3.0, Uebb, Gime “es, FO. 1. tion, Kallnenn, Munay, 8 Regris, ony ane sin the Psychology: A Study of a Science STUDY i. CONCEPTUAL AND SYSTEMATIC Volume 3. Formulations-of the Person . and the Social ‘Context Hited by Signed Kash DUK? SITY, McGRAW-HILL’ BOOK COMPANY, ING. Now York Toronto. Loacion 1959 Spe Seer er i i | i4 i Thera as : econ a : ¥, hears i ; ee a Education, i Grape i A THEORY OF THERAPY, ‘PERSONALITY, 4 etenan, i AND INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS, ; | he tae fee ‘AS DEVELOPED IN THE, ! | re re : CLIENT-CENTERED FRAMEWORK | * | eosin 4 ; CARL R. ROGERS 4. Tamed i University of Wisconsin i Cees a . 1 4 cf os a Tremitottbewesiy 0 EI af Being ci ‘Sonic basic attinides.” "+ SEE eb a aaa | alte eo ‘The Gener} Steuciore of Our Syatematie Thing Qh, 3) <7 aa | dt Tshect Rebebioatofeonstracs. 6 ete me eng ee Siaga] Eo grtian of 2 A igesion onthe ase history of comiract 4) 1 BE of a mores . TA Theory of Therapy and Personality Change (24; 6,898. a2 rave been py Conditions of the therapeutic process. ow eee Doty therapy. "Fs : Phe process oftherapy we LIL BB fd noe Outcomes in personality and behavior. < 218 t Association, + Comments on the theory of therapy... *. foe RO OF of Psycholo Speciation of functional rlationshipy 40 29 0 | a Some concusios regarding the mature of ths dividual «2-1 1 oop | ni UL A Theory of Personally 2+, 6,9} se mat outline ake Postulated, characteristics of the huynan infant” >: ee em enuld not Fe eee ee ef heetinn ‘The development of the néed for seltzegard || : aay t ‘The soi ‘The development of conditions of worth...) |): 2a ‘thout so: ‘The development of incongruence’ between self and experience 26 + ft springs. ‘The development of discrepancies in behavior“, See 227 t uding reqs! ‘The experience of theeat atid the process of defense tag etree 1 fear, thee Rito breakdown and dnormniaton 2) ST aes teal ‘ince ‘The process of reintegration. 7 pees eect = 230 } much of a! Specfcaton of tneooalrelaonshpen th theory of personaly | a i eine ae bent ee see 23 a TIL A Theogy ofthe Fully Functioning Person (2,6. | st ae 1842 as 185 was 188 192 194 200 a2 213 216 28 220 220 go m2 223 m3 24 224 26 27 zr 223 230 25t 22 234 Therapy, Personality, and Interpersonal Relationships 185 - 235, : 2a IV. A Theary of Iterperzonal Relationship 2,62. - + + + Vi Theories of Application 24,6). 2 + ss ee tee Faraily ite See eee ea ach arte a Education and learning. - prresereranstec 268 Group leadership 0 Seay 202 Group tensfon and conflict. : ‘ 242 “ope Theoretical Systera na Context of Research. 6 = oe + ts 248 ‘The bases of stimulation of vescarch {8} eee 245, “The problem of measurement and quantifiation {5}. s+ + 246 Incompatible evidence {9,7}. 2% ve eet 27 “Rcontinaing-program of theory and research {11,7}. = = s+ 5 9 Tanmediate strategy of development 12}. ee 280 Conclusion. + petrereett : 252 References. eee teat tetas 252 INTRODUCTION 7 Being one who has deprecated the use of compulsion.as a means of altering personality and behavior, it i no doubt singularly appropriate that I should be forced to acknowledge the value of the gentle, com- pulsion of a formal request. For some time I had recognized the need Gf a more adequate and more up-to-date statement of the theeries which have ‘been developing in the group associated with client-centered therapy. This might well-have remained in the-realm of good intentions, had it not been for the formal request from the American Psychological ‘Association, in connection with its Study of the Status and Development cof Paychology in the United States, to prepare a systematic statement Of this developing theory. ‘T6 join with others who were endeavoring to formulate their own theories and to usc, s0 far as possible, a common outline--this seemed to be both an obligation and an opportunity which Could not be refused. Te is this softly voiced but insistent pressure from my colleagues which has caused me to write the following pages nov, rather than at some later date, For this pressure Tam grateful. “The soil of the theory. No theory can be adequately understood without some knowledge of the cultural and personal soil frem which it springs. Consequently I am pleased tht the first ite of the suggested outline requests a thorough discussion of background factors. This means, T fear, that T rust take the reader through some autobiographical ma- terial ‘since, although the client-centered orientation has become very tmuch of a group enterprise in every respect, , as an individual, carry & considerable responsibility for ity initiation and for the beginning formulation. of its theories. I shall, therefore, mention briefly some cultoyal influences and peisonal experiences which may or may not agentes et suspen pSOA ce te LR erat aso sierra arcana SoS i, a FOU seca reer meee Ua 186. CARL R. ROGERS ‘almost fundamental ly revered. When the fami, T became deepiy interes} wavy research volumes I gery years regarding feeds aiid feeding, Wi aid the Ike insiled in mea deep and abiding ‘spect for the scientific method as a theans af solving problems and fae ane Rew advances ia knowledge. This rspact soe reinforced by my fist years in college, where T was fond of the physical and biological felonces. In may: work in history Taiko rated something of the satis. factions of scholarly work. Having rejected the family views of seligio tempt to resolve significant problems: the church. My- own ‘thinking' lead. me i moved “acrass the’ stréet”. to, Teachers Colle . Here I was exposed to the views 7 Because T was still completing my docterte shatp incompatibility of the highly speculative F Zestitite with the highly statistical and ‘Thoradie felt le psychology de- ssity of Rochester was uninterested in whet sre wr Work was not, in its opinion, in the field of Exctoiesy- Our colicagues in the social agencher schools, and courts kntcw little and eared less about Psychological ideologies. The only lement Which carried weight with them ares the ability to get resuls ‘in working with maladjusted individuals. Theta ae eclectic, ofthese have amily sted iding and y iny ogical satis din sued tat frox nd T sity. but at ach Ine of 1 of son ute, the the hers sity bof de- tof one vay alts se Therapy, Personality, and] Interpersonal Relationships 187 background, and our frequent ang continning discussion of treatment ‘methods was based on our practial everyday working experience with the children, adolescents, and adultg who were our clients: Te was the beginning of an effort, which has Bad meaning-for me over sinoe, to discover the order which exists in our eXperience of working with people. ‘The volume on the Clinical Treotment Of the Problem Child was one ‘outcome of this effort. moe ‘During the second half of this period thee were several individuals who brought into our group the controversial therapeutic views of Otto Rank ‘and. the Philadelphia group of social workers and. psychiatrists whom he had influenced, Personal contact with Rank. was Imited to ‘three-day institute we arranged; nevertheless his thinking had a very decided impact on our staff and helped me exystallize some of the therapeutic methods we were groping: toward\ For by this.time T was becoming more competent as a therapist, and beginning to sense a. dis- coverable orderliness in this experience, am ordeltigess which was hherent in the -experience, and. (uhlike some of the'Freudian theories which had: grown so far from their original soil) did not have to be imposed on the experience. ‘Though I had carried on some part-time university teaching through out the Rochester years, the shift to a faculty, position at. Ohio State University was 2° sharp one. I found that the emerging principles of therapy, which I had experienced largely on an implicit basis, were by no means clear to well-trained, critically minded. graduate students. 