PERSON-CENTERED THEORY ingredient that cultivates psychological growth within

both persons.
CARL ROGERS
 Rogers always insisted that the theory should remain
tentative, and it is with this thought that one should
 Wanted to be a farmer, a scientific farmer approach a discussion of Rogerian personality theory

 However, he never did become a farmer. After two years PERSON-CENTERED THEORY
of college, he changed his life goal from agriculture to the
ministry and later to psychology.
 His approach was first known as “nondirective,” Later, his
approach was variously termed “client-centered,” “person-
 He was quite shy and lacking in social skills. centered,” “student-centered,” “group-centered,” and
“person to person.” We use the label client-centered in
 A sensitive boy, he was easily hurt by the teasing he reference to Rogers’s therapy and the more inclusive term
received from classmates and siblings. person-centered to refer to Rogerian personality theory.

 Rogers developed humanistic theory of personality that

grew out of his experiences. Unlike Freud who’s primarily BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
a theorist, and secondarily a therapist.
 Rogers was a consummate therapist but only a reluctant  What are the basic assumptions of person-centered
theorist theory? Rogers postulated two broad assumptions—the
formative tendency and the actualizing tendency.

BIOGRAPHY OF CARL ROGERS

Formative Tendency
 Carl Ransom Rogers was born on January 8, 1902, in Oak  A tendency for all matter, both organic and inorganic, to
Park, Illinois, the fourth of six children born to Walter and evolve from simpler to more complex forms.
Julia Cushing Rogers.
 From farming to religion (minister) to psychology Actualizing Tendency
 Rogers was influenced by the progressive education  A tendency within all humans (and other animals and
movement of John Dewey plants) to move toward completion or fulfillment of
potentials
 His life would now take a new direction—toward
psychology and education.  This tendency is the only motive people possess

 He also attended a lecture by Alfred Adler, who shocked  The need to satisfy one’s hunger drive, to express deep
Rogers and the other staff members with his contention emotions when they are felt, and to accept one’s self are all
that an elaborate case history was unnecessary for examples of the single motive of actualization.
psychotherapy.
 Because each person operates as one complete organism,
 During the early phase of his professional career, Rogers actualization involves the whole person—physiological and
was strongly influenced by the ideas of Otto Rank, who intellectual, rational and emotional, conscious and
had been one of Freud’s closest associates before his unconscious.
dismissal from Freud’s inner circle.

 Despite his early problems with interpersonal

Subsumed within the actualizing tendency:
relationships, Rogers grew to become a leading
proponent of the notion that the interpersonal  The need for (1) maintenance is similar to the lower steps
relationship between two individuals is a powerful on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs; but it also includes the
tendency to resist change and to seek the status quo.
 Desire to protect their current, comfortable self-concept  Actualization tendency refers to organismic experiences
 Fight against new ideas of the individual; that is, it refers to the whole person—
 They distort experiences that do not quite fit conscious and unconscious, physiological and cognitive.
 They find change painful and growth frightening  Self-actualization is the tendency to actualize the self as
perceived in awareness.
 But also willing to learn and to change…  Discrepancy may exists between the actualization tendency
and the self-actualization tendency if the organismic
 This need to become more, to develop, and to achieve experience and the perceived self are not in harmony
growth is called (2) enhancement
2 subsystem of the self
 Willingness to learn things that are not immediately
rewarding
The Self-Concept
 Rogers’s position is that people are willing to face threat
and pain because of a biologically based tendency for the  Includes all those aspects of one’s being and one’s
organism to fulfill its basic nature (ex: a baby tries to walk experiences that are perceived in awareness (though not
even if he falls) always accurately) by the individual

 People have within themselves the creative power to  Not identical with organismic-self (because part of the
solve problems, to alter their self-concepts, and to individual or his experiences maybe denied or distorted if it
become increasingly self-directed doesn’t fit with the self-concept)

