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Traditional repertory grid studies of construct system organization have assumed that measures of organization derived from the construing of others are equivalent to measures derived from the construing of self. They also have assumed that constructs generated around the construing of others can be used to construe the self. Finally, they have assumed that the self is a unitary concept that does not vary across contexts. This study provides some empirical data on these assumptions by comparing the construction of self and others on repertory grids. Only moderate correlations between the organization of self and others were found on grid measures of construct independence and construct integration. Higher relationships were found on measures of construct system meaningfulness and the constructed use of categories. The implications of these data for repertory grid research are discussed.

Fifty male in-patients receiving treatment for alcohol dependence were studied on admission using the repertory grid and the grids analysed using the principal component technique (INGRIDA). Three self-elements were examined: self-when-sober, self-when-drunk, and ideal self. Sober-ideal self distance was below average in 90 per cent and drunk-ideal above average in 83 per cent, suggesting unrealistically favourable perceptions of sobriety and unrealistically unfavourable perceptions of drunkenness. The percentage of total variation accounted for by the first two components (VAR1 + VAR2) was generally high, suggesting tightness of construing. The first grid did not predict treatment completion. Twenty-eight subjects completed treatment and were given a second grid test on discharge. Consistent changes in grid measures with treatment were not apparent. Forty-nine subjects were followed up six months after discharge. For the 28 who had completed treatment, tightening of construing during treatment (i.e. a higher value of VAR1 + VAR2 in the second grid than in the first) was associated with drinking at follow-up. Measures derived from the first grid alone or from the second grid alone were not associated with status at follow-up.

This study follows one woman through her pregnancy and the transition to motherhood, exploring the relationship between this life-event and aspects of her personal identity. Repertory grids were obtained from her four times during the transition, and at the end of the study she completed retrospective grids for how she thought she was during the pregnancy. Changes in the grids were analysed and the contemporaneous and retrospective grids compared. The graphical analysis was discussed with the participant. The study finds a growing integration in the woman's personal construct system (both intrapersonal and interpersonal) during the pregnancy. Discrepancies in the woman's retrospective perception were also found, and are discussed in terms of selective self-perception or construction. The woman's reaction to the analysis is included in the paper. The study illustrates a methodology for exploring reflexivity, which is of growing concern in a number of areas of social science.

Sixteen of the depressed patients and nine of the manic patients, who were studied by Ashworth et al. (1982), were retested after clinical recovery. As on the previous occasion, each patient completed a repertory grid whose 10 elements were role titles and which employed 12 elicited constructs and one provided construct. After principal component analysis of each grid, various measures of cognitive structure and perception of self were derived. Whereas in the previous study the clinically depressed and manic patients had differed from one another, and usually also from normals, on 'cognitive simplicity', 'integration of self and others' and 'self-esteem', after recovery these differences had disappeared although there was a tendency for the previously depressed patients to view themselves as different from other people, and for the previously manic patients to have abnormally high self-esteem. However, for the most part, the cognitive abnormalities and features identified in the earlier study appear to have reflected the patients' clinical status rather than more permanent aspects of their thinking.

Previous research indicate that there is more intersubject agreement concerning patterns of correlations between constructs than concerning how specific elements are rated on each construct. In this study, Canadian undergraduates (15 women, 15 men) rank-ordered eight photographs of strangers separately on the basis of the positive and negative poles of six constructs. The results indicated that there is more consensus concerning specific patterns of relationships between the positive poles of constructs than concerning those between their negative poles. Some implications of this finding for repertory grid assessment and research were discussed.

In order to set goals and evaluate progress in therapy with couples it is important to begin with a clear formulation of the problem. The technique described provides quantitative data on three aspects of a relationship. Firstly, the extent to which a couple are in fact using a common language. Second, the extent to which they agree, understand each other's point of view, and realize how they are understood. Thirdly, the differences between their perception of the present and their goals for themselves and one another in the future. The investigation uses personal constructs elicited from the couple and the results are analysed as a repertory grid. Summary measures provided by the grid analysis organize the large amount of data and provide a general context for understanding the relationship within which particular aspects can be identified for more detailed analysis.

