Does invalidation produce loose construing?

Abstract

This study tested Bannister's (1963) serial invalidation hypothesis that repeated invalidation of a person's judgements loosens conceptual organization. That is, a person's constructs or dimensions of judgement will become more weakly and inconsistently related. Using a variant of Kelly's (1955) repertory grid methodology, thirty university students rated three sets of eight career roles on sixteen constructs. During the ratings of the second set, subjects received both evaluative commentary from the experimenter and objective evidence in the form of fake ratings. Both types of feedback were either invalidating or validating of subjects' judgements on the first eight constructs. The main finding was that invalidation loosened conceptual organization, but only for subjects who initially manifested strong relations among constructs. Subjects who began with weaker construct relations were not significantly affected by type of feedback.