People Map

What is the Repertory Grid?

In 1955 the American psychologist George Kelly proposed that each of us works a little like a scientist: we build our own theories about people and test them every day. He called the dimensions we use "personal constructs": warm or cold, safe or risky, fair or unfair.

To bring them out, he asked people to compare others from their own life and say how they differ. The Repertory Grid is still used in counselling and research. People Map is our story-led version: the roles follow Kelly's original, compared two at a time, plus the you you'd like to be.

Based on George A. Kelly's Repertory Grid, from The Psychology of Personal Constructs (1955).

How it works

1. 1Name ten people from your life, from your parents to someone you clash with.
2. 2Look at them two at a time and say how they differ, in your own words. Each difference becomes a line.
3. 3Place everyone on each line. The map shows who you group together, where you stand, and what your lines say about you.

The ten roles

Nine roles from Kelly's original sheet, plus your ideal self.

1. 1Me
2. 2Father
3. 3Mother
4. 4Same-sex friend
5. 5Opposite-sex friend
6. 6Same-sex friend
7. 7Partner
8. 8Teacher
9. 9Someone you clash with
10. 10Me, at my best

References

1. Kelly, G. A. (1955). The psychology of personal constructs (Vols. 1–2). New York: Norton.
2. Fransella, F., Bell, R., & Bannister, D. (2004). A manual for repertory grid technique (2nd ed.). Chichester: Wiley.