The problems of repertory grid analysis fall into two main groups: (i) general scaling problems; (ii) specific methods of the simplification of the grid data. Some problems of psychological scaling are considered including 'ranking' versus 'rating', equal interval assumption, and comparison of constructs. The grid analysis methods of principal component analysis, multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis are described briefly, whilst a hand-sorting cluster-type method is demonstrated. Methods for processing pairs and groups of grids are also considered.

This study addressed the cognitive processes associated with eating restraint, a subclinical form of disordered eating marked by chronic dietary consciousness, food deprivation and binging-purging. Results of a repertory grid testing of 68 college women indicated that higher levels of restraint were related to more negative and simplistic self-schema. Findings are interpreted as suggesting the importance of considering possible cognitive--as well as behavioural and affective--components in the treatment of disordered eating. This interpretation is discussed in relation to an account of disordered eating based on Kelly's (1955) personal construct theory and treatment implications are noted.

Repertory grids were used to investigate self-esteem and social perception in three groups: depressed in-patients, non-depressed psychiatric in-patients and a general hospital control group. Depression was measured by the Beck Depression Inventory. Depressives had significantly lower self-esteem and more negative social perception and negative feelings associated with 'actual self', as predicted by Beck's cognitive theory. Repertory grids are potentially useful tools for the development of cognitive theories of depression, and may also have a role in clinical practice using cognitive techniques.

Repertory grid data provided monthly by the members of a psychotherapeutic group were related to measures of verbal behaviour during group sessions in ways which were both statistically significant and psychologically meaningful. There was evidence that the group members re-enacted earlier patterns of family relationship in their mutual interaction. For individual patient members of the group, speaking, being spoken to, and introducing several kinds of topic into the group discussion had significant associations with grid variables implicating self-esteem and patterns of identification with parents; but the correlation patterns varied between patients.

Six groups were tested: 20 depressed, 10 manic, 10 schizophrenic, 10 alcoholic and 10 physically ill patients, and 10 recovered depressed patients. They were administered repertory grids whose 10 elements were role titles and which employed 12 elicited constructs and one provided construct. After principal component analysis of each grid, measures were derived of 'cognitive simplicity' (Chetwynd, 1977), 'monolithic' and 'articulated' structure (Makhlouf-Norris et al., 1970), 'integration of self and others', and 'self-esteem'. Although neither the depressed nor the manic group differed from all the other groups on any measure, there was a tendency for the depressed patients to be characterized by grids which showed relative 'cognitive simplicity', and 'monolithic' but 'unarticulated' structure, a large perceived distance between self and others, and low 'self-esteem' and for the manic patients to have relatively 'complex' (or confused) grids, with 'unarticulated' structure, a small 'self-other' distance and high 'self-esteem'.

Examines the sex-role polarization of incest survivors and the centrality of abuse within survivors. Differences between revictimized and non-revictimized survivors; Value of exploring personal constructs; Implication of using repertory grid methodology for research and clinical work.

Examines the body experience and mental representation of body image in patients with hematological malignancies and cancer. Assessment of the patients using a Body Grid; Demonstration of a restricted view of the body by the patients; Interpretation in the restriction of body image.

Religious commitment as an influence upon seeking help for psychological problems has not received the same level of research attention as variables such as sex, ethnicity and cultural background. The construing of members of a group of committed UK Christians was investigated, regarding their receiving such help from a variety of different helpers, professional and non-professional, secular and spiritual. Each participant was asked to interpret the factors statistically identified from construct and element relationships in a repertory grid that they had completed. Their commentaries formed the data for a qualitative thematic analysis, which gave rise to four main themes. From these, a tentative model is discussed. Possible implications for the acceptance of service provision by the substantial minority groups of religiously committed people in the UK are considered in the light of this model--and in the light of the further research that would be needed to establish it.

Objective: This study assessed whether male survivors of sexual abuse identified with their abusers rather than their child- or victim-selves and failed to identify with men in general or with their victims, following abusive 'acting out'. Changes in both identification and symptomatology were assessed following cognitive analytic therapy., Design: A patient series within-participants design was used., Method: A repertory grid methodology examined four male survivors self-construals before and after therapy. Measures of symptomatic distress, depression, self-esteem and distorted beliefs related to childhood sexual abuse were also obtained., Results: Before therapy, patients showed little identification with the child-selves, men in general and ideal-selves. Two heterosexual patients identified with their abuser(s) whereas another, homosexual, patient negatively identified with his abuser. Patients did not identify with their victims following aggressive 'acting out'. After therapy, identification with the abuser reduced markedly; identification with victim- and ideal-self increased. Depression and distorted beliefs declined., Conclusion: Male survivors tend to identify with abusers and disavow their victim-hood. Sexual orientation may predict identification patterns. Cognitive analytic therapy may be a promising method of enabling survivors to integrate their abuse experience and reduce their commitment to the abuser role.

