Relationships and identity

Personal Construct Psychology (PCP) is a theory that describes human beings as mainly concerned with anticipating events and making their world as predictable as possible. Like scientists in a laboratory, they achieve their knowledge of the world by conducting experiments where they test their hypotheses and theories about others and themselves, seeking to either extend or define their understanding. The laboratory where they test their theories is their social context or their relationships.

By relationship is here intended the possibility of understanding the other person’s experience, of putting oneself in the other person's shoes. Each person's life is dependant upon their relationships, therefore their ability to understand the other and be understood by them. From the very first moment we enter in the world, and even before then, we depend upon the others' understanding of us for our own survival. With time we grow and develop our competences to be less dependent upon our caregivers, but we also expand our needs and understanding of people and the world and become more dependent upon our social environment to play the many different roles of our lives.  The way we understand others around us and their understanding of us as people play a fundamental role in who we believe we are and we fell we can be for and with them. Sometimes it might seem like our experience is repeating itself and we get a sense of "being stuck". In these cases seeking psychological support can be helpful to find new possible hypothesis and theories to experiment with. Kelly referred to the possibility to find new possible constructions of the world as Constructive Alternativism which makes human beings willing creatures, capable of changing and choosing their destiny for themselves, rather than victims of their own biography.