Franz R Epting
Biographic Data
| ID | 2750797 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Franz R Epting |
| GIVEN NAMES | Franz R |
| FAMILY NAME | Epting |
| SIGNATURE | EPTING F R |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Florida |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 23 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 9 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 23 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1971 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2006 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
A Constructive Understanding of the Person: George Kelly and Humanistic Psychology
Presented here is a careful examination of George Kelly's contributions to and differences from humanistic psychology and some of his more radical challenges to mainstream psychology in general. We begin by looking at the word constructive and how various definitions help us to understand what Kelly meant by a constructive understanding of the person. We then examine how truly different Kelly's basic assumptions are from those of traditional psyc…
Who is a homosexual? A critique of the heterosexual-homosexual dimension
The heterosexual‐homosexual distinction as a construction inhibits appreciation of the diversity of sexual experience by encouraging use of static labels to classify people's continually evolving sexual histories. Distinguishing sexual preference may expedite comprehension of sexual acts, but is counterproductive when considering whole persons. We question the need for biological explanations of homosexuality and propose that “coming out” as homo…
Reflections on becoming a humanistic psychologist
Humanistic psychology and personal construct theory
This article describes the strong bond which exists between humanistic psychology and George Kelly's personal construct psychology. First, it examines humanistic concepts found in personal construct psychology such as constructive alternativism, the credulous approach, role relationships, the invitational mood, transitive diagnosis and the anti‐reductionistic, holistic approach to understanding the person. Next, it reviews Kelly's impact on the d…
Children and Death: New Horizons in Theory and Measurement
Recent research in the area of children and death is reviewed in this article, focusing on the two broad domains of childrens' death concept development and children and bereavement. The kinds of psychometric instrumentation used in current projects within these areas is then reviewed. These instruments can be broadly classified as structured interview formats (standardized and unstandardized), paper and pencil formats (standardized and unstandar…
Ted Landsman (1922-1990): Obituary
Ted Landsman (1922–1990): Obituary
A comparison of hospice patients with other recovering and ill patients
Hospice patients were compared with cancer patients in remission and patients with a temporary illness on death threat, hopelessness, and depression. The hospice group was found to be extremely low on death threat and revealed no more hopelessness or depression than the group with a temporary illness. The remission group was shown to be the least depressed and had the lowest level of hopelessness of the three groups. The relevance of these result…
Progress in the development of a science of persons
Theoretical Orientation and Therapists' View of the Healthy Client
An investigation of 48 therapists, who were classified as either experiential or analytical in their theoretical orientation, revealed that the two therapist groups were different in the way they described a healthy client using the California &sort. As predicted, experiential therapists scored significantly higher on expressive items than did the analytical therapists, but no difference was found for coping items. Coping items were highly valued…
Personality and Personal Construct Logical Consistency
Kelly's (6) theory of personal constructs suggests personality maladjustment occurs from the repeated use of invalid constructs. Chambers ( 1 ) suggested constructs' logical consistency is necessary for conflict-free, valid construction. A grid measure of lo,gical inconsistency ( 1 ) correlated with Cattell's 1 6 PF scores, suggesting neurotic maladjustment. Chambers and Sanders ( 4 ) later found alcoholics to be less logical. Chambers, Mahn, and…
Reduction in death threat as a basis for optimal functioning
Personal construct psychology and existential philosophy suggest that a positive resolution of the issue of personal mortality enables a person to live a more intense, meaningful life. The present study tested this hypothesis by inviting participation in selected death education experiences designed to produce more positive death orientation and higher levels of psychological functioning. Participants in the study were 96 undergraduate psychology…
Re-Clarifying the Measurement of Death Attitudes
An alternative analysis of data reported by Durlak and Kass [1] indicates that, contrary to their conclusion, four of the fifteen death-attitude scales in their study are not complex, but can be considered, to a large extent, measures of a general response to death
