1 i 1 i 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 i

i i X X 1 1 1 x l l 1 1 1 1 1 i 1

i 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

% 1 12 1 113

X 1415

i i l ie 1 17

1 18i 1 19

1 1202019181716151413121110 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 2 2 6 715 4 9 21211192010 8 51714161318

r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r

r X X X

X r rr r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r t r r r r r r

r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r

r r r r r r r r201818171615141312

2 1 7 3111612 4 9

r x r r x r r 1r X r X r r 2XX XXX X r 3

X 4r X X r X 5

r X 6r r r r 7r X r X r r 8

X 910

X r r r X X r r l lr X r r r r rl2r X r r r r rl3r X r r r X x rl4r r X X r x rl5r X r r r X x rl6r r r r r r rl7r X r r r x r rl8r r r r r r x r r r l 9 r r r r r r r2Q

1110 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 7 62013141017181915 5

1 « dominate»” subservient

2. a rç is t lc — mechanical

3. belong to so ro rity— doesn 't

4. unde rs tending-- fligh ty

5. emotionally involved— carefree

6. married much l a t e r - married soon

7. organ ized- disorganized

8. professional In terests —lay in te res ts

9. in terested in s p o r ts - in terested in job

10. in terested In t r a v e l - in terested in home

11. leader—follower

12. e x c i t in g - uninteresting

13. accomplish more— accomplish less

14. recognition—lack of

15. security—insecurity

16. responsib ility— lack of

17. sa tis fac tio n —super­f ic ia l sa tis fac tio n

18. improve s e lf—stay same o r go down

19. fu ll l i f e - average l i f e

20. goals—no goals

A;0.511 8:102,147,19.85 0:90,159,52.90

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Subject 13 M

Si

X

X 1 X

I 1 X i XX

i 1 XX X X

2019181716151413121110 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 3 2 5 7 6 4 1 9151610201814 811 3121719

1 1 . farm—c a n 't farmL3 2. in terested in cars—

X 4 uninterested5 3. plays piano—doesn 't

i 6X X X 7 4. music d irec to r—

X X X X X X 8 doesn 't d irec tX X X X X X X X 9 5. types—doesn* t type

X 1 10X X X X i l l 6. in terested in m usic-

X X K X X 12 uninterestedX % 13 7. employee—boss

1415 8. plays v io lin —doesn 't1617 9. doesn 't play golf—18 does19 10 . teach music—doesn 't

i 2 0

r r r x xr r r x x

X Xr r

r X r X XX

r r r x x x %r x x r x x x r r x x x x xr x x r r x x r r x x xr r r r r x x r r x x x x

XX X

123456 7

X 89

xlO111213

r l 4r X r X X r r 15

r r r r r x r r r r r 16r r r r x x r r r x X X X X X X 17r r r r x x r r X X 18r r r r x x r r X X 19

r r r r s x x r r r X r r r r 2 0:019181716151413121110 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

11. less pressure—more

12. freedom—tes t r ie tloa

13. feeling of well-being —frustra ted

14. healthy—unhealthy '

13. more knowledge—less

16. growth—stagnation

17. accomplish more— accomplish less

18. contribute to society —no contribution

19. worthwhile—worthless

20. s e lf exp ress ion - l i t t l e s e l f expression

4 6 6 8 1 5 2 8131812161415 21610112019

A:0.S38 8:53,92,28.70 0:30,115,240.83

Page 96: The change of personal constructs from the viewpoint of a theory of construct implications

32

Subject 14 F

1 1 . work to capacity»»2 doesn't

X X 3 2. put others f i r s t -X i 4 put s e l f f i r s t

1 X X 5 3. open minded-X 6 stubbornX 7 4. sensible—spur of

x x x x x x x S the momntX X X X X X X 9 5. mature—Immature

% X X X X X xlOi X i l l 6 . not obscene—obscene

i 12i i 13 7. la te l llg e n t—s tupid

i i 1 1141 1 1 1 1 15 8. lesse r in te re s t In

1 1 1 1 1 16 sports—strong1 1 1 1 1 i 17 9. rellglous^^ncn^

i l i l 1 18 relig iousi l l 1 % X el9 10. calm-»nervous

X K X X X X X X X 202019181716151413121110 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 11. b e tte r grades—lower11 6 3 3 3 9 8 3 7131918201210151617 314

12. accomplish purpose—fa l l to

r x r r r r X r 1 13. help p e o p le -r r 2 hurt people

X r XX x r r 3 14. fee l worthwhile—X X X % X X X X X X X r r X X 4 feel fa ilu reX X X X X X X X X r r X r 5

fi15. sa tis f ie d —not

07g

16. good l i f e —bad l i f e

9 17. happy—not happyx x x x x x x x x x X X X X xlOr X r r r X r X r l l 18. have friends—

X r r r r X r X X rl2 have enemiesr r r 13 19. fee l wanted—

r r x r r r x r X X r l 4 & el unwantedr x x r r r x r r X X r l5 20. be rig h t—be wrongr x x r r r x r r X 16X X X r r r x r r % % rl ?

r X r r 18X r r X X 19X r r r x x r X X x20

2019181716151413121110 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 13 8 1 8 5 7 4 1 5121919191014161715 310

