fei75766_ch19_610-639.indd 619  02/06/20 01:53 PM
Chapter 19     Kelly: Psychology of Personal Constructs619
Dichotomy of Constructs
Now wecome toacorollary thatisnotsoobvious. Thedichotomy corollary states 
that“a person’s construction system is composed of a finite number of dichotomous con -
structs” (Kelly, 1955, p.59).
Kelly insisted thataconstruct isaneither-or proposition—black orwhite, with
noshades ofgray. Innature, things maynotbeeither-or, butnatural events haveno
meanings other thanthose attributed tothem byanindividual’s personal construct 
system. Innature, thecolor bluemayhavenoopposite pole(except onacolor chart), 
butpeople attribute contrasting qualities toblue, suchaslightblueversus darkblue
orpretty versus ugly.
Inorder toform aconstruct, people must beabletoseesimilarities between 
events, buttheymust alsocontrast those events withtheiropposite pole. Kelly (1955) 
stated itthisway:“Initsminimum context aconstruct isawayinwhich atleasttwo
elements aresimilar andcontrast withathird” (p.61).Asanexample, return to
Figure 19.1. How areintelligence andindependence alike? Their common element 
hasnomeaning without contrasting ittoanopposite. Intelligence andindependence 
havenooverlapping element when compared toahammer orachocolate bar.By
contrasting intelligence withstupidity andindependence withdependence, yousee
howtheyarealike andhowtheycanbeorganized under theconstruct “good” as
opposed to“bad.”
Choice Between Dichotomies
Ifpeople construe events indichotomized fashion, thenitfollows thattheyhave
some choice infollowing alternative courses ofaction. ThisisKelly’s choice corollary, vs.
Intelligence Health
Bus Walk Friends
Repair old car Buy used car Buy new carStupidity Illness
SchoolIndependence
Transportation
CarDependence
HomeGood Bad
FIGURE 19.1  Complexity of Relationships Among Constructs.Final PDF to printer