Carl Rogers' Theory of Personality

Everybody is unique or special in one form or another and each personality has a theory. For many years psychologists have based theories upon individuals and I the writer will compare and contrast three well known psychologists Sigmund Freud, Alfred Alder, and Carl Jung. Sigmund Freud was one of the greatest psychologists in time he Alder and Jung’s theories were very similar but then again very different. Within these theories we will discuss characteristics with which I agree and disagree with, explore the stages of Freud’s theory explaining characteristics of personality using stage components

From the theories of Sigmund Freud to humanistic theories of personality, how one views others greatly influences how one sees the world and vice versa. Because the theories are so different—some suggesting that human nature is ill, evil, or bad, while others believe it is intrinsically good—it is easy to see why people’s views of others and the world are so different. However, each person has a single theory or belief that influences the way they others. For me, that theory is Carl Rogers’ theory of personality, and this theory greatly impacts how I view others in society and in the workplace, in addition to my own role in society and the

I think my view of human nature is pretty positive, I think with the right upbringing and environment that everyone can be a decent human being. I think in terms of Counseling I fall in line heavily with the Carl Rogers idealist viewpoint, I think it’s safe to say I’m a humanist. I strongly believe that no one is born evil, I think it’s something bred into people. I believe the changes in behavior arise mostly due to; not having a loving parental figure, growing up in a low socioeconomic level in society, and if they suffer from some type of trauma. To me the evidence is when you go into the past of the most depraved individuals in society, usually they have something in their past that changed their behavior.

Before looking at the latter 3 in more detail, it is important to understand Carl Rogers’s view of the person and perhaps what is ultimately bringing the client to therapy. Carl Rogers believed that there is incongruence between the self that is the actualisation part, that has a desire to grow, is open to experiencing in the moment and ultimately psychological well being and the actual experience of the self. He believed this effect was caused

Sigmund Freud and Carl Rogers are two psychologists who developed theories on personalities. Sigmund Freud was known as the “Father of Psychoanalysis” and his well known theory stated that nearly all psychological issues went back to a sexual problem. Carl Rogers was a humanistic psychologist who researched the personality theory in the notion of the self or the self concept.

Carl R. Rogers constructed the person-centered theory by his influences of Elizabeth Davis and Frederick Allen who studied under Jessie Taft as well as Otto Rank and John Dewey (Patterson, 2007; Walsh, 2010). Influenced by Jessie Taft, Rogers adopted an optimistic view of people, individuals are capable of recreating themselves and are not the end products of their past (Patterson, 2007; Walsh, 2010). Otto Rank advocated that treatment of a client be centered around that client and that therapist be more emotionally involved within the process. Third Rogers was influenced by John Dewey who helped him understand and develop his position that self-actualized people live in harmony rather then conflict

As one of the founding fathers of humanism, Carl Rogers was very interested in an approach to psychology that had to do with the thoughts and feelings of clients (notice that the word patient is sparsely used). His feelings on resourceful therapy were always centered around the client and how they wanted the therapy to affect their life. In humanistic psychology, the main focus is allowing the client to decide how the therapy would direct them on their own life. Carl Rogers, as with many other humanistic psychologists, believe in keeping the values and morals of the clients in tact. They do not judge their clients, and they try to stay as positive as possible in their therapy sessions with the clientele.

For instance, Rogers (1965) devoted much of his work and writing to the uniqueness of ordinary people in the psychology of science. As such, he interrogated the place of the individual person in life through a series of thought-provoking psychological dissertations. For instance, he challenged the role of the American Association of Humanistic Psychologists in enhancing an educational atmosphere that would create a philosophy of life that transcends time and one that infuses the true value of living. Likewise, Wertheimer (1938) advanced the principle of the Gestalt Theory, which further interrogates the essence of life and living within the science of psychology. Indeed, both Rogers and Wertheimer seem to concur with the arguments of psychologists such as William James who placed more value and emphasis on the human value. For instance, he called on the need to look more deeply in the human mind and to report what lies in there. Indeed, this is statement concurs with Roger’s and Wertheimer’s convictions that the human mind is a fundamental tool in psychological sciences and which holds the magical key of introspection. Eventually, it emerges that the individual person holds much of the power to affect their life experiences with aspects such as joy, pain, and sorrow and the

