Unit 11—Rogers: Person-Centered Theory

Front 1

Identify:

1) formative tendency

2) actualizing tendency

Back 1

1) Matter starts from a simple form and grows into a complex form.

2) Actualizing Tendency: All living things tend to grow toward potential or completion.

Front 2

Discuss Rogers' concept of self and its development

Back 2

Development of an individual’s concept of self starts at infancy. At this time, a small amount of the infant’s experiences become personalized and able to make a clear distinction in awareness of their “I” or “me” experiences. An infant starts to form their own identity as they discover their preferences for particular tastes and feelings (both good and bad). Using the criterion of the actualizing tendency an infant evaluates their experiences as either positive or negative. Experiences include: sleep, food, fresh air and physical contact. Self-actualization is a subset of actualization tendency.

Front 3

Two self subsystems of self:

Back 3

A) Self- Concept - Is defined as the components and experiences an individual perceives in awareness. Does not include experiences that are inconsistent with our self-concept, as these are either denied or distorted by the individual. Important to note: once formed the self-concept, change is difficult.

B) The Ideal Self - This is defined as the individual’s desired view of self. Who they wish to be. In general, it contains positive attributes that an individual wishes to possess.

A healthy person has little gap between their ideal self and self concept. However, differences between one’s self-concept and Ideal self leads to unhealthy personality and incongruence.

Front 4

Three levels of self:

Back 4

1) Events are ignored or denied. Stimuli on a busy street. Person can’t tune into all so ignores some. Deny ex: Not want kids. Have kids. Unconsciously express anger.

2) Accurately symbolized and freely admitted to the self-structure. Non-threatening experiences. Consistent with self-concept. Ex. pianist receives praise for musical talent... will hear words accurately.

3) Distorted form. Not consistent with view or self-concept. we reshape to match. Ex. criticism on something we think we are good at. Only hear what we want to hear

Front 5

State the basic needs of individuals according to person-centered theory.

Back 5

Maintenance: Similar to the lower steps on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Basic needs; food, air, safety. Includes tendency to resist change or maintain status quo.
People want to protect their current, comfortable self-concept.
Fight against new ideas.
Distort experiences that do not fit.
Find change painful.

Enhancement: Need to become more, develop and to achieve growth.
Seen in people willing to learn things that nit immediately rewarding. Ex. child learning to walk.
Expressed in variety of forms include;
curiosity, playfulness, self-expression, friendship, confidence.
Creative power to problem solve, alternate self-concepts and become self-directed. Know reality better than anyone else. Don’t need to be directed, controlled, exhorted or manipulated.

Front 6

What does it mean to become human?

Back 6

Individual must make contact - positive or negative - with another person. Min. experience to becoming human. To survive infant must have at least some contact with another human. As the child grows, the person has either negative or positive regard for caregiver. Aka. develops need to be loved by another person. Positive regard - if we perceive others prize, care for or value us, then our need to receive positive regard is partially satisfied.

Positive regard - prerequisite for positive self-regard - def the experiencing of prizing or valuing oneself.
Must satisfy love and belonging need before satisfying self-esteem needs.

Front 7

Distinguish among

A) self

B) self-actualization

C) self-concept

D) ideal self

Back 7

A) Personal identity, it is our inner personality, and bears comparison to the soul. The self has two subsystems: self-concept and ideal self.

B) Tendency to actualize the self as perceived in awareness. Aka the organism and perceived self are in harmony. When organisms and perceived self are not in harmony there is a discrepancy in actualization tendency and the self actualization tendency.

C) Is defined as the components and experiences an individual perceives in awareness. Does not include experiences that are inconsistent with our self-concept, as these are either denied or distorted by the individual. Important to note: once formed the self-concept, change is difficult.

D) This is defined as the individual’s desired view of self. Who they wish to be. In general, it contains positive attributes that an individual wishes to possess.

Front 8

List and describe Rogers' necessary and sufficient conditions for psychological growth.

Back 8

Counsellor Congruence: Is when the therapist is congruent within the therapeutic relationship. The therapist is genuine and deeply involved in the relationship. They are not putting on a facade. The counsellor is able to draw on their own experiences to facilitate the client-counsellor relationship.

