Transcript Carl Rogers The Humanistic Approach

Carl Rogers
The Humanistic Approach
Biography
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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
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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.
Carl Rogers: Person-Centered
Approach
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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.”
Basic Premise
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Humans are motivated through an
innate potential to actualize, maintain
and enhance the self
Sees people as basically good
Experiential World
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Phenomenology
– The reality of our environment depends
on our perception of it
– Subjective perception of reality
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
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Emergence of SelfConcept
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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
If we don’t do what our parents want
us to do?
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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
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Approval granted regardless of
behavior
Conditions of worth
Conditional positive regard
Positive self-regard
– Eventually grant positive regard to
ourselves
Conditions of Worth & Unconditional
Positive Regard
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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).
Unconditional positive regard
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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).
Incongruence
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Discrepancy between self-concept and
aspects of experience
Experiences inconsistent with how we
see ourselves cause anxiety
Psychological adjustment/emotional
health
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...”)
Defenses
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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
Person-Centered Therapy
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Represents a shift from medical model
to growth model
Strong emphasis on the therapeutic
relationship
3 Conditions in PersonCentered Therapy
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Conditions are necessary and sufficient
for change
– Empathy
– Congruence/Genuineness
– Unconditional Positive Regard
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:
Real Self
Congruence
SelfConcept
Characteristics of Fully
Functioning Persons (SelfActualizing)
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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
Research in Rogers’
Theory
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Q-Sort Technique
– Client sorts large number of statements about
self-concept into categories
– Goal: Reduce the discrepancy between the ideal
and actual self
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Incongruence between perceived self and
ideal self indicates poor emotional
adjustment
Failures to realize actualizing tendency can
lead to maladjustment
Criticisms of Rogers’
Theory
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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
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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