George Alexander Kelly American psychologist, author of the theory of personal constructs Date of Birth: 28.04.1905 Country: USA

1. Early Life and Education
2. Pre-World War II and WWII Experiences
3. Post-War Career
4. "Psychology of Personal Constructs"
5. Personal Constructs

Early Life and Education

American psychologist George Kelly, known for his theory of personal constructs, initially pursued mathematics and physics. However, he later shifted his focus to social issues. After earning a master's degree in educational sociology from the University of Kansas, he taught for several years before obtaining a bachelor's degree in education from the University of Edinburgh. He then earned a Ph.D. in psychology from the State University of Iowa.

Pre-World War II and WWII Experiences

Years before World War II, Kelly established a program of mobile psychological clinics that provided practical training for students. During the war, he served as an aviation psychologist.

Post-War Career

After the war, Kelly became a professor and director of the clinical psychology program at Ohio State University.

"Psychology of Personal Constructs"

In 1955, Kelly published his seminal work, "Psychology of Personal Constructs." He argued that human mental processes are primarily aimed at predicting events in the surrounding world. According to Kelly, people are not slaves to their instincts, stimuli, or even self-actualizing needs. Instead, he viewed individuals as scientists exploring the world and themselves.

Personal Constructs

Through observing and attempting to understand the behavior of others, individuals construct their unique systems of personal constructs. A construct is a fundamental unit of Kelly's theory, a bipolar scale used to categorize objects in the world, such as "good-bad," "intelligent-stupid," or "sober-drunk." The selection of constructs and the opposing poles they represent provide insights into an individual's personality and are of interest in therapy. Predicting the behavior of others is achieved through assigning these constructs to objects.