 Individuals perceive their experiences as reality  An established self-concept does not make change
impossible, merely difficult. Change most readily occurs in
 Organism can reach their full genetic-potential provided an atmosphere of acceptance by others, which allows a
certain conditions are present (both necessary and person to reduce anxiety and threat and to take ownership
sufficient conditions for becoming a fully functioning or of ed experiences.
self-actualizing person.).
The Ideal Self
 These conditions don’t cause it but permit actualization
 Defined as one’s view of self as one wishes to be
THE SELF AND SELF-ACTUALIZATION  A wide gap between the ideal self and the self-concept
indicates incongruence and an unhealthy personality
 According to Rogers, infants begin to develop a vague
concept of self when a portion of their experience
becomes personalized and differentiated in awareness as Awareness
“I” or “me” experiences. Infants gradually become aware
of their own identity as they learn what feels pleasant  Without awareness the self-concept and the ideal self
and what does not. They then begin to evaluate would not exist.
experiences as positive or negative, using as a criterion
the actualizing tendency. Because nourishment is a  Defined awareness as “the symbolic representation (not
requirement for actualization, infants value food and necessarily in verbal symbols) of some portion of our
devalue hunger. They also value sleep, fresh air, physical experience”
contact, and health because each of these is needed for
actualization.  He used the term synonymously with both consciousness
and symbolization
 Self-actualization is a subset of the actualization
tendency and is therefore not synonymous with it.
Levels of Awareness (3)
 That is, the person develops a need to be loved, liked, or
 First, some events are experienced below the threshold accepted by another person, a need that Rogers referred
of awareness and are either ignored or denied to as positive regard. If we perceive that others,
especially significant others, care for, prize, or value us,
 Ignored-too many stimuli; some others are ignored then our need to receive positive regard is at least
partially satisfied
 Denied-a mother who never wanted children, but out of
guilt she becomes overly caring to them. Her anger  Positive regard is a prerequisite for positive self-regard
toward her children may never reach consciousness but (experience of prizing or valuing one’s self)
yet remain a part of her experience and coloring her  Receiving positive regard from others is necessary for
conscious behavior toward them. positive self-regard, but once positive self-regard is
established, it becomes independent of the continual
 Second, some experiences are accurately symbolized need to be loved.
and freely admitted to the self-structure (such
experiences are both nonthreatening and consistent with  This conception is quite similar to Maslow’s notion that
the existing self-concept) we must satisfy our love and belongingness needs before
self-esteem needs can become active, but once we begin
 Third, involves experiences that are perceived in a to feel confident and worthy, we no longer require a
distorted form. (When our experience is not consistent replenishing supply of love and approval from others.
with our view of self, we reshape or distort the experience
so that it can be assimilated into our existing self-
concept.)
BARRIERS TO PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH (4)

 Not everyone becomes a psychologically healthy person.

Denial of Positive Experiences Rather, most people experience conditions of worth,
incongruence, defensiveness, and disorganization
 Many people have difficulty accepting genuine
compliments and positive feedback, even when
Conditions of Worth
deserved.
 Perceive that their parents, peers, or partners love and
 (Ex: I got a high grade because it’s just an easy subject) accept them only if they meet those people’s
expectations and approval. “A condition of worth arises
 Genuine positive feedback or positive experience may when the positive regard of a significant other is
not be able to penetrate their self-concept. conditional