1 Degan to sense that what I was doing and thinking in the clinical feld was perhaps more of a now pathway than'T had recognized, The paper T presented to the Minnesota chapter of Psi Chi in December, 1940, (later chapter 2 of Counseling and Psychotherapy) was the first con- cious attempt to develop a relatively mew linc of thought. Up to that time T had felt that miy writings were essentially attempts to-distill out ‘more clearly the principles which “all clinicians” were using. “The new influence at Ohio State, Which continued:to be felt in my years at Chicago, was the impact of young-men and wonven—intllectu- ally curious, often theoretically oriented, eager to learn from experience ‘and to contribute through reseaych and theory to the development of 3 field of knowledge. Through their mistakes as well as their successes in therapy, through thefr rescarch studies, thetr critical contributions, and through our shared thinking, have come many of the recent develop- ments in this orientation. Tm the past decade at the University of Chieago the nev elements whieH stand out mest sharply are the opportunity for and the eicourage- ment of research, the inchision of graduate students from edveation, theology, human ‘development, sociology, industrial relations, as well as| | amassed: nie ocenastecusen namie 188 CARL R.' ROGERS, psychology, in the raniified activities of the Counseling. Genter, and the creative thinking of my faculty colleagues, especially those, connected with the Center, "The persistent influence which might not be fully recognized, because it is largely irmplicit in the preceding paragraphs, is’ the continuing clinical experience with individuals who perceive themsclves, or are perceived by others to bé, in need of personal help. Since 1928, for a period now approaching’ thirty years, I have spent probably an.average ‘of 45 to 20 hr per week, except during vacation periods, in endeavoring to understand and be of therapeutic help to these, individuals: “To me, they seem to be the major stimulus to my psychological thinking, Fron these hours, and from iny relationships with these people, I have dravm most of whatever insight’ I possess into the meaning of therapy, the dynamics of interpersonal relationships, and the structure and function- ing of penonality. : "Some basic attitudes. Out of this Gultural and personal soil have ‘convictions and .attitudes: which have undoubtedly . ‘grown certain influenced the: theoretical formulation which will be presented. T will * endeavor to list some of these views which scem to me relevant: 1. I have come to sce both résearch and theory'as being” aimed toward the inward ordering of significant experience. Thus research fs not something esoteric, nor an activity in'whieh one efigages to gain professional kudos. Tt is the persistent, dlsciptined effort to make sense and order gut of the phenomena of subjective experience. Such effort is __ justified because itis satisfying to perceive.the world'as having order and because rewarding results often ensuc whet one understands the orderly relationships which appear to exist in nature, One of these rewarding results ig that the ordecing of one segment of experience in a theory int mediately opens up new vistas $f inquity;-research, and thought, thos Igading one continually forward: ~~ ‘Thus the primary reason for rescarch and systematic theory in the field of therapy is that it is personally dissatisfying to permit the cumulat- ing experiences of therapeutic. hours to remain as a conglomeration of more or less isolated events, It feels as though there is an order in these events, What could it be? Andjof any hunch regarding the inherent order, it is necessary to. ask the’ question, ix this really truc, or am I deceiving myself? Thus slowly thére is assembled & body of facts, and systematic constructs to explain those facts, which have as their basic function the satisfaction of a need for.order which exists in me, (I have, at times, carried on réscarch for purposes other than the above to satisfy others, to convince opponents and sceptics, to. gain prestige, and for other unsavory reasons, These errors in judgment and activity have only deepened the above positive conviction.) Ther. QItis science car acutely, te accumulati "Yo observe Iusht bottor science, Te stopped at that, wher according! theory and which seen the laborat BAC —that sci growth ari that in an ‘the hypott More imp: vse of the developed degree of the mover cut and 1 greater vi If not, th methods, ticular in 4. Jn asked to dependen T regret"! justify m irrational to me thi searching, to suppor not true, ‘where on control, 1 the phir Such ter tific"t, and the connected 1 average deavoring To me, ag. From rapycthe function. sol have loubtedly dL will & aimed, research + to gain Ke sense lfort is der and orderly warding soly im In, thus inf temaat ction of a these herent am T sand basic mm th » gain wand : es and Interpersonal Relationships 189 2, Jt is ‘ny opiniog that the type of understanding which we eall science can begin anywhere, at any level of sophistication. .To observe acutely, to think carefully’ and creatively—these “activities, not the Accumulation of laboratory ‘instruments, are the beginnings of scienee. “To abserve that a given crop grows better on the rocky hill dan in the lush bottom Tand, and to think about this observation, is the start-of science. ‘To notice that most sailors get ‘scurvy but not those who have stopped at islands to pick up fresh fruit is a similar start. To ‘recognize that, when a person’s views of hirssclf change, his behavior changes accordingly, and to puzzle over this, is again’ the beginning of both theory and sciente-J voice this conviction in protest against the attitude, in American psychology, that science starts in the laboratory or at the calculating machine. 3.