Carl Rogers : Person-Centered Theory
1. The Self-Concept- all those aspects of one’s
 Carl Ransom Rogers, 1902, Oak Hill, Illinois.
 Fourth of six children.
 1919 – University of Wisconsin, Agriculture
Major.
 1924 – University of Wisconsin, History
degree
 Leta Stetter Hollingworth – a psychologist
who taught him at the University of
Columbia.
 1931 – completed his doctorate in
clinical psychology.
 “Nondirective therapy” – therapist acting
as a facilitator rather than a director.
BASIC ASSUMPTION
 Formative Tendency – the tendency for all
matter to evolve from simpler to more
complex forms.
 Actualizing Tendency – tendency within all
humans to move toward completion or
fulfillment.
o The only motive people possess.
o Tendency to maintain and enhance
oneself.
o Maintenance- similar to lower
steps on Maslow’s hierarchy of
needs.
o Enhancement – the need to
become more, to develop, and to
achieve growth.
o Conditions- human’s actualization
tendency is realized only under
certain conditions.
THE SELF AND SELF-ACTUALIZATION
 Self-Actualization – a subset of the
actualization tendency and not synonymous
with it.
o Tendency to actualize the self as
perceived in awareness.
 Actualization Tendency – the whole
person’s conscious and unconscious,
physiological and cognitive.
being and one’s experiences that are
perceived in awareness.
2. The Ideal Self – one’s view of self as one
wishes to be.
a. Incongruence – wide gap between
ideal self and self-concept
AWARENESS
 Awareness- a symbolic representation of
some portion of the experience. It is
synonymous with consciousness.
1. LEVELS OF AWARENESS
 First – some experiences are below the
threshold of awareness and are either
ignored or denied.
 Second – some experiences are accurately
symbolized and freely admitted to self-
structure.
 Third – are experiences that are perceived
in a distorted form.
2. DENIAL OF POSITIVE EXPERIENCES –
difficulty accepting genuine compliments
and positive feedback.
BECOMING A PERSON
 Individual must make CONTACT with
another person. (minimum experience)
 They begin to value positive regards and
devalue negative regards.
 Positive regards – a need to be loved, liked,
or accepted by another person.
o prerequisite for positive self-
regard.
BARRIERS TO PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH
 Conditions of Worth
o People only accept them if they
met those people’s approval and
expectation.
 Incongruence
o Actualization – tendency to move
toward fulfillment.
o Self-actualization – desire of the
perceived self to reach fulfillment
 Defensiveness
 o to prevent inconsistency between
SC and IS, we react in defensive
manner.
o Protection of the self-concept
o Distortion- we misinterpret an
experience in order to fit in.
o Denial – refuse to perceive an
experience in awareness.
 Disorganization
o When defense fail and behavior
becomes disorganized or psychotic
ROLLO MAY: EXISTENTIAL THEORY
 Rollo May, 1909, Idaho, Ohio
 Paul Tillich – the existentialist theologian
 he read the writings of Soren Kierkegaard.
 He study Psychoanalysis at White Institute
with Erich Fromm and Harry Sullivan.
 List of wifes:
o Florence DeFrees
o Ingrid Kepler Scholl
o George Lee Mill Johnson