A;0.916 5:46 ,100 ,63 .39 0:60 ,86 ,11 .27

Page 97: The change of personal constructs from the viewpoint of a theory of construct implications

Subject 15 M

01

1 1. goes to church""2 doesn’ t

e 3 2. strong interest inX X X 4 basebâll--mild

X 5 3. marrie d- -umnarrîe dX X X 6

7 4. likes Dapore (boy’s8 name) —dislikes

XX X X e 9 5. equal—8 idekickX 1 i 10i X i 11 6. many a c tiv itie s—few

XXX X X X X X X 12% % X X i X % X 13 7. definite ideas—

X X X X X X X X X 14 floats alongX X % X 15 8, Presbyterian—

X i X X X X X X X 16 Jewishi X X X X X X K 17 9, middle c la s s -

i l l X XX X 1 18 lower classX % X X XX X % % 19 10. goes steady-

1 i 20 opposed to i t2019181716151413121110 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 11. fee l not alone with

111101213 5171418 4 516 2 315 720 9 819 my problems—feelI t ’s a ll up to me

12. easier to attainr r X 1 goals—harder

X 2 13. do more—do lessX r r 3X X X X 4 14. more information*»r r r r r r r 5 lessr r r r r r r r X X X X X 6 15. p r o fic ien t-r r 7 inexperienced

8 16, attain more goals—X X X 9 attain fewer

r :j> 17, more rewards—fewerr r r r r r X r i lX r X r r X X X X X 12 18. success—mediocrer r r r r r r r X x r r X X rl3X X r r r r r X X x r r 14 19. friends—few friendsX r r r r r r X X x r r 15r r r r r r r r r X x r r X 16 20. feel înçortant—r r r r r r r r r X x r r X rl7 fee l unin^ortantr r r r r r r r r r r 18r r r r r r r r X X r X X X 19

r r r r r r r r r 202019181716151413121110 9 8 7 6 5 4k 3 2 1

1 7 2 4 51112 616 8131919 310 819151417

A;0.3S9 8:51,106,59.31 0:37,120, 186.:19

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Subject 16 F

94

1 1. ccs2proinigins=®2 stubborn

i 3A

2. jo v ia l—serious

5 3, calm—nervousX X X X X 6X 1 7 4. less eas ily angered—

8 moreXX X X X X X 9 5. friendly—snobbish

e 10K X 11 6. live in co u n try -

12 live in c ity1 1 13 7. stand up for s e lf—

1 i 14 back downX i i i 15 8. g i r l—tomboy

i i i 16l i e 1 1 i 17 9. ta lk a tiv e—quiet

x i e i 18x x s x x s x i % 19 10. doesn’ c use s a t i r ic a lXXX XXX 20 humor—does

2019181716151413121110 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 11. have a good time—710 3 2 1 8 4 6 5121119131420 915171618 miss a lo t

12. happy°=unhappy

r r X X X XX r 1 13. good humored—x x x x x x x x x x X 2 upsetX X X X r r ï X r 3 14. doesn’ t hu rt people’sX r r r r r r r 4 feelings—doesx r r r r t ï i r r r X 5

A15. fee l good—feel bad

r0

X X 7 16. people not afra id to8 approach you— people

x x x x x x x x r r XX X 9 afra idr X 10 17. being a p a rt of things

x r x r x x r r r r xl l —depressed ^ d lonelyx r x ï x r x r x x r X x r r 12 18. people like you—x r x r r r r r r r r 13 people don 't

r r r r r X r X r xl4 19. do more—do lessx r x r r r r r r x X r r r 15

r r r X r x r X 16 20. not get blamedX r X s r x r r r X x r r 17 unfa irly—get biassed

r r X r r 18x r r r r r r x X r r l 9

X r r20201S1S1716Î5141312111Ô 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 111 8 1 9 7 3 2 310131219161817 5 6152014

A:0.749 B;53,113,67.92 0:65,101,19.94

Page 99: The change of personal constructs from the viewpoint of a theory of construct implications

Subject 17 F

1. quie te r--expressesX 2 emotions during

X X 3 utmessary argusœents4 2. doesn't like fishing—5 does6 3. live in c i t y -

X X % X % 7 live in countryX i X % S 4. unmarried now-

i X 9 married nowXXX X X X X X 10 5. mature—immature

! X X 11;■ - i X % 12 6, conservative withi i X 13 morals—liberal

1 i i X 14 7. interested in p o litic s1 i X i X X 15 —uninterested

X X X X X X X X 16 8 . teacher—s tudentX X X X X X X X 17X X X X X X X 18 9. higher education-

X XX i X 19 l o w e r educationXXX XXX X X X X 20 10. like housework—

2019181716151413121110 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 dislike10 5 81213 7 2 2 6 920 41118 11415181816 11. gain friends—

loose friends12. social—alone.

r X r X X 1 isolatedr X 2 13. few mental problems—

3 manyX 4 14. normal l i f e —

r r r 5 breakdownX X X X 6

715. happy—xffihappy

X r r X 8 16. clean—messyx r r r r X X 9

r 10 17. more advantages—r X X r r l l fewerr r r 12 18. higher standard of

r r r r 13 living—Ictjerr r r 14 19. finish education—r X X r r r r rl5 couldn't

XXX X r 16 20. l i f e easier—harderr r XXX r % xl7r r r 18

r r X X 19% % X r r r X X X X 20

2019181716151413121110 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 17 5 9 616 3 1 2 314181115201612 9 81812

A:0,577 8:28,53,22.32 0:26,55,32.35

Page 100: The change of personal constructs from the viewpoint of a theory of construct implications

Subject 18 F

yo

i

i l 1 1% 1 % % x i x i xi 1 i 1 i X

1 X % X i î i x x iX X X x i

i XXX X i lXX X X X X X x x x x x

I x x x x XXX x x x x x x2019181716151413121110 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1716 4 513 311 1 8 72019 915 212 6141018

1 2

X 3 1 4

X X 5 6

X X X i 1 7i i l l 8

X X X i X X X 9 i x x x x x x x xlO1 X X 11i XX i X 12

1314151617181920

1.

