Social Action and Personal Constructs

@article{Butt2001SocialAA,
  title={Social Action and Personal Constructs},
  author={Trevor Butt},
  journal={Theory \& Psychology},
  year={2001},
  volume={11},
  pages={75 - 95}
}
  • T. Butt
  • Published 1 February 2001
  • Psychology
  • Theory & Psychology
Personal construct theory (PCT; Kelly, 1955) had its focus of convenience in psychotherapy, and consequently has been developed as an individualistic approach to the person. However, it has its roots in pragmatism, a movement which had a thorough appreciation of both the individual and the social world. The contention in this article is that PCT has potential as a theory of social action, making a significant contribution to the agency/structure debate. With reference to the work both of Kelly… 
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22 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
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Background Citations
11
Methods Citations
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22 Citations

Personal construct psychology and social constructionism are not incompatible: Implications of a reframing
A usual way of thinking about the relationship between personal construct psychology (PCP) and social constructionism (SC) is treating them as two separate entities that are similar in some aspects,…
Fearing the Emotional Self
Although conceptualizations of human emotions in personal construct psychology have differed, most have agreed that emotion is a fundamental aspect of human experience. However, notwithstanding their…
: Some Reflections on the Tension Between PCP and Social Constructionism Personal Construct Theory & Practice , 1 , 2004 34 CONSTRUING CONSTRUCTIONISM : SOME REFLECTIONS ON THE TENSION BETWEEN PCP AND SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONISM
This paper represents a synthesis that brings together several lines of thinking about the supposed challenge that social constructionism brings to personal construct psychology (PCP). It…
Contrasts and synergies: A comment on Jones (2022)
In response to Jones’s (2022) article, we argue that if we understand personal construct psychology as being less rationalistic and more holistic than is often assumed, important synergies between it…
CONSTRUING CONSTRUCTIONISM: SOME REFLECTIONS ON THE TENSION BETWEEN PCP AND SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONISM
This paper represents a synthesis that brings together several lines of thinking about the supposed challenge that social constructionism brings to personal construct psychology (PCP). It…
Kelly Meets Foucault: Understanding School Underachievement
“Underachievement” in school is seen as a failure in traditional theories of education. An alternative construction of school underachievement is offered based on Michel Foucault's (1975) approach to…
A problem-structuring method for complex societal decisions: Its philosophical and psychological dimensions
Zoe's Story: Exploring the Complexity of “Help-providing” and “Help-receiving” Relationships on the “Front-line” of Family Support
The subject of engaging mothers in appropriate family support continues to be debated and this paper explores the complex factors that influenced one mother's willingness to accept support. In…
The Nature and Implications of PCT
Sixty years ago, George Kelly, a clinical psychologist from the United States, published two volumes introducing a theory of personality that he called personal construct theory.
Personal Constructions of the Mother Role: Perceptions of Mothers in Health Care
TLDR
Good communication and crediting mothers’ accounts as reliable as well as fostering participatory relationship for child’s care results in a more positive relationship between professionals and mothers across the trajectory of the child's chronic illness.
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References

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Abstract The author critically reviews Kelly's concepts of ‘role’ and sociality, which are seen as central to the project of personal construct psychology. ‘Construing the constructions’ of the other…
Constructionism, Personal Construct Psychology and Narrative Psychology
Constructionist explanations of behavior, in general, have become more acceptable as scientists have adopted constructionist positions regarding their own systems of knowledge. Personal construct…
Psychological constructivisms : A metatheoretical differentiation
Abstract As the constructivist movement spreads throughout the contemporary psychological literature, the meaning of the term constructivism is loosening and has become permeable to rather different…
The Social construction of our inner selves
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Personal-construct theory and social constructionism: Difference and dialogue
Abstract In psychology there are at least as many varieties of social constructionism (SC) as there are of constructivism. Many of these versions of SC share a number of crucial properties with…
Social constructionism in the counselling context
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Structural Similarity in the Acquaintance Process
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