CARL ROGERS &

PERSON-CENTERED
THEORY
Presented
by:
Table of Contents!

Biography Strengths & Weaknesses

The Life of Carl The Good and the Bad
Rogers

Main Points of Theory Class Activity

What is Person- Review the concepts
Centered Theory?
 01

BIOGRAPHY
The personal life of Carl Rogers was
marked by change and openness to
experience.
 Biography

born on January
8, 1902 in Oak intended to
Park, Illinois become a farmer

fourth child of
Walter and Julia lonely childhood
Cushing Rogers and wide reader

Parents have strict

religious views
 Biography (2)

finding freedom influenced by the

in China ideas of Otto Rank

planned to become a
studied Clinical and
minister
Educational Psychology

married childhood friend

- Helen Elliot
 Biography (3)

conceptualized
his own ideas on nominated for
psychotherapy Nobel Peace Prize

two children;
had a breakdown
six grandchildren
and therapy
and one great-
grandchild

wanted to expand his became President of the

research and his ideas to American Psychological
psychiatry Association
 02

MAIN POINTS OF
THEORY
 Person-Centered Theory
It suggests that the ability to
change and improve personality is
centered within the person. This
ultimate goal is to actualize the
self, to become what Rogers called a
fully functioning person.
Basic Assumptions

1. Formative Tendency
• is the tendency for
all organisms to
evolve from simpler
to more complex forms
 Basic Assumptions

2. Actualizing Tendency
• tendency for all
organisms to move
toward completion or
fulfillment of
potentials (Rogers,
1978)
• 2 sub-levels
a. Maintenance

b. Enhancement
The Self and Self-
Actualization
● infants begin to develop a
vague concept of self when
a portion of their
experience becomes
personalized and
differentiated in awareness
as “I” or “me” experiences
● Once infants establish a
rudimentary self structure,
their tendency to actualize
the self begins to evolve.
● The actualization tendency
refers to organismic
experiences of the
individual; that is, it
refers to the whole person—
conscious and unconscious,
physiological and cognitive.
● Self-actualization is the
tendency to actualize the
self as perceived in
awareness.
● Self-actualization is a
subset of the actualization
tendency and is therefore not
synonymous with it.
Self-Concept Ideal Self

● includes all those ● It is one’s view of self

aspects of one’s being as one wishes to be.
and one’s experiences
that are perceived in ● The ideal self contains
awareness (though not all those attributes,
always accurately) by usually positive, that
the individual people aspire to possess.

● Self-concept is not
identical with the
organismic self.
Did you know this?
u enc e
Co n g r

Self-concept
Ideal Self

Little discrepancy between the

two indicate a pscyhologically
healthy individual.
 Did you know this?
r uen ce
nc o n g
I

Self-concept Ideal Self

A wide gap indicates

incongruence and an unhealthy
personality
Awareness Three Levels of Awareness

Ø the symbolic a. Ignored or denied

representation of b. Accurately symbolized
some portion of our c. Distorted form
experience
Ø Rogers used the term
synonymously with Denial of Positive Experiences
consciousness and Ø many people have difficulty

symbolization. accepting genuine compliments

and positive feedback
Ø Compliments, even those
genuinely dispensed, seldom
have a positive influence on
the self-concept of the
recipient.
Becoming a Person Positive regard
Ø people regards us in a way
Ø an individual must that affirms our worth
make a contact
(positive or
negative) with Positive self-regard
Ø defined as the experience of
another person
prizing or valuing one’s self
Ø This contact is the
minimum experience Ø Rogers believed that
necessary for receiving positive regard
becoming a person. from others is necessary for
positive self-regard, but
once positive self-regard is
established, it becomes
independent of the continual
need to be loved.
 Barriers to Psychological Health

1. Conditions of Worth 2. Incongruence

3. Defensiveness 4. Disorganization
1. Conditions of Worth
Ø It arises when the
positive regard of a
significant other is
conditional, when
the individual feels
that in some
respects he [or she]
is prized and in
others not.