X X r X X r r r r r r r r X 1r r r r r r X r r r 2r r X X r r X X r r X r 3X X r r r r r r r r r r X r 4r r r r r X r X r r X r 5r r r r r X r X X X r r r 6r r r X r r X X X r r X r X r r r 7

r r r r X r r r X 8X r X r r 9

X X r X r r X X X rlOr r X X r r r X r r X X r l l

r r X X r r X r r xl2r r r X X r r r r r r r r rl3X X X X r r X r r r r r 14

X r r r r r X r r r 15r r r r r r r r x l6r r r r X r X r r r rl7r r X X X r r X X r r r r r xiar r r X X r X X r r r r r 19

r r r X X r X X r r r r r 2020]L91S1716151413121110 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

8 814 3 4 215 11016192013121017 618 5 7

4:0.471 8:106,130,5.43 C: 116,120,0 , 14

strong tenîpsr=“ easy-going

2 = un& rs tanding— narrow minded

3. resp ectfu l- disrespectful

4 e responsib le- irresponsible

5. indifferent— easily hurt

6. perceptive- unrealistic

7. generous— self-centered

8. mature—innocent

9. domineering- submissive

10o happy-go-lucky— quiet

11. d e c is iv e - indecisive

12. self-confidence-™ unsure of s e l f

13. stable—unstable

14. happy—unhappy, «^pressed

15. mature—inma tu re

16. more forsight—less

17. accomplis Went— no accomplishment

18. satisfaction— no satisfaction

19a accepted--rejected

20. belong—being on the outside

Page 101: The change of personal constructs from the viewpoint of a theory of construct implications

Subject 19 F

97

1 1. easy going»»2 high strung

X 3 2. tac t fis 1—tac tlassX X 1 4X X 5 3. In itia tive—lack of

i 1 6X X i i X i 7 4. re lâxe d—ne rvous1 X X % 8

i 9 5. sense of humor—% 10 lacks

1 i l 6. a ttra c tiv e -i X i i 12 unattractive

i i i X 1 1 1 1 i i 13 7. works—overworksi 1 i 1 14

1 i X i i X 15 8, people InteKsted Ini i i i l l 1 1 1 16 me—unlnteres ted

1 1 1 1 X i 1 1 17 9. interest in higher1 1 1 1 1 1 1 i i 18 education—dlsinte res t

1 1 1 i i i l 1 1 1 19 10. liberal minded-x l i l l i i X 1 i 20 str ic t

2019181716151413121110 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 11. loose perspective—6 1 3 8 410 117 9 511 71519131620141218 keep perspective

12. society approves— society disapproves

X X X X X X r r 1 13. keep job—loose jobX X r X X X r r 2

r 3 14. goes to college—r X X X X X X X r 4 can* t

X X X X r X X 5 15. deep personal sa tis-r r r r x x r r X r X r 6

7fac tion— dis sa t is fae t* Ion

r X X X r X X X X 8 16, accomplish more—r X r r 9 accomplish less

r r X r 10 17. broad minded-r r 11 narrow minded

X r X r X X 12 18. understand people—X r X r 13 misunderstand

r X 14 19. help people—can'tr x x x r x x x x x x X r X X 15 help peopler x x x r x x x x x x X X r X 16 20. learn more—

r X X X X r X r 17 leam lessr X XX r 18

X X X X X X t 19x x x r r x x x r x v X 20

2019181716151413121110 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 11614 5 42015 6 7 8 1 3 81111 21817131019

Â:0.273 8 :61 ,77 ,4 .20 0 :62 ,76 ,3 .16

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Subject 20 F

98

K i X i

ii X X X X

X i X i iX X

i i i i

i ;L i

lX 2

1 x 34

i 5X 6

1 1 7X 8

910

J.1112

113x i X XXX XXX x x i i xl 4

i l i 15x i i X X 1 x i i l 6

x x x x x x x x i i i l l xl71 1 i 1 1 18

i i 1 i i i 119x i X X X x x i i 20

2019181716151413121110 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 6 3 31711 115 8 2 713 5161418 910192012

X r r XX r XX r

X r Xr r r r r

r r r r XX r

r X r Xr r r

Xr X X

XX X r X

r X X

r rr X r

X Xr r

X X 1r 2

r r X r 3r r 4

X X r 5r r X r X 6r r X X X 7

r r r r x 89

r r r 10r X XX r l l

r X X 12r r 13

X r 14r 15

r rl6X r X r X 17r r r 18

r rl9X r X 20x r r X

2019181716151413121110 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 12 4 615181910 91515 520 312 8 7 1 11512

1. in s e n s it iv e - sensitive

2. fights for own way—doesn't

3. talkative—shy

4. popular—unpopnlar

5. feel people like oe— feel people d islike tie

6. like people—don't like people

7. doesn't show feelings—does

8. fr ien d ly - unfriendly

9. in te ll ig e n t - stupid

10. kind—unkind

11. strong person- weak person

12. happy—unhappy

13. stable—moody

14. get what you want-» not

15. better person- lower person

16. not jea lo u s- jealous

17. people get to knew you—people don’ t

18. more friends— fewer

19. not lonely—lonely

20. do more—do less

Note: This subject showed great d ifficu lty in concentrating on theexperinentêî task.

