George Kelly (psychologist)
Encyclopedia
George Kelly or George Kelley (April 28, 1905 – March 6, 1967) was an American psychologist
, therapist
and educator
. He was best known for developing Personal Construct Psychology.
, Kansas
and went to Friends University
and Park College
, where he received a bachelor's degree
in physics
and mathematics
. Early on, he was interested in social problems, and he went on to get his masters degree in sociology
at the University of Kansas
, where he wrote a thesis
on workers’ leisure activities. He also completed minor studies in labor relations
.
George Kelly went on to teach at various colleges and other institutions, with course topics ranging from speech-making
to “Americanization”. In 1929, he completed a Bachelor of Education
degree at the University of Edinburgh
in Scotland
, writing a thesis
dealing with the prediction of teaching success, followed by graduate
and doctoral
degrees in psychology
at the State University of Iowa. His dissertation was on speech
and reading disabilities
.
For some years before World War II
, Kelly worked in school psychology
, developing a program of traveling clinics which also served as a training ground for his students. He had a keen interest in clinical diagnosis
.
In World War II
, Dylan Brundage and Kelly worked as an aviation psychologist
, where, among other things, he was responsible for a training program for local civilian pilots. After the war, he was appointed Professor and Director of Clinical Psychology
at the Ohio State University
, where he remained for twenty years. Under his guidance, OSU’s graduate psychology training programs became some of the best in the United States, offering a unique blend of clinical skills and a strong commitment to scientific methodology.
It is also at OSU that Kelly developed his major contribution to the psychology of personality
. The Psychology of Personal Constructs was published in 1955 and achieved immediate international recognition, gaining him visiting appointments at various universities in the U.S.A. as well as in Europe, the former Soviet Union, South America, the Caribbean, and Asia. He was also elected President of the Clinical and the Consulting Divisions of the American Psychological Association
, and served as President of the American Board of Examiners in Professional Psychology, providing expertise and insight, especially regarding ethical issues.
Kelly also worked extensively on researching the implications and applications of his theory, while continuing to work in clinical psychology. Joseph Rychlak
is among the prominent students of his who expanded on his theories. George Kelly died on March 6, 1967, at the age of 61.
analyst, they would be analysed in Freudian terms; a Jungian
would interpret them in Jungian terms; a behaviourist
would interpret them in terms of conditioning
; and so on.
The problem of observer bias (observer effect
) is particularly acute in the social sciences such as psychology
, sociology
, economics
, etc., where commentators' frame of reference
can influence what they see, how they describe it, and what they prescribe. You can find explanations of schizophrenia
which rely on brain chemistry at one end of the spectrum and family dynamics at the other. Some educationalists advocate mainstreaming of bright children; some are totally against it. Some economists see government spending as a strategy to be used, and some see it as a strategy to be avoided. It's rare for them to find common ground.
Kelly wanted to develop a theory and an investigative technique, which would remove the influence of the observer's frame of reference on what was observed.
The fundamental postulate: "a person's processes are psychologically channelized by the ways in which he anticipates events."
• The construction corollary: "a person anticipates events by construing their replications."
• The experience corollary: "a person's construction system varies as he successively construes the replication of events."
• The dichotomy corollary: "a person's construction system is composed of a finite number of dichotomous constructs."
• The organization corollary: "each person characteristically evolves, for his convenience in anticipating events, a construction system embracing ordinal relationships between constructs."
• The range corollary: "a construct is convenient for the anticipation of a finite range of events only."
• The modulation corollary: "the variation in a person's construction system is limited by the permeability of the constructs within whose range of convenience the variants lie."
• The choice corollary: "a person chooses for himself that alternative in a dichotomized construct through which he anticipates the greater possibility for extension and definition of his system."
• The individuality corollary: "persons differ from each other in their construction of events."
• The commonality corollary: "to the extent that one person employs a construction of experience which is similar to that employed by another, his psychological processes are similar to the other person."
• The fragmentation corollary: "a person may successively employ a variety of construction subsystems which are inferentially incompatible with each other."
• The sociality corollary: "to the extent that one person construes the construction processes of another, he may play a role in a social process involving the other person."
Psychologist
Psychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...
, therapist
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is a general term referring to any form of therapeutic interaction or treatment contracted between a trained professional and a client or patient; family, couple or group...
and educator
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
. He was best known for developing Personal Construct Psychology.
