Carl Rogers

1. Carl Rogers The Humanistic Approach

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.”

5. Basic Premise • Humans are motivated through an innate potential to actualize, maintain and enhance the self • Sees people as basically good

6. Experiential World • Phenomenology • The reality of our environment depends on our perception of it • Subjective perception of reality

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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.

10. Unconditional Positive Regard • Approval granted regardless of behavior • Conditions of worth • Conditional positive regard • Positive self-regard • Eventually grant positive regard to ourselves

11. 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).

12. 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 making it clear that their love is not contingent on the child’s behavior (even when such behavior is abhored).

13. Incongruence • Discrepancy between self-concept and aspects of experience • Experiences inconsistent with how we see ourselves cause anxiety • Psychological adjustment/emotional health

14. Basic Human Problem: The two needs are often in conflict. Satisfying one may mean giving up the other. Effect on Personality: We get a false picture of who we are—our interests, motivations, goals, abilities. Our Two Selves Real Self (“Organism”): all our experiences (feelings, wishes, perceptions) Self-Concept: the person we think we are (e.g., “I am...”)

15. Defenses • Rogers identifies only two defenses: • 1. Denial – keeping a memory or impulse out of awareness – similar to Freud’s idea of repression • 2. Perceptual Distortion – reinterpreting the situation so that it appears to be less threatening – covers many Freudian defense mechanisms

16. Person-Centered Therapy • Represents a shift from medical model to growth model • Strong emphasis on the therapeutic relationship

17. 3 Conditions in Person-Centered Therapy • Conditions are necessary and sufficient for change • Empathy • Congruence/Genuineness • Unconditional Positive Regard

18. Person-Centered Therapy: The Goal is Congruence Incongruence has many harmful effects. One is that it prevents self-actualization. You have to know who you are to fulfill your potential. The therapist tries to bring the self-concept closer to the real self: Self-Concept Real Self Congruence

19. 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 that difficulties will inevitably arise

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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