Humanistic Approach Carl Rogers ICSP254 Theories of Personality

Carl Rogers Originated non-directive or client-centered therapy (now called person-centered therapy) Develop theory from working with clients Theory suggests that the ability to change and improve personality is centered within the person. Therapist’s role is to assist or facilitate the change

Life of Rogers (1902-1987) Parents hold strict religious views and virtue of hard work Parents beliefs forced him to live by someone else’s view => Rogers suggest non-directive approach (promote influence in a subtle and loving way) Believe parents show favoritism toward older brother Grew up shy, solidary, dreamy, and often lost in fantasy The loneliness he felt strongly influenced his theory and his own personality

The Self and Tendency toward Actualization Traveled to China (6 months) and freed himself from parents’ way I could “think my own thoughts, come to my own conclusions, and take stands I believed in” Roger explored external factors (family, health, IQ, culture) and internal factors (self-understanding, self-insight) that impact behavior Self-insight – an acceptance of self and reality, and a sense of responsibility to the self Importance of an autonomous self in development of personality

The Self and Tendency toward Actualization One of Rogers’s student attempt to predict the behavior of delinquent children Rogers suggested family environment and social interactions as factors that would most strongly correlate with delinquent behaviors Findings is that factor that most accurately predict later behavior was self-insight What is the implication of this finding? Therapists are focusing treatment on the wrong factors! (ex. Try to improve child’s family environment like removing child from abusive home)

The Self and Tendency toward Actualization Actualization tendency – basic human motivation to actualize, maintain, and enhance the self Organismic valuing process – process which we judge experiences in terms of their value for helping or hurting our actualization and growth

The Experiential World The reality of our environment depends on our perception of it, which may not coincide with reality. You may judge your friend’s behavior very differently than someone who’s 20 years older. Our perception change with time and situations. Essentially, perception is subjective Rogers’ view is that our world of experience is private and can only be known completely by each person

Development of Self in Childhood Formation of self involves distinguish what is part of self vs. external entities such as people, objects, events All aspects of self strive for consistency Ex. People who are disturbed about having aggressive feelings choose to deny having them. If they act aggressively, they will be inconsistent with their self-concept that they should not be aggressive

Positive Regard As the self emerges, child develop a need for positive regard – acceptance, love, and approval from others Source of positive regard not important If child perceive parents’ disapproval as disapproval for the new self, child will cease to actualize. Instead, will act in ways to seek for positive regard from others regardless of whether the behavior is consistent with self-concept Unconditional positive regard – acceptance, love, and approval persists despite child’s undesirable behaviors. Positive regard is not dependent on the child’s behaviors.

Positive Regard Reciprocal nature (when one satisfy someone else’s need for positive regard, they in turn experience satisfaction of that need themselves) In forming self-concept, child interpret feedback (positive regard vs. not) and refine the self-concept. This shows that we internalize attitude of others in our self-concept. Positive Self-Regard – condition which we grant ourselves acceptance and approval

Conditions of Worth Freud’s version of superego Unconditional vs. conditional positive regard Conditions of worth – belief that we’re worthy of approval only when we express desirable and attitudes and refrain from those that bring disapproval Children develop self-regard only in situations that have brought parental approval Children then learn to avoid behaviors that parents disapprove even if they might personally like it, they are no longer function freely and actualizing the self

Incongruence Incongruence – discrepancy between person’s self-concept and aspects of his or her experience Due to conditions of worth, children learn to inhibit, deny, or distort experiences of unacceptable behaviors Experiences that are incongruent with our self-concept become threatening and manifested as anxiety

Fully Functioning Persons Fully functioning person – Rogers’ term for self-actualization, for developing all the facets of the self Characteristics of fully functioning persons are: 1. Aware of all experience. No experience is distorted or denied. Nothing to threaten self-concept. Open to both negative and positive feelings.

Fully Functioning Persons Characteristics of fully functioning persons are: Aware of all experience. Live fully and richly in every moment Trust self (one’s own behavior and feelings) rather than being guided by opinions of others or by social code. Freedom of choice, without inhibitions Creative and spontaneous. Adaptive. Continued need to grow, to strive to maximize one’s potential

Questions about Human Nature Past Present Nurture Determinism Nature Free Will Past or Present? Rejected idea that past events exert a controlling influence. Current feelings and emotions have greater impact on personality. Free Will or Determinism? We’re ruled by conscious. Little importance to unconscious forces. Nature or Nurture? Environment (like parental approval) is important in developing self-concept

Questions about Human Nature Uniqueness Universality Pessimism Growth Optimism Equilibrium Unique or Universal? Personality could only be understood from own viewpoint, based on our subjective experiences Equilibrium or Growth? Innate motivation to self-actualize Optimism or Pessimism? Optimistic view of human nature