A:-0.250 8:65,50,-3.46 0:65,50,-3.46

Page 103: The change of personal constructs from the viewpoint of a theory of construct implications

Subject 21 F

1 1 .X 2 w o r r ie d

3 2 . s e n s i b l e -X % % 4 s c a t t e r - b r a i n e d

i X 5 3 . m a tu r e — im m ature

X %D

1 7 4o s u r e o f g o a l s —X X X X X X X 8 u n su r e

i 9 5 . i n t e r e s t e d In s p e e c hX X X X X X X X xlO e d u c a t io n — d l s i n t e r e s ti i l l 6 . e a s y t o g e t a lo n g

X X 1 X 12 w i t h — stu b b o r n1 i 13 7 . fu n l o v i n g — s e r i o u s

X i 141 1 1 15 8 . c a r e f r e e — t i e d down

X X X X X 16X X X X X X X X X X X x l 7 9 . e v e n t e m p e r -

X X % X % X X X X X X X X X X X 118 q u ic k tem p erX X 19 1 0 . d o in g t h in g s d i f f e r e n t

i X X X 20 w a y s— sam e w ays2 0 1 9 1 8 1 7 1 6 1 5 1 4 1 3 1 2 1 1 1 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1 1 . g o o d f e e l i n g -

5 42017 8 j 3 111 619 91812 7 1 3 1 6 1 0 1 5 1 4 b a d f e e l i n g1 2 . m ore f r i e n d s — fe w e r

X X r X X X X X r r X X 1 1 3 . f e e l n o t a lo n e —X X X 2 f e e l a lo n er 3 1 4 . f e e l w a n te d ,n e e d e d —X X X 4 f e e l unw anted

5 1 5 . a c c e p t e d — r e j e c t e dr r 6

X X X 7 1 6 . p e o p le w a n t t o h e lpX 8 y o u — p e o p le d o n ' t

r r r 9 1 7 . m ore i d e a s — fe w e rX 10

X X r X X X X X r r X r l l 1 8 . e a s i e r t o s o l v eX r X X 12 p r o b le m s— h a r d e rV X t X 13 1 9 . d e c id e f o r s e l f —

V X r X X 14 o t h e r s d e c i w f o r your r X X 15 2 0 . b e in g an i n d i v i d u a l -

X r X 16 b e in g o n e o f th eX X 17 m a s s e sX % r X r l 8

T r 19t X 20

2 0 1 9 1 8 1 7 1 6 1 5 1 4 1 3 1 2 1 1 1 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 18 6131610 3 4 5 7 81^ 21818 11415101812

AîÔ,807 8 :27 ,45 ,12 .00 0 :2 9 ,4 3 ,6 .7 6

Page 104: The change of personal constructs from the viewpoint of a theory of construct implications

Subject 22 ?

ICO

1 1. in te llectu a l—X 2 non-intellectualX 3 2. seeks out social

4 world—doesn't5 3. w illin g to accept

X X 6 things—rebelliousX 7 4. mature—immature

X X i i 8X X X X X 9 5. happy—moodyi X X X X 1 IQ

i 1 X i i i l l 6 , serious about career-i i X 1 12 doesn't care

i X i 13 7. security—insecurityi i i 14

X X X i i i i l5 8. concerned with l i f ei i i i 16 i t s e l f —concerned

x x x x x x X X i X X X xl7 with own l i f e onlyi X i X i i i 18 9, controlled temper-

i i X X X X X X K 19 hot temperedX i X 1 i i 1 1 20 10, extrovert—introvert

2019181716151413121110 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1510 417 1 9 2 6 711151812 813 314192016

yr rXX r r r

rXr r r rX Xr X r r X

r r r X X X r rx r r X r X r

X r X X r X r

r X r

X X r r r r

r r X r r r r

rr r rrX

rXX X r r r X r Xr X r r r X X r r r r X X r X X r

XX r X X X r r

r r rX X

r X r r r r X r

r r % r r 2019181716151413121110

2121320 1 915 4 5 518

r r Xr r X r rX r r Xr r

r r rX X

X X r r Xr X X r

r r r rX r r r rX X r

r r r

Xr X

r r r

r rr

rrr

rXX X r X

r r r rr X rr r r r 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 7171416 310 81119

123

r 45678 9

10r l l

1213

xl4151617181920

1

11, find out more about s e l f and l i f e — find out less

12» more in te re s tin g person—less

13, sure o f s e l f - mixed up

14, s a t i s f i e d - d issa tis f ie d

15, get more out o f l i f e — get le ss

16, enjoy people— doesn 't

17, b e tte r job—worse

18, takes advantage of opportunity—doesn 't

19, succeed—fa i l

20, e a s ie r to get along with people—harder

Âî0,447 8:87,112,7,18 0:95,104,0.85

Page 105: The change of personal constructs from the viewpoint of a theory of construct implications

