Personality Theories: Humanistic Approach

Carl Rogers' Self-Actualization Theory

• Rogers' self-actualization theory emphasizes the individual's subjective experience.
• The core idea is that acceptance of oneself, as one is, allows for personal change.
• This idea is presented as a "curious paradox": accepting oneself as one is can lead to change.

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Chapter Outline

• The chapter will examine the life of Carl Rogers.
• The self-actualization tendency and the individual's experience will be analyzed.
• The chapter will explore childhood development's effect on self-concept.
• The ideal characteristics of fully functioning persons will be described.
• The questions relating to human nature will be examined.
• Theory assessments through various strategies will be discussed.
• Research studies on Rogers' theory will be explored in detail.
• Reflections on Rogers' theory will provide a summary.

Theoretical Perspectives

• Psychoanalytic theories, like those of Freud.
• Neo-psychoanalytic theories, which expanded upon the earlier psychoanalytic theories, like those proposed by Horney and Adler.
• Behavioral theories, like Skinner's work.
• Cognitive theories such as Beck's work.
• Rogers' Humanistic approach.

Rogers' Theory of Personality

• People are wonderful just as they are; letting them be is crucial, as is watching them develop.
• Rogers' theory emphasizes the importance of self-perception and how individuals experience their environment.

Life of Rogers

• Rogers was born in 1902 and died in 1987.
• He was raised in a strict, religious household in a rural area.
• He was interested in science from a young age.
• Rogers pursued a religious vocation early on, switching to child study, focusing on underprivileged children.
• He advocated for bringing clinical psychology into mainstream practice.
• Rogers had a distinguished career.

Perceptions

• The reality of the environment depends on the individual's perception of it.
• This is highlighted with optical illusions.

Experiential World

• The experiential world is the subjective experience, as opposed to an objective reality, and is the basis for our judgments and behaviors.
• Less important experiences are filtered out, while important experiences are absorbed.
• Experiences are the foundation of individual judgments & behaviors.

The Self & Tendency Toward Actualization

• Actualization tendency is a basic drive toward self-maintenance and development.
• The process often involves difficult growth.
• Organismic valuing process is judging based on the value of actualization and growth.

Self-Actualization

• Self-actualization relies on congruence.
• Congruence means alignment between self-image and ideal self.
• Greater overlap means a tendency towards self-actualization.

Developing a Sense of Self

• Methods will be described for developing a sense of self.
• Adjectives will be presented for students to select 5 adjectives to describe themselves.
• Q-sort technique will be used to determine self-concept and congruence (which is the similarity between self-image and ideal self

Q-sort Technique

• Q-sort technique (parts A & B) involves sorting adjectives describing aspects of personality.
• The technique is used for self-assessment of personality traits.

Self Image & Ideal Self (scores)

• The results of the Q-sort exercise are presented and used to calculate matching scores or congruent scores, the closer to 30, the greater the congruence.
• Scores indicate the alignment or discrepancy between self-image and ideal self

Positive regard and self-regard

• Positive regard is acceptance and approval from others, a developmental need.
• Unconditional positive regard means accepting individuals regardless of behavior for optimal self-development.
• Conditional positive regard is conditional acceptance and is dependent on desirable behavior.

Fully Functioning Person

• Self-actualization is a critical component of being a fully functioning person.
• Development of all aspects of self is optimal psychological development.
• Characteristics include awareness, living fully, trust, choice, creativity, and the ability to deal with difficulties.

Questions About Human Nature

• Free will vs. determinism; which is the decision-making capability and behavior predestination, respectively.
• Nature vs. nurture; contrasting inherited and environmental influences.
• Past vs. present; comparing past experiences with present realities.
• Uniqueness vs. universality; balancing unique experiences alongside commonalities.
• Equilibrium vs. growth; weighing the desire for stability against personal growth.
• Optimism vs. pessimism; comparing differing perspectives on the future.

Assessment

• Methods for assessing self-concept and experience include person-centered therapy and encounter groups.
• Others will have developed other testing approaches.
• Clients will be asked for their subjective experiences.

Research

• Research techniques will be detailed, including client self-reporting
• Openness to experience, acceptance, and emotional adjustment are researched.
• Therapy sessions may also be filmed and reviewed for research analysis, such as film studies of the therapy process.
• The Q-sort technique was used to evaluate self-concept.

Reflections

• Significant contributions of Rogers's theory include the popularity of person-centered therapy and its wide use.
• Critics state that his theory lacks details on the mechanisms of the theory and is focused on the individual self-perception. This is seen as ignoring things outside of the person's perspective in this approach.

Test your knowledge on the Humanistic approach to psychology, focusing specifically on Carl Rogers's theories and concepts. Explore the traits of fully functioning persons, the influence of conscious and unconscious processes, and the contrasts with other theoretical perspectives. This quiz will challenge your understanding of key principles in personality development.