The psychology of personal constructs: Humanism without a self [La Psicologia dei Costrutti Personali: umanesimo senza un Sè]

In this article, I briefly outline what I see to be the outstanding strengths of the psychology of personal constructs (PCP). These are: its roots in pragmatism and its rejection of dualism, its phenomenological approach to the person and its formulation of core role structure. The concept of core role sees the person as a social product, but once constructed, a centre for choice and agency. I begin with a critique of the ways in which PCP is perceived within orthodox psychology, proposing that its radical approach makes it difficult to classify. I argue that it has humanistic features, but emphasize its rejection of a unitary self. I conclude by looking at the problem of hatred, contending that a PCP formulation helps us re-think this in a more useful way.