Carl Rogers

Question 1

What school of thought would Rogers place himself in?

Answer 1

• the humanistic-phenomenological school

Question 2

What are the three central assumptions upon which Roger’s theories are based?

Answer 2

1. Constructive potential
2. Indi is goal-directed
3. Indis are capable of changing

Question 3

What is the role of the person and the environment in the actualisation process?

Answer 3

• indi person is the central figure, environment plays a facilitating or inhabiting role

Question 4

In what atmosphere does an indi reach SA?

Answer 4

• an unconditionally accepting one where they are free to develop without external restrictions

Question 5

What are 4 key characteristics of people according to Rogers?

Answer 5

• positive
• forward-moving
• constructive
• realistic
• trustworthy

Question 6

Where does Rogers see behaviour as coming from?

Answer 6

• ones own choices, within one’s control, not determined by biology or environment

Question 7

What, in Rogers’ view plays a key role in impacting an indi’s behaviour other than the environment and the individual?

Answer 7

• their subjective experiences or the world and their SELF-CONCEPT (view of themselves)

Question 8

Explain the path from the environment to the individual’s actions

Answer 8

• Environment lays down certain conditions for accepting the indi, this influences their self-concept and then they act, not in accordance with their potential, but in accordance with the conditions set by significant others

*there is thus some degree of environmental determinism in Rogers’ theories, but he emphasized ones “freedom to change” and realize potential under pre-req of UPR

Question 9

Name and outline the three structural parts of the personality according to Rogers

Answer 9

1. The organism
   - total individual in all physical and psychological functions, the being that interacts with the world
2. The phenomenal field
   - totality of person’s perceptions and experiences, including external and internal experiences
3. The self-concept
   - the part of the PF that concerns the person, self-understanding and value

Question 10

Outline the concept of the ideal self

Answer 10

the self-concept that an indi would most like to have

Healthy: not far removed from reality and a helpful guideline for growth

Unhealthy: no correspondence between ideal self and self-concept, IS is extreme forms of ideal sets by others.

• successful therapy allows SC and IS to draw closer together

Question 11

When looking at Rogers’ understanding of the dynamics of personality, which 5 concepts are key to consider?

Answer 11

1. The actualising tendency
2. The need for positive regard (self and other)
3. Congruence and incongruence
4. Role of self-concept in perception
5. Role of self-concept in behaviour

Question 12

Outline the actualising tendency (3 points)

Answer 12

• purpose of all life is to become that self which one truly is
• all orgs strive for utmost development of potential
• “self-actualisation” a subsidiary of general actualisation - it is the maintenance/advancement of the self-concept

Question 13

What are the 3 needs that underscore and direct behaviour?

Answer 13

1. Need for actualisation
2. Need for PR from others
3. Need for P S-R

Question 14

Outline the need for positive regard and positive self-regard

Answer 14

Need for PR:
- basic need for approval, admiration, respect etc
- indi sometimes adopts the wishes and value of others to receive this

Need for P-SR:
- need esteem from others in order to esteem and feel positive about themselves

Question 15

When does the need for PR hinder the actualisation process?

Answer 15

When the quest for appreciation of others is in conflict with the actualisation of the organism’s potential (e.g., change career to impress others)

Question 16

Outline Congruence and Incongruence

Answer 16

• Ideally, there is no difference between peoples experiential world and their view of themselves (Congruence)
• When the SC matches with reality, all experiences are allows into symbolization in the SC
• This allows them to behave in line with their needs and their path to actualisation (the boy becomes a ballet dancer because he knows its his dream and he’s accepted that he will not be what his parents want him to be)

Incongruence
- when a person has an experience (desire to be a ballet dancer) that is at odds with their SC, and they cannot incorporate it into their SC
- they then deny or distort this experiences to make them fit the SC

Question 17

Outline the role of the self-concept in experince

Answer 17

People deal with experiences in 3 ways:
1. Ignore them
2. Symbolise them (allow them into consciousness)
3. Refuse to symbolise them (prevent them from reaching consciousness)

