Problem 3: Rogers and Bandura Flashcards
what approaches does rogers follow
Phenomenology: the study of human experience; an approach to personality theory that focuses on how the person perceives and experiences the self and the world.
Humanistic perspective: move away from instincts and learning processes that humans seem to have in common with animals focus on psychological growth, free will and personal awareness. Behaviors are explained by our desire to grow and improve:
What are the 3 aspects of rogers view of the person?
- subjectivity of experience / subjective construction (how a person sees the world)
- feelings of authenticity
- positivity of human motivation
What does Rogers say about the first aspect: subjectivity of experience?
“I do not react to some absolute reality, but to my perception of this reality”
The “reality” we observe is really a “private world of experience: the phenomenal field”
the phenomenal field: the space of perceptions that makes up our experience – a subjective construction
The individual constructs this inner world of experience, and the construction reflects not only the outer world of reality but also the inner world of personal needs, goals, and beliefs. → Inner psychological needs shape the subjective experiences that we interpret as objectively real.
ex: someone detects a disappointed look from a dating partner
reality experienced: emotion: disappointment
inner need: to be attractive to dating partner → contributes to perceiving partners look as a disappointment
“the individual perceives his experience as reality. his experience is his reality” – Rogers
Yet our seeing is not an objective recording of the world of reality but a subjective construction that reflects our personal needs.
What does Rogers say about the second aspect: feelings of authenticity?
people are prone to a distinctive form of psychological distress → feeling of alienation or detachment: that one’s experiences and daily activities do not stem from one’s authentic self.
because we need the approval of others we tell ourselves that their desires and values are our own. → when this happens the individual thinks but does not feel an attachment to his or her own values
ex: The adult tries to convince herself that it is good to settle down into a traditional career and family lifestyle, as valued relatives instruct, even though she prefers a life of independence.
individuals who openly experience the full range of their emotions, who are “accepting and assimilating [of] all the sensory evidence experienced by the organism” are psychologically well adjusted.
What does Rogers say about the third aspect: the positivity of human motivation?
Rogers’s clinical experiences showed him that the core of our nature is essentially positive. Our most fundamental motivation is toward positive growth.
he recognised that people can and often act in evil and destructive ways (Freud), but his basic contention was that when we are functioning freely we are able to move towards our potential as positive and mature human beings.
“I do not have a Pollyanna view of human nature . . . individuals can and do behave in ways which are incredibly . . . [yet I] work with such individuals . . . to discover the strongly positive directional tendencies which exist in them.”
what is the structure of Rogers’s theory of personality?
The self:
one of the things that fill our conscious experience is our experience of ourselves, or of “a self.”
the individual perceives external objects and experiences and attaches meanings to them. – the total system of perceptions and meanings make up the individual’s phenomenal field.
the self is a subset of the phenomenological field that is recognised by individuals as “me” or “I” – it represents an organized and consistent pattern of perceptions.
Although the self changes, it always retains this patterned, integrated, organized quality. Because the organized quality endures over time and characterizes the individual, the self is a personality structure.
The self does not independently control behaviour, rather, the self is an organized set of perceptions possessed by the individual, who is ultimately responsible for his or her actions. (it is not a “little person inside of us”)
self-concept is primarily conscious.
2 aspects of the self (2 views of ourselves):
1. actual self: themselves in the present (who you really are right now)
2. ideal self: their potential selves in the future.
how can we measure the self-concept? (2 ways)
- Q sort technique
- semantic differential
what is the procedure of the Q sort technique?
Procedure:
- the psychologist gives the test-taker a set of cards, each of which contains a statement describing a personality characteristic:
“makes friends easily”, “has trouble expressing anger”, … - test-takers sort these cards according to the degree to which each statement is seen as descriptive of themselves.
on a scale labelled Most characteristic of me on one end and Least characteristic of me on the other. - people are asked to sort the cards according to a forced distribution, with most of the cards going in the middle and relatively few being sorted at either extreme end → this ensures that the individual carefully considers the content of each personality attribute in comparison to the others.
