I.

Introduction and Review of Related Literature

Each individual has a unique way to understanding themselves and their world. Each
individual has a different interpretation of how they play their roles and this is shaped and some
may say tainted by their experiences, and emotions associated with these experiences.
Psychologists are trained in a variety of psychological theories and frameworks with the aim to
understanding, managing and changing the behavior of an individual.

This study will look into how the participants view themselves using multiple self-
characterization approach. The researchers will utilize the Classification System for Personal
Constructs in determining the content of the participant’s personal constructs. The study also
seeks to relate these personal constructs in evaluating their self-esteem. According to Hardison
and Neimeyer (2207), self-characterizations have also been used to attain a score of self-esteem.
They obtained scores of self-esteem by using a ratio of positive to negative constructs that were
used as descriptors by participants in their self-characterizations.

Personal Construct Theory

George Kelly’s Theory of Personal Construct grounded on the assumption that a person’s
processes are psychologically channelized by the ways in which that person anticipates events”.
(Feist & Feist, 2008). According to Kelly, humans literally construct the meaning of their own lives
by devising, testing, and continuously revising personal theories to make sense of the world
around them and anticipate future experiences. These personal theories, called construct
systems, are composed of an indefinite number of personal constructs that help differentiate,
integrate, and predict life events. A construct is defined by Kelly as the way an individual views,
gives meaning to and construes their world, the events in their world and the people around
them. Each individual possesses their own construct system, which contains some core
constructs and arises from personal interpretations of their experiences. Their construct systems
are used to predict things to come and the constructs are validated or invalidated by ongoing
experiences. Even though individuals may draw on common and publicly shared discriminations
in constructing their conceptual templates, they typically develop construct systems that are in
some degree unique, giving their construct systems a richer personal significance than relying on
simple dictionary antonyms .(Hardison & Neimeyer ,2007) The word personal was used in a very
particular sense. It refers to the fact that there is a sense in which each of us lives in a unique
world. Our worlds are different, not simply because we have experienced or are experiencing
different events but because we interpret differently the events we do experience. What one
person thinks is important another thinks is trivial; what one feels is exciting another feels is dull;
ugly to one is beautiful to another. This central idea offers its own explanation for the mysterious
but everyday fact that people respond to the same situation in very different ways. (Chapter
3Fransella Don Bannister)

All constructs are considered to be ‘bipolar’ within the theory of personal constructs. This
suggests that within each construct a contrast is implied. This contrast is what makes a construct
system unique as meanings of certain constructs and their contrasts may vary between
individuals, depending on the element that is being construed (Kelly, 1955). For example, for one
person the contrasting construct of the word ‘caring’ might be ‘selfish’ whilst for someone else it
might be ‘unsympathetic’ which shows rather different meanings portrayed for the word ‘caring’.
This reiterates Kelly’s position in that uniqueness within construct systems is developed
regardless of commonalities that may be shared between individuals (Hardison & Neimeyer,
2012).

It has been established that one of the most important features of personal construct
psychology is the notion that each individual has a unique view in terms of how they construe
events, individuals and the world around them. Kelly suggests that since the individual is an
expert on the seemingly unique process of construing, it is only fitting that the methods used
within personal construct theory are focused on gaining insight directly from that individual.
Therefore the functions of personal construct methods are to give holistic insight into the way an
individual attributes personal meaning in order to make sense of their world (Hardison &
Neimeyer, 2012)
Self-Characterization

Self-characterizations are a narrative method of eliciting an individual’s constructions that

are applied to the self. A self characterization, also known as a character sketch is a technique
used within Personal Construct Therapy that can be used to gain insight into an individual’s
personal construct system to help the individual understand and interpret themselves
(Crittenden & Ashkar, 2012). A self characterization is a short, written exercise that directly asks
an individual to write a sketch of themselves in the third person. This requires an individual to
take a more expansive view of themselves rather than focusing on the views of the therapist and
can be utilized at any time during therapy (Crittenden & Ashkar, 2012).

