Carl Rogers

The Humanistic Approach

Biography• Carl grew up on a farm in Illinois, developing an

interest in biology & agriculture. • Expressing emotions was not allowed in the

Rogers household & it took its toll on Carl who developed an ulcer at 15.

• Rogers went to the University of Wisconsin to study agriculture in 1919.

• He changed careers becoming interested in religious studies. He finished his degree and left for Union Theological Seminary in NY to become a minister.

Biography• Rogers view of humanistic psychology was at

odds with Freudian theory & behaviorism.• He gained recognition when he won the APA

award for distinguished scientific contribution in 1956.

• In 1963, he moved to LaJolla, California. Developed the Center for Studies of the Person.

• He continued his scientific efforts, writing, holding workshops, etc. until he died in 1987.

Basic Premise

• Humans are motivated through an innate potential to actualize, maintain and enhance the self

• Sees people as basically good

Experiential World

• Phenomenology– The reality of our environment depends on

our perception of it– Subjective perception of reality

Emergence of Self-Concept

• Self-concept: How I see myself

• As infants grow, they develop the need for positive regard

• Positive regard: Acceptance, love and approval from others

• Child does not receive positive regard: fails to develop actualizing tendency fully

Unconditional Positive Regard

• Approval granted regardless of behavior

• Conditions of worth

• Conditional positive regard

• Positive self-regard– Eventually grant positive regard to ourselves

Incongruence

• Discrepancy between self-concept and aspects of experience

• Experiences inconsistent with how we see ourselves cause anxiety

• Psychological adjustment/emotional health

Characteristics of Fully Functioning Persons (Self-Actualizing)

• Awareness of all experiences

• Live fully in the moment

• Trust own behavior and experience

• Sense of freedom in decision making

• Creative, flexible to change

• Recognition difficulties will inevitably arise

Personality

• No aspect is predetermined

• Actualizing tendency: Innate, but more influenced by social factors than biological

• Accounts for childhood, but later experiences are more important

• Optimistic, positive view of change as

possible at any point over the lifespan

Person-Centered Therapy

• Represents a shift from medical model to growth model

• Strong emphasis on the therapeutic relationship

3 Conditions in Person-Centered Therapy

• Conditions are necessary and sufficient for change– Empathy– Congruence/Genuineness– Unconditional Positive Regard

Carl Rogers: Person-Centered Approach

• Rogers believed that humans are basically good.

• He argued that we have an innate drive to reach an optimal sense of ourselves & satisfaction with our lives.

• He felt that the process by which we do this, not the end result is what matters.

• A person who does this is what he calls a “Fully Functioning Person.”

Characteristics of a Fully Functioning Person

• 1. These people are open to their experiences. They strive to experience life to its fullest & are willing to take some risks.

• 2. These people live in the present (here & now).

• 3. These folks trust their own feelings & instincts. They aren’t held back by old standards or concern for what others might think.

• 4. These folks are less concern with social conventions.

Conditions of Worth & Unconditional Positive Regard

• Rogers argues that most of us grow up in an atmosphere where we are given love & support as long as we behave the way we are expected to.

• This is what he calls Conditional positive regard. The emphasis is that love is given conditionally (with a string attached).

If we don’t do what our parents want us to do?

• Rogers argued that in these cases, parents withhold their love from us.

• As a result of this, children learn to abandon their true feelings, wishes, & desires, for those of their parents.

• This paves the way for us to become alienated from our true selves.

Unconditional positive regard

• We need this to accept all parts of our personality.

• With this we know we are loved & valued for being who we are.

• Parents can do this, by it clear that their love is not contingent on the child’s behavior (even when such behavior is abhored).

Research in Rogers’ Theory

• Q-Sort Technique– Client sorts large number of statements about self-

concept into categories– Goal: Reduce the discrepancy between the ideal and

actual self

• Incongruence between perceived self and ideal self indicates poor emotional adjustment

• Failures to realize actualizing tendency can lead to maladjustment

Criticisms of Rogers’ Theory

• Ignores aspects of personality that client may be unaware of, but that still influence client’s behavior

• Ambiguous concepts: Self-actualizing tendency

Contributions of Rogers

• Research in psychotherapy

• Growth model

• Emphasis on developing self-concept in personality

• Conditions necessary for therapy accepted and used in many other schools of therapy