Intersubjectivity, Constructivism, and Personal Construct Theory: Commenting and Extending Mascolo and Kallio’s Article on the Phenomenology of Between

Abstract

Some of the arguments presented by Mascolo and Kallio in their article, “The Phenomenology of Between: An Intersubjective Epistemology for Psychological Science” are discussed. The aim of Mascolo and Kallio’s work is commended, given their efforts to overcome purely subjectivist or purely objectivist approaches, not only in psychological research but also in psychological and psychotherapeutic theorizing. Remarks herein cluster around two themes: (a) the need to clarify what is meant by “intersubjectivity,” “constructivism,” and “phenomenology,” given the highly variable use of such terms; and (b) ways the epistemology of intersubjectivity as devised by the authors is both consistent with and divergent from view of the person as depicted by Kelly’s personal construct theory.