A test of the golden section hypothesis with elicted constructs
Interpersonal Cognitive Differentiation and Drug of Choice
The relationship between drug abusers' level of interpersonal cognitive differentiation and preferred drug of abuse was explored. 30 subjects completed a drug-history questionnaire which provided information on the pattern and extent of drug use. Interpersonal cognitive differentiation was assessed with a modified form of Kelly's grid repertory test. Depressant abusers were significantly less differentiated than stimulant abusers. Cross-validatio…
Validity and Reliability of Provided Constructs in Assessing Death Threat
A self-administered form of the Threat Index (TI) was introduced and compared to the original interview form along dimensions of validity, reliability, internal consistency, and independence from social desirability response set. The assumption that a split between self and death is indicative of threat was empirically tested by means of an expanded format. In addition, the death-relevant situations used to generate constructs in the interview fo…
Construct Similarity and Maternal Warmth
In an investigation of perceived construct similarity and maternal warmth, it was found that mothers who construed themselves as being highly similar to their child manifested more warmth toward that child. Perceived construct similarity was assessed by means of a modified Rep. grid, while warmth was assessed using the Fels Warmth Scale. Social desirability scores of the mothers did not seem to influence the magnitude of this relationship. Becaus…
Convergent Validity, Situational Stability and Meaningfulness of the Threat Index
A pair of related experiments examined the psychometric properties on the Threat Index (TI), a theoretically based scale for the assessment of threat of death. An extremity scoring revealed that both structured interview and paper-and-pencil versions of the TI were more meaningful to respondents than was a similar instrument utilizing semantic differential dimensions. The TI displayed generally low convergence with Lester's Fear of Death Scale, T…
Death Threat Constructions in the Student and the Prudent
Two experiments were conducted as tests of the validity of the provided-construct Threat Index, a theoretically based death orientation instrument. The first study compared changes in death threat scores of students in two death education courses to threat scores of control classes. Although a hypothesized decline in mean threat scores from pre- to post-testing among the thanatology students was not found, it was found that the mean death threat …
Personal Constructs, Threat and Attitudes toward Death
The present study introduced a personal construct approach to the assessment of threat of death. Two experiments were reported in which the relationship of this measure, referred to as the Threat Index, to a number of self-report variables, the Lester Fear of Death Scale, and the Templer Death Anxiety Scale was investigated. A total of 112 college students participated in the experiments which demonstrated a significant relationship between the T…
Relationship between Cognitive Differentiation and Level of Abstraction
The relationship between cognitive differentiation and the level of abstraction of constructs employed to construe social issues was examined. It was thought that abstract constructs would be associated with greater versatility in construing events than would concrete constructs. It was hypothesized, therefore, that individuals demonstrating extensive differentiation in their grids would generate more abstract constructs for construing social iss…
Cognitive Complexity and Categorization of Stimulus Objects Being Judged
Cognitive complexity and the categorization of stimulus objects being judged was examined. Previous research indicated that these stimulus objects could be analyzed in terms of two distinct subgroups with reference to social distance. The cognitive complexity scores assigned to 10 stimulus objects by 82 Ss were subjected to a principal factor analysis. Since the largest two factors extracted did not have appropriate content and left a large propo…
An Evaluation of Elicitation Procedures for Personal Constructs
The opposite method (OM) and the difference method (DM) for eliciting personal constructs were evaluated with regard to the number of bipolar constructs produced. This evaluation is an investigation of how the constructs were used in a grid procedure and how they were reported in a structured interview. Comparing the two methods, using the grid procedure, the OM produced a greater number of bipolar constructs. Responses to the interview were inco…
An Evaluation of Elicitation Procedures for Personal Constructs
The opposite method (OM) and the difference method (DM) for eliciting personal constructs were evaluated with regard to the number of bipolar constructs produced. This evaluation is an investigation of how the constructs were used in a grid procedure and how they were reported in a structured interview. Comparing the two methods, using the grid procedure, the OM produced a greater number of bipolar constructs. Responses to the interview were inco…