The personalities and perceptions of two women with a history of very significant sexual abuse who had committed serious violent offences against 'boy friends' are investigated using role construct repertory grid (Kelly) and hypotheses developed for treatment, in particular to prevent any reoffending. The most significant dimension that emerged was in general terms that of 'abuser-victim'. It was clear that there was significant confusion about their self-perceptions with regard to these roles. They perceived themselves as abusers despite their histories of victimization. There was a high level of guilt associated with the victim role in each woman and in previous therapy simply dealing with their victim role gave rise to very disturbed self-destructive behaviour and even more guilt. The grid results enabled the abuser self-perception to be identified and treatment programmes to be developed using Ryle's cognitive-analytic therapy. Following treatment further grids and clinical evidence suggested that there were significant changes in self-perception and in behaviour. The findings were discussed and the need for further investigations suggested.

A new repertory grid was used to compare a group of 27 eating-disordered women (EDS) with a group of 20 women of normal weight without eating disorders (NWC) on contrasts from theories which link abnormalities in the perception of body and self to the eating disorders. No evidence was found for greater polarization of either self or body images in the EDS. A negative connotation of the body at normal weight and overweight was specific to EDS, but the underweight body did not have a more positive connotation. Negative connotation of normal weight is shown to be more specific for EDS than is negative connotation of the overweight body. There was no evidence for specific implications of weight for sexuality nor for family pressures against sexuality or femininity in EDS although they did construe themselves as less sexual than the NWC.

Despite its status as a general assumption, the idea that mood disturbance is associated with reduced complexity of cognitive representations has received little in the way of empirical support. It is suggested that this may arise because of a failure to make distinctions concerning the severity and type of mood disturbance, as well as not being specific about what the representations actually refer to. Using repertory grid methodology (Bieri et al., 1966) with a group of moderately mood-disturbed 'worriers', results showed that this group are significantly more complex than matched controls, but only for representations concerned with themselves. Moreover, this was related to chronic rather than current mood disturbance. The results are interpreted as indicating that cognitive complexity may follow an inverted-U pattern, where the self-representations of severely mood-disturbed and control subjects, although differing in valence, are similar in their lack of complexity. On the other hand, those who are chronically but moderately disturbed are, as a result of their ongoing tendency towards introspection, more complex in their self-representations. Possible implications for vulnerability to emotional disorder are discussed.

This study was designed to test the hypothesis that more rigid construing of self and others is more common in non-psychotic psychological disorder than in the general population. Thirty-one adult referrals to either a psychiatric day hospital or a clinical psychology service were compared with 31 matched normal controls using a repertory grid. There was no support for the hypothesis, but there was evidence of greater negativity of self-construing in the client group. The implications of these findings for clinical practice are discussed.

This study tested Bannister's (1963) serial invalidation hypothesis that repeated invalidation of a person's judgements loosens conceptual organization. That is, a person's constructs or dimensions of judgement will become more weakly and inconsistently related. Using a variant of Kelly's (1955) repertory grid methodology, thirty university students rated three sets of eight career roles on sixteen constructs. During the ratings of the second set, subjects received both evaluative commentary from the experimenter and objective evidence in the form of fake ratings. Both types of feedback were either invalidating or validating of subjects' judgements on the first eight constructs. The main finding was that invalidation loosened conceptual organization, but only for subjects who initially manifested strong relations among constructs. Subjects who began with weaker construct relations were not significantly affected by type of feedback.

The problem of interpretation of construct relationships of abnormal content is considered in the context of the use of the repertory grid to assess therapeutic outcome in neurotics. With a view to providing a rationale for such interpretation, examples are presented of construct relationships indicative of psychopathology, and of predicted changes in them during therapy. Implications for the planning and evaluation of therapy are discussed, and the importance of exploring the personal meaning of the patient's complaints is emphasized.