The Cognitive Perspective GEORGE KELLY Objectives To reject all theories of personality that impose the same set of constructs on everyone. To argue that we are naturally active, so the only assumption that must be made about motivation is that we seek a sense of order and control over our environment by anticipating the future accurately. To emphasize that there are many ways of interpreting (construing) the world from which we can choose. Each of us have personal constructs using which we interpret the world around us To show that psychopathology occurs when we make false or incorrect hypothesis and when our predictions are incorrect To devise methods of psychotherapy that help clients discover more accurate ways of anticipating the future George Kelly “To most people, the scientist is a breed apart: a trained professional preoccupied with abstruse thoughts, esoteric procedures, and the mysteries of the unknown. In contrast, George Kelly argues that we all behave much like the scientist. Each of us creates our own “hypotheses” and “experimental tests” for dealing with the world in which we live; and it is these unique personal constructs that psychologists must seek to understand, rather than trying to impose their own set of constructs on all humanity” View of Human Nature Psychology is a young discipline We cannot use one theory to explain all forms of human behavior Human nature is complex and it varies from person to person A theory can be well-suited for some aspects or some behaviors but not for all of them Kelly’s theory is often used in clinical psychology We, as humans, try to seek order and predictability in our dealing with the external world It is through confirmation and disconfirmation of our hypothesis about the world that we slowly grow into mature human beings For example, our parents often say that you are young, you do not have an experience of this world. You will soon learn about the reality of the world when you will turn into an adult View of Human Nature Confirmation and disconfirmation of our hypothesis have greater significance than any rewards or punishments and drive reductions The sole purpose of human behavior is to predict the future Human nature is based on processing information cognitively and to make sense of the world we live in For example, you are studying at GCU so that you can do your M.Phil from an HEC recognized institution and increase your job prospects. You made this decision by thinking about this institution, by analyzing the expect costs and benefits and by interpreting whether M.Phil will help you in achieving your goals in life. You simply want to predict and control your future by doing your degree. The Structure of Personality Personal Constructs According to Kelly, we achieve our goal of anticipating the future by behaving much like a research scientist. We make up theories about the environment in which we live, test these hypotheses against reality, and (if we are relatively healthy) retain or revise them depending on their predictive accuracy Each of us devised our own personal constructs for interpreting and controlling our environment Whether we are able to interpret the external world accurately or inaccurately depends on the manner in which we process information from the environment in a realistic manner For example, if a child who had suffered from stuttering in childhood would have construed (interpreted) it as a disability for life, he would have ended up in despair. However, if they interpreted it as a challenge, he would have emerged successful and he would have cured his disability Constructive Alternativism “The events we face today are subject to as great a variety of constructions as our wits will enable us to contrive.… Even the most obvious occurrences of everyday life might appear utterly transformed if we were inventive enough to construe them differently.” Such constructive alternativism is an excellent way to overcome unpleasant present circumstances or unhappy childhood events” The Structure of Personality Personal Constructs The Fundamental Postulate: a person’s thinking and cognitive processes are guided by ways in which he or she interpret events. For example, some people process the death of a loved one negatively, become depressed and lose all desire for life. In comparison, some people interpret this death as a reality of life, mourn over it for some time and then move on in a positive manner without becoming depressed. This example shows that our personality is shaped by the way in which we process information about our lives The Structure of Personality 2. The Postulates and Corollaries Kelly considers one fundamental postulate or assumption that it everything else underlies this “postulate” We anticipate events on the basis of our past experiences and knowledge about people and the environment People differ from one another in terms of their constructions Our personality is also shaped by the manner in which we organize constructs i.e. we give more importance to a group of constructs and less importance to others. For example, our personality might be dominated by “good vs bad constructs” i.e. we only see as people as being good or bad. It also means we only see the world in black and white……no grey region Our personality is also shaped by opposite or dichotomous constructs i.e. we see the world either as good or bad, friendly vs. unfriendly, intelligent vs. stupid, good looking vs. ugly etc. The Structure of Personality 2. The Postulates and Corollaries Fundamental Postulate: ◦ A person’s processes are psychologically channelized by the ways in which he anticipates events (Kelly, 1955, p. 46). Our naturally active psychological processes are shaped into customary patterns (“channelized”) by the ways in which we anticipate the future. We make these predictions by creating and using personal constructs, as explained in the following corollaries 1. Construction Corollary: A person anticipates events by construing their replications In order to predict the future, we interpret what has happened in the past 2. Individuality Corollary: Different people construe events differently 3. Organization Corollary: To make it easier to anticipate the future, we organize our personal constructs into a hierarchical system. Such hierarchies also differ among different individuals. The Structure of Personality 2. The Postulates and Corollaries 4. Dichotomy Corollary: Every personal construct is dichotomous i.e.bipolar 5. Choice Corollary: We value more highly the pole of a dichotomous personal construct that enables us to predict the future more accurately. 