Humanistic views are the beliefs that humans are capable of changing their situation and can achieve psychological stability. Some of Carl Rogers contributions to psychology are self-actualizing, developing the notion of the fully functioning person, and person-centered therapy. But, before we get into those theories we have to understand Rogers

It is inevitable that in psychotherapy there are numerous theories. Theories arise out of scholarly investigations of ideas on human behavior. Human behavior is an extraordinarily interesting subject and therefore produces a plethora of ideas from a variety of theorists. These theorists are influenced by their education, culture, and time period. One influential theorist is Carl Rogers. His contributions to human behavior have changed many of the theories that preceded him, and his theory contributed to many theories that followed.

Carl Rogers view the self-concept as a collection of beliefs about one’s nature, unique qualities, and typical behaviour. Rogers believed that people are aware of their self-concepts. Our self-concept is our mental image of our self. It is a collection of our self-perceptions. For example, a self-concept might include such beliefs as the case example suggests, Dan expresses “I’m such a failure!” or “I just can’t cope with this!” Rogers used the term incongruence to introduce the disparity between one’s self-concept and one’s actual experience. On the contrary, congruence is an adequate match between the self-concept and reality. Our self-concept is not completely constant with our actual experiences. Forthrightly, our self-concept may be imprecise. Most people are likely to misinterpret their experience to a certain degree in order to develop a positive self-concept. For example, you believe that you are brave enough to do a skydive but when the actual time arrives you intend to surrender. Rodgers advocated that a great deal of incongruence can weaken an individual’s psychological well-being. On the other hand, if a person’s self-concept is fairly

Carl Rogers originated client-centred therapy, which is based on the belief that individuals, rather then environment or subconscious drives, can control their choices and values and fulfil their own unique potential. Rogers' theory stresses that it is the individual's own comprehension of his or her experiences that is important, rather then the therapist's professional interpretation (Rogers, 1951). Kelly founded what is known as the personal construct system. He suggested that our personal constructs reflect our constant efforts to make sense of our world, just as scientists make sense of their subject-matter; we observe, we draw conclusions about patterns of cause and effect, and we behave according to those conclusions (Kelly, 1963). Both theories emerged at a time when psychotherapy was the most commonly practiced therapy technique.

Moving to Wisconsin was in many ways a disaster. Rogers’ vision of psychology and psychiatry holding hands was never fulfilled and he was quickly at odds with several of his new colleagues, especially in the Psychology Department. So great were the conflicts that in the end Rogers resigned from the department, although he continued to work with the Psychiatric Institute. The powerful desire to be more influential which took Rogers back to University of Wisconsin was in no way fulfilled by the work he did there. Yet it was his fifth book, On Becoming a Person, published in 1961 that, almost overnight, he became more famous and influential than he had ever hoped for. The book broke free from the professional world of psychology and showed that client-centered principles could be applied in almost every facet of day-to-day living. He went to Wisconsin to make an impact and failed, but then he wrote a book and discovered that he was suddenly influential beyond his wildest dreams. In 1963 he resigned from the University of Wisconsin. The extraordinary success of On Becoming a Person gave him the confidence to set out on a riskier path. When Richard Farson, one of his former students, invited him in the summer of 1963 to join him and others at the recently created Western Behavioral Sciences Institute Rogers initially hesitated. Rogers later accepted the offer and set out for La Jolla in California to join WBSI, a non-profit-making organization concerned chiefly with humanistic

Why is it that man lives up to a certain point not knowing what the meaning of life is. Not knowing what path to follow, not knowing if the energy and courage to discover the truths of ones own existence in this world exist. Some persons will drive past a street child on Cape Town roads and look sideways in horror, quickly lock a car door with an "unapparent" elbow; warm, safe, and comfortable in the interior of a brand new sports model car. Others will look away and ignore the feelings of pity, or even perhaps swear or curse this annoyance. But why is it that some will open the window, offer a smile, and return home to sit quietly and try to find a means to correct this sadness. Be it