-A closely related belief is that there is a natural history of science that science, in any given field, goes through a-pattemed course of growth and developznent. For éxample, it seems to me right and natural that in any nw field of scientific endeavor the"observations are gross, the hypotheses speculative and full of errérs, the measarements crude. ‘More iniportant, I hold the opinion that this i just as traly science as the use of the most refined -hypatheses and measurements “in a more fully devéloped field of study. ‘The crucial question in either case is not-the degree of refinement but the direction of 'movernent, If in either instance the movement js toward more exact measurement, toward more cclear- cut and rigorous theory and hypotheses, toivard findings, which have greater validity and generality, then this isa healthy and growing sciehes Hf not, then it is a sterile’ pscudo science, no matter how exact its methods, Science is a developing mode of inquiry, or it is of no par~ tleular importar : iP Tere invitation to paiticipate in the APA study, T Rave been asked 10 east our theoretical thinking in the terminology of the in- Je, in so fur as this is feasible. dependent intervening-dependent variabl J regret "that Y find this terminology somehow uncongenial, I cannot justify my negative reaction very adequately, and perhaps it is an jerational one, for the logic behind these terms scems unassailable. But to me the terms scem static-—they seem to deny the restless, dynamic, iearching, changing aspects of scientific movement, There is a tendency to suppose that a variable thus labeled, remains so, waich is certainly not truc, The terms also seen to me to stack too much of the Jaboratory, _ where one undertakes an experiment de nova, with everything under Control, rather than of a science Which is endeavoring to wrest from the phenomena of experience the inherent order which they contain. Such terms seem to be more applicable to the advanced stages of scientific endeavor than to the beginning stages.190 ; CARL R. ROGERS” Plense do not misunderstand. I quite realize that oer the fact, any Fesarch investigation, or any theory constructed to rekethe discovered fets, should be ‘translatable into tie language. of independent and “IRS RT oremver the fagt, any Sine alent dependent and leer eae f the model-of Ldvanced stages or perscnali ten fom the ink of the dis ne pitehblende 4 room where the ps had ervatiiin of a multitude of the plates. It ne of a dozen g fastened ori {ative hypoth- Only slowly ‘ange element & Meanwhile omenon into € theary in its photographic nicemed with ¥ presont-day Amitive stage which Tam ching such a bP. that 1 theories— 2 the theory lecade~and - tains an une int of error, seat, a3 in the theory closed and "contradict Therapy, Personality, and Interpersonal. Relationships 191 "To me this attitude is very important, for I am distressed at the manner in which smallcaliber ininds immediately’ accept # theory— alimost any theory—as a dogma of truth, If theory could be seen for what it is—a fallible, changing attempt to construct @ network of gossamer threads which will contain the solid facts—then a theory wouldservé 2 it should, asa stimulus to further ereative thinking. ; Tam sure that the’stress T place on this grows in’ part out of my regret at the history of Freudian theory, For Freud, it seems quite clear that his highly creative theories were riever more than that. He kept changing, altering, revising, giving new meaning to old terms—always with more respect for the facts he observed than for the theories he had built, But at the hands of insecure disciples (so it seems to me), the gossamer threads became iron chains of dogma from whick dynamic, psychology is-only recently beginning to free itself, I fect that every formulation of a tlicory contains’ this same risk and that, at the. time “a theory is constructed, some: precautions should be taken to prevent it from becoming dogma. 7. T share with many others the- belief that truth is unitary, even though we will never’ bé able to know ‘this, unity. Hence any. theory, derived from almost any segment of experience, if it were complete and completely accurate, could be extended indefinitely to provide meaning for other very, remote -arcis of experience, Tennyson expressed thi sentiméntal fashion in his “Flower in the Crannied Wall.” I too believe that a complete theory of the individual, plant would show us “hat God and man is.” * 5 ‘The corollary, however, is of equal importance and is not ‘so often stated. A slight error in a theory may make little difference in providing an explanation of the observed facts out of which the, theory grew. But when the théory is projected to explain more remote phenomena, thé error may be magnified, ahd the inferences from the theory may be completely false, A very sight error in the understanding of Tennyson's flower may give a grosily fake understanding of man. Thus every theory deserves the greatest respect in the area from which it was drawn from the facts and 2 decreasing degree of respect as it makes predictions in areas more and more remote from its origin, ‘This is true of the theortes developed by our own group. 8, There .is one other attitude which I hold, which I believe has relevance fo the proper evaluation of any theory I might present. Tt is ‘my belief in the furdamental predominance of the subjective. Man Tives World, and even his Tow ‘Sbiective functioning, in science, mathematics, and the like, fs the result Species pups and subjective choice, Tn Teaton to vescarch anid theory, for cxample, it may subjective perception that the machinery of. a : Me sth ated nie tia Nic Stes RE OE ys 192 CARE ’R, ROGERS selence as we know it—opérational definitions, experimental ‘method, mathematical proof—is. the best way of avoiding self-deception, But { ‘cannot escape the fact that this isthe way it appears to me, and that hed F lived two centuries ago, or if T were to’ live two centuries in the future, some other pathway to tcuth might seem equally or more valid, ‘To put ft more brielly, it appears to me that though there miy be such. 8 thing ‘as objective wath, L ca know it; I can know is that jective truth, is no such thing as Scientific whedge; thes ie nlite pacino eee tobesuch knovegges PRUNE at apps tech per Since this is large and philosophical issue, not too closely related to hat follows, T shall not endeavor to state it more fully here but refer ary who arevinterested to an article in which T have tried to, expound this view somewhat more fully (67]. 1 mention it here only because i part of the contest in which my theoretical thinking has developed ‘THE GENERAL STRUCTURE OF OUR SYSTEMATIC THINKING Before proceeding to the deiaited statement of some of our theoretical views, J believe it may be’ helpful to desctibe some of the interrelstine ships betwecn various portions’ of oitr theoretical formulations, tion, : 10 observed fact,’ most Seow ampodel yee foe geet eee fam sonal cance wRSr a ea et lunge which wa consiracted to give orc to the phesohens of the wwe expericnced i In this theory there were certain hypotheses regarding the nature of personality anid the dynamics of behavior, Some of thse were plicit, some iinplicit. These have been: developed more filly into a theory of personality. The purpose has been to provide ourselves with a tentafive ‘understanding of the “human organism and its developing dynarmies—an attempt to make sense of this person who comes tore thera Trnplieie Jn the theories of therapy and ‘of personality are certain hypotheses regarding the outcomes of therapy—hence, hypotheses. re- garding a more socially constructive or