6. Range Corollary: A personal construct is useful for anticipating only some types of events, and this range of convenience may be narrow or wide 7. Experience Corollary: We frequently revise our system of personal constructs in order to improve its ability to anticipate the future 8. Modulation Corollary: Some personal constructs less readily admit new elements to their range of convenience, which limits the extent to which the system can be revised. 9. Fragmentation Corollary: The same person may use contradictory personal constructs at different times 10. Commonality Corollary: We are psychologically more similar to those people whose personal constructs have more in common with our own. 11. Sociality Corollary: To relate effectively to another person, we must understand how that person construes the world (but we do not have to use the identical constructs). Definition of Psychopathology Psychologically healthy people design appropriate tests to evaluate the predictive accuracy of their personal constructs, and make whatever revisions are necessary. In contrast, the pathological individual resembles an incompetent scientist who clings to hypotheses that have been disconfirmed. The sufferer expects to enjoy success, make friends, or find romance, but never does; and these consistently inaccurate predictions make daily life intolerable. “From the standpoint of the psychology of personal constructs, we may define a disorder as any personal construction which is used repeatedly in spite of consistent invalidation” (Kelly, 1955, p. 831). Causes of Psychopathology Psychopathology occurs due to inconsistent and inaccurate “cognitive” processing of information Psychopathology occurs when we make false hypothesis about the world and when our view of the world is unrealistic Psychological problems also occur due to negative and inaccurate construction systems. For example, a person who is dominated with the negativity construct, will interpret everything as being negative and will ultimately fall victim to depression A women who always expects the world to be good and loving as a result of which she forms high expectations of having a husband who is loving, charming and intelligent might fall into acute stress and depression when her husband will turn out to be the opposite In both examples, the problem lies in faulty cognitive processing Causes of Psychopathology A person might develop obsessive compulsive disorder because of his or her tight and highly specific constructions e.g. I will have a good day only if a wear a red tie. I will become clean and free from germs only if I wash my hands for 30 minutes. A person suffering from generalized anxiety disorder is likely to be interpreting all cognitive information in a negative manner or his or her view of the world is the opposite from the constructs he or she has formed Recent research suggests that schizophrenic symptoms may be due to a lack of self-monitoring, and consequently thoughts and ideas are attributed to external sources such as hallucinations, or result in delusions because the individual does not realise that they are self-generated. As a result, they mistakenly regard their own thoughts as alien and as having come from someone else. This explains symptoms such as disorganised speech, delusions, and hallucinations. People with schizophrenia are not able to filter information (selective attention) due to which a lot of irrelevant information and stimuli enter their consciousness. Therapeutic Interventions Kellyan psychotherapy is administered in 45 minute sessions with weekly appointments The time can be increased depending upon the severity of the symptoms A major therapeutic approach is the “Role Construct Repertory Test”, also known as (Rep Test) The client gives the names of some 15 people who play significant roles in his or her life In the second step, he or she is presented with three of these “role titles,” and must specify one important way in which two of these people are alike and are different from the third person For example, Jamal and Naveed are both “outgoing” but Kasim is not. This process is repeated 12 times The reason is this approach is used because it helps the therapist in gaining access to the construction system of the client. Another therapeutic approach is to use “self-reports”. For example, the therapist asks the client “how do you feel” “what do you think is wrong with you” etc. Therapeutic Interventions Fixed Role Therapy In this therapy, a panel of clinicians or a clinician can determine a contrasting or opposite role for a mentally disturbed client. The client will be required to act in this role for a period of two weeks and then see how this changes his or her life For example, a patient has become depressed due to his social interactions and how everybody breaks his trust. He is unable to judge people effectively. To cure the client, the therapist might ask him to play the role of a “famous psychologist” who is able to listen to people quietly, assess the things they talk about and has an ability to perceive people and their intentions accurately. The therapist will advise the client to become good at listening, read books, socialize with people but be very careful in dealing with them. He will be trained to trust people after numerous interactions with them and to actively interpret the information they offer to him. Therapeutic Interventions Kelly also recommends playing the roles of people whom the client doesn’t like However, this approach is not always effective and might not be suitable for every other patient During the process of therapy, most clients will use “resistance” as the goal of therapy is to change “faulty construction systems” The process of changing a person’s construction system is often difficult and that people might respond with contempt, anger, hatred etc. The therapist needs to be calm and needs to make the clients realize that the problem lies with their cognitive processing and that they can be cured only if they will cooperate Kelly also advised charging a high fees as it can motivate clients for regular attendance and for bringing about a change in themselves Evaluation This perspective pays little attention to childhood experiences No emphasis on behaviorism No focus on instincts and unconscious processes Little attention to biological factors Simplistic interpretations of psychological disorders Ignoring the emotional aspects of personality Despite of the criticism, this approach offered a new dimension into human behavior It generated a great deal of research on cognitions and their role in psychopathology. After all, most forms of psychological disorders are indeed based in faulty thinking and
