The closer our self-image and ideal-self are to each other, the more consistent or congruent we are and the higher our sense of self-worth. Carl Rogers believed that for a person to achieve self-actualization they must be in a state of congruence.Īccording to Rogers, we want to feel, experience and behave in ways which are consistent with our self-image and which reflect what we would like to be like, our ideal-self. The development of congruence is dependent on unconditional positive regard. Rarely, if ever, does a total state of congruence exist all people experience a certain amount of incongruence. Where a person’s ideal self and actual experience are consistent or very similar, a state of congruence exists. Hence, a difference may exist between a person’s ideal self and actual experience. Hence the child is not loved for the person he or she is, but on condition that he or she behaves only in ways approved by the parent(s).Īt the extreme, a person who constantly seeks approval from other people is likely only to have experienced conditional positive regard as a child.Ī person’s ideal self may not be consistent with what actually happens in life and experiences of the person. Rogers made a distinction between unconditional positive regard and conditional positive regard.Ĭonditional positive regard is where positive regard, praise, and approval, depend upon the child, for example, behaving in ways that the parents think correct. Positive regard is to do with how other people evaluate and judge us in social interaction.
Rogers believed that we need to be regarded positively by others we need to feel valued, respected, treated with affection and loved. As a child grows older, interactions with significant others will affect feelings of self-worth. Rogers believed feelings of self-worth developed in early childhood and were formed from the interaction of the child with the mother and father. For Carl Rogers (1959) a person who has high self-worth, that is, has confidence and positive feelings about him or herself, faces challenges in life, accepts failure and unhappiness at times, and is open with people.Ī person with low self-worth may avoid challenges in life, not accept that life can be painful and unhappy at times, and will be defensive and guarded with other people. Self-worth may be seen as a continuum from very high to very low. How we think about ourselves, our feelings of self-worth are of fundamental importance both to psychological health and to the likelihood that we can achieve goals and ambitions in life and achieve self-actualization. The ideal self in childhood is not the ideal self in our teens or late twenties etc.Ĭarl Rogers (1951) viewed the child as having two basic needs: positive regard from other people and self-worth. It consists of our goals and ambitions in life, and is dynamic – i.e., forever changing. This is the person who we would like to be. The self-concept includes three components: The humanistic approach states that the self is composed of concepts unique to ourselves. The closer our self-image and ideal-self are to each other, the more consistent or congruent we are and the higher our sense of self-worth.Ī person is said to be in a state of incongruence if some of the totality of their experience is unacceptable to them and is denied or distorted in the self-image. Two primary sources that influence our self-concept are childhood experiences and evaluation by others.Īccording to Rogers (1959), we want to feel, experience and behave in ways which are consistent with our self-image and which reflect what we would like to be like, our ideal-self. The self is influenced by the experiences a person has in their life, and out interpretations of those experiences. The self is our inner personality, and can be likened to the soul, or Freud's psyche. The self is the humanistic term for who we really are as a person. This is defined as "the organized, consistent set of perceptions and beliefs about oneself." Personality DevelopmentĬentral to Rogers' personality theory is the notion of self or self-concept.
#Simply being human free
Humanistic psychology begins with the existential assumptions that people have free will and are motivated to acheive their potential and self-actualize. Humanistic psychology is a perspective that emphasizes looking at the the whole person, and the uniqueness of each individual.
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