creative individual. Tm the leat few years we have endeavored to spell out the pieture of the theoreti end point of therapy, the masimally creative, self-actualizing, or fully In another direction, our understanding of the therapeutic: rela- flonship thas led us to formulate theoretical statements regarding ll interpersonal relationships, secing the therapeutic relationship. staply as one spect wwe believe ha Finally, it they have ap deavor whic! of potential: * * ‘Consequentt to such field of group ten ‘The ncee these relatio be clear thi! Ihave taken remembered increases a5 carers Re commpegearsetcee?wets yess abate asl ‘Therapy, Personality, and: Interpersonal Relationships 198 4s one special case. ‘This isa very new and tentative development, whieh we believe has promise. Finally, it has seemed that if our views of therapy have any validity they have application in all those fclds of human experience and en- deavor which involve (a) interpersonal relationships and (b) the aim tor potentiality of development or change in personality:and behavior. RAYON a “Toots haqoncin toyed. Ear : wreneensont, RELATIONSHIPS = Es at =a radty coubarion RUPP Tire Ceamnine LEADERS CONFLICT Fe. 't Consequently 2 cluster ‘of partially developed: theories exists in relation to such ficlds as family life, education, group leadership, and situations of group tension and coniict. "The accompanying chart may help the reader to see and understand these relationships between different aspects of our theories. It should be clear that the chart reads from the center, and that the developments Thave taken place in the four directions indicated. Te should alo be remembered that the possibility of magnification of error in the theory Increases as one goes out from the center. By and large, there is lessrr CARL R. ROGERS 4 » The evidence available in these peripheral areas than in the center. Entered in the chart are the: i leutilying numbers of the various Propositions | “Actualizin which-follow, to that in reading any specife portion nt the theory the j 1A tna aieciay Toler back to ace is oiganie relatlonshiy os atts of = | 2 the theoretical stricture, eet : fe ice ; Before proceeding to set forth sonithing of the choice themscles, | 3. 7 should lke gratefully to stres the extent to which aoe is basically LE Theory road Be ypetiNe des upon speciic written contribute wo i aR theory made by: Victor Raimy, » Stanley Standal, John | a Butler, and Thomas Gordon, ted tomy’ fA 6A thinking’ in ways known and unl rould prrticutsely like to "| RA mention the valuable influence Desmond Cartwrigit, a . Sutent Combs, Rugerte Gendiin, A. #1. Maslov, Jaton Seéman, John ~ —j OP Gifen, and Donald Snygg on the theories which Ton About to present, tok ef these individuals ate by no means to be edd responsible for-what |} aa plu, for their own attempts to order expericare have often ted them) j Sa ie. : it somewhat different channels of thinking, i 12. & i Definitions of consteucts Jn the develocment four theories various] a ‘spatemiatic constructs Taye na ee a ally secu a sharper-and | a more specie Se ‘Ako terms ine common wage have gradually } aa i Teiglied somewhat specialized micanings in our’ thee ction statements, -} ny i iis section I have endeavored to deine, fe rigorously as. am able; 2. | ran 1. tee constructs and terms: Thee definitions supply the means by which : as i the theory may be more accurately understood 7 tae 4 efined ated! sta hes |. - The reape : fetch vith «foes! concept It these for Gee Hi ma Sood. the-uiderstanding “of each of the slates Geos Poe i yi i tracts within Gongruer find cach of the constructs in tl bits atory, comment is often added. ie ter of concepts, i h ed resion giving the Sate ‘ is is intended to ill in whi aoe is theoretical system i Uncendi 88 armchair constructs but out of a continuine 1 y an € Peutic expetience, abstract 28.7 tionally defined terms, 29.) Te is quite possible that such a section, devoted entirely to definitions, i 0.1 will prove dull reading. The reader may prefer to go at once to the : 31. 7 theory of therapy in the following sec ion, where he will find each defined i ede term printed in italics. He may then refer beck te this section for the . 33.3 ‘exact meaning of each such term. BAUPAGED ade pbias matt erties lil cacao aes a Therapy, Personatity, and Interpersonal Relationships 195 Entered Grouping of Definitions “openitions : mt ‘Actualiting tendency and related construct theory the le parts of “I, Actuatizing tendency 2. Tendency toward sctfactualization : remselves, Experience and related constructs : sasically a 3, Experience (nioum) nations 0, 4. Experience (verb) dat, John 5, Feeling, Experiencing a feeling 4 to my «Awareness anil related consiruets * Iy like to 6. Avwarenes, Symbolization, Consciousness setwright, 7, Availability to awareness tHe an, John” 8. Accurate symbolization > present, 9, Perceive, Perception for yrst 10. Subceive, Subception led bach Self and related coristructs z 11. Self-experience svarious 12, Self, Concept of self; Self-structure ‘per and 13, Ideal self : sadually Incongruence arid related constructs * ements. 14, Tncongruence between self and experience vm able, 15. Vulnerability ; : i w+ 16. Ansiety 17, Threat 18. Psychological maladjustment ‘The response to threat 19, Defense; Defensiveness 20, Distortion-in awareness, Denial to awareness 21. Intensfonality Congruence and related constructs 22. Congruence of self and experience 23. Openness to experience 24, Psychological adjustment 25, Exténsionality rik } . (26. Mature, Maturity 24 not Unconditional positive regard and related constructs thera- | 27, Contact : opera 28. Positive regard : + 29, Need for positive regard itions, 30. ‘Unconditional positive regard © the 31. Regard complex sfined 82, Positive self-regard wr the { 33. Need for self-segard * ‘| 34, Unconditional self-regard196 CARL'R. RoomRS Conditions of worth i 35. Conditions of worth Constructs related to valuing 36. Locus of evaluation 37. Organismic valuing process + Constructs related to source of knowledge 38. Internal frame of reference = 39, Empathy : : 40, External frame of reféreneé ‘Lucebinaliabigitemten®. This is the inherent tendency. of the organ- iam to develop all its capacities in ways which see cr maintain or en- pase the organism, It involves not only the tendency to meet wher piaslow [45] terms ‘deficieney needs” for air, food, water and the like, Expansion of effectiveness through the use of tools, expancoy eer ae? hancement through reproduction, it i development twat autonomy: and away from heteronomy, or eointrol by external forces, ‘Angyal’s state. ment (2] could be used as a symonymn for ths term: “Life feon sens Gras event which takes place Betwéen the organism and. the on. Yironment. Life processes do not inerely tend to preseive lle ban tran. Tt should be noted thiat this baste actuali ing terideney is the only ‘motive which is postulated in this theoretical sytem, Te abouts also be noted that it is tho-organism as’ whole, and only the organism as a Rhole, which eshibits this tendeney. There are no hoiunethy ne cakes {utes of encrzy or action in the system. Maal foc ears, eee important construct in our theory, but the self does not “ek” anything. It fs only one expression of the general tendency of the organism to behave in those évays which maintain and enhance elf, 7% might also be mentioned that sueh concepts of motivation as cieded me ghttdeduetion, tension-reduction, driveredyetion, ane ine Sided in this concept. It ako includes, however, the growth motnetien, nich appear to go beyond these terms: the seeking of plesiorble to sions, the tendency to be creative, the tendency t6 lesen painfully %0 walk when crawling would mect the same needs more comfortably. 