ÎOÎ

Subject 23 M

1 1. sc ien tific caæer—X 2 philosophicalX 3 2. plays œusic—doesn® t

X % 4X 5 3. joking type—

6 seriousX X X X X X 7 4. reserved—"beat"X X X X X 8

X 9 5. higher grades—loweri 10

X % i x l l 6. sure of career-12 unsure

X 13 7c unmarried—marriedi X 14

XXX X X xl5 8. a th letic—non-XXX XX xl6 ath letlc

X 17 9. not se lf-con sciou s-i 18 self-conscious

X î X 19 10. uses sarcastic humor-1 X X 20 motherly humor

2019181716151413121110 9 8 7 6 3 4 3 2 1 Ilo more job opportunities4 5 2 31113 7 Ô 114 81018201215161719 9 —fewer

12. concrete, defin ite.sure of s e lf—lo s t .

X r r X r r r X 1 confusing2 13. acconq[>llsh more— .

X r X r X r 3 accomplish lessX r r r r X r 4 14. success—failure

r r r r r r r X r X r r 5X x r r r r r X 6 15. independent-

7 subservientr X X 8 16. society approves—

X r X X X r x r r X X r 9 society disapprovesr rlO 17. help p eop le-

x x r x x x x x x X X X X X xl l net help peopler X r r r r r r 12 18. self-esteem—

X X r X X r r X r r r 13 inferiority complexr r r r r r 14 19. more education-* ^ess

r X X r X X 15r r X 16 20. integrated, broad

X X X X X 17 minded—narrow mindedX r r r r X r X % r X 18

X X X X r X 19X r XX X 20

2019181716151413121110 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 11814 820 417 2 6 51912 91615 7 3 1131110

A;0=057 8 :7 0 ,6 5 ,-0 .3 6 0 :5 8 ,77 ,6 .22

Page 106: The change of personal constructs from the viewpoint of a theory of construct implications

Subject 24 F

iv2

1 1. easy-gelng°=2 bad temper

X 3 2. sense of humor-i 4 seriousi 5 3. happy-unhappy

X X X X 67 4. not p ossessive-

X 8 possessiveX X X X X X X X 9 5. accepting, tolerant—X X X X X X 10 judgingX X X X X X X 11 6. reserved-X X X X X 12 outgoing

i 13 7. bright in school*—i i 14 not bright

X X X X 15 8. likes animals—X X 1 16 hates animals

X X X X X 17 9. responsible-X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 18 irresponsiblei i X X X X 19 10. patient—

X X X 20 inqpatient2019181716151413121110 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1 1 . people not mad at me-4 718 8 5 9 1 113161620 6 3161011121419 people mad at me

12. feel better—feel mad

X x x x x x r r x r r 1 13. better grades—X X X X X X X X 2 worse gradesX X X X X X X X X X r 3 14. go on in school—

4 can* tX r 5 15. enjoy more things—

X r X X X X X X X 6 enjoy fewerr r X r r x 7 16. in terested -

8 boredX 9 17. leam more—

X X X X X xlO leam lessX x x r X X X X XXX r l l 18. more friends—fewerX X X X Ï X X X X X rl2r XX r X r 13 19. do more—do lessr X r r 14

r r r X 15 20. worlc hard in sch oo l-r r r 16 lettin g things slide

r r r r r 17x x x x x x x x r x x x xl 8

r r r x 19r x r r r 20

3 9B 1 5 7 5 51315161710 218 8121320J0

A:0.823 8:49,72,10.79 0:54,67,3.13

Page 107: The change of personal constructs from the viewpoint of a theory of construct implications

Subjeee 25 F

Î03

1 1 . f a v o r s l i b e r a l a r t s —2 favors specialization3 2 . extrovert—introve rt45 3. slow in making

X X X 6 decisions—jumps toX X 7 conclusions

X X X X X X X 8 4. healthy—unhealthyX X 9

X X X X i 10 5. wants children—X X i X X 11 doesn'tX X X X X 12 6 . active—p a s sive

X X X X X X X 13X 14 7. desire education-

X X X X X X X X X X i 15 disinterestedX X X X X X X X i 16 8 . plays tennis—X i 17 doesn't

18 9. doesn't take peopleX X X X X i 19 for granted—doesX X X X X i 20 10. patient— impatient

