Personal Constructs in Career Counseling and Development

Applications of Kelly’s Personal Construct Theory to Vocational Guidance

“…Nevertheless, it should be remembered that questionnaire methods do not exhaust the wide range of options available to the modern career counselor. Many authors (e.g., Beail, 1985;Neimeyer, 1989aNeimeyer, , 1989bNeimeyer, , 1992Peavy, 1992;Savickas, 1995;Spokane, 1992) emphasized that the Personal Construct Theory can be successfully applied to vocational guidance research and practice, as it represents a cognitive-developmental approach and responds to the demands of the postmodern era.…”

Investigating the motivation and personal traits of allied health professionals working in remote and rural Australia: the Remote and Rural Allied Health Motivation and Personality (RRAHMP) study

“…Kelly's (1955a) philosophical position was that 'all of our present interpretations of the universe are subject to revision or replacement' (p.15). Neimeyer (1992) explained a personal construct system as 'a matrix of meaning, a system of hierarchically organised dimensions that could be adjusted to a range of relevant events' (p. 164). Construing, therefore, is about a systematic approach to interpretations and re-interpretations of experience (Kelly, 1955a), holding tentative understandings and reflecting on new explanations (McWilliams, 2013, p. 165).…”

“…Cloninger et al, 1994;Costa & McCrae, 1985) and Personal Construct Psychology techniques (e.g. repertory grid interviews as in Neimeyer, 1992). Potentially, understanding whether specific traits, attributes or personality types make individuals better suited for certain types of work environments and produce greater job satisfaction would be valuable for individuals making career choices and for employers seeking to successfully recruit.…”

“…The personal constructs that are elicited in the repertory grid interview can thus be said to form the individual's personal construct system on that topic (Fransella et al, 2004). Neimeyer (1992) described the insight gained through using the repertory grid interview as providing 'an ethnographic and phenomenological assessment' from the individual's perspective (p166).…”

“…Examples of relevant research using repertory grids include role construing at work (Österlind, 2011), effectiveness at work , clinical teacher characteristics (Chitsabesan, Corbett, Walker, Spencer, & Barton, 2006), clinical reasoning (Kuipers & Grice, 2009), career counselling (Neimeyer, 1992), police force work culture (Dick & Jankowicz, 2001), business training needs analysis (Magna, 2010) and beliefs about medication adherence (Cottrell, 2010). Fransella et al (2004) in their manual on repertory grid technique, provide a detailed guide to designing a repertory grid study, outlining the key components as the topic, the constructs, the elements and the ratings.…”