2. Tendency toward spe Following the ‘development i i } i } I { i : i i j Therap, experience of tendency rem sgruent, then at cross purp selualize th This doin self, incongrw subiaspect of teruns are moss Rsporie fon withiti the potentially av ‘dividual ie ur sfousness. Th though the is coinpletely and sounds the focus of expericnes, xs ing the mean present in fi such events @ these ave not ‘not a physicle; Synoriyins something of t It is to be some accueil «operational ¢ siven segment a. Expert: the organism happening at Often this nex? which 1 evel the abo: grees of con more folly inaf the organ- ‘ntain gayen- » mee Prat and the like, 1 toward the 1s of growth, ion and en- d autonomy, agyal’s state~ is an auton. end the en- ‘fe but tran § itself con- an ever i is the only 3uld also be ganism as a i, no other omple, is an ” anys organist to tivation as fon, are ine motivations sable ten- painfully to fortably. evelopment Bzation ex- 2 experience nd the total i Therapy, Personality, and Interpersonal Relationships 197 experience of the organism’ ave relatively-conigegi, then the actualizing tendency remains relatively unified. If sland ‘experience are incon {greft,.then the general tendénéy to actualize the organisin maj work ft cross ‘purposes withthe subsystem of that motive, the tendency to actualize-the sel. “This definition will be betier understood when varioiis ofits termns— gruence, ctc—are defined. It is given here because it is a Subsaspeet of inotivatica, It should perhaps be seread after the other terms arc more accurately understood. = 3. Experience (noun). ‘This: terim is uted to include all that is going ‘on within the cnvelope of the organisin at any given moment which is potentially available to atvareness. It includes events of which the jn- Mividual Js unavare, as-well as all the phenomeria which are in con- sciousness, Thus it includes the psychological aspects of hunger, ever though the individual may be so, fascinated by his work or play that he is completely unaware of the hunger; it inchides the impact of sights ‘and sounds and smells on the’ organisin, even though: these are not in the focus of attention, Te includes”the influence of memory and past experience, a5 these-ave active in the imoment, in restricting or broaden~ ing the meaning given to various stiniuli, Tt also includes all that is present in immediate avvarenesi or consciousness. Tt does not include » Such events as neuron discharges or changes in blood, sugar, because these: are not directly available to awarenes, It is thus a psychological, Synonyins are, “experiential field,” or the, term “phenomenal field” as ‘used by Snygg and Combs, which also covers more than, the phenomena ff consciousness, I have in the, past used such phrases as “Sensory and Visceral experiences” and “organic experiences” in the attempt to convey ‘something of the total quality of this concept “tis to be noted that expetience refers to the given moment, not to some actumulaticn of past experience, Iti believed that’ this snakes the operational defuition of experience, or of a experience, which is a given segment of the field, more possible, ‘4. Experience (vorb), ‘To experience means simply to réecive in the organism the impact of the sensory or physiological events-which are happening at the moment, i ‘Olten this process term is used in the phrise “to experience in aware- ness? which means to.syritislitt in some accurate form at the conscious level the above sensory or visceral’ events. Since there are, varying de- ‘geces of conipleteness in symbotization, the phrase is often “to experience nore fully in awareness,” thus indicating that itis the extension of this198 CARL R, ROGERS 7 Process toward more complete and accurate sjmbolization 10 which reference is being sade, 5. Peeling, Experiencing a feeling. This is a term which has been heavily used in writings on client-ceritered therapy and theory. Tt denotes an emotionally tinged experience, together with its personal meaning. ‘Thus it includes the emotion but also the cognitive content of the mean ing of that emotion in its experiential context. It thus’ refers to the unity of cmotion’ aul cognition as they are, experienced inseparably jn the moment, It is perhaps best thought of as-a brief theme.of ex- perience, carrying with it the emotional coloring and the perceived ‘meaning to the individual. Examples would inclide “I feel angry at inyself," “T feel ashamed of my desires when T-am ivith her,” “For the’ first tinte, right now, I feel that you Tike rie.” ‘This last is an example of another phenoricuon which is relevant to, our theory, ‘and which has been called experiencing « feeling fully, ia the immediate present. The individual is then congruent in his éxperiénice (of the feeling), his aware- ness (of it), and his expression (of it). 6. Awareness, Syrbolization, Consciousness. ‘These three terms are defined as synonymous. To ‘use: Angyal’s expression, consciousness. (oF awareness) is the symbolization of some of: our. experiente, Aware- ness is thus seen as'the symbolic representation (not necessarily ia verbal symbols) of some’ pottion of our experience, ‘This representation may haye varying degrees of sharpmess or vividness, from a.dim avvarencss of something, existing as ground, to-a’sharp awareness of sométhing whichis in focus as figure. : 5 7. Availability to awareness: When an experience can be symbolized freely, without defensive denial and distortion, then it is available to awareness, ° 8. Acctivate syynbolization. ‘The symbols which constitute otir aware- ness do not necessarily match, o¢ correspond to, the “real” experience, or to “reality.” Thus the psychotic is aware of (symbolizes) electrical impuilses in his’body which do not seem it actuality to exist. T glance up quickly and perceive a plane inthe distance, but it tums out to be! ‘a gnat close to my aye. Tt seems important to distinguish between those awarenesses which, in common-sense terms, are real or accurate and those which are not. But how'can this be conceptualized if we are trying to think rigorously? i "The most adequate way of handling this predicament seems to me to be to take the position of those who recognize that all perception (and I would add, all awarcricss) is transactional in mature, that it is construction from our past experience and a hypothesis or prognosis for the future. ‘Thus the examples given are both hypotheses. whieh, Theropy, cat be checked, probability that the psychotic we in his body, anc other eectric cu his awareness, HT ness, we mean th ‘out if tested by at We are, hav filo the realm w toa consideratior . 