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The Presence of Self in the Person: Reflexive Positioning and Personal Constructs Psychology
Author(s) -
Jones Raya
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
journal for the theory of social behaviour
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.615
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1468-5914
pISSN - 0021-8308
DOI - 10.1111/1468-5914.00051
Subject(s) - reflexivity , perspective (graphical) , epistemology , sociology , psychology , social psychology , computer science , social science , philosophy , artificial intelligence
Tan and Moghaddam’s (1995) ‘reflexive positioning’ expansion of Harré’s positioning theory provokes consideration of psychological factors underlying the discursive production of selves. However, it understates the issue, why do people appropriate particular positions, hearable in utterances, as applicable to themselves. Some of the theoretical ambiguities dissipate when positioning is approached from a personal‐constructs perspective (Kelly 1995), which draws attention to personal construction of selves, as distinct from social construction, and describes the dynamics of individual continuity, though understating the concrete contextuality of personal becoming. The present essay considers the compatibility of the personal constructs approach with Harré’s positioning theory.