CONDITIONS OF PSYCHOTHERAPY BASIC CONCEPTS

1. Come in contact with a congruent therapist.  Being-in-the-world or Dasein

2. Client must perceive these characteristics in o The way individuals navigate their
the therapists. existence through the interaction
3. Contact must be some duration. between their inner world(being)
and external world(world).
Client-centered therapy is unique it its insistence. o Three dimensions:
1. Counselor Congruence- a person who has a  Umwelt – physical
range of healthy feelings and emotions. environment.
2. Unconditional Positive Regards –  Mitwelt – social
experiencing a warm, positive, and environment
accepting attitude toward what is the client.  Eigenwelt – internal
3. Emphatic Listening – accurately sense the world.
feelings of their clients. Seeing things from  Non-being
client’s POV. o It refers to the experiences and
feelings of emptiness,
STAGES OF THERAPEUTIC CHANGE meaninglessness, and
disconnection.
1. Unwillingness to communicate.
o It is a natural and inevitable part of
2. Become slightly less rigid. Fail to recognize
human experiences.
their own feelings.
3. Freely talk about self. ANXIETY
4. Talk of deep feelings but not ones presently
felt.  Normal Anxiety
5. Significant change and growth. o Healthy response to the challenges
6. Experience dramatic growth. and uncertainties that can
7. Occurs outside the therapy. motivate individuals.
 Neurotic Anxiety
Rogers was first a scientist, then a therapist, then a o Excessive and irrational fear of
personality theorist danger or harm and can lead
individuals to avoid or withdraw
from challenges.

GUILT

 Existential Guilt
 oSense of responsibility for the
actions and choices that define
one’s own existence.
 Neurotic Guilt
o Excessive and irrational sense of
responsibility for the feelings and
actions of others. It can overwhelm
and paralyze individuals.

Intentionality refers to the idea that human beings

are conscious and intentional beings.