9 Perceive, changed that or hat which come sound, impinge though this seerr Hebb, Riesea, 2 stimoli and the single experience "For eur own or prognosis fc: stimuli impings “ehatis a tree,” a prediction tha if checked in ot from our past mother, ‘Thus we int perception bein emphasize the it the broader ter from such pare and the lke, 95° Lo define 1 meant to deny to the impact « example, Foi 6 more fruitful, = formulations. 10, Subcei: this construct t that “even whe: is still able to 11 to which ‘fh has been Te denotes | meanin, the mean fers to the raseparably ame of ex- perceived Vangry at ” ME the sxattile of Which has cent. The his aware- terms are ssaess (or Aware: In verbat tion may comething mbolized uilable to wr gygare- rice, lectricat T glance ut to be cn those rate and re trying '5 to me reeption hat it is Therapy, Personality, and Interpersonal Relationships 199 cat be checked, If I brush at the jat and it disappears, it increases the probability that qwhat T-was aware of: was @ gat and not'a plane. If the psychotic were able to permit himself to. check the electric currents fn his body, and to see, whether they have the saine characteristics a8 ‘other electric currents, he would be checking the hypothesis ‘implicit in hhis awareness. Hence when we speak of accurate symbotization in.aware- ness, we mean that the hypotheses implicit in the awareness will be borne ‘out if tested by acting on them, ‘We are, however, well over the borderline of simple awareness and into the realm which is usually classified as perception, so Ict tis proceed *to.a consideration of that concept. :9, Perceive, Pérception. So much has the iheaning of this. term changed that drie definition has-been given as follows:. “Perception is that which comes into consciousness when stirmuti, principally light or sound, impinge oft the organism from thé outside”. (40, p: 250], Al- though this seems a bit too genéral, it does take account of the work of Hebb, Riesen, and others, which indicates that the impingement of the stimu and the meaning given tothe stimuli ate inseparable parts of = single experience. For our own definition we-ntight say ata perception isa hypothesis ‘or -prognosis for action which comes into being in awareness when stimuli impinge Gn the organism. When we perceive “this isa. triangle,” that is a tree,” this person is iy mnother;?-it means that-we are making: 'a prediction that the objects from which-the stirauti are received would, if checked in other ways, exhibit properties we have come to. regard, from our past experignee, as being characteristic of. triangles, trees; mother, ‘Thus we might say that perceptiow and awareness are synonymous, perception being the narrower term, usually used when we wish t0 emphasize the importance of the stimulus in the process, and awareness the broader term, covering symbolizations and meanings which “arlse from such purely inteimal stimuli as memory tracts, visceral changes, and the like, as well as from external stimu "To define perception in'-this purely psychological “fashion is ‘not ‘meant to deny that it ean be defined in physiological fashion by referring to the impact of a pattem of light rays upon certain nerve cells, for example, For our purpose, however, the psychological definition scenss |, and it is in this sense that the term will be used in our more fruith formu 10. Subceive, Subception. McCleary and Lazarus [46] formulated this constrict to signify discrimination without, awareness, ‘They state that “even when a subject is tmable to report a visual discrimination he is stil able to make a stiniulus discrimination at-some level below that200 GARE BR, ROGERS required for, conscious recognition.” Thus it-appears that the organism ‘can discriminate a stimulus and its meaning for the organisni without utilizing the higher nerve centers involved in awareness, eis this eapacity which, in our theory, permits the individual. to discriminate an, ox perience. as threatening, without symbolization in awareness of this threat, LL, Selfrexperience.."This is a term coined by Standal”(80]," and defined as being any event oF entity in the phénomeral field discriminated by the individual which is also discriminated as “self,” “me,” “1,” or elated thercto, Jn gencial selfexperjences ate the raw material of which: the organized self-concept is formed. 12, Self, Concept of self, Selfstructure, ‘These terms refer to the organized, consistent conceptual gestalt compesrd of perceptions of the characteristics of the “I” or “ime” and the perceptions of the iclation- ships of the “I” or “me” to others and to. various aspécts of life, to- gether with the values attached to’ thése perceptions, Tt is a gestalt which is available to awareness though-not necessarily in awareness. It is a fluid and changing gestalt, a, process, but at any given moment it is a specific entity which is at least partially definable in opcrational terms by means‘of a Q sort or other instrument or measure. ‘The term self or self-concept is more likely to be used when we are talking of the person's, view of himself, self-structore when we-are Iooking’ at, this gestalt from an external framé of reference. ~ 13, Ideal self. Idedl self (or sell-ideal) is the term uscd to denote the self-concept which the individual would mast like to posséss, upon which he places the highest value for hinself.In.all other respects itis defined in the same way as the self-concept. _— A dligeession on the cise history of a construct. Since the abstrace ion which we térm the self is one of the central constructs in. our theory, it may be helpful to interpose!.a somewhat lengthy digression at this, point in our list of definitions in order to relate something of the development of this construct, In'so doing we will also be illustrating the manner in which most of these defined construéts have come, into being in-our theory. ° Speaking personally, T began my work with the'settled notion that the “self” was a vague, ainbiguous, scientifically meanhigless term which had gone ouit of the psychologis’s vocabulary with the departure of the introspectionists, Consequently ‘I was slow in recognizing that when clionts were given the opportunity to express their problems and their attiuudes in thelr own terms, without any guidance or interpreta- i | | | Therapy, Per: tion, they tended to were attitudes such twonder who Tam, me.” “T never had : “go and just be myse Fve got a pretty so neath” Tt seemed c portant element in sense his goal was to Raimy (54] prec concept whieh war ~ operational way of could be measured, such’ research, Self categorizing of all s¢ form by electrical degree of interjudye: structs’ for onr referent attitudes ah they would. ‘As we focused r cominon to fad daring a given “ia positively, He°felt ? capacities he pores: ‘Three days later he of himself, The saw tive new choice he the valid feelings clearly inadequate, point at whitch, & upset, and. his pic ‘During the intervie Consideration « dealing