Jankowitcz D. - Easy Guide to Repertory Grids (2004)(en)

APPENDIX 2 259

EE: Yes, that’s right.

ER: Now, suppose that what we have here is a rating scale. A 5-point scale. The words I have on the left, ‘reserved, hold back’, is the ‘1’ end of the scale, and the words on the right, ‘outgoing, will approach’, are the ‘5’ end of the scale. I want you to rate each of these three people on this scale. Give each of them a number, 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5, to say which end of the scale they’re nearest to. So: how would you rate AB?

EE: Well, I’ve said, rather reserved; give him a ‘4’ and CD a ‘5’ cos he’s more reserved?

ER: Okay, I know this may seem a bit awkward, but the scale goes from ‘reserved equals ‘‘1’’ to ‘outgoing equals ‘‘5’’ ’. Forget which one’s ‘bigger’ or ‘has more of’; it’s the direction, nearer to the left or nearer to the right, that we want. The words on the left [shows grid] stand for the ‘1’ end of the scale – if someone is very reserved, they’d get a ‘1’; a bit reserved would be a ‘2’; not at all reserved, but in fact very outgoing, would be a ‘5’, d’you see?

EE: Right, if that’s what you want, then CD gets a ‘1’ and AB gets a ‘2’, reserved, but not as much as CD.

ER: And in contrast, GH?

EE; Oh, yes, definitely very outgoing; give her a ‘5’.

ER: And what about the others? How would you rate KL on this scale?

EE: Ah. Well, pretty outgoing, really. A ‘5’, maybe a ‘4’?

ER: Is he as outgoing as GH or less so?

EE: Oh, I’d say less – a ‘4’.

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ER: And MN?

EE: More like AB, really; a ‘2’ I’d say.

ER: What about OP?

EE: Oh. Well, I’ve got a problem here. Have you a ‘10’ on the scale?! OP is very forward, much more so than GH!

ER: No, but we can give him a ‘5’, that’s the most outgoing . . .

ER: . . . but we may have to move GH along a bit; she’s less outgoing than OP, so give her a ‘4’?

EE: I see what you mean. Yes, okay, a ‘4’ for GH, and then OP is a ‘5’. But KL is less outgoing than either of them – change it to a ‘3’?

ER: Yes, that sounds okay, if that sums up how you see them in terms of reserved versus outgoing. Here we are [shows]:

EE: That’s fine. On that basis, QR is a ‘3’ as well. ST, now, she’s different. More like AB, really.

ER: Reserved, but not as reserved as CD?

EE: Yes, that’s right. A ‘2’.

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ER: Good! That’s your first construct – one way you have of thinking about your friends and friendship. You said something earlier about being sporty? Is that something you have in mind when you think about friends?

EE: Yes, I enjoy being fit myself, and though not all my friends are interested, I do tend to notice how healthy or otherwise they are!

ER: So is this about being fit and healthy, or being interested in sports?

EE: Well, I suppose it’s to do with how they feel about keeping fit. I mean, you can be a couch potato who watches football on TV, you could call that ‘sporty’, but it’s not what I have in mind. Yes, look, that’s what it is: whether you get a buzz off them; or whether, sure, they care to stay alive but they’re just . . . amiable, maybe, but slobs!

ER: What if we were to say ‘care about their health’ as opposed to ‘health doesn’t matter to them’?

EE: Not really, everyone cares about their health! No, it’s more to do with making an effort to be fit and healthy.

ER: As opposed to?

EE: As opposed to not being particularly bothered.

ER: How would you tell?

EE: Oh, you know, activity: goes for a swim, makes an effort, joined a gym, you could say the sort of person who’d have their own personal trainer if they could afford it.

ER: And the opposite?

EE: It’s definitely to do with not making any special effort to look after himself. Or herself.

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ER: So there we have it [shows grid]. A new rating scale: ‘makes an effort’ (with all the other things that we’ve said about making an effort) is the ‘1’ end of the scale; ‘makes no special effort’ is the ‘5’ end of the scale. How would you rate AB?

EE: Oh, not particularly sporty; I’d say a ‘4’, not especially interested. CD’s into being fit, and GH, yes, she’s pretty much a fitness freak, even more so.

ER: There you are, And the others, going along the row?

EE: Ah, KL! He’s the couch potato’s couch potato! MN, yes, she’s healthy and talks about it a lot; she’s into alternative medicine too. OP, neither, really; I’d give her a ‘3’. It’s just not an issue with her; she says she’s happy enough to rest on her laurels now that she’s given up smoking! QR, yes, another slob, though not as gross as KL. That leaves ST, who’s moderately interested. A ‘2’? No, that would be like CD; better say ‘3’.

EE: Looking over the ratings, it looks like all the blokes are slobs, yeah! . . . no, that’s not true, CD isn’t. Does their sex matter? Should we put that in or is it a bit trivial?

ER: Well, we’re talking about your friendships here, and how you think about them. Is their sex relevant to you? You tell me!

EE: GH is my girlfriend. Well, I’m not especially a ‘man’s man’, I enjoy getting on with either! No, leave it out.

ER: All right, so we look for another construct, another way in which you think of friends and friendship. Suppose I ask you to think about KL, MN, and OP. Which two of these are alike, in some way to do with friendship, and thereby different from the third?

EE: KL’s a slob, no, we’ve said that . . . oh, okay. KL worries what you think about him; the other two don’t. Well, not that he worries, but other people’s opinions matter to him. MN and OP are more independent, don’t need to rely on other people so much.

ER: Hm. You were saying earlier that OP is ‘very forward’, like GH?