The self-characterization technique is presented by Kelly as a function of the credulous

approach (Kelly, 1991). When attempting to work with individuals, it was recommended by Kelly
that a credulous approach be applied as it allows a therapist to stand in their clients shoes and
see things the way their client sees them (Butler, 2009).

There was a development in using the self-characterization technique through the

combination of Mair’s community self with Kelly’s self-characterization technique. According to
Crittenden and Ashkar (2012), utilizing Mair’s community of self in which it suggest that a person
is considered to have many ‘selves’ which can potentially have alternative constructs at the
center of each self. The combination of Mair’s ‘community of self’ with Kelly’s self-
characterization technique provides a structured and clear way for the elicitation of an
individual’s constructs in order to explore the diversity within an individual. This is the concept
referred to as the multiple self-characterizations. (Ashkar, 2015)

Self-characterizations have also been used to attain a score of self-esteem. Hardison and
Neimeyer (2007) used obtained scores of self-esteem by using a ratio of positive to negative
constructs that were used as descriptors by participants in their self-characterizations. Therefore,
the greater number of positive constructs signified a higher self-esteem with those individuals
using a greater number of negative constructs as descriptors representing lower self-esteem
(Hardison and Neimeyer, 2007). Androutsopolou (2001) describes the use of self-characterization
as a narrative tool, applied in therapy with individuals and families, arguing that this technique is
a strong aid to storytelling in therapy (p. 79). She explores the use of self-characterization in
therapy based on the person as they used to be, as they think they will be and also what they
think their ideal self could be (Fransella, 1995) as well as utilizing the family character sketch
(Alexander and Neimeyer, 1989). Androutsopolou focuses on the character sketch as a whole
narrative, the story of how a person understands their world. It may be used with a particular
focus (e.g., relationships with others) or a way of monitoring changes in therapy, or as a basis for
a therapeutic program (Fransella and Dalton, 1990; Androutsopolou, 2001). The “family
characterization sketch” (Alexander and Neimeyer, 1989) was created by asking each family
member to write the sketch individually during a therapy session with the aim of identifying
common family constructs.
For analyzing the characterization sketch, Yorke (1989) suggests using a technique similar
to textual analysis in which an understanding of the respondent would be built up
hermeneutically by testing part against part, and part against whole. This process is more time-
consuming because it seems to offer a great deal of distinctive information about the client in
that it yields a glance into the client’s internal world through a written sample in his or her own
personal language. However, quantitative analysis of the self-characterization is nonetheless
possible, at least for some features of the text. For example, it would be possible to examine the
reliability of this method by coding the constructs in a self-characterization into specific
categories using the Classification System for Personal Constructs (CSPC) devised by Feixas et al.
(2001). The validity of characterizations can be assessed by coding the constructs based on their
content and determining if the categories from the characterizations correspond to those coded
from other types of assessments (repertory grids, ladders, etc.).

IV. Scope and Limitation of the Study

The study primarily focuses on assessing the view of self through the use of multiple
characterization approach of the participants of the study. The narrative data will be analyzed
through the use of Classification System for Personal Constructs. It will be used for content coding
of the constructs elicited within the multiple-self characterization. The CSPC system was designed
in order to be used with constructivist methods. The CSPC system identifies and codes constructs
according to six different categories. The categories include: moral, emotional, relational,
personal, intellectual/operational and values and interests (Feixas et al., 2002).
References

Hardison, H. G., & Neimeyer, R. A. (2007). Numbers and Narratives: Quantitative and Qualitative
Convergence Across Constructivist Assessments. Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 20(4), 285-
308. doi:10.1080/10720530701503827

DOIII Hardison, H. G. and Neimeyer, R. A. (2012) Assessment of Personal Constructs: Features

and Functions of Constructivist Techniques. In P.Caputi,, L.L. Viney., B.M. Walker.,
& N. Crittenden (Eds). Personal Construct Methodology (pp. 3-51) Chichester, UK:
John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Feist, J., & Feist, G. (2008). Theories of Personality (7th ed.). United States of America: The
McGraw−Hill Companies, Inc.