with an ¢ thousands of «nid! but the product wi ation of one mines was forcibly semir the double picture fone mind set, theeis doe scsi aes sain einai ees ‘ : ! Therapy, Personality, and Interpersonal Relationships 201 i eden tion, they tendéd to talkin terms of the self, Characteristic expressions : is this capacity were attitudes suchas these: “E feel I'm not being my real self.” “I : ae ah sats wonder who I am, really.” “I wouldn't want anyone to know the real ae me.” “Enevér had a chance to be myself” “Tt feels good to let myself Se : ‘go and just be myself here.” “I think if I chip off all the plaster facade T've got a pretty salid'self—a good substantial brick building, under= i x fal (60), and neath.” ‘It seemed clear from such expressions that the self was an im- pt deen portant element in the experience’of the client, andl that in some odd. : eee sense his goal was to become his “real self.” Peete “1,” oF. 7 ‘Raimy [54] produced-a careful-and searching definition of thé, self= tee eniGyt which ‘concept Which was helpful-in our thinking. There ‘seemed to be no . operational. way of defining it at that point, Atitudes toward the self % + refer to the could be measured, however, and Raitny and a number of others began * 2 eee bated such rescarch. Self-attitudes, were. determined, operationally, “by the ne a categorizing of all sell-xeferent terms in interviews preserved in verbatim. : 1 of life, to- form by clectrical-recording. The categories uscd had a satisfactory cis a gestalt degree of interjudge reliability, thus making thiem suitable scientific con- Poet structs for our work. We were encouraged to~find that these -self- were aia ‘referent attitudes-altered significantly in’ therapy as we had hypothesized 1 operational they would. : ad he bad ‘As we focuséd more upon the concept of the self, clinical experierice aaa: ‘again gave us further clucs'as to its nature. For-example, in the process >king”at his ‘of change which appeared to occur in-therapy, it was not at all un- gta common to find:violent fluctuation in the concept of the self. A client, ae eenene + during a’ given -intervitw, would come to experience himself quite posses! Upon positively. He felt he was worthwhile, that he could meet life with the eee te capacities he possessed, and that he was experiencing a quiet confidence ‘Three days later he might return with a completely reversed concept of himself, The same'evidence now proved an opposite point, The posi tive-new choice he had niade now was an instance of silly immaturity; the valid feclings courageously expressed to his colleagues now were the abstrac: ucts in our encase clearly inadequate, Often suich-a client could date, to the moment, the eeor an point at which, felling some very minor incident, the. balance- was P aledelea Upset, and his picture of hirnself had undergone « complete flip-flop. ebb tee During the interviese it might as suddenly reverse itself again. Consideration of this phenomenon made it clear that we were not sores dealing with an entity of slow accretion, of step-by-step learning; of gles term thousands of unidirectional conditionings. "Chese might all be involved, Edges but the product was clearly a gestalt, x configuration in which the alter ‘pining. tint ation of one minor aspect could completely alter the whole pattern. One eile and \was forcibly reminded of the favorite textbook: illustration of a gestalt ieee the double picture of the old hég and the young woman; Looked at with ae one mind set, the-picture is clearly that of an ugly old woman. Thei ee abcntneiea 202 . OARL ROGERS. Therapy, Pe slightest change, and the whole becomes a portrait of an atlract esearch possible. Ft self-concept 23.2 gr mitted and eheonray At all times, he thinking the fact and that the same One of our group more emphasis to definition, indicatia, would be’ more frui for example, Nunne adequate concepts and for more adeqi tions for the concept c Ff gi, So with our clients. The self-concept was clearly configurational. in nature, Our ai i i i | i { il experience gave us another clue to the manner in-which- the self funtioned. ‘The conventional concept of represon as having toy | do with forbidden or socially tnbooitipulses had been recognized as ine | adequate to fit the facts. Often. the most deeply: denied impulses aind feelings were positive feclings of love, of tendémess, or confidence in} self. How could one explain the puzzling conglomeration of experience § which seemingly coukd not be permitted in awareness? Gradinly it was recognized that the important principle was one of consistency with the self, Expericnces which-were incongruent sith the individuals concept of himself tended to be denied to aivareness, whatever their social char- acter, We began to see the stlf as a.criterion by which the organism screened out experiences which could not comfortably be pemiitted in ‘This concludes consciousness. Lecky’s little posthnunqus book’ [43] seinforced this line that this one exarny of thought. We also began to uriderstand other funetions of the self in its | of our basic constr | | | 1 | | i ! } ! 1 regulatory influence on behavior, anid thie ike, ihe constructs of co At about this juncture Stephenson’s O technique [81] opened up itive regard, loc the possibility of ‘an’ operational definition of the self-concept. Im- has been irregular, mediately, research burgconed: Though we feel it has barely made a. conceptualization, 4 start in exploiting the possible, testing of hypotheses, there have already Involved, further ef been, measurements and predictions regarding the self as of this thoment, construct and its the self in the past, “myself as I am with may mother)""the self T would Aetinitions of the ce like to be,?-ctc, Probably the most sophisticated and significant of these studies is that completed by Chodorkoff [10], in which his hypothesis, stated informally, is as follows:"that the greater the agreernent between the individual's self-description and an objective description of, him, the less perceptual defensiveness he will show, and the more adequate will be his personal adjustment. ‘This hypothesis is upheld and tends to confirma some important aspects of our theory. In gaiicral the various investigations have agreed in indicating that the self-concept is an im- Portant ‘variable in personality dynanvies and that change in the self is cone of the.most inarked and significant changes occurring in therapy. Tt should be recognized that any construct is a more or les arbitrary abstraction from experience, Thus the self could be defined in many dif- ferent ways. Hilgard, for’ example [34], has proposed that it be defined in such a way as to include unconscious material, not available to aware ness, as well as conscious material. Although we-recognize that this is certainly a legitimate way of abstracting’ from the phenomena, we be- lieve it is not a useful way because it produces a concept which cannot at this point be given operational definition, One carmot obtain sulficient agreement as-to the content of the individtia!’s unconscious to make 14, Tncongruen: be described ir develops