A comparison of triadic and dyadic methods of personal construct elicitation

Triadic and dyadic approaches to construct elicitation are common in the pe rsonal construct literature. Little research has been devoted to comparing the two approaches, particularly, in terms of the kinds of constructs elici ted by each approach. Twenty-four participants completed repertory grids (8 common elements and 12 elicited constructs) using dyadic and triadic metho ds for. eliciting constructs. Methods of elicitation were counterbalanced U pon completion of each grid, participants were ashed to rate the salience o f each construct. Elicitation types were compared in terms of construct org anization, structure and content of constructs. Some differences were found in construct organization measures. Findings also indicated a greater vari ation in construct type using triadic method. The implications of these met hod-dependent differences in elicitation of constructs are discussed.