Carl Rogers' Theory of Personality

Person-Centered Theory

-the subjectivity of experience, authenticity, and grew out of experiences as a psychotherapist, the positivity of human motivation.

Phenomenology

how the person consciously experiences the world

The actualizing Tendency

tendency to move toward completion or fulfillment of potentials, subsumes all other motives.

How to realize the actualizing tendency

-relationship with a congruent partner
-who demonstrate empathy
-and unconditional positive regard

Self-Actualization

tendency to actualize the self as perceived in awarenesss

Actualization

the organismic experiences of the whole person

Infants actualization

portion of the infant's experience is personalized and differentiated in awareness as I or Me. They start to develop a basic self-structure.

Problem with Actualization

if your actualization tendency and the self-actualization are incongruent, the you will experience conflict and inner tension.

The Self-Concept

all those aspects of one's being and experience that are perceived by the individual. Not always accurate.

Representation of the self-concept

an organized, consistent pattern of perceptions of oneself.

The Ideal self

ones view of the self as one wishes to be, all attributes a person wants to have.

Unhealthy personality

a wide gap between ideal self and the self-concept.

Awareness

symbolic representation of some proportion of our experience.

Three levels of Awareness

1.ignored or denied
2. accurately symbolized (freely admitted)
3. perceived in a distorted form (can be assimilated into self-structure)

Children Value...

positive regard and devalue negative regard once they experience loves, likes or acceptance.

Positive self-regard

prizing or valuing one's self. positive regard is necessary for this.

Condition of Worth

When you lose positive regard from significant others. Then you will lose positive self-regard and avoid the action that caused it. (example: a boy crying)

Conditions of worth

one is accepted only if it meets others' expectations. We evaluate our experiences of the attitudes others express towards us. we move away from our real or organismic self.

Incongruence between organism and the self-concept

psychological problems occur when we don't accurately symbolize organismic experiences into awareness. Vulnerability is increased when we're unaware of incongruence. Anxiety when we are dimly aware and threat we are more aware.

Barriers to psychological health

1. conditions of worth
2. incongruence between organism and self-concept
3. defensiveness
4.disorganization

Defensiveness

protection of self-concept against anxiety or threat through distortion or denial.

Disorganization

occurs when ones defensives fail (discrepancy between self-concept and organism self is too obvious or too fast). Individuals may behave consistently with their organismic experience or with their shattered self-concept.

Psychotherapy Conditions

1. Counselor Congruence- geuiness
2.Unconditional positive regard
3. Empathetic listening- accurate sense of clients feelings

Psychotherapy

1. no communication about self
2. somewhat less rigid, discuss others and events
3. Talk freely about self, but as an object
4. begin to talk about deep feelings but not presently felt
5. they have begun to grow significantly
6. experience dramatic growth (irreversible)
7. can occur outside of therapy because growth at stage 6

Outcomes of Psychotherapy

a congruent client who is less defensive and more open to experience, clearer view of themselves.

Fully functioning person

openness to experience, existential living, organismic trusting, experiential freedom, creativity, trustworthiness of human nature, and greater richness of life.