BECOMING A PERSON  Conditions of worth become the criterion by which we

accept or reject our experiences
 Processes necessary to becoming a person:  We gradually assimilate into our self-structure the
attitudes we perceive others expressing toward us, and in
 First, an individual must make contact—positive or time we begin to evaluate experiences on this basis.
negative—with another person
 From early childhood forward, most of us learn to
 This is the minimum experience necessary for becoming a disregard our own organismic valuations and to look
person (a child must experience some contact from a beyond ourselves for direction and guidance. To the
caregiver to survive) degree that we introject the values of others, that is,
accept conditions of worth, we tend to be incongruent or
out of balance. Other people’s values can be assimilated
 As children (or adults) become aware that another
only in distorted fashion or at the risk of creating
person has some measure of regard for them, they begin
disequilibrium and conflict within the self.
to value positive regard and devalue negative regard
 Our perceptions of other people’s view of us are called  Anxiety and Threat whereas vulnerability exists when we
external evaluations. have no awareness of the incongruence within our self,
anxiety and threat are experienced as we gain awareness
 These evaluations, whether positive or negative, do not of such an incongruence
foster psychological health but, rather, prevent us from  Anxiety is defined as “a state of uneasiness or tension
being completely open to our own experiences whose cause is unknown”

 When our own experiences are distrusted, we distort our  As we become more aware of the incongruence between
awareness of them, thus solidifying the discrepancy our organismic experience and our perception of self, our
between our organismic evaluation and the values we anxiety begins to evolve into threat: that is, an awareness
have introjected from others. As a result, we experience that our self is no longer whole or congruent
incongruence  Anxiety and threat can represent steps toward
psychological health because they signal to us that our
organismic experience is inconsistent with our self-
Incongruence
concept.
 We have seen that the organism and the self are two
separate entities that may or may not be congruent with Defensiveness
one another. Also recall that actualization refers to the
organism’s tendency to move toward fulfillment,  In order to prevent this inconsistency between our
whereas self-actualization is the desire of the perceived organismic experience and our perceived self, we react in
self to reach fulfillment. a defensive manner.

 Psychological disequilibrium begins when we fail to  Defensiveness is the protection of the self-concept
recognize our organismic experiences as self-experiences: against anxiety and threat by denying or distorting
that is, when we do not accurately symbolize organismic experiences inconsistent with it
experiences into awareness because they appear to be
inconsistent with our emerging self-concept.  2 chief defenses are distortion and denial:

 Conditions of worth that we received during early  1Distortion, we misinterpret an experience in order to fit
childhood lead to a somewhat false self-concept, one it into some aspect of our self-concept. We perceive the
based on distortions and denials. The self-concept that experience in awareness, but we fail to understand its
emerges includes vague perceptions that are not in true meaning
harmony with our organismic experiences, and this
incongruence between self and experience leads to  2Denial, we refuse to perceive an experience in
discrepant and seemingly inconsistent behaviors. awareness, or at least we keep some aspect of it from
Sometimes we behave in ways that maintain or enhance reaching symbolization
our actualizing tendency, and at other times, we may
behave in a manner designed to maintain or enhance a
self-concept founded on other people’s expectations and Disorganization
evaluations of us.
 Sometimes defenses fail and behavior becomes
 Vulnerability The greater the incongruence between our disorganized or psychotic
perceived self and our organismic experience, the more
vulnerable we are. People are vulnerable when they are  But why would defenses fail to function?
unaware of the discrepancy between their organismic
self and their significant experience. Lacking awareness of  When the incongruence between people’s perceived self
their incongruence, vulnerable people often behave in and their organismic experience is either too obvious or
ways that are incomprehensible not only to others but occurs too suddenly to be denied or distorted, their
also to themselves behavior becomes disorganized.
 Ironically, people are particularly vulnerable to  Because congruence involves (1) feelings, (2) awareness,
disorganization during therapy, especially if a therapist and (3) expression, incongruence can arise from either of
accurately interprets their actions and also insists that the two points dividing these three experiences.
they face the experience prematurely

 In a state of disorganization, people sometimes behave

consistently with their organismic experience and
sometimes in accordance with their shattered self-
Unconditional Positive Regard
concept.

