1. Humanistic Approach
Carl Rogers
ICSP254 Theories of Personality

2. 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

3. Life of Rogers ( )
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

4. 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

5. 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)

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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.

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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.

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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