Reduction in death threat as a basis for optimal functioning
Personal construct psychology and existential philosophy suggest that a positive resolution of the issue of personal mortality enables a person to live a more intense, meaningful life. The present study tested this hypothesis by inviting participation in selected death education experiences designed to produce more positive death orientation and higher levels of psychological functioning. Participants in the study were 96 undergraduate psychology…
Cognitive Complexity and Categorization of Stimulus Objects Being Judged
Cognitive complexity and the categorization of stimulus objects being judged was examined. Previous research indicated that these stimulus objects could be analyzed in terms of two distinct subgroups with reference to social distance. The cognitive complexity scores assigned to 10 stimulus objects by 82 Ss were subjected to a principal factor analysis. Since the largest two factors extracted did not have appropriate content and left a large propo…
An Evaluation of Elicitation Procedures for Personal Constructs
The opposite method (OM) and the difference method (DM) for eliciting personal constructs were evaluated with regard to the number of bipolar constructs produced. This evaluation is an investigation of how the constructs were used in a grid procedure and how they were reported in a structured interview. Comparing the two methods, using the grid procedure, the OM produced a greater number of bipolar constructs. Responses to the interview were inco…
Relationship between Cognitive Differentiation and Level of Abstraction
The relationship between cognitive differentiation and the level of abstraction of constructs employed to construe social issues was examined. It was thought that abstract constructs would be associated with greater versatility in construing events than would concrete constructs. It was hypothesized, therefore, that individuals demonstrating extensive differentiation in their grids would generate more abstract constructs for construing social iss…
Personal Constructs, Threat and Attitudes toward Death
The present study introduced a personal construct approach to the assessment of threat of death. Two experiments were reported in which the relationship of this measure, referred to as the Threat Index, to a number of self-report variables, the Lester Fear of Death Scale, and the Templer Death Anxiety Scale was investigated. A total of 112 college students participated in the experiments which demonstrated a significant relationship between the T…
Convergent Validity, Situational Stability and Meaningfulness of the Threat Index
A pair of related experiments examined the psychometric properties on the Threat Index (TI), a theoretically based scale for the assessment of threat of death. An extremity scoring revealed that both structured interview and paper-and-pencil versions of the TI were more meaningful to respondents than was a similar instrument utilizing semantic differential dimensions. The TI displayed generally low convergence with Lester's Fear of Death Scale, T…
Death Threat Constructions in the Student and the Prudent
Two experiments were conducted as tests of the validity of the provided-construct Threat Index, a theoretically based death orientation instrument. The first study compared changes in death threat scores of students in two death education courses to threat scores of control classes. Although a hypothesized decline in mean threat scores from pre- to post-testing among the thanatology students was not found, it was found that the mean death threat …
Construct Similarity and Maternal Warmth
In an investigation of perceived construct similarity and maternal warmth, it was found that mothers who construed themselves as being highly similar to their child manifested more warmth toward that child. Perceived construct similarity was assessed by means of a modified Rep. grid, while warmth was assessed using the Fels Warmth Scale. Social desirability scores of the mothers did not seem to influence the magnitude of this relationship. Becaus…
Validity and Reliability of Provided Constructs in Assessing Death Threat
A self-administered form of the Threat Index (TI) was introduced and compared to the original interview form along dimensions of validity, reliability, internal consistency, and independence from social desirability response set. The assumption that a split between self and death is indicative of threat was empirically tested by means of an expanded format. In addition, the death-relevant situations used to generate constructs in the interview fo…
Interpersonal Cognitive Differentiation and Drug of Choice
The relationship between drug abusers' level of interpersonal cognitive differentiation and preferred drug of abuse was explored. 30 subjects completed a drug-history questionnaire which provided information on the pattern and extent of drug use. Interpersonal cognitive differentiation was assessed with a modified form of Kelly's grid repertory test. Depressant abusers were significantly less differentiated than stimulant abusers. Cross-validatio…