• Individual’s specific needs and self-concept determine which of these three possibilities is most appropriate. Those experiences which are incongruent with the self-concept are a threat to the SC, and so are suppressed, denied or distorted (on C or UC level)
• Rogers proposed a form of perception called “subception” which determine if an experience is a threat to the SC prior to it being allows into the consciousness

Question 18

Outline the role of the S-C in determining behaviour

Answer 18

• while the basic motive for behaviour is the actualising potential, most of what a person does corresponds with the S-C
• S-C this NB in determining behaviour, problems arise when the individual’s needs to not accord with the S-C
• Individuals may act in distorted ways to as to try appease the needs of the organism while staying in-line with the S-C (upset stomach to miss rugby game e.g.)
• sometimes, denied needs strong enough to break through S-C barrier and make the individual act in unexpected ways (scream “I hate you” at one’s kids)
• indis function ideally when S-Cs are congruent with their needs, feelings and actualisation paths.

Question 19

Congruent people…..

Answer 19

see themselves as they really are, and have a SC that corresponds with their actual potential

Question 20

Our experiential world include….

Answer 20

both admissible and inadmissible experiences

(allowed and not allowed into consciousness)

Question 21

What is a “condition of worth”

Answer 21

The incorporation of others’ view into one’s one value system in an effort to win approval and positive regard

*boy who loved ballet but was shamed for it grows up with disdain for male ballet dancers

Question 22

Health, according to Rogers is….

Answer 22

congruence between 3 process
i) organismic experiences
ii) the symbolization of that experience
iii) the communication/expression of experience

Therefore, some have suggest that two types of incongruence exist
- personal incongruence (between i and ii)
- social incongruence (between i and ii; and iii)

Question 23

What is key to Rogers’ understanding of how the personality develops? Explain

Answer 23

• most NB are of human functioning is interaction between person’s experience and the SC, and the role of the SC is determining behaviour
• therefore main issue in personality dev is the formation of the SC (gradually as a result of interactions with environment and as a consequence of the evaluation of others)

Question 24

Outline the development of the self-concept, which is integral to the development of the personality

Answer 24

• indi’s attach meaning to experiences that involve them, and these are incorporated in one’s self concept (eg I’m good at athletics because I win races in school)
• meanings and values NOT experiences by a child can also influence ones SC, though
• significant others (those who provide PR) play a vital role in the dev of ones SC, and this ones action and ability to be congruent/actualise
• both UPR and CPR play vital roles here

Question 25

Outline the role or UPR in the formation of the SC

Answer 25

UPR: - accepted by SOs for just what they are - able to acknowledge all needs and express all feelings - SCs can include all experiences, and congruence is present - keep with organismic potential - UPR therefore leads to Ac of Pot - indi's subjective exp is the only reality (child needs to FEEL accepted, even though the parents think they are being accepting) * on must accept the individual, and affirm they right to feel whatever feelings they have, but can not accept their behaviour - but make this clear to them

Question 26

Outline the role of CPR in the formation of the SC

Answer 26

- most people receive some non-acceptance and a lot of CPR - acceptance only when meeting certain laid down conditions (conditions of worth) - individuals grow to incorporate these conditions into into SC - the most CPR one receives, the more external conditions of worth one takes on, and the more incongruent one becomes - can only be conscious of part of their experiences, and have less ability to actualise potential/function fully

Question 27

How can I learn to offer truly UPR to the significant others in my life?

Answer 27

How much more would I focus on this if I realised its influence on their congruence and ability to function fully? How can I be better at separating my disapproval of an action from the person themselves? And communicating this?

Question 28

What underpins the individual who is optimally developed?

Answer 28

- an S-C that allows all of the indi's experiences to be symbolized and incorporated into the S-C - the wider the spectrum of experience available to people and the more integrated these experiences are in the SC, the better they will know themselves, use their abilities and realise their potential - a "good life" is not static bliss, but a process, a direction toward fulfilled potential

Question 29

What are the 7 characteristics of fully functioning people?