between ti ‘organism. ‘Thus th acteristics a, 6, and symbolization of hi & d, and ¢ and fe tote is one.of ince one of tension ase dividuat’s behavior other respects by th oF incomprehensib havior is one exars actualizing tendenc ing the self. ‘Thus dividual himself, to do, which is to 13, Vutnerabiactive girl. ational in «in which having to ized as in-* poules and fidence in experience ally it was y with the te concept valida self in its spened_up. veept, Tine 'y made a ve already moment, ACI would at of these sypothesis, st between 1 of him, adequate tends to regpyious me the self is verapy: v arbitrary many dif- ve defined to aware~ vat this is a, we be- ch cannot sufficient to make peerage Se Therapy, Personality, and Interpersonal Relationships 203 sescarch posible, Hence we believe that it is more fruitful to define the self-concept 26 @ gestalt which is available to awareness, This has pe mitted aid encouraged a lood-of important research "AE all Gmes, however, we endeavor to keep in the forefront of our ‘thinking the fact that each definition is no more than an abitraction land thatthe same phenomena might be abstracted in a different fashion. One of our group is working on a definition of self'which would give, more emphasis 10 its process natuie. Others have felt that « plural definition, jidicating many specific selves in each of various life cautexts, would be more fruitfal, and this way of thinking has béen embodied in, for example, Nunnally’s [50] restarch, So the search continucs for a more adequate conceptualization of this:aréa of our therapeutic experienée and for more adequate technical means of providing operational defini- tions for the concepts which are formulated, “Chis concludes our interruption of the list of definitions, It hoped that this one example will give an indication f the way in which many’ of our basic constructs have ‘déveloped—not only the self-concept: but the constructs of congruence, incongruence, ‘défensivencss, unconditional positive regard, locus of evaluation, and the like, Although the process has-been irregular, it has tended to include clinical observation, initial conceptualization, initial crude. research to test some of the hypotheses jnvolved, further clinical observation, more rigorous formiulation of the construct. and its functional relationships, more refined operational Scfinitions of the construct, mare conclusive research. 14, Incongrucnce between self and experience, in a manner which will be deseribed if the theory of personality a discrepancy frequently Govelops between the self as perceived, and.the actual experience of the Organima Thus the individual, may peresive himself as having char- Seteristcs a, b, und ¢, and experiencing feelings x, 9, and x, An accurate Symbolization of his experience would, hovveyer, indicate characterities od, and e, and feclings-v, w, x. When such a discrepancy exits, the Sate is one of incongruerice between sell and experience, ‘This state is one of tension and intemal confusion, since in some respects the ine Gividuats behavior will be regulated by the actualizing tendency, and in ther respect by the «el-actualizing tendency, thus producing discordant, Gr incomprehensible behaviors. What is commonly called nearotic be- Ravior is one example, the neurotic behavior being the product of the aetuatizing tendency, whereas in other respects the individual is actualite ing the self. ‘Thus the neurotic behavior is incomprehensible to the in; wriance with what he consciously “wants” Gividual hiraself, since itis at van to do, which is to actualize a self rio Tonger congruent with experience. 15. Vulnerability. Valnerability-is the term used to refer to the- ca 204 ‘caRE R, ROGERS Therapy, : state of incongruenco between sel aid. experience, when it fs desired preennat to emphasize the potentialities of this state for reat pryeholagicl ferseneae a) ‘organization, When incongruence exists, and the indiceal ky newer thesort dette of it, then he is potentially valnerable to anwily, threat, nd dioreanion, 20, Distord ion, If a significant mew experience demonstrates the divetepaney oo phenomenon. th Clearly. dat it must be consciously perceive, then the individual wil be eaieept lotic Aventened, and his concept of self isorganized by this contaditory and explain this the unastmilable experience. : When an experi 16. Ansicty. Anxiety is phenomediologically a state of uncesines better term) ee or tension whose enuse is unknown, From an extemal frame of volowncs, pee te eae anaiety ig x tate in. which the incongrucnce between the concept of elf= (making tt coun and the total experience of the individual is appronching synteontton of the experinee jn awarenest. When’ experience is obvioasly eixerapant from. the self, pethaps most vie concept, a defensive response to thteat becomes increasingly dlfoalt ‘when “the theiap Ansty is the response of the-organism to the “subeeption” that such iment that ieicre discrepancy may enter awaretiess thus Torcing’ & change bv the soll consistency betwe concept. cease, the client me 7 17. Threat, Theat is die state which exits when am experience fs Tshould undotsee Perceived oF anticipated (subeeived) as incongrucnt with the stricture ing to me!” Hen of the sell, It’may be regarded as an external view of the same distorted by ration Phenomenon which, from the intemal frame of reference, is amet. Hence the orgs 18. Psychological meledjustment, Psychologiesl maladjustment ests Such outright de when the organism deates to ‘awareness, of distorts in awacencss, sig. Phetomenon of + nificant experiences, which consequently are not accurately eymbelingd Sharacteristis “4 avid organized into the gestalt of the selbetructure, thus erat in fee grade can be'eut ‘congruence betwecn self and experience, perceiving in it Te may help to clurty this base concept of incongruchee if we recog Jost lock"; ete. nize: that several of the terms we are defining. ave simply: dfereet 21. Intensiona, vatitage points for viewing this phenomenon. If an lndividal 5 in a state the person is reae of incongruence between self and experience and ve are looking. at to ace experience f him from an external point of view we se him as vulnerable (ie is to be dominated t: linaware of the discrepancy), or threatened if he has some awareness panes af Tne ae eg Hi fom coc pit f eth hs i irae: congruence is prychologieal maladjustinent, Ifthe individeal is viewing concept of rigily inimce, he may even see Mincall 2 scoead (he has no awareness of than are general, the discrepancy) or. anxious (i€ he dimly subceives it) oF threatened Te will pechinps or disorganized (ifthe discrepancy has forced itself upon his awareness): do with the organ term: distortion ar 19, Defense, Defensivenest, Defense isthe behavioral response of the le ate iniene exganiam to threat, the goal of which the maintenance of the cutent dividual who is ina strucuce of the sl. This goal is achcved by the pereepvs-dtertin of the experience in awaranes in such away as to reduee the ieongaity 22. Congruene. between the experience and the structure of the sell, or by the denial concept which hes