Kelly, George

George Kelly (1905–1967) developed personal construct theory (PCT), a theoretical approach to personality theory and therapeutic intervention. PCT is a pragmatic approach, emphasizing the usefulness of beliefs, feelings, and actions rather than their veracity. A distinguishing feature is emphasis on sense making involving discriminations, whereby some things are seen as similar to and different from certain other things, with both similarity and difference essential for understanding people’s functioning. The originality and breadth of his perspective drew on varied life experiences and extensive practice and evaluation of therapeutic intervention.

In a 1969 essay titled The Autobiography of a Theory, Kelly gives an account of the development of his theoretical ideas, which includes a broad-ranging theory not only about the processes of therapy but also concerning the functioning ...

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