Making the most of methods: the future for PCP?

Abstract

It used to be the case that the Psychology of Personal Constructs was better known for its methods (or at least one of them: the repertory grid) than its theory. But now, in the UK at least, no personal construct methods are taught to undergraduates and few become familiar with PCP as a theoretical approach. Although we are focusing here on the UK as an example, we expect that the situation is similar in other countries. Some writers have previously tried to raise the profile of PCP by showing its compatibility with newer theoretical approaches. For example, given the obvious points of agreement between constructivism and social constructionism, some writers (e.g. Botella, 1995) have tried to bring these together in a synthesis. In this plenary we too will discuss the potential for raising the academic profile of Personal Construct Psychology but we will suggest that this can best be done by focussing once again on its methods. We argue that PCP is best ‘advertised’ to researchers using a variety of theoretical approaches by showing how its methods are sympathetic to these