 Positive regard is the need to be liked, prized, or

PSYCHOTHERAPY accepted by another person. When this need exists
without any conditions or qualifications, unconditional
 Rogerian therapy, therefore, can be viewed in terms of positive regard occurs
conditions, process, and outcomes.
 Although therapists may value some client behaviors
 First, an anxious or vulnerable client must come into more than others, their positive regard remains constant
contact with a congruent therapist who also possesses and unwavering.
empathy and unconditional positive regard for that client.
 External evaluation, whether positive or negative, leads
 Next, the client must perceive these characteristics in the to clients’ defensiveness and prevents psychological
therapist. growth

 Finally, the contact between client and therapist must be  “Regard” means that there is a close relationship and
of some duration. that the therapist sees the client as an important person

 Even though all three conditions are necessary for  “Positive” indicates that the direction of the relationship
psychological growth, Rogers believed that congruence is is toward warm and caring feelings
more basic than either unconditional positive regard or
empathic listening. Congruence is a general quality  “Unconditional” suggests that the positive regard is no
possessed by the therapist, whereas the other two longer dependent on specific client behaviors and does
conditions are specific feelings or attitudes that the not have to be continually earned
therapist has for an individual client.
Empathic Listening
Counselor Congruence
 Empathy exists when therapists accurately sense the
 The first necessary and sufficient condition for feelings of their clients and are able to communicate
therapeutic change is a congruent therapist. Congruence these perceptions so that clients know that another
exists when a person’s organismic experiences are person has entered their world of feelings without
matched by an awareness of them and by an ability and prejudice, projection, or evaluation.
willingness to openly express these feelings
 Empathy “means temporarily living in the other’s life,
 Like most other people, congruent therapists are moving about in it delicately without making judgments”
constantly exposed to new organismic experiences, but
unlike most people, they accept these experiences into  Client-centered therapists do not take empathy for
awareness, which contributes to their psychological granted; they check the accuracy of their sensings by
growth. trying them out on the client (Ex: “It seems to me that...”
“Would I be right if I say…?”)
 Empathic listening is a powerful tool, which along with  More freely talk about self, although still as an object.
genuineness and caring, facilitates personal growth “I’m doing the best I can at work, but my boss still
within the client doesn’t like me.”
 Clients talk about feelings and emotions in the past or
 What precisely is the role of empathy in psychological future tense and avoid present feelings.
change?
 Refuse to accept their emotions, keep personal feelings
 Empathy is effective because it enables clients to listen to at a distance from the here-and-now situation,
themselves and, in effect, become their own therapists
 Empathy does not mean that a therapist has the same  Only vaguely perceive that they can make personal
feelings as the client. A therapist does not feel anger, choices
frustration, confusion, resentment, or sexual attraction at
the same time a client experiences them. Rather, a  Deny individual responsibility for most of their decisions.
therapist is experiencing the depth of the client’s feeling
while permitting the client to be a separate person Stage 4

 Empathy does not mean that a therapist has the same  Begin to talk of deep feelings but not ones presently felt
feelings as the client. A therapist does not feel anger, (was instead of is)
frustration, confusion, resentment, or sexual attraction at  They deny or distort experiences, although they may
the same time a client experiences them. Rather, a have some dim recognition that they are capable of
therapist is experiencing the depth of the client’s feeling feeling emotions in the present.
while permitting the client to be a separate person
 Begin to question some values that have been introjected
PROCESS from others; start to see the incongruence between
perceived self and organismic experience.

7 Stages of Therapeutic Change  Accept more freedom and responsibility than they did in
Stage 3 and begin to tentatively allow themselves to
 The process of constructive personality change can be become involved in a relationship with the therapist
placed on a continuum from most defensive to most
integrated. Rogers arbitrarily divided this continuum into Stage 5
seven stages.
 Begun to undergo significant change and growth
Stage 1 is characterized by:
 Express feelings in the present, although they have not
 Unwillingness to communicate yet accurately symbolized those feelings
 Extremely rigid and resistant to change
 Don’t recognize problem  Beginning to rely on an internal locus of evaluation for
 Refuse to own personal feelings their feelings and to

In Stage 2  Make new discoveries about themselves. They also

 Slightly less rigid  Experience a greater differentiation of feelings and

 Discuss external events and other people develop more appreciation for nuances among them
 But still disown or fail to recognize own feelings
 May talk about feelings as if they were objective phenomena  Begin to make their own decisions and to accept
responsibility for their choices.
Stage 3
Stage 6
 Experience dramatic growth and an irreversible  The most basic outcome of successful client-centered
movement toward becoming fully functioning or self- therapy is a congruent client who is less defensive and
actualizing more open to experience.

