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Bereavement and personal constructs: old theories and new concepts
Death Education
|February 5, 1984
Summary
This study proposes a personal construct theory of grief, explaining how the loss of a loved one challenges an individual's core self-structure. This cognitive approach clarifies bereavement and defensive exclusion.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Cognitive Science
- Bereavement Studies
Background:
- Traditional and current theories of bereavement are reviewed.
- Existing work in grief conceptualization is discussed.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose and explore a personal construct theory of grieving.
- To clarify and extend existing work on bereavement.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing bereavement theories.
- Application of personal construct theory to grief.
- Development of testable hypotheses.
Main Results:
- Conceptualizing grieving in personal construct terms offers a novel perspective.
- A personal construct view of core role (self) structure explains defensive exclusion.
- Loss challenges central dimensions of the bereaved person's construct system.
Conclusions:
- Personal construct theory provides a valuable cognitive framework for understanding bereavement.
- The proposed theory offers implications for therapeutic interventions.
- Testable hypotheses are generated for future research.