RE: attitudes, beliefs & constructs

Beverly Walker (Beverly_Walker@uow.edu.au)
14 May 1998 09:23:22 +1000

Re pyramiding,
This term and approach to construct elicitation was developed, as far as I
understand it, by Al Landfield in his 1971 book Personal construct systems in
psychotherapy. However there seems to be a difference in how pyramiding has
developed in the UK in particular compared to Landfield's original use.
Using Landfield's approach you end up with 7 constructs - start with each pole
of a construct, elicit a second level of constructs from each pole (2
constructs), then elicit a third level from the four poles of the second level.
However the British seem (at least some of them) to use it in a much more
freewheeling fashion so that lots of constructs may result. Perhaps we could
rename them tight vs. loose pyramiding to distinguish??

Beverly (Walker)

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