PSY405 Notes Lecture 22

Q1. What is Rogers’ Person-Centered Approach?

Also called Client-Centered Therapy. It’s part of humanistic psychology, which focuses on positive human potential, personal growth, and free choice, rather than just problems or disorders. Think of it like this: Rogers wanted therapy to be about helping people become the best version of themselves, rather than just “fixing” them.

2. Phenomenological Theory of Personality

Phenomenology means studying people’s subjective experience, i.e., how they see, feel, and interpret the world. Key idea: To understand someone’s behavior, you must understand their personal point of view, or “internal frame of reference.”

Example:

If you want to understand why a student from Pakistan behaves a certain way, you need to step into their shoes and see the world as they do—what they value, fear, or enjoy. Tip: This is where empathy comes in—truly understanding another’s feelings.

3. Humanistic View

Emphasizes positivity, free choice, and growth. Unlike behaviorists (who focus on observable actions) or psychoanalysts (who focus on unconscious drives), humanists see humans as active agents shaping their lives.

4. Actualizing Tendency

This is a fancy term for our innate drive to survive, grow, and realize our potential. Imagine a plant growing toward sunlight—that’s the same idea for humans: we naturally strive to grow and become our best selves.

5. Fully Functioning Person

Rogers’ idea of the “good life.” Definition: Someone who uses their talents, realizes their potential, and experiences life fully.

Five key characteristics:

1. Openness to experience: Accepts all feelings without denial or defensiveness. Example: Feeling anger but not suppressing it; acknowledging it instead.
2. Existential living: Living fully in the present moment. Example: Experiencing each day as new instead of repeating past patterns.
3. Organismic trusting: Trusting one’s own judgment and instincts instead of blindly following rules or others.
4. Experiential freedom: Feeling free to make choices in life responsibly.
5. Creativity / Psychological maturity: Producing ideas, projects, and actions that reflect growth and uniqueness.

6. Self-Concept & Positive Regard

Self-concept: How we see ourselves—our identity, traits, and abilities. Positive regard: Acceptance and love from others. Conditional positive regard: Love/acceptance depends on behaving a certain way. Unconditional positive regard: Love/acceptance no matter what. If someone only feels valued when they succeed, they develop conditions of worth, which can block their growth.

7. Threat and Defense

Threat: Happens when there’s a mismatch between self-concept and real-life experiences. Example: I see myself as honest, but I lie. That feels threatening to my selfimage. Anxiety: Emotional response signaling that the self-concept is in danger. Defense mechanisms: Ways we protect our self-concept. Example: Getting an “F” on a test → saying “The professor is unfair” instead of admitting personal failure. This is called rationalization.

8. Measuring Self-Concept – The Q Sort

A method to study how people see themselves. Cards with statements like “I am creative” or “I am aggressive.” The person sorts them from “most like me” to “least like me.” Done twice: actual self vs ideal self. Helps see congruence (how aligned someone’s self-view is with their ideal).

9. Personality Disorganization and Psychopathology

If someone cannot defend against threatening experiences, it can lead to personality disorganization or even psychotic behaviors. Example: Someone represses sexual feelings; later, these might come out in inappropriate ways.

10. Client-Centered Therapy

Therapy is non-directive, meaning the therapist doesn’t tell you what to do. Goal: Help the client reconcile self-concept with real experiences, becoming more fully functioning. Therapist’s role: Provide empathy, unconditional positive regard, and understanding.