A NEW APPROACH TO THE IDENTIFICATION OF COGNITIVE CONFLICTS IN THE REPERTORY GRID - A NOMOTHETIC STUDY

Two separate but related investigations are reported. In the first, a score was derived from a construct correlation matrix obtained by grid data processing. This score, the Correlation Test (CT) score, express es the percentage of unbalanced triads in the construct correlation ma trix and is considered to assess logical inconsistency. It is discusse d as being qualitatively different from other scores derived from cons truct correlation matrices, such as cognitive complexity scores. It is suggested that the CT score refers to cognitive integration, whereas other scores usually refer to cognitive differentiation. The second in vestigation was an attempt to trace the clinical implications of the C T score. An investigation of 141 inpatients undergoing psychoanalytica lly oriented psychotherapy revealed that those with a large number of inconsistencies in their construct system presented more severe psycho logical disturbances and were less able to cope alone with conflictual situations than were persons who displayed fewer logical inconsistenc ies.