1413121110 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

% % X % %

>019181716910 1 41316 3141112 8 520 717 2 6151819

XX X r

Vr XXX

X

X r X

1 23456 7

X 8X 9r 10

r l l 12

rl3X r X 14X X XX X r 15

X X r 16x x r 17x x r r r 18X X 19

r 202019181716151413121110 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1 9 2 7151714 4 4 4101317 41720 7111711

r X r X

r

X Xr r r

r r r r

t t

rrr

11. leam moye— leam less

12. free—bogged down

13. broad Interests— narrow

14. s a t is f ie d - dissatisfied

15. get to know more people—fewer

16. more accurate decisions—less

17. close stable relation­ships—distant unstable

18. honest with s e l f— dishonest

19. give to o the re­take from others

20. needed—unneeded

A:0.346 3:24,40,10.67 0:30,34,0.53

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Subject 26 N

104

1 1. mature—insns tu reX 2

X X 3 2. calm—excitedX X X 4

5 3. likes sports—X 1 1 6 dislikes

X X X X % 7 8

4. likes to go out'»'» prefers to stay

% i X i 9 at homeX X X X xlO

i l l5. married‘’°uumarried

X i X X 112 6. usderstaed others^-XX XX X 113 misunderstand

X i X X X 14 7. sedate—characterX X X 15

X X X X 16 8. masculine»»X X X X X X X X X 17 feminine

X % X X X X X X X X X 18 9. gets along»»criticali X X X X X X X X X X X 19 of others

X X X X X X X 20 10. settled down—2019181716151413121110 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 playboy7131310 4 3 811 9 116 6 22012 519181715 11. treated like an adult

—like a child12. get along in

r r r r r r 1 profession—can* tX r r r r r X 2

313. success—l i t t l e

successr r r r x 4 14. satisfaction—r X r X 5 dissatisfactionr X r r r r r r 6 15. get a lot out of

r r r X X X r 7 8 16.

l i f e —get l i t t l e fu lf ille d purpose-

r X X r r r r r r 9 unfulfilledr r r r r r X rlO 17. get more meaningful

r r r X X r r r r l l things done—getX X r r r r r r r r rl2 less donex x x x r r r r r X r r xl 3 18. change—stay in

x x x r r r r r 14 a rutr r x r r r x r X r 15 19. leam something new—

r r r r r r X xl 6 doesn'tx r r r r r x r X X X X xl7 20. companionship»-X r r X X r 18 being aloneX r r r r x r xl9

r X r r r r 202019181716151413121110 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1101212 9 5151610 6 3 3 61914 2181719

A;0.032 8:64,82,3.00 0:54,92,26.74

Page 109: The change of personal constructs from the viewpoint of a theory of construct implications

Subject 27 F

m

1 1 . patient»»looseX 2 temper easily

3 2. neat—sloppyX 4

5 3. considerate of others6 —inconsiderate

X X i 7 4. outgoing—quie tK X i a

x x x x x x X X 9 5. respectful of parentsX X X X X 10 —rebellious

X XX 1 i l l 6. normal—abnormal1 % X 112

1 % XXX % xl3 7. u n se lfish -X i 14 se lfish

x x i x x XXX XX xl5 8. calm—nervousi i X i X X 16X X i 17 9. doesn’ t tease

X X 18 people—doesXX x x x x x x x x x x 119 1 0 . interested in cultureX X X X 1 X X X 20 —disinterested

2019181716151413121110 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 11. easy to get along815 2 41018 312 911162013 6 1 514 71917 with—harder

12. accomplish more»»accomplish less

r X r x x r r i f ï r r 1 13. s a t is f ie d -r r r 2 d issatisfied

r r r r r r X r 3 14. organized-r r X X X 4 unorganised

r r r r 5 15. save tim e-6 waste time

r r r X r X 7 16. do more—do lessX r r r X r 8

X r 9 17. more knowledge-r r r 10 less

X r X r r X r r r l l 18. broad mincbd—X r r r X r XXX X r rl2 narrow mln&d

X r X r r r r X r r % rl3 19. people considerate ofr r r r X r 14 me—inconsiderate

r r r 15 20. more fun-=less funr r r x r r r r X X X rl6

r r X X r r X 17r r r r r XX r 18

r t rl9r r X x x r 20

2019181716151413121110 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 17161115 5 6 4 1 9131820 712 21419 9 9 3

A:D.202 5 :58 ,68 ,1 .72 0 :48 ,78 ,18 .75

Page 110: The change of personal constructs from the viewpoint of a theory of construct implications

Subject 28 M

lOo

i 1. face problesî3“°X 2 escapes from problems

3 2. prefer to save BKjney»»* X 1 4

X X X 5spend I t on unnessary things

X 6 3. dependable-X XX 7 undependableX X 8 4. mature—immature

x x x x X X X X 91 10 5. Interested In school

X X X 111 —disinterestedi X X i X 112 6. neat—sloppy

i i V XX X X 113i 1 i X X X 114 7. hard worker—lazy

i X i i X X X i 115i i i i i 116 8, doesn’ t gossip—

% X X X X 1 Î 1 117 doesi % X X X X X x x x x XXX xl8 9. plays cards—

1 i 1 X X X 119 doesn’ t1 i i i 1 20 10. prompt—slow In

2015181716151413121110 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 paying debts2 51911 613 810 9 7 3201214 41717 11715 11. solve problems—

can’ t12. achievements—

r r r r 1 few achievementsV X 2 13. boost ego—tearV X r XX r 3 I t down

r X r 4 5

14. do better— do worse

r r X 6 15. gain more materialr V X 7 things—gain fewr X r 8

916. sa tisfied —

d issatisfiedr X r XlO 17. gain respect of

r r X x l l others—looseX X X r r r r x x x x xl2 18. wanted—unwantedr r r r r r r r r x r r r rl3X X X r r r r x x x x X xl4 19. make right decisions—X X X r r r r X x x x X xl5 make wrong decisionsx x x x x x r x x x XXX X X xl6 20, s e lf in terest—lack ofx x r r r r r x x x x x x X X xl7 s e l f interestXX r r XX X X xl8X r r

r r r r rr xl 9

r t tlO2019181716151413121110 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 12 41212191515 215 7102010 4 618 9 717 2

A:0.402 8 :6 2 ,7 6 ,3 .1 6 0:28 ,110,240.14

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

107

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Bîblîography

1o Bannister, D, A genesis of schizophrenic thought disorder: aserial Invalidation hypothesis. B ritish J. of Psychiatry.1963, m, 680-686.