Re-Clarifying the Measurement of Death Attitudes
An alternative analysis of data reported by Durlak and Kass [1] indicates that, contrary to their conclusion, four of the fifteen death-attitude scales in their study are not complex, but can be considered, to a large extent, measures of a general response to death
A test of the golden section hypothesis with elicted constructs
Personality and Personal Construct Logical Consistency
Kelly's (6) theory of personal constructs suggests personality maladjustment occurs from the repeated use of invalid constructs. Chambers ( 1 ) suggested constructs' logical consistency is necessary for conflict-free, valid construction. A grid measure of lo,gical inconsistency ( 1 ) correlated with Cattell's 1 6 PF scores, suggesting neurotic maladjustment. Chambers and Sanders ( 4 ) later found alcoholics to be less logical. Chambers, Mahn, and…
Reduction in death threat as a basis for optimal functioning
Personal construct psychology and existential philosophy suggest that a positive resolution of the issue of personal mortality enables a person to live a more intense, meaningful life. The present study tested this hypothesis by inviting participation in selected death education experiences designed to produce more positive death orientation and higher levels of psychological functioning. Participants in the study were 96 undergraduate psychology…
Theoretical Orientation and Therapists' View of the Healthy Client
An investigation of 48 therapists, who were classified as either experiential or analytical in their theoretical orientation, revealed that the two therapist groups were different in the way they described a healthy client using the California &sort. As predicted, experiential therapists scored significantly higher on expressive items than did the analytical therapists, but no difference was found for coping items. Coping items were highly valued…
Progress in the development of a science of persons
A comparison of hospice patients with other recovering and ill patients
Hospice patients were compared with cancer patients in remission and patients with a temporary illness on death threat, hopelessness, and depression. The hospice group was found to be extremely low on death threat and revealed no more hopelessness or depression than the group with a temporary illness. The remission group was shown to be the least depressed and had the lowest level of hopelessness of the three groups. The relevance of these result…
Ted Landsman (1922-1990): Obituary
Ted Landsman (1922–1990): Obituary
Humanistic psychology and personal construct theory
This article describes the strong bond which exists between humanistic psychology and George Kelly's personal construct psychology. First, it examines humanistic concepts found in personal construct psychology such as constructive alternativism, the credulous approach, role relationships, the invitational mood, transitive diagnosis and the anti‐reductionistic, holistic approach to understanding the person. Next, it reviews Kelly's impact on the d…
Children and Death: New Horizons in Theory and Measurement
Recent research in the area of children and death is reviewed in this article, focusing on the two broad domains of childrens' death concept development and children and bereavement. The kinds of psychometric instrumentation used in current projects within these areas is then reviewed. These instruments can be broadly classified as structured interview formats (standardized and unstandardized), paper and pencil formats (standardized and unstandar…
Who is a homosexual? A critique of the heterosexual-homosexual dimension
The heterosexual‐homosexual distinction as a construction inhibits appreciation of the diversity of sexual experience by encouraging use of static labels to classify people's continually evolving sexual histories. Distinguishing sexual preference may expedite comprehension of sexual acts, but is counterproductive when considering whole persons. We question the need for biological explanations of homosexuality and propose that “coming out” as homo…
Reflections on becoming a humanistic psychologist
A Constructive Understanding of the Person: George Kelly and Humanistic Psychology
Presented here is a careful examination of George Kelly's contributions to and differences from humanistic psychology and some of his more radical challenges to mainstream psychology in general. We begin by looking at the word constructive and how various definitions help us to understand what Kelly meant by a constructive understanding of the person. We then examine how truly different Kelly's basic assumptions are from those of traditional psyc…
Psychology (23 works) · Social Psychology (16 works) · Social Psychology (13 works) · Clinical Psychology (9 works) · Clinical Psychology (9 works) · Cognitive and psychological constructs research (8 works) · Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion (8 works) · Computer Science (6 works) · Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health (6 works) · Psychoanalysis (6 works)