About the Australasian Personal Construct Group

The Australasian Personal Construct Group is devoted to the Psychology of Personal Constructs (PCP).

The Psychology of Personal Constructs was introduced in 1955 by the (North) American psychologist George A. Kelly as a new approach to psychology which focusses on the meanings that people attach to persons, situations and events they encounter. These meanings, based on the "personal constructs" of a person, serve also as guidelines for the actions one takes to cope with the demands and challenges of life. At the same time, Kelly designed a number of instruments to use in research on and assessment of personal constructs. The best known is the Repertory Grid Technique, which now catches the interest even of researchers and practitioners not based in Personal Construct Psychology. The idiographic, or individual centred, nature of the theory invites a qualitative approach, yet the Repertory Grid Technique lends itself also to a quantitative analysis of constructs and construct systems, thus reconciliating these approaches that are often viewed as antagonistic.

The history of the Australian PCP Group dates back to the early 80s. It has contributed substantially to the further development of Personal Construct Psychology. Australian books are an important element of the PCP literature. The Group organises biennial Conferences and is host to the International Congress on Personal Construct Psychology every six years.

IThe Australasian Personal Construct Group cooperates with the George Kelly Society.and uses its online facilities. It is also connected to the Personal Construct Psychology Interest Group of the Australian Psychological Society (APS). Its members live in Australia and New Zealand.

More information on PCP is available through the PCP Gateway.