Construing the athlete and exerciser: research and applied perspectives from personal construct psychology

This paper focuses on personal construct psychology (PCP; Kelly, 1955/1991) and its potentialusefulness for the field of sport and exercise psychology. We begin with an overview of thephilosophical roots and the key components of PCP followed by a discussion of the keymethodologies commonly employed for a personal construct inquiry (e.g., repertory grid andladdering). Part of this discussion focuses on two elaborations of PCP in sport and exercisesettings, namely performance profiling and multisource/360-degree feedback. Following this,we describe two case examples of how we have employed PCP in our professional practice.We conclude with a discussion of the implications for research and professional practice. Ouroverviewof this framework’s philosophical position, its key components, and the methodologiesemployed for a personal construct enquiry provide a foundation upon which others may seek toexplore its usefulness for an array of research and professional endeavors in sport and exercisesettings.