Explanation, understanding and personal constructs

Butt, Trevor (2004) Explanation, understanding and personal constructs. Personal construct theory and practice, 1 (1). pp. 1-14. ISSN 1613-5091

Abstract

Personal construct psychology can be read either as an attempt to understand people by appreciating how the
world appears to them, or to explain their behaviour in terms of personal constructs that inhabit some interior
Cartesian realm. In this article, I maintain that this understanding versus explanation distinction
(Dilthey, 1988) is useful and helps us clarify the personal construct project. By examining the phenomenological
strengths of personal construct methods, we can approach an understanding of the person that appreciates
the complexity of the lived world.

Item control for Repository Staff only: