Organization of personal knowledge: Convergent validity of implications grids and repertory grids as measures of system structure

Abstract

Constructivism is distinguished by its emphasis on personal knowledge systems, which have been studied extensively by personal construct psychologists. However, the heavy reliance of investigators on repertory grid (rep grid) technique has been criticized, in part because alternative implication grid (imp grid) procedures offer a theoretically clearer measurement of the relationship among personal constructs in the system. We report the first study of the convergence of the two methods in assessing system structure at three levels: (a) the molar level, or the overall structure or relatedness of constructs in the system; (b) the molecular level, or the average degree of the connectedness of each individual construct to the system as a whole; and (c) the atomistic level, or the degree of relationship between specific pairs of constructs. We administered a rep grid and an imp grid to 36 college students and found support for the convergence of the two measures at all levels. These results reinforce a constructivist view of the systemic properties of personal knowledge and provide encouragement for the extension of both methods in future research and clinical applications.