Unconditional Positive Regard: The therapist accepts the client without judgment. The therapist neither feels disapproval or approval. To care without smothering. Sees the client as a separate person with their own feelings and opinions with what is wrong or right. This in turn will help to improve the self-regard within the client. They can begin to become aware of experiences in which their view of self-worth was distorted and not inline with their organismic experiences.

Empathetic Listening: The therapist is able to accurately express an emotional understanding of the client's feelings, problems and internal frame of reference. Empathy serves as a foundation for the the client to

Front 9

Discuss the concept of the person of tomorrow and its implications for future humanity

Back 9

The .... is realized when all three therapeutic conditions are met (counselor congruence, unconditional positive regard and empathy)

Seven characteristics:

1. person is more adaptable.

2. open to new experiences

3. live fully in the moment.

4. be capable of having harmonious relationships with other people.

5. They are more integrated and whole.

6. Have a basic trust of human nature.

7. Enjoy a greater richness in life.

Front 10

Discuss Rogers' philosophy of science

Back 10

He agreed with Maslow that scientists must care about the phenomena they study and that psychologists should limit their objectivity and precision to their methodology, not to the creation of hypotheses or to the communication of research findings.

Front 11

Discuss the methods, procedures, and results of Rogers' research on the effectiveness of client-centered therapy

Back 11

HYPOTHESIS: During therapy clients would assimilate into their self concepts those feelings and experiences previously denied to awareness.
During and after therapy discrepency between real self and ideal self would diminish and that observed behaviour of clients would become more socialised, more self-accepting and more accepting of others.

METHOD: MEASURING INSTRUMENTS:
Thematic Apperception Test - test hypothesis that called for a standard clinical diagnosis.
The Self-Other Attitude Scale - measures antidemocratic trends and ethnocentrism.
Willoughby Emotional Maturity Scale - compare descriptions of clients’ behavior and emotional maturity as seen by two close friends and clients themselves.
Q sort - measure change from client’s point of view. Cards describe self in temrs of their self, their ideal self and the ordinary person.

PROCEDURE: Two different methods of control. own-control and wait group.

RESULTS: Findings showed that people client-centered therapy

Front 12

Discuss research on Rogers' facilitative conditions in situations outside the therapeutic relationship

Back 12

In the United Kingdom, Duncan Cramer (1989, 1990a, 1990b, 1994) has conducted a series of studies investigating the therapeutic qualities of Rogers’s facilitative conditions in interpersonal relationships outside of therapy. In general, Cramer found positive relationships between self-esteem, as measured by the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and the four facilitative conditions that make up the Barrett-Lennard Relationship Inventory—level of regard, unconditionality of regard, congruence, and empathy. Moreover, the direction of the relationship strongly suggested that Rogers’s facilitative conditions precede the acquisition of higher levels of self-esteem.

Front 13

Critique Rogers' person-centered theory on the six criteria of a useful theory.

Back 13

is one of the most carefully constructed of all personality theories, and it meets quite well each of the six criteria of a useful theory. It rates very high on internal consistency and parsimony, high on its ability to be falsified and to generate research, and high average on its ability to organize knowledge and to serve as a guide to the practitioner.

Front 14

Discuss Rogers' concept of self-actualization

Back 14

Tendency to actualize the self as perceived in awareness. Aka the organism and perceived self are in harmony. When organisms and perceived self are not in harmony there is a discrepancy in actualization tendency and the ....

Front 15

Define conditions of worth.

Back 15

DEF: Restrictions or qualifications attached to one person’s regard for another.

Front 16

Define incongruence and discuss how a person might become incongruent.

Back 16

DEF: The perception of discrepancies between organismic self, self-concept and ideal self.


We don’t accurately symbolize organismic experiences into awareness because they appear to be inconsistent with our emerging self-concept. This is the source of psychological disorders.
Conditions of worth we receive during early childhood lead to false self-concept. In other words, one based on distortions and denials. Incongruence is when one’s perception of self concept is not in harmony with their organismic experiences. Self-concept emerge include vague perceptions between self and experience leads discrepant and inconsistent behavior.