IF THEN
https://twitter.com/Psych_Review/status/949302191784955905
2. Incongruence
a.
Ø The conditions of worth
we receive may lead to
false self- concept, that
is based on distortions b.
and denials. Once the
self-concept is different
to the experiences a
person encounters,
incongruence emerge
between self and
experience, which leads
to inconsistent behaviors.
2 Effects of Incongruence
Vulnerability
• people are vulnerable when they
have not awareness of the
discrepancy or incongruence
Anxiety and Threat
• Anxiety - state of uneasiness or
tension whose cause is unknown
• Threat - an awareness that our
self is no longer whole or
congruent
3. Defensiveness
a. Distortion
• misinterpreting an
Ø is the protection of
experience to fit it
the self-concept into some aspect of
against anxiety and our self-concept
threat by the denial
or distortion of b. Denial -
experiences • refusing to perceive
inconsistent with it an experience in
awareness
4. Disorganization
Ø Rogers always remained
Ø Disorganization uncomfortable with the
happens when the terms “neurotic” and
incongruence between “psychotic,” preferring
people and their instead to speak of
o r g a n i s m i c “defensive” and
experience is either “disorganized”
too obvious or behaviors”
occurs too suddenly
to be denied or
distorted
 Psychotherapy
Client-centered therapy is an
approach to psychotherapy
based on a belief that the
client is best able to decide
what to explore and how.
 Client-Centered Therapy
Ø Client-centered approach holds that in order for
vulnerable or anxious people to grow
psychologically, they must come into contact with
a therapist who is congruent and whom they
perceive as providing an atmosphere of
unconditional acceptance and accurate empathy

Ø the client-centered counseling approach can be

stated in an if-then fashion

If the conditions of therapist congruence, then the process of therapy will

unconditional positive regard, and empathic listening transpire
are present in a client-counselor relationship
Conditions for Psychological Growth

1. Counselor Congruence

2. Unconditional Positive Regard

3. Empathic Listening
Counselor Congruence
• Congruence exists when a person’s organismic
experiences are matched by an awareness of them
and by an ability and willingness to openly
express these feelings (Rogers, 1980).

• Congruent therapist wears no mask, do not attempt

to fake a pleasant facade, and avoid any pretense
of friendliness and affection when these emotions
are not truly felt. Also, they do not fake anger,
toughness, or ignorance, nor do they cover up
feelings of joy, elation, or happiness.
Unconditional Positive Regard
• Positive regard is the need to be liked, prized,
or accepted by another person. When this need
exists without any conditions or qualifications,
unconditional positive regard occurs

• Therapists have unconditional positive regard when

they are experiencing a warm, positive and
accepting attitude toward what is the client. The
attitude is without possessiveness, without
evaluations, and without reservations.
Empathic Listening
• Empathy exists when therapists accurately sense
the feelings of their clients and are able to
communicate these perceptions so that clients know
that another person has entered their world of
feelings without prejudice, projection, or
evaluation.

Sympathy Empathy
 Stages of Therapeutic Change
slightly less to talk of deep
rigid feelings

Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4

unwillingness free talk about

to communicate self
 Stages of Therapeutic Change
experience dramatic
growth

Stage 5 Stage 6 Stage 7

undergo change and fully functioning”

growth persons of tomorrow”
Person of
Tomorrow
 Possible Characteristics
q psychologically healthy people would be more adaptable
q persons of tomorrow would be open to their experiences
q persons of tomorrow would be trust in their organismic
selves
q persons of tomorrow would be have tendency to live
fully in the moment
q persons of tomorrow would remain confident of their own
ability to experience harmonious relations with other
 Possible Characteristics
q persons of tomorrow would be more integrated, more
whole, with no artificial boundary between conscious
processes and unconscious ones

q persons of tomorrow would have a basic trust of human

nature

q persons of tomorrow are open to all their experiences,

they would enjoy a greater richness in life than do
other people
 c t ure
A pi ces
e i nfor
r cep t
e c o n
th
 “Growth occurs when
individuals confront
problems, struggle to
master them, and through
that struggle develop new
aspects of their skills,
capacities, views about
life.”

—Carl Rogers
 03

STRENGTHS &
WEAKNESSES
 Strengths
Ø Focuses on positive dimensions
of personality
Ø Gives a complete picture of
how a healthy personality
develops
Ø Provides explanations for
development of unhealthy
personality
Ø The theory can be extended to
a relatively wide range of
human personality
Ø Person-centered theory is
internally consistent and high
on falsifiability.
Weaknesses
Ø it lacks empirical evidence and
can be overly optimistic,
overlooking the influence of
external factors
Ø receives an average rating on
its ability to spark research
activity within the general
field of personality
Ø Some language and concepts are
vague.
Ø Subjectivity of empathy
Ø Emphasis on indivualism and
self-actualization may not fully
resonate with collectivist
cultures.
References
Thank
You!
 04

CLASS ACTIVITY
“Growth occurs when individuals confront
problems, struggle to master them, and
through that struggle develop new
aspects of their skills, capacities, views
about life.”
- CARL ROGERS