Personality Flashcards

Question

The Self-Concept, Real & Ideal Self

Answer 1

The self-concept is your self image or how you see yourself. The self-concept includes the awareness of being i.e. ‘what I am’, and an awareness of function, i.e. ‘what can I do’. The self-concept is made up of the ‘real self’ and the ‘ideal self’. The real self is the way one describes oneself. The ideal self represents the self-concept that the person would most like to be, what one thinks one should be and would like to be. When the self is initially formed, it is governed by the OVP alone.

Answer 2

There are two key factors in the development of the self concept, i.e. unconditional positive regard and conditional positive regard. Individuals are accepted as people with specific needs which are peculiar to them and which are not measured against the needs of others, nor are others needs forced on them. People need not fulfil the specific requirements to gain the esteem of significant others and are therefore able to acknowledge all their needs and express their feelings. Roger’s, however, described that an environment which facilitates such a process is idealistic. It is rather the task of therapy to continuously provide such acceptance. Roger’s also argued that it is through the unconditional positive regard one receives that a congruence emerges between one’s experiences and self-concept. This is because the self concept is allowed to explore and express as many experiences as possible, which is in keeping with one’s perceptual field so not as to restrict it.

Answer 3

Rogers argues that our self concept emerges relatively most of the time is through positive regard that is conditional. It is more likely that people will sometimes experience non-acceptance by significant others and that he/she will feel worthy only when he/she has fulfilled certain conditions laid down by significant others. It is through rigorous conditional positive regard that one’s self concept in relation to the perceptual field of an idealistic view of one’s self emerges especially as there are constantly conditions on the self that must be met in order to receive love. One’s perceptual field is limited through conditional positive regard and an ideal self is thus sought.

Answer 4

According to Rogers, conditional positive regard exposes what he calls conditions of worth. Rogers argues that these conditions of worth represent values that one has assimilated into one’s self-concept. Such values, however, are based on the values of others that have been incorporated into the self-concept.

Answer 5

Conditions of worth imposed upon the individual produces an incongruent person. How so? Because the individual relies less on their OVP and more on the ideas and expectations of others to define their self concept. Conditions of worth dominate one’s OVP which creates an alienation between one’s self and the extent to which authenticity is retained from one’s perceptual field i.e. experience.

Answer 6

The incongruent person according to Roger’s experiences a sufficient amount of anxiety. This is because one’s perceptual field constantly overwhelms the self concept especially as the introjected conditions of worth place limits on all that is felt. Roger’s argues that one’s perceptual field is not fully experienced and is rather subceived i.e. subception as a means of denying full awareness. So anxiety is experienced from protecting a rigid self-concept that feels threatened by what may completely undermine introjected conditions of worth.

Answer 7

Rogers used the term ‘subception’ rather than perception to denote an experience that is not completely perceived. Subception becomes a way for the incongruent person according to Roger’s to discern acutely an experience before it even enters full experience. In other words, the experience is completely denied from awareness because of one’s ability to subceive. In this way, the point of subception or rather it’s aim is to deny a potentially threatening event before it causes anxiety. Subception, then, can be thought of as defense mechanisms, or rather what Rogers refers to as a process of defense that consists of editing experiences.

Answer 8

Carl Roger’s person-centred therapy places emphasis on the quality of the therapeutic relationship in helping the client to change. Therapy is designed to help the patient tap into or unlock their potential to self-actualise. Thus the aim of person centred therapy is to help clients achieve their highest potential through the support of an emotionally therapeutic relationship. Therapy does not emphasise techniques in facilitating change but rather on the quality of the therapeutic relationship, which will help clients to express their highest form of self. Rogers argues that there are certain core conditions within the therapeutic relationship which are necessary and sufficient for the client to change. These conditions are: 1. Congruence = genuineness of the therapist to be authentic in the way the relate towards the client; 2. Unconditional positive regard; 3. Accurate empathy. Some of the techniques in therapy include: active listening, reflecting, paraphrasing, and providing clarification.

Answer 9

Perhaps the biggest criticism Rogers faced was that his theory did not take into experiences of people that are beyond their consciousness. Rogers fails to adequately account for childhood and past experiences in the development of personality. Rogers theory is an optimistic view of human nature, which maintains that people are in control of their behaviour. His principles and concepts translate easily into counselling and therapy for patients.