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

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

6. 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

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

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

9. 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

10. 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

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

12. 3 Conditions in Person-Centered Therapy • Conditions are necessary and sufficient for change • Empathy • Congruence/Genuineness • Unconditional Positive Regard

13. 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.”

14. 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.

15. 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).

16. 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.

17. 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).

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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