Midpoint Ratings on Personal Constructs: Constriction or the Middle Way?

Abstract

Midpoint ratings of elements on personal constructs have been given various interpretations, and the placement of the ideal self at the midpoint of a construct has been viewed as violating Kelly's (1955) dichotomy and choice corollaries. This article reports analyses, using a mixed models approach, of repertory grids completed by 80 clients referred to a clinical psychology service at up to five assessment points both pre- and posttherapy. A larger than expected number of ideal self ratings at the midpoint was found, and consideration of the content of several of the constructs concerned elucidated why it might have been that neither pole was preferred. Midpoint ratings of the ideal self increased over the course of therapy and were not associated with depression or anxiety. Midpoint ratings of the ideal self and self now were also related to various structural measures of construing. Theoretical and clinical implications of the findings are discussed.