 Freely allow into awareness those experiences that they  Each of the remaining outcomes is a logical extension of
had previously denied or distorted this basic one:
 Have a clearer picture of themselves and a more realistic
 Become more congruent view of the world

 No longer evaluate their own behavior from an external  Better able to assimilate experiences into the self on the
viewpoint but rely on their organismic self as the criterion symbolic level
for evaluating experiences.  More effective in solving problems

 Begin to develop unconditional self-regard  Have a higher level of positive self-regard

 An interesting concomitant to this stage is a physiological  Narrow the gap between self-ideal and real self
loosening. These people experience their whole
organismic self, as their muscles relax, tears flow,  Etc.
circulation improves, and physical symptoms disappear.

 Stage 6 signals an end to therapy. Indeed, if therapy were THE PERSON OF TOMORROW
to be terminated at this point, clients would still progress
to the next level.  Whereas Maslow was primarily a researcher,
 Rogers was first of all a psychotherapist whose concern
Stage 7 with psychologically healthy people grew out of his
general theory of therapy.
 Can occur outside the therapeutic encounter, because
growth at Stage 6 seems to be irreversible  If the three necessary and sufficient therapeutic
conditions of congruence, unconditional positive regard,
 Clients who reach Stage 7 become fully functioning and empathy are optimal, then what kind of person
“persons of tomorrow” would emerge?

 More adaptable: would be more likely to survive—hence

Theoretical Explanation for Therapeutic Change the title “persons of tomorrow.”

 When persons come to experience themselves as prized  Open to their experiences: accurately symbolizing them in
and unconditionally accepted, they realize that they are awareness
lovable.
 Trust in their organismic selves: They would not depend
 As clients perceive that they are emphatically on others for guidance
understood, they are freed to listen to themselves more
accurately, to have empathy for their own feelings. As a
 Live fully in the moment: They would see each experience
consequence, when these persons come to prize
with a new freshness and appreciate it fully in the
themselves and to accurately understand themselves,
present moment (existential living)
their perceived self becomes more congruent with their
organismic experiences.
 Ability to experience harmonious relations with others

OUTCOMES  They would feel no need to be liked or loved by

everyone, because they would know that they are
unconditionally prized and accepted by someone.
 More integrated, more whole, with no artificial boundary
between conscious processes and unconscious ones

 Basic trust of human nature: would not harm others

merely for personal gain; they would care about others
and be ready to help when needed; they would
experience anger but could be trusted not to strike out
unreasonably against others

 Enjoy a greater richness in life: They would neither distort

internal stimuli nor buffer their emotions
CONCEPT OF HUMANITY
 Rogers, however, contended that people have some
degree of free choice and some capacity to be self-
directed. Admitting that some portion of human behavior
is controlled, predictable, and lawful, Rogers argued that
the important values and choices are within the scope of
personal control.

 However, Rogers was also aware that people can be quite

brutal, nasty, and neurotic

 Yet, one of the most refreshing and invigorating parts of

my experience is to work with such individuals and to
discover the strongly positive directional tendencies
which exist in them, as in all of us, at the deepest levels

 Tendency toward growth and self-actualization has a

biological basis

 Rogers’s theory is also high on teleology, maintaining that

people strive with purpose toward goals that they freely
set for themselves

 Uniqueness than on similarities

 Did not deny the importance of unconscious processes,

his primary emphasis was on the ability of people to
consciously choose

 Biological versus social influences

 No evaluation in terms of morality applies to the nature

of humanity.