Biography
George Alexander Kelly was born on a farm near Perth, Sumner CountySumner County, Kansas
Sumner County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. The county's population was 24,132 for the 2010 census. Its county seat is Wellington. Sumner County is part of the Wichita, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area. It was named in honor of Charles Sumner, a U.S...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
and went to Friends University
Friends University
Friends University is a private non-denominational Christian university in Wichita, Kansas.Friends University was founded in 1898. The main building was originally built in 1886 for Garfield University, but was donated in 1898 to the Religious Society of Friends by James Davis, a St. Louis...
and Park College
Park University
Park University is an independent, private institution of higher education based in Parkville, Missouri. Established in 1875 as a small church-related college, it has now expanded into an electronic learning institution and provider of education courses for the U.S...
, where he received a bachelor's degree
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
and mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
. Early on, he was interested in social problems, and he went on to get his masters degree in sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
at the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
, where he wrote a thesis
Thesis
A dissertation or thesis is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings...
on workers’ leisure activities. He also completed minor studies in labor relations
Labor relations
Industrial relations is a multidisciplinary field that studies the employment relationship. Industrial relations is increasingly being called employment relations because of the importance of non-industrial employment relationships. Many outsiders also equate industrial relations to labour relations...
.
George Kelly went on to teach at various colleges and other institutions, with course topics ranging from speech-making
Public speaking
Public speaking is the process of speaking to a group of people in a structured, deliberate manner intended to inform, influence, or entertain the listeners...
to “Americanization”. In 1929, he completed a Bachelor of Education
Bachelor of Education
A Bachelor of Education is an undergraduate academic degree which qualifies the graduate as a teacher in schools.-North America:...
degree at the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, writing a thesis
Thesis
A dissertation or thesis is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings...
dealing with the prediction of teaching success, followed by graduate
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
and doctoral
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
degrees in psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
at the State University of Iowa. His dissertation was on speech
Speech disorder
Speech disorders or speech impediments are a type of communication disorders where 'normal' speech is disrupted. This can mean stuttering, lisps, etc. Someone who is unable to speak due to a speech disorder is considered mute.-Classification:...
and reading disabilities
Reading disability
A reading disability is a condition in which a sufferer displays difficulty reading resulting primarily from neurological factors. Developmental Dyslexia, Alexia , and Hyperlexia.-Definition:...
.
For some years before World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Kelly worked in school psychology
School psychology
School psychology is a field that applies principles of clinical psychology and educational psychology to the diagnosis and treatment of children's and adolescents' behavioral and learning problems...
, developing a program of traveling clinics which also served as a training ground for his students. He had a keen interest in clinical diagnosis
Medical diagnosis
Medical diagnosis refers both to the process of attempting to determine or identify a possible disease or disorder , and to the opinion reached by this process...
.
In World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Dylan Brundage and Kelly worked as an aviation psychologist
Aviation Psychologist Badge
The Aerospace Experimental Psychologist insignia is a military badge of the United States Navy which is issued to those members of the Navy Medical Service Corps who have been qualified as in-flight aviation observers with certification in psychology, in particular the psychology of in-flight...
, where, among other things, he was responsible for a training program for local civilian pilots. After the war, he was appointed Professor and Director of Clinical Psychology
Clinical psychology
Clinical psychology is an integration of science, theory and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and personal development...
at the Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
, where he remained for twenty years. Under his guidance, OSU’s graduate psychology training programs became some of the best in the United States, offering a unique blend of clinical skills and a strong commitment to scientific methodology.
It is also at OSU that Kelly developed his major contribution to the psychology of personality
Personality psychology
Personality psychology is a branch of psychology that studies personality and individual differences. Its areas of focus include:* Constructing a coherent picture of the individual and his or her major psychological processes...
. The Psychology of Personal Constructs was published in 1955 and achieved immediate international recognition, gaining him visiting appointments at various universities in the U.S.A. as well as in Europe, the former Soviet Union, South America, the Caribbean, and Asia. He was also elected President of the Clinical and the Consulting Divisions of the American Psychological Association
American Psychological Association
The American Psychological Association is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States. It is the world's largest association of psychologists with around 154,000 members including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. The APA...
, and served as President of the American Board of Examiners in Professional Psychology, providing expertise and insight, especially regarding ethical issues.