CARE, LOVE, AND WILL

 Care
o Basic sense of responsibility and
concern. A deep sense of empathy
and compassion.
 Love
o Deep emotional connection and
sense of intimacy.
o Willingness to be vulnerable and to
share oneself with others.
 Will
o The sense of personal agency and
the ability to act on one’s
intentions and desire.
o Willingness to take risks and to
face challenges.
ROBERT McRAE & PAUL COSTA JR.: FIVE THE PIONEERING WORK OF RAYMOND B. CATTELL
FACTOR TRAIT THEORY  He developed:
o 16 Personality Factors
 ROBERT MCCRAE(1949):
o Andrew and Eloise McCrae questionnaire
o Comprehensive Ability Battery
(Parents)
o Intrigued by the psychometric  He believed that personality can be
work of Raymond Cattell understood through the use of Factor
o Henry Wehiberg – Major professor, Analysis.
 16 Factors are:
a clinical psychologist, with only a
o Warmth
peripheral interest in personality
traits. o Reasoning
o Walter Mischel was questioning o Emotional Stability
the notion that personality traits o Dominance
are consistent. o Liveliness
o James Fozard – an adult o Rule-Consciousness
developmental psychologist that o Social Boldness
Robert work as a research assistant o Sensitivity
with. o Vigilance
o He was then referred by Fozard to o Abstractedness
Paul Costa o Privateness
 PAUL COSTA(1942): o Apprehension
o Paul and Esther Costa (Parents) o Openness to change.
o Undergrad. Psychology at Clark o Self-Reliance
Univ. (1964) Master’s (1968) PhD o Perfectionism
(1970) o Tension
o He worked with Salvatore Maddi  Influential in the development of
at Chicago, with whom he subsequent theories and instruments
published a book on Humanistic measuring personality
Personality Theory.
o McCrae and Costa have over 200 BASICS OF FACTOR ANALYSIS
co-authored research articles  Factor Analysis – statistical technique that is
OVERVIEW OF TRAIT AND FACTOR THEORIES used to identify underlying dimensions, or
factors, that shape human behavior or
 Also known as the Five Factor Model. personality.
 This theory proposes that there are five  Basic terms related to factor analysis:
fundamental personality traits that are o Correlation Efficient – indicates the
present in every individual. degree to which two variables are
 Each of personality traits is influenced by related. (association)
both genetic and environmental factor. o Factors – underlying dimensions of
 People with high levels of certain trait are personality that are identified
more likely to behave in ways that are through factor analysis.
consistent with trait o Factors Loadings – the degree to
 Some argue that the theory is too simplistic which each variable is associated
and does not fully capture the complexity of with EACH factor.
human personality. o Unipolar Traits – traits that are
measured on a single scale, with all
of the items reflecting the same
 direction of the trait (honesty
scale)
o Bipolar Traits – traits that are
measured on a scale with two
opposing endpoints (introversion
vs. extroversion)
o Orthogonal Rotation – method of
rotating the factor axes in a way
that ensures that the factors are
uncorrelated with each other.
o Oblique Method – method of
rotating the factor axes in a way
that allows the factors to be
correlated with each other.
PROCESS OF FACTOR ANALYSIS
1. Selection of variables – variables should be
relevant to the construct, and should be
measured on a CONTINUOUS or ORDINAL
scale.
2. Data Collection – should be representative
of the population of interest.
3. Calculation of Correlation Coefficient –
calculating the degree of relatedness of
each variable.
4. Factor Extraction – extract underlying
factors from a correlation matrix. Typically
done using mathematical algorithm.
5. Factor Rotation – they are then rotated to
make them easier to interpret.
6. Interpretation of Factors – examining the
factor loadings.
THE BIG FIVE: TAXONOMY OR THEORY
 The Big Five – considered to be both
taxonomy and a theory of personality.
 Taxonomy – provides a framework for
organizing and categorizing personality
traits based on empirical evidence.
 FIVE BROAD DIMENSIONS OF
PERSONALITY
o Openness
o Conscientiousness
o Extraversion
o Agreeableness
o Neuroticism
 OCEAN emerged from factor analysis of trait
descriptors, and represent the most robust
and replicable factors that underly
individual differences.
 Theory – these dimensions represent the
basic building blocks of personality.
IN SEARCH FOR THE BIG FIVE
 Began in 1970s
 They conducted studies in countries:
o US
o Germany
o Japan
THE DEFINITION OF BIG FIVE
 Extraversion
o Reflects an individual’s level of
sociability, assertiveness, and
enthusiasm.
o They may be talkative, confident,
and outgoing.
o High Extraversion – attending
parties, initiating convos with
strangers, and taking on leadership
roles.
o Introverted – tend to be more
reserved and prefer solitary
activities, such as reading or
writing.
 Neuroticism
o Reflects and individual’s level of
emotional stability and negative
emotionality.
o More anxious, moody, and
sensitive to stress.
o High Neuroticism – easily upset by
criticism, feeling nervous in new
situations, palpitating.
o In contrast, emotionally stable –
more resilient in the face of stress
 Openness
o Individual’s level of intellectual
curiosity, creativity, and willingness
to experience new things.
o High Openness – traveling to new
places, experimenting, and
engaging in philosophical
discussions.
 o Less Open – prefer familiar
routines, and less interested in
exploring something new.
 Agreeableness
o Individual’s level of
cooperativeness, empathy, and
concern for others.
o High agreeableness – volunteering
for charity events, showing
concern for others, patient and
forgiving.
o Less Agreeable – more skeptical of
others’ motives and they are more
focus on their own goals.
 Conscientiousness
o Individual’s level of self-discipline,
responsibility, and goal-oriented
behavior
o High Conscientiousness – creating
detailed to-do list, arriving early,
being thorough to their work.
o Less conscientious – more
impulsive, disorganized, less
focused on long term goals.
that are influenced by external
factors.
o Three Categories:
o Biological Bases – the genetic and
biological factors that influence
personality development.
o Objective Biography – the
objective, observable, aspects of
an individual’s life, such as family
background, education, and career.
o External Influences –
environmental and situational
factors that may impact and
individual behavior.
RESEARCH
 Turiano et al. (2015) – higher level of
conscientiousness were associated with
lower risk of chronic diseases (diabetes and
heart diseases).

UNITS OF THE FIVE-FACTOR THEORY

 Basic Tendencies
o the underlying, relatively stable
traits that make up an individual’s
personality.
 Characteristic Adaptations
o The behaviors, thoughts, and
feelings that individuals develop in
response to environment.
o Shaped by both internal and
external factors and are more
flexible and context-dependent
than basic tendencies.
 Self-Concept
o Individual’s overall view of
themselves and identity.
o Includes both the conscious and
unconscious beliefs and feelings an
individual has about themselves.
 Peripheral Components
o Includes the more superficial or
transitory aspects of personality