2, Bennion, R, C, A study of re la tive readiness for changing anticipa­tions following d iscred it to situational behaviors: Hostility and the constellatoriness of personal constructs. Unpublished master’ s thes is , Ohio State Univer., 1959.

3, B ieri, J . A study of the generalization of changes within the personalconstruct system. Unpublished Ph.D. d isserta tion . Ohio State Univer,, 1953.

4, Sinner, P. R. Permeability and complexity: Two dimensions ofcognitive structure and the ir relationship to behavior. Unpublished Ph.D. d isse rta tion , Univer. of Colorado, 1958.

5, Bonarius, J . C. J . Research in the Personal Construct Theory ofGeorge A. Kelly, In Progress in experimental personalityresearch. Brendan A. Maher (Ed). Vol. II , New York:Academic Press, 1965 (In press).

6, Cromwell, R. L . , and Caldwell, 0. F. A comparison of ratings basedon personal constructs of se lf and others. J , c l in . Psychol.. 1962, i 8 , 43-46. ------

7, Flynn, J . C. Cognitive complexity and construct constellatorinessas antecedent conditions of role v a riab il i ty . Unpublished master’ s thes is , Ohio State Univer., 1959.

8, Gottesman, L. E. The relationship of cognitive variables to thera­peutic a b i l i ty and training of client-centered therapists .J , consult. Psychol. . 1362, 2è, 119-125.

9, Guilford, J . P. Fundamental S ta t i s t ic s in Psychology and Education.New York: McGraw-Hi 11 ; ' 1950-;

10, Hess, Harrie F. Level of cognitive awareness: I ts measurement andrela tion to behavior. Unpublished Ph.D. d isse rta tion , Univer. of Colorado, 1959,

11, Howard A, R, Psychological change as revealed by self-descrip tions.Unpublished Ph.D. d isse rta tion , Ohio State Univer., 1951.

108

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)Q9

12, Howard, A. R,, and Kelly, G. A, A theoretical approach topsychological movement, j . abnorm. soc. Psychol, . 1954, 49, 399-404.

13, Isaacson, G. The meaningful ness of personal and cultural constructs.Unpublished master's thes is , Univer, of Missouri, 1962,

14, Jennings, C, L. Personal construct theory and the c rea tiv ity cycle.Unpublished PhoD, d isse rta tion , Ohio State Univer., 1963,

15» Kelly, 6, A, The psychology of personal constructs, 2 Vol.New York; W, W, Norton & Co., 1955,

16, Kelly, G, A. H ostility . Presidential address. Clinical DivisionAmerican Psychological Association, 1957, Unpublished.

17, Kelly, G, A, interdisciplinary collaboration. Presidential address,Consulting Division, American Psychological Association, 1957, Unpublished,

18, Kelly, G, A, Personal construct theory and the psychotherapeuticinterview. Unpublished manuscript, 1957,

19# Kelly, G, A, The theory and technique of assessment. Annual Rev, Psychol. . 1958, 8, 323-352,

20, Kelly, G, A, Man's construction of his a lterna tives . In G, Lindzey(Ed.), Tl^ assessment of human motives. New York: Rinehart,1958.

21, Kelly, G, A, The function of interpretation In psychotherapy.Three unpublished papers for in s t i tu te sponsored by the Los Angeles Society of Psychologists in Private Practice and the U, of California a t Los Angeles, Jan., 1959,

22, Kelly, G. A. Is treatment a good idea? In Howard, A, R, (Ed,),Therapeutic roles in patien t treatment, sherldem,Wyoming; Veterans Admin,, Hospital, 1959, pp. 20-15, (mlmeo^«:^^hedj^

23, Kelly, G, A. Theory and therapy in suicide: The personal con$M«uctpoint of view. In Shneldman and Farberow, (Ed.) The CQf |g r help. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1961,

24, Kelly, G, A. A mathematical approach to psychology. Address toMoscow Psychological Society, 1961,

Kelly, 6, A. The abstraction of human processes. In Proceedings of the XIV international Congress of Applied Psychology. Vol, 2: Personality Research. G. S, Nielson and Stanley Coopersmith, eds, Copenhagen: Munksgaard, 1962,

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26. Kelly, G, A. Europe's matrix of decision. In Nebraska symposium onmotivation, . 1962, M. R, Jones, (Ed,) Lincoln: Univer. of Nebraska Press. 1962,

27. Kelly, G, A, A further explanation of factor analysis. Unpublishedmanuscript, The Ohio State Univer,, 1962,

28. Kelly, G, A, Sin and psychotherapy. Temple University symposiumof psychotherapy, 1962, Unpublished MS, Ohio State Univer,. 1962,