Kelly also worked extensively on researching the implications and applications of his theory, while continuing to work in clinical psychology. Joseph Rychlak
Joseph Rychlak
Joseph Frank Rychlak is a psychologist especially well known for his work with theoretical and philosophical psychology. He developed a theoretical stance known as "Rigorous Humanism." This term refers to Rychlak's blending of agentic or volitional psychological theories with rigorous empirical...
is among the prominent students of his who expanded on his theories. George Kelly died on March 6, 1967, at the age of 61.
Kelly's concerns
Kelly saw that current theories of personality were so loosely defined and difficult to test that in many clinical cases the observer contributed more to the diagnosis than the patient. If you took your problems to a FreudianSigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
analyst, they would be analysed in Freudian terms; a Jungian
Carl Jung
Carl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist and the founder of Analytical Psychology. Jung is considered the first modern psychiatrist to view the human psyche as "by nature religious" and make it the focus of exploration. Jung is one of the best known researchers in the field of dream analysis and...
would interpret them in Jungian terms; a behaviourist
Behaviorism
Behaviorism , also called the learning perspective , is a philosophy of psychology based on the proposition that all things that organisms do—including acting, thinking, and feeling—can and should be regarded as behaviors, and that psychological disorders are best treated by altering behavior...
would interpret them in terms of conditioning
Operant conditioning
Operant conditioning is a form of psychological learning during which an individual modifies the occurrence and form of its own behavior due to the association of the behavior with a stimulus...
; and so on.
The problem of observer bias (observer effect
Observer effect
Observer effect may refer to:* Observer effect , the impact of observing a process while it is running* Observer effect , the impact of observing a physical system...
) is particularly acute in the social sciences such as psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
, economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
, etc., where commentators' frame of reference
Frame of reference
A frame of reference in physics, may refer to a coordinate system or set of axes within which to measure the position, orientation, and other properties of objects in it, or it may refer to an observational reference frame tied to the state of motion of an observer.It may also refer to both an...
can influence what they see, how they describe it, and what they prescribe. You can find explanations of schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
which rely on brain chemistry at one end of the spectrum and family dynamics at the other. Some educationalists advocate mainstreaming of bright children; some are totally against it. Some economists see government spending as a strategy to be used, and some see it as a strategy to be avoided. It's rare for them to find common ground.
Kelly wanted to develop a theory and an investigative technique, which would remove the influence of the observer's frame of reference on what was observed.
Personal construct psychology
Constructs are bipolar categories that people can use to understand the world. People then behave according to how they construe the world around themselves. All constructs are not used in every situation because they have a limited range. People are continually revising and updating their own constructs. Personal Construct Psychology is an entire psychological system that has been used in management studies, knowledge modeling in artificial intelligence, and a wide range of other disciplines. This system has a fundamental postulate and eleven corollaries.The fundamental postulate: "a person's processes are psychologically channelized by the ways in which he anticipates events."
• The construction corollary: "a person anticipates events by construing their replications."
• The experience corollary: "a person's construction system varies as he successively construes the replication of events."
• The dichotomy corollary: "a person's construction system is composed of a finite number of dichotomous constructs."
• The organization corollary: "each person characteristically evolves, for his convenience in anticipating events, a construction system embracing ordinal relationships between constructs."
• The range corollary: "a construct is convenient for the anticipation of a finite range of events only."
• The modulation corollary: "the variation in a person's construction system is limited by the permeability of the constructs within whose range of convenience the variants lie."
• The choice corollary: "a person chooses for himself that alternative in a dichotomized construct through which he anticipates the greater possibility for extension and definition of his system."
• The individuality corollary: "persons differ from each other in their construction of events."
• The commonality corollary: "to the extent that one person employs a construction of experience which is similar to that employed by another, his psychological processes are similar to the other person."
• The fragmentation corollary: "a person may successively employ a variety of construction subsystems which are inferentially incompatible with each other."
• The sociality corollary: "to the extent that one person construes the construction processes of another, he may play a role in a social process involving the other person."
Books
- 1955: The psychology of personal constructs. Vol. I, II. Norton, New York. (2nd printing: 1991, Routledge, London, New York)
- 1963: A theory of personality. The psychology of personal constructs. Norton, New York (= Chapt. 1-3 of Kelly 1955).
External links
- Introduction to PCP
- George Kelly
- intanges - repertory grid web application
- sci:vesco - FREE Online Repertory Grid Software, 3D Grid Analysis
- nextexpertizer - computer-supported repertory grid interview and analysis tool
- Kelly's Concerns
- Personality Theories: George Kelly 1905 - 1967
- George Kelly the Creator of Personal Construct Psychology
- Cognitive Personality Theory