Humanistic

Approach/Theory of
Personality
THE HUMANISTIC THEORIES ARE MAINLY DEVELOPED IN
RESPONSE TO FREUD’S THEORY. CARL ROGERS AND
ABRAHAM MASLOW HAVE PARTICULARLY CONTRIBUTED TO
THE DEVELOPMENT OF HUMANISTIC PERSPECTIVE ON
PERSONALITY.
Carl Ransom Rogers (January 8, 1902 –
February 4, 1987) was an American
psychologist and among the founders of the
humanistic approach (or client-centered
approach) to psychology. Rogers is widely
considered to be one of the founding fathers
of psychotherapy research and was honored
for his pioneering research with the Award for
Distinguished Scientific Contributions by the
American Psychological Association (APA) in
The person-centered approach, his
own unique approach to
understanding personality and human
relationships, found wide application
in various domains such as
psychotherapy and counselling (
client- centered therapy), education (
student- centered learning),
organizations, and other group
settings. For his professional work he
Psychoanalysts believed that your
behaviour was determined by the
events of your childhood. Behaviorists
believed that your actions were
determined by everything that has
occurred in your past. Rogers believed
that clients are free to choose the
behaviours and actions that they
commit. Free choice was a new concept
to the field of psychology, and in
Many people credit Rogers with being one of the
most influential psychologists of the 20th century.
Those who adhere to his theories and
philosophies proudly call themselves Rogerians.
Among Rogers' contributions to the psychology
field are his client- centered theories, his theory
of self-actualization and his theories of self. He is
credited with the adoption of the words
'congruence' and 'incongruence,' in regards to
human behaviour. He is also acknowledged as the
first person to refer to the people he sees as
The most important idea proposed
by Rogers is that of a fully
functioning person. He believes that
fulfilment is the motivating force for
personality development. People try
to express their capabilities,
potentials and talents to the fullest
extent possible. There is an inborn
tendency among persons that
 Rogers makes two basic
assumptions about human
behaviour.
ONE IS THAT BEHAVIOUR IS GOAL-
DIRECTED AND WORTHWHILE. THE SECOND
IS THAT PEOPLE (WHO ARE INNATELY
GOOD) WILL ALMOST ALWAYS CHOOSE
ADAPTIVE, SELF-ACTUALISING BEHAVIOUR.
Rogers’ theory grew out of
his experiences of listening to patients in
his clinic. He noted that self was an
important element in the experience
of his clients. Thus, his theory is
structured around the concept of
self. The theory assumes that
people are constantly engaged in
the process of actualising their true
Rogers suggests that each person also has a
concept of ideal self.
An ideal self is the self that a person would
like to be. When there is a correspondence
between the real self and ideal self, a
person is generally happy.
Discrepancy between the real self and ideal
self often results in unhappiness and
dissatisfaction.
Rogers’ basic principle is that people have a
tendency to maximise self-concept through
self-actualisation. In this process, the self
Explain the personality theory put forward by Carl
Rogers

As a humanistic theorist Carl Rogers focused on the self rather than

on behavior or physical constitution. He proposed that human being
have many positive characteristics and have a strong natural instinct
and tendency to bloom into fully functioning persons. One central
assumption of Roger’s theory is that, left on their own individuals
show many positive characters and continuous strive to become fully
functioning person’s i.e., psychologically healthy person who live life
to the fullest.
Adjusted Individual Poorly-adjusted individual.
An individual based on all the information and
beliefs he has about his own characteristics
develops idea about himself called self concept.
However, when this self concept does not match
with the reality or our perception of the
environment reaction to self, an anxiety is
generated in the individual which makes the person
unhappy and maladjusted.
Thus, according to Rogers, lesser the gap
between the self concept and real self
[congruence]. Happier and more adjusted a
person will be and vice-versa. According to
Rogers, to cope with the anxiety of in
congruence between self concept and real
self-experience, an individual often charges
the perception of reality to make consistent
with his or herself concept.
According to Carl Rogers, a fully functioning
person is one who is in touch with their
deepest and innermost feelings and
desires. 1 These individuals understand
their own emotions and place deep trust in
their own instincts and urge.
Rogers views personality development as a
continuous process. It involves learning to
evaluate oneself and mastering the process of
self- actualisation.
He recognises the role of social influences in the
development of self-concept.
When social conditions are positive, the self-
concept and self-esteem are high.
In contrast, when the conditions are negative, the self-
concept and self- esteem are low. People with high
self- concept and self-esteem are generally
flexible and open to new experiences, so that
Fully functioning person
Optimal development, as referred to in proposition 14, results in a
certain process rather than static state. He describes this as the
good life, where the organism continually aims to fulfill its full
potential. He listed the characteristics of a fully functioning person
(Rogers 1961):

1.A growing openness to experience – they move away from

defensiveness and have no need for subjection (a perceptual defence
that involves unconsciously applying strategies to prevent a troubling
stimulus from entering consciousness).

[Link] increasingly existential lifestyle – living each moment fully – not

distorting the moment to fit personality or self-concept but allowing
personality and self-concept to emanate from the experience. This results
in excitement, daring, adaptability, tolerance, spontaneity, and a lack of
rigidity and suggests a foundation of trust. "To open one's spirit to what is
[Link] organismic trust – they trust their own judgment and
their ability to choose behaviour that is appropriate for each
moment. They do not rely on existing codes and social norms but
trust that as they are open to experiences, they will be able to
trust their own sense of right and wrong.

[Link] of choice – not being shackled(bound) by the

restrictions that influence an incongruent individual, they are
able to make a wider range of choices more fluently. They believe
that they play a role in determining their own behavior and so
feel responsible for their own behaviour.

[Link] – it follows that they will feel more free to be creative.

They will also be more creative in the way they adapt to their
own circumstances without feeling a need to conform.
[Link] and constructiveness – they can be trusted to act
constructively. An individual who is open to all their needs will be able to
maintain a balance between them. Even aggressive needs will be
matched and balanced by intrinsic goodness in congruent individuals.

7.A rich full life – he describes the life of the fully functioning individual
as rich, full and exciting and suggests that they experience joy and pain,
love and heartbreak, fear and courage more intensely. Rogers'
description of the good life:

This process of the good life is not, I am convinced, a life for the faint-
hearted. It involves the stretching and growing of becoming more and
more of one's potentialities. It involves the courage to be. It means
launching oneself fully into the stream of life. (Rogers 1961)
Incongruence
Rogers identified the "real self" as the aspect of one's being that
is founded in the actualizing tendency, follows organismic
valuing, needs and receives positive regard and self-regard. It is
the "you" that, if all goes well, you will become. On the other
hand, to the extent that our society is out of sync with the
actualizing tendency, and we are forced to live with conditions of
worth that are out of step with organismic valuing, and receive
only conditional positive regard and self-regard, we develop
instead an "ideal self". By ideal, Rogers is suggesting something
not real, something that is always out of our reach, the standard
we cannot meet. This gap between the real self and the
Assignment

Name the Psychologists who proposed Humanistic Approach

List the contribution of Rogers

List the principles of fully functioning person

Explain the personality theory put forward by Carl Rogers (slide 11to13)

Explain congruence and incongruence with example.

What is fully functioning mean?