29. Kelly, G, A, In whom confide? On whom depend for what? The fourthannual Samuel H, Flowerman Memorial Lecture presented to the New York Society of Clinical Psychologists on Dec. 7, 1962, Unpublished MS, Ohio State Univer,

30. Kelly, G, A, Psychotherapy and the Nature of Man, Paper read a t asymposium on the nature of man during meetings of the American Psychological Assoc, in Philadelphia, 1963,

31. Kelly, G. A. Ncnparametrlc factor analysis of personality theories,. J . Indiv, Psychol, . 1963, 19, 115-147.

32. Kelly, G. A, The language of hypothesis, J . Indiv, Psychol,, 1964,20. 137-152.

33. Kelly, G, A. The autobiography of a theory. Unpublished MS, OhioState Univer,, 1964,

34. Kelly, 6» A, The psychology of the unknown. For proposed volume onthe philosophy of science, Denis O'Donovan (Ed,),

35. Kelly, 6, A, The th rea t of aggression. Paper presented a t Conferenceon Humanistic Psychology, 1964,

36. Kelly, G, A, The strategy of psychological research. Paper presenteda t Brunei College, London, Bulletin B ritish Psychological Society, 1965, J[8, 1-15.

37. Kelly, G. A, A psychology of the optimal man. In forthcomingbook. The goals of psychotherapy, A. Mahrer (Ed,),

38. Kelly, J . V, A program for processing George Kelly 's Rep Grids on theIBM 1620 Computer, Unpublished MS, Ohio State Univer,, 1963.

39. Ladwig, G, A, Slot-movement under conditions of th rea t. Unpublishedmaster's th es is , The Ohio State Univer., I960,

40. Landfield, A. W, A study of threat within the psychology of personalconstructs. Unpublished Ph,D, d isse r ta t ion , The Ohio State Univer,, 195».

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Ml

41. Landfield, A, 17, A movement interpretation of th rea t, J , abnorm,soc. Psychol, . 1954, 4g, 529-532,

42. Landfield, A, V/, Self-predictive orientation and the movementInterpretation of th rea t, J, abnorm. soc. Psychol.. 1955. 51. 434-438. —

43. Landfield, A, W, The closeness of opposites, A synthesis and re­orientation. Unpublished manuscript, Purdue Univer,

44. Landfield, A, W., & Fjeid, S, P. Threat and se lf-p red ic tab il i tywith p red ic tab ili ty of others controlled: An addendum.Psychol. Rep.. I960, 6, 333-334.

45. Lemuke, Frances £, 5. Some aspects of change process in personalconstruct systems. Unpublished Ph.D. d isse rta tion , Ohio State Univer,, 1959.

46. Levy, L. H, A study of the re la tive information value of constructsin personal construct theory. Unpublished Ph.D. d isse rta tion , Ohio State Univer., 1954,

47. Levy, L. H. Personal constructs and predictive behavior. J . abnorm.soc. Psychol. . 1956, 54-58.

4 8 . Lundy, R, M, Changes In interpersonal perceptions associated with group psychotherapy. Unpublished master's thes is , Ohio State Univer., 1952.

49. Lundy, R, H. Assimilative projection and accuracy of prediction ininterpersonal perceptions, J . abnorm. soc. Psychol.. 1956. 52. 34-38. ------

50. Mitsos, S, B, Representative elements in role construct technique.J. consult. Psychol. . 1958, 22, 311-313.

51. Newman, 0. K. A study of factors leading to change within thepersonal construct system. Unpublished Ph.D. d isse rta tion , Ohio State Univer., 1956, Dissertation Abstr. . 1957, 17, 1597-1598.

52. Pedersen, F, A. A consistency study of the R.C.R.T, Unpublishedmaster's thes is , Ohio State Univer,, 1958.

53. Poch, S, M. A study of changes in personal constructs as related toInterpersonal prediction and i t s outcome. Unpublished Ph.D. d isse rta tion , Ohio State Univer., 1952,

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i h

54. Resnick, J . , and Landfield, A, W, The oppositional nature of■ dichotomous constructs* Psychol* Rec*, 1961, JJ_, 47-55.

55. Siegel, A, Nonparametric S ta t is t ic s for the Behavioral Sciences.New York; McGraw-Hill, 195^

56. S later, P. The principal components of a repertory grid . 10 BlomfieldSt, London, EC 2 .: Vincent Andrews & Co., 1965.

Page 117: The change of personal constructs from the viewpoint of a theory of construct implications

Autobiography

I, Dennis Neil Hinkle, was born in Akron, Ohio, June 21, 1935.

I received my secondary education in the public schools of Texas,

Florida, Missouri, Indiana, and Ohio. I attended Purdue University,

Miami University, and following a period of service in the armed

forces, I received the degree Bachelor of Arts in 1559 and the

degree Master of Arts in 1962 from Tke Ohio State University.

While enrolled in the Graduate School I received appointments as

a United States Public Health Fellow In 1960-61 and Teaching

Assistant for the years 1961-62 and 1963-64. As part of the

training program in c lin ica l psychology g completed a one-year

internship a t the Palo Alto Veterans Administration Hospital, Palo

Alto, California, In 1962-63. The requirements for the degree

Doctor of Philosophy were completed in 1964-65 during an appointment

as Psychology Trainee a t the Veterans Administration Hospital,

Chilllcothe, Ohio.

113