Deck 11: Kelly: Personal Construct Theory

Question 1

According to Kelly's fundamental postulate, psychological processes are channelized by

A) experience in childhood.
B) patterns of drive satisfaction.
C) unfulfilled needs.
D) how a person anticipates events.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

According to Kelly, all constructs have __________ pole(s).

A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
D) many

Answer 2

B

Question 3

According to Kelly, we make choices in life in order to

A) reduce tension.
B) increase pleasure.
C) increase the predictability of events.
D) improve our reputation in other people's eyes.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

In order to emphasize that his theory was concerned with the "nature of the animal" rather than with environmental forces, Kelly called his theory

A) a person-centered theory.
B) a naturalistic theory.
C) a humanistic theory.
D) a jackass theory.

Question 5

__________ constructs can be applied to new situations.

A) Dichotomous
B) Preverbal
C) Permeable
D) Impermeable

Question 6

According to Kelly's Construction Corollary, people anticipate events by construing their

A) causes.
B) effects.
C) situational constraints.
D) replications.

Question 7

Kelly's concept of __________ helps understand unconscious and emotional experience.

A) constructive alternativism
B) the Dichotomy Corollary
C) preverbal constructs
D) preemption

Question 8

Joe thinks of people as "likable" or "unfriendly." When Joe meets someone new, he classifies them into either of these categories. The construct, "likable/friendly" is, for Joe, a(n) __________ construct.

A) concrete
B) complex
C) preverbal
D) permeable

Question 9

If you ask George to explain how he feels about his father, he has little to say. Yet every time his father is mentioned, he becomes tense. Kelly would explain this with his concept of

A) preverbal constructs.
B) preemption.
C) hostility.
D) threat.

Question 10

__________ constructs are especially useful for dealing with new experiences.

A) Concrete
B) Peripheral
C) Permeable
D) Superordinate

Question 11

Kelly called his underlying philosophical assumption "__________."

A) logical positivism
B) constructive alternativism
C) physiological determinism
D) humanistic science

Question 12

Kelly explained personality change as a result of

A) adjusting to environmental pressures.
B) universal stages of development.
C) stages of development which vary with each culture.
D) successive constructions of the replications of events.

Question 13

Kelly's theory is based on the assumption of

A) hedonic relevance.
B) functional analysis.
C) constructive alternativism.
D) cognitive dissonance.

Question 14

Kelly was most disturbed by the __________ in Freud's theory.

A) focus on sexuality
B) loose definitions
C) anti-religious sentiment
D) distrust of consciousness

Question 15

According to the text, one of Richard Nixon's personal constructs was

A) "responsible versus selfish."
B) "white versus black."
C) "us versus them."
D) "male versus female."

Question 16

According to Kelly, preverbal constructs are useful for understanding

A) conscious goals.
B) psychosomatic disorders.
C) creativity.
D) vocational choice.

Question 17

In Kelly's theory, people are more likely to experiment with new constructs when

A) they are threatened.
B) they are in love.
C) they are not threatened.
D) they are angry.

Question 18

Because they both thought in terms of privacy and power, Nixon and Kissinger could relate well to one another, according to Kelly's __________ Corollary.

A) Choice
B) Commonality
C) Modulation
D) Sociality

Question 19

Kelly proposed a metaphor of man as

A) creator.
B) architect.
C) scientist.
D) zookeeper.

Question 20

Under threat, instead of elaboration of a construct system, __________ occurs.

A) reevaluation
B) sedimentation
C) destruction
D) maintenance

Question 21

Slot movement describes

A) fitting in to society's roles.
B) becoming a leader in a bureaucracy.
C) extension of the construct system.
D) changing to the contrast pole of a construct.

Question 22

A Role Construct Repertory grid consists of

A) lists of people and constructs.
B) lists of the requirements for adequate performance in life roles.
C) lists of all the significant people in your life, and the reasons they are important.
D) an outline of the duties of each role in an organization.

Question 23

"Slot-movement" refers to

A) radical changes, such as from atheist to "born-again Christian."
B) role changes, such as moving from being a student to being an employee.
C) gambling.
D) a method for scoring personality tests.

Question 24

The range of convenience of a construct describes

A) the age at which the construct was formed.
B) the extent to which the construct is adaptive in a person's life.
C) the events to which the construct applies.
D) the likelihood that the construct will change.

