• ARTICLES, Special Section, XVIIth International Congress on PCP Australia July 2007

Construing in the political realm – Reflections on the power of a theory.

Scheer, J. W.

Keywords:
Personal construct psychology, politics, international relations

Abstract:
At first glance, the range of convenience of personal construct theory does not necessarily include the world of politics which seems to be shaped by forces that are often beyond the scope of individuals’ agency. However, Don Bannister quoted George Kelly as opting for politics as a field where he would like personal construct theory to go, Kelly himself travelled around the world in 1961, interviewing psychologists about their life in their respective countries, and lately ‘constructivism’ has become one of the theories applied in international relations. Therefore it seems worthwhile to take a fresh look at ‘PCP and the world’ and the chances of political action informed by personal construct theory.