Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers are known not only for their work in the field of psychology but, more specifically for their focus on the humanistic domain of psychology. The humanistic approach of psychology focuses on the individuals’ potential and emphasizes the importance of growth. Maslow and Rogers had very similar perspectives about individuals and their strengths. They both believed human beings are innately good and that mental and environmental problems is what make individuals deviate. Even though most of their approaches are similar, they also have differences within their theories such as the way individuals reach self-actualization. Therefore, for the purpose of this paper, I am going to be comparing and contrasting these two
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But, in addition to Maslow’s theory Rogers suggested that for a person to be able to grow they need to be surrounded by a healthy environment. He defined a healthy environment by genuine relationships (openness), empathy (being understood) and unconditional positive regard (acceptance). He suggested that in order to reach self-actualization; one must be successful on the above stated relationships. Rogers believed that people should focus on the present and put less emphasis on the past and even the future. His theory was considered to be a “person-centered theory” because it mainly focused on the self. He basically divided the self into three categories: the ideal self, the self-concept and the self worth. The ideal self is described as who we want to become, the self-concept is how we perceived ourselves and lastly, self worth or self-esteem is what we think about ourselves. Rogers also introduce the state of congruence, which is when the person’s ideal self and self-concept are very close and consistent. If a person is said to be in the state of congruence it means that this person is most likely going to achieve self-actualization through unconditional positive regard. Unconditional positive regard being the absolute acceptance of a person despite anything else. Conversely, if a person is said to be in a state of incongruence as describe by Rogers then this person have gone through various experiences seemed as unacceptable to them. Therefore, these experiences are denied or distorted in the self-concept. (Feist et al.,
But, in addition to Maslow’s theory Rogers suggested that for a person to be able to grow they need to be surrounded by a healthy environment. He defined a healthy environment by genuine relationships (openness), empathy (being understood) and unconditional positive regard (acceptance). He suggested that in order to reach self-actualization; one must be successful on the above stated relationships. Rogers believed that people should focus on the present and put less emphasis on the past and even the future. His theory was considered to be a “person-centered theory” because it mainly focused on the self. He basically divided the self into three categories: the ideal self, the self-concept and the self worth. The ideal self is described as who we want to become, the self-concept is how we perceived ourselves and lastly, self worth or self-esteem is what we think about ourselves. Rogers also introduce the state of congruence, which is when the person’s ideal self and self-concept are very close and consistent. If a person is said to be in the state of congruence it means that this person is most likely going to achieve self-actualization through unconditional positive regard. Unconditional positive regard being the absolute acceptance of a person despite anything else. Conversely, if a person is said to be in a state of incongruence as describe by Rogers then this person have gone through various experiences seemed as unacceptable to them. Therefore, these experiences are denied or distorted in the self-concept. (Feist et al.,