Question 25

Kelly devised the __________ Test.

A) Projective Role
B) Psychological Assessment
C) Therapeutic Construct
D) Role Construct Repertory

Question 26

According to Sherry, "Most people are selfish." Her therapist asks her, "What are the other people like, the ones who are not selfish?" The therapist is asking about the __________.

A) contrast pole
B) core construct
C) concrete construct
D) likeness pole

Question 27

In order to have a relationship with someone, according to Kelly's Sociality Corollary, you must

A) understand that person's construct system (or be understood by that person).
B) mutually respect one another.
C) mutually trust one another.
D) have the same personal constructs.

Question 28

Kelly's REP Test can be scored for

A) neurotic tendencies.
B) self-actualization.
C) cognitive complexity.
D) intelligence.

Question 29

According to Kelly's Commonality Corollary, people have similar psychological processes if

A) they have had similar life experiences.
B) they are in similar environments.
C) they have similar heredity.
D) they use similar constructs.

Question 30

Personal constructs are organized

A) alphabetically.
B) by the place in which they were developed.
C) by age.
D) as superordinate and subordinate constructs.

Question 31

The "REP" test refers to the __________ Test.

A) Residual Category Report
B) Rethink-Consider-Prepare
C) Role Construct Repertory
D) Reliable Concept Report

Question 32

Kelly understood differences between individuals as due to

A) different early experience.
B) different personal constructs.
C) heredity.
D) misunderstandings by researchers.

Question 33

Constructs that are central to a person's identity are called __________ constructs.

A) alternative
B) core
C) personal
D) peripheral

Question 34

The first step in taking the REP test is to

A) free associate to your dreams.
B) list several people whom you know.
C) make a list of all the things you want to accomplish.
D) describe yourself in 250 words or less.

Question 35

Dichotomous constructs are those which have

A) implications for evaluation of people as good or bad.
B) no likelihood of being changed by experience.
C) much similarity from one person to another.
D) two poles.

Question 36

Which of the following is an example of slot movement?

A) deciding to go back to school
B) deciding which person you really love
C) converting from atheism to an established religion
D) picking a college major

Question 37

Two people are talking. One says, "People are either ambitious or they're lazy." The other disagrees, saying "People are either ambitious or they're already rich enough!" These two people disagree about
The __________ pole to "ambitious."

A) concrete
B) contrast
C) fixed role
D) peripheral

Question 38

"Is your teacher happy?" a student is asked. The student replies, "I don't know; I never thought about that." What interpretation from Kelly's theory is appropriate?

A) "Happiness" is a core construct for the student.
B) The student has a fragmented view of the teacher.
C) The teacher is a victim of slot movement.
D) The teacher is outside the range of convenience of the student's construct "happiness."

Question 39

Two constructs on a REP Test are similar if

A) they are given the same label for the likeness pole.
B) they are given the same label for the contrast pole.
C) they are given the same label for both the likeness pole and the contrast pole.
D) they are applied similarly to the people being rated, even if the verbal labels are different.

Question 40

Which of Kelly's corollaries explains why people are inconsistent?

A) the Commonality Corollary
B) the Fragmentation Corollary
C) the Dichotomy Corollary
D) the Individuality Corollary

Question 41

Compared to threat, fear is concerned with __________ constructs.

A) interpersonal
B) physical
C) peripheral
D) comprehensive

Question 42

When a person confronts a new, unfamiliar situation, which phase of the CPC cycle will first occur?

A) circumspection
B) choice
C) control
D) courage

Question 43

Rather than giving up a construct that has been invalidated, Terry continues to try to validate it. Terry is behaving with __________, according to Kelly.

A) achievement motivation
B) creativity
C) hostility
D) loose constructs

Question 44

Kelly said that hostility occurs when

A) a person stubbornly sticks with a construct that has already been invalidated.
B) a person's core constructs have been invalidated.
C) a person must interact with someone who has different personal constructs.
D) effective action is not possible.

Question 45

A person whose core structures are about to change extensively

A) is psychotic.
B) feels guilty.
C) feels threatened.
D) feels hostile.

Question 46

The Creativity Cycle describes

A) works of art.
B) alternating periods of high and low productivity in life.
C) changes in constructs.
D) the relationship between creativity and neurosis.