Answer 29

1. A growing openness to experience - both internal and external (a movement away from defences/subception, open to all they experience) 2. An increasingly existential lifestyle (tendancy to live each moment fully - adaptability, daring, spontaneity, no rigidity) 3. Increasing organismic trust (to chose behaviour appropriate to situation - not depending on codes and rules) 4. Freedom of choice (openness to full experiential field allows them to freely chose paths with undistorted information and knowledge of self) 5. Creativity (open to all experiences, adapt to change in creative way, constructively adapt to society without conforming) 6. Basic reliability and constructiveness (can be trusted to act rationally and positively, not to be surprised by unconscious needs and drives they don't understand) 7. A rich, full life (experience joy, pain, love, heartbreak, fear and courage intensely). Life is enriching, rewarding, challenging and meaningful. "It involves the courage to be. It means launching oneself fully into the stream of life"

Question 30

The SC can be described as the...

Answer 30

"symbolised version of the organism's experiential field"

Question 31

What are Rogers' views on psychopathology?

Answer 31

- an incongruent person who is always defensive cannot be open to all experiences of function ideally - they may MALFUNCTION - when SC is very out of touch with the self, most of the experiential world is denied; creating tension - incongruence is detected at an UC level by subception, threating the SC and creating anxiety - this anxiety is the trigger for defensive behaviour

Question 32

Outline Rogers' view of defence mechanisms and contrast it to Freuds view.

Answer 32

- Freud saw the E using DMs to satisfy the id drives in ways the comply with the demands of society and reality - Freud sees DMs as necessary to ensure the survival of the individual - Freud describes a host of DMs -Rogers sees DM as methods to preserve the Self-concept and protect it against incongruent experiences - Ideally, no DMs are used and indi are open to all experiences - Rogers refers only to distortion and denial

Question 33

Outline Rogers' understanding of "malfunctioning"

Answer 33

- a person who is defensive tends to become more so, as maintenance of one system of denial "I am a good mother and my psychologists opinion is wrong" demands the creation of a greater system of denial "the second psychologist says the same thing, therefore all psychologists are wrong and unhelpful" - growing system of misconceptions increase occurrence of threatening experiences - the more incongruent a person is the more threatened they are by experiences the more rigid their organisation of self-structure - most people have the DMs to manage moderate incongruency/anxiety - when incongruencies become bigger, behaviour is restricted and discomforting => neurotic - should the incongruency become to big for any DMs, they become defencelss, reality rushes in and forces itself upon the self-concept - results in personality disorganisation usually describes as psychotic

Question 34

Outline Rogers' therapeutic method?

Answer 34

- aim it to bring SC closer to organismic field, and to reveal their potential - emphasis in on the quality of the relationship between the client and therapist - reflection of feeling is an empathic inquiry to clarify the therapists understanding of the client's world - therapist as a gardener, to produce right climate for growth with three key elements: 1. sincerity/congruence of the the therapist 2. unconditional acceptance/caring 3. empathy - therapist must enter the clients frame of reference - Rogers' later emphasized the importance of the spiritual dimension, the healing energy the existed when he and his client were most in touch with their unknown selves

Question 35

What is Rogers' view of the deal education system?

Answer 35

- teacher is not a conveyor belt of knowledge, but a facilitator in the students quest for meaningful learning and growth. - students more or less decide their own syllabus from an array of available resources - teacher is sensitive, sympathetic and accepting of students and their journey - students evaluate own progress, decide to advance or not

Question 36

How does Rogers understand aggression?

Answer 36

- violence and aggression certainly exist, but are not inherent in human nature - nurturing environments create individuals who can be trusted to make constructive choices - cultural influences are responsible for destructive behaviour (bad parenting, constricting education system, unjust distribution of wealth, prejudices etc)