What is the procedure of the semantic differential?
the individual rates a concept on a number of seven-point scales defined by polar adjectives such as good–bad, strong–weak, or active–passive.
ex: consider rating the concepts “My Self” and “My College” on scales such as liberal-conservative, scholarly–fun loving, and formal–informal. To what extent do you see yourself and your college as similar? How does this relate to your satisfaction as a student at this college? Research indicates that students who view themselves as dissimilar from their college environment are more likely to become dissatisfied with college life and to drop out (Pervin, 1967a, 1967b).
A classic illustration of how the semantic differential can be employed involves a case of multiple personality. describe this study:
This was the case of a woman who possessed three personalities, each of which predominated for a period of time, with frequent shifts back and forth.
The three personalities were called
Eve White
Eve Black
Jane.
Procedure:
As part of a research endeavor, the psychiatrists were able to have each of the three personalities rate a variety of concepts on the semantic differential. The ratings were then analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively by two psychologists (C. Osgood and Z. Luria) who did not know the subject.
Results:
Their analysis included both descriptive comments and interpretations of the personalities that went beyond the objective data.
ex:
- Eve White was described as being in contact with social reality but under great emotional stress,
- Eve Black was described as out of contact with social reality but quite self-assured
- and Jane was described as superficially very healthy but quite restricted and undiversified.
What is the personality process of Rogers’s model?
Rogers did not think that behavior was primarily determined by animalistic drive states, as did Freud. instead, the most fundamental personality process is a forward-looking tendency toward personality growth. a tendency toward self-actualization.
Rogers proposed that people are motivated toward self-actualization – a motive toward personal growth, independence and freedom of expression
What does self-actualization involve? what are characteristics of self-actualisers?
Characteristics of self-actualisers
- Feeling of development
- Opening to new experiences
what is self consistency? (provide example)
your traits are consistent with one another (if you are honet you are also trustworthy and loyal)
the organism does not seek to gain pleasure and to avoid pain but, instead, seeks to maintain its own self-structure.
The individual develops a value system, the center of which is the individual’s valuation of the self. Individuals organize their values and functions to preserve the self-system. Individuals behave in ways that are consistent with their self-concept, even if this behavior is otherwise unrewarding to them.
Ex: If you, for example, see yourself as a poor speller, you may try to behave in a manner consistent with this self-perception.
What is congruence? (provide example)
ex: if you are honest you dont lie
agreement between the self-image and experience, if no agreement than incongruity happens
Rogers emphasized the importance to personality functioning of congruence between the self and experience, that is, between what people feel and how they view themselves.
Ex: if you view yourself as a kind person who expresses empathy toward others but have an experience in which you think you were cold and unempathic, you confront an incongruence between your sense of self and your experience. If you think of yourself as a quiet person but suddenly find yourself acting in a highly outgoing manner (e.g., at a party), you may experience a distressing sense of having acted in a way that is “not me”.
well-adjusted personality → individual holding similar views of the ideal self, actual self and true self
what is the difference between self-consistency and congruence?
self consistency: more internal, you are honest you consider yourself reliable, trustworthy
congruence: more external if you consider yourself honest and then you lie you experience incongruence
what is a state of incongruence?
maladjusted personality –> disharmony between ideal self, actual self and true self (someone who thinks he never hates, but suddenly hates someone).
What happens when people experience an incongruence between self and experience that suggests a basic inconsistency in the self?
Rogers posits that
anxiety is the result of a discrepancy between experience and the perception of the self.
Once this happens, the person will be motivated to defend the self; he or she will engage in defensive processes.
How do Rogers’s defensive processes relate to Freud’s?
In this regard, Rogers’s work is similar to Freud’s. To Rogers, however, defensive processes are not centered on a defense against recognition of basic biological impulses in the id. They involve defense against a loss of a consistent, integrated sense of self.