Question 47

When we confront events outside the range of convenience of our construct system, we experience

A) fear.
B) threat.
C) hostility.
D) anxiety.

Question 48

Jane is about to move to a foreign country, where customs are so different from what she knows that her core constructs will have to change extensively. According to Kelly, Jane will feel

A) suicidal.
B) guilty.
C) angry.
D) threatened.

Question 49

What is the third phase of the C-P-C cycle?

A) calibration
B) circumspection
C) control
D) counting

Question 50

Cognitive complexity

A) decreases with age.
B) allows greater flexibility of adaptive behavior.
C) is a sign of neurosis.
D) must be measured by clinical interviews.

Question 51

Brainstorming and free association are techniques to increase

A) creativity.
B) adaptation.
C) intelligence.
D) control.

Question 52

Larry tends to make decisions quickly, without considering enough alternatives. In terms of the C-P- C cycle, he should spend more time on

A) the first step
B) the second step
C) the third step
D) the entire cycle

Question 53

The C-P-C Cycle describes

A) creativity.
B) biorhythms.
C) effective action.
D) social interactions.

Question 54

A person is said to be "cognitively complex" if

A) the person has high measured intelligence.
B) the person uses logical opposites to describe the construct and contrast poles on REP Test constructs.
C) the person produces many different constructs on the REP test.
D) the person has emotionally troublesome complexes that he or she is trying to understand.

Question 55

What strategy is most likely to increase creativity?

A) learning to loosen constructs
B) learning to tighten constructs
C) learning to make constructs impermeable
D) learning to validate constructs

Question 56

What is the second phase of the C-P-C cycle?

A) panic
B) prayer
C) preemption
D) pondering

Question 57

Linda tends to think about alternatives for too long, without making a choice about how to act in a situation. She should work on the __________ stage of the C-P-C cycle.

A) first
B) second
C) third
D) none of the above

Question 58

Therapy can be threatening when

A) it is about to elicit change in core structures.
B) the therapist does not understand the client.
C) it considers childhood experiences.
D) the therapist is not competent.

Question 59

One sign of good mental health is

A) having many concrete constructs.
B) having dichotomous constructs.
C) cognitive complexity.
D) slot movement.

Question 60

Joanna has been put in charge of organizing a rally, and she hasn't got any idea (or any constructs) about how to do it. What emotion would Kelly expect her to experience?

A) anxiety
B) fear
C) hostility
D) threat

Question 61

For a person who believes that miracles continue to happen in the present day, miracles correspond to
a permeable construct.

Question 62

Some constructs are bipolar; others are unipolar.

Question 63

People consistently apply the same constructs to all situations, unless they are mentally disturbed.

Question 64

The text concludes that Richard Nixon was "cognitively complex" in the area of foreign affairs.

Question 65

According to Kelly, people are most likely to change their constructs when they are threatened.

Question 66

One sign of mental disturbance is that the contrast pole of a construct is not logical.

Question 67

Kelly's therapy is most like

A) acting a role in a play.
B) removing a diseased part with surgery.
C) running a race for a reward.
D) dreaming.

Question 68

According to Kelly, all constructs are dichotomous.

Question 69

According to Kelly, constructs are, by definition, verbal statements.

Question 70

According to Kelly, we anticipate the future because of what we know about the past.

Question 71

If a person is outside the range of convenience of a construct, then the contrast pole applies to that
person.

Question 72

People who score high on cognitive complexity are likely to

A) be anxious.
B) make appropriate vocational choices.
C) be introverted.
D) drop out of groups.

Question 73

People are less likely to be aware of the contrast pole than of the likeness pole of their constructs.

Question 74

According to Kelly, people determine their own lives by their cognitive processes, that is, by how
they interpret events.

Question 75

According to Kelly, people make choices that will permit their construct systems to be elaborated or
extended.

Question 76

Kelly's theory emphasizes the situational determinants of behavior.

Question 77

Core constructs are those constructs currently undergoing change in an individual.

Question 78

All mentally healthy people use the same constructs.

Question 79

What technique of therapy did Kelly devise?

A) behavior modification
B) client-centered therapy
C) fixed role therapy
D) individual analysis

Question 80

Kelly describes development through six stages of construct formation.