EE; Yes, she likes other people, but she doesn’t need other people. MN’s the same. KL reminds me of that psychological test, what was it? Gave you a score on whether you were ‘group-dependent, a sound follower’ . . . ? Which makes me wonder: what if my way of thinking is just, you know, wrong, not as an expert on people would see it?

ER: [refusing to be drawn] Oh, well, never mind about all those psychologists

– it’s your constructs we’re interested in. So, you’re saying that MN and OP are alike because they’re independent and don’t rely on being part of a group, whereas KL needs to be ‘of’ a group, as well as in it, as it were?

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EE: Yes, that puts it rather well; give him ‘1’. He’s more of a conformist really; they’re more self-sufficient, both the same: give them a . . . Sorry, which way round is it?

ER: [shows the grid] Independent is a ‘1’ and conformist is a ‘5’.

ER: And the others?

EE: This is an easy one. AB and CD are both independent types, 1 and 2; GH comes alive when she’s with other people but no, I wouldn’t say she’s clingy – give her a 2. That leaves QR – he’s sort of half-way – and ST. She’s fairly groupy, give her a ‘4’, I think.

ER: Now here’s another comparison. AB, QR, and ST.

EE: Let’s see now. QR and ST are alike because . . . AB is reserved and their own person, while they’re . . . This is difficult, I’m stuck on the other constructs with these three people . . .

ER: Is there a way that QR and AB are alike as opposed to ST?

EE: No. I just can’t see anything.

ER: That’s all right. Try comparing these three: GH, MN, and ST.

EE: GH and MN are . . . no, I was going to say single children, and ST is part of a large family. Is that the same as being independent as distinct from groupdependent, I wonder?

ER: You tell me!

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EE: Well, it’s not true about KL: he’s a single child, but group-dependent. This isn’t exactly the same as the previous one, really.

ER: And it’ll be very interesting to see how far you do see the two characteristics (independent/only child, group-dependent/from a large family) as similar – we can measure that in the analysis. Go ahead. ‘No other brothers or sisters’ is the ‘1’ end of the scale; ‘many brothers and sisters’ is the ‘5’ end of the scale. The more siblings, the larger the rating.

EE: GH and MN are only children, so is KL; ST, in contrast, has three older brothers, poor girl; and OP has two brothers and two sisters! What does that look like on your sheet?

ER: [shows]. Not quite the same ratings. What about AB and CD?

EE: No, not really. AB has a sister, CD has two, QR is one of a pair of twins – give her a ‘2’, the same as ‘AB’. Is that all of them now?

ER: Yes, that’s right.

EE: Now, what would you say about AB, KL, and ST? Which two of these are similar, but different from the third, in terms of friendship as you think of friendship?

ER: Oh, in terms of sheer liking them. AB and ST are my best friends, apart from my girlfriend GH. KL I don’t particularly get on with.

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EE: I’ll scribble that down for the moment; but could you say a bit more about them? What do you look for in a best friend as distinct from someone who you don’t particularly get on with?

ER: Lots, really. They don’t have to think like me, but we have to be on the same wavelength; then they have to be easy to be with, you know, a good laugh. And for me, being from the same background helps. I know it shouldn’t, but can I put it down?

EE: By all means! This is about what you think, not what you should think. I appreciate your honesty.

ER: [Laughs] And that’s another thing. I look for honesty from my friends. Reliability, someone you can depend on.

EE: Okay. Now, look, what I’d like to do at this stage is to flag up ‘best friends’ versus ‘don’t get on with’, since that summarises the purpose of the whole grid; and then quickly tease out the other characteristics you’ve just mentioned. We’ll leave ‘best friends’ just like that, and view the whole of the grid as defining what that particular construct means for you.

EE: Well, these were all a bit ‘top-of-my-head’, you know; shouldn’t I do the three-at-a-time bit – make sure I’m doing it properly?

ER: Oh, no: the ‘three-at-a-time’ bit is just to get you to come up with fresh constructs each time; if you can spin out a set just like that without the ‘three- at-a-time’ routine, that’s fine! And when you start rating each of the friends, I’ll make sure that you think it through so it’s not just off the top of your head! Now, here’s what you’ve just said [scribbles quickly, and shows]:

ER: Now before we do anything else, you need to tell me whether I’ve understood you. ‘On the same wavelength’: you said that that isn’t how similarly you think . . .

EE: No, it’s more to do with reacting the same way, seeing the funny side at the same time; how predictable they are, really, in their reactions.

ER: And easy to be with? Just that, as distinct from minding your ps and qs with them?

EE: Exactly. That leaves ‘same background’. Well, you know, parents being similar people, same sort of schools, all that. Can you just say, ‘I know what you mean’, and leave it at that?

ER: Yes, of course, if that’s your preference. But what about ‘honest, reliable, dependable’? One in particular, or are they all the same? What single word or idea would you put down as the opposite?

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EE: I was going to say ‘predictable – unpredictable’, but I’ve already said that. All right, let’s say open and emotionally honest, as distinct from secretive, pulling the wool over your eyes as far as feelings are concerned.

ER: That’s fine. Now let’s do the ratings on each of these constructs, one by one. Leave the overall ‘best friends’ one for the moment. [Fills in the ratings as EE calls them out.]

ER: Now then. Let’s get a little distance for moment. Try another triplet, and remember, a new construct: something unrelated as far as possible to the ones we’ve already talked about. Try AB, ST, and MN.

EE: It’s very difficult to avoid repeating myself. I don’t have a very varied way of thinking, do I? It’s all the same!

ER: Well, actually, you’re not doing too badly. It’s extraordinary, really, how very well, thank you, we manage to do with relatively few really different ways of looking at the world! Now, does anything occur?