Describe the humanistic-phenomenological view of the person (Rogers)
Carl Roger’s view of the person can fundamentally be described as humanistic-phenomenological. This translates into the view that people possess the freedom, and constructive potential, to improve their quality of life. It thus portrays people as the ‘architects’ of their own lives.
Although he held a positive view on humans, he did not deny the existence of destructive tendencies, such as aggressive behavior. Instead, he believed that healthy people are aware of these opposing constructive and destructive forces, and that through their freedom to shape themselves, the constructive force ultimately succeeds.
Little influence was attributed to the environment in determining behavior, and it was believed that one’s external circumstances either facilitates or inhibits process of realizing one’s potential. Thus, his view of the person is not deterministic, since human behavior is mainly determined by one’s choices, and not by factors beyond the individual’s control.
Rogers focused on the subjective component and how an individual’s self-concept – that is, their view of themselves, influences how they view the world and ultimately their behavior.
Another role one’s environment plays is constructing conditions that need to be adhered to in order for the individual to be accepted. This in turn influences the individual’s self-concept, which influences their behavior.
Roger’s structure of the personality
The organism
- the total individual with all his or her physical and psychological functions
- the central figure that dynamically interacts with the external world and whose behaviour is influenced by their perception of these external stimuli
The phenomenal field
- perceptions of objects or events outside the person, and the meanings attached to them
- inner experiences and meanings that relate to the person himself or herself
The self-concept
- differentiated part of the phenomenal field
- conscious experience of oneself, since only conscious experiences that are allowed into the consciousness can influence one’s self concept
- comprises of one’s self-perceptions, as well as perceptions about interpersonal relationships and the value one adds to these perceptions
- change in one part of the self-concept influences the whole self-image
- the ideal self is the view of the self the individual would most like to have
- psychologically healthy people have little incongruence between their real self and ideal self, it is fairly realistic and attainable
- it thus serves as a guideline for growth and development
Dynamics of the personality: actualising tendency
- basic motive that underlies all behaviour
- an inherent tendency of organisms to maintain themselves and to expand and grow in order to become what they can be
- self-actualising is used to refer to the actualisation of the self-concept
Roger’s dynamics of the personality: The need for positive regard
- the need for positive regard from others: basic need for approval, appreciation, love and respect from others
- people will adopt the values and wishes of others in order to obtain this positive regard (conditions of worth) - the need for positive self-regard
- people must first receive positive regard from others in order to hold themselves in a high regard
- this need is acquired, and not inherent
- plays an important role in determining individual behaviour
Roger’s dynamics of the personality: Congruence and incongruence
Interaction between the actualising tendency and the need for positive regard
Congruence
- there is no difference between the experiential world and the self-concept
- all experiences are allowed into the conscious and alter the self-concept
- these people see themselves as they really are and have a self-concept that corresponds with their actual potential
Incongruence
- self concept is never truly based solely on one’s organismic experiences, but influenced by our efforts to win the approval of others
- condition of worth: represents the value of others which the person includes in his or her self-concept
- an experience that is at odds with their self-concept and can thus not be granted access into the consciousness
- they are denied this access by denying or distorting these experiences
The role of the self-concept in experience (Rogers)
Ways of dealing with experiences in the phenomenal field (experiential world):
- Ignoring them because they are irrelevant to a person’s needs. May be allowed into the consciousness at another time
- Symbolising them if they correspond with the self-concept
- Denied access into the consciousness because they contradict the self-concept
Subception is the hypothetical form of perception in the unconsciousness that continuously evaluates all perceptions and determines whether they are threatening to the self-concept or not
Roger’s development of the personality
- Focused on the development of the self-concept
- Initially, at birth, we function according to the organismic evaluation process that is primarily focused on the fulfilment of one’s own needs
- THE SUBJECTIVE INTERPRETATIONS OF ACCEPTANCE AND REJECTIONS PLAY A CRUCIAL ROLE
Unconditional positive regard
- being accepted by significant others for who you are, just as you are
- your needs are not measured against the needs of others
- there are no specific requirements you need to adhere to in order to receive positive regard
- thus all experiences can be allowed into the consciousness and alter the self-concept
- this leads to congruence between the self-concept and their potential (ideal self)
- complete actualisation of potential
Conditional positive regard
- certain conditions and expectations need to be met in order to gain acceptance and affection from significant others
- this leads to the conditions of worth
- you adopt the values and beliefs of others as your own, including them into the self-concept
- many experiences need to be denied access into the consciousness
- incongruence between the self-concept and their potential
Roger’s belief on optimal development
People who experience congruence are believed to have achieved optimal development and display the following characteristics:
- A growing openness to experience: open to all internal and external experiences and do not need to use defence mechanisms
- Increasingly existential lifestyle: live in the moment. Organismic experiences, without preconceived ideas and beliefs influencing perceptions
- Increasing organismic trust: they trust their own judgment when deciding on how to behave in any given situation, and are less influenced by social norms and the opinions of others
- Freedom of choice: they recognise their ability to determine their own behaviour and feel responsible for making their own decisions. They recognise and accept both their positive and negative attributes when making a choice
- Creativity: associated with their openness to experiences, living in the moment, trust in their own judgement and feeling free to make their own decisions. Adapt constructively to society eithiut becoming conformists
- Basic reliability and constructiveness: can be trusted to act positively and constructively, and there is no danger of their aggressive needs getting out of hand. They realise and admit all their needs and are able to maintain a realistic balance between them
- A rich, full life: experience joy, pain, love and heartbreak intensely
Roger’s view on psychopathology
Defence mechanisms
1. Distortion: the incongruent experience is distorted so that the self-concept remains intact
2. Denial: experiences that threaten the self-concept are simply ignored and excluded from the consciousness
Malfunctioning
- defence mechanisms reduces the persons conscious experience of the threat, but not the threat itself
- the more incongruent the person, the more threatened he or she is by experiences, the more defensive behaviour they become and the more rigid the organisation of the self-structure
Frankl’s view of the person
The freedom to be responsible
- the human person is primarily a spiritual being- a being that has freedom and responsibility
- we have been given the freedom to be responsible- a quality unique to mankind
- cannot attribute behaviour to conditioning or a drive
- at most we can concede to have given in to these influences
- since we are responsible, we must bear the consequences of our choices
- this freedom to choose, represents the noögenic dimension, the third or spiritual level of existence that is unique to humans
Level of being beyond brute existence
- true fulfilment is impossible without a sense of purpose in life
- the central issue for the human person is not the struggle to survive, characteristic of animal existence, but the struggle to find and experience meaning in life
- we are meant to live lives that transcend a mindless kind of existence in the futile pursuit of only pleasure and power
- denies the reductionism of psychoanalysts that describes us as subhuman levels of being that conflates us with other animals
- we possess the capacity for self-transcendence, the ability to think about oneself, to evaluate and judge oneself, and to change oneself
- self-actualisation is not the ultimate goal, but rather finding a will to meaning
- we want to live for a purpose that extends beyond ourselves
The transhuman dimension
- we do not create meaning, it possesses an objective existence
- instead meaning is found
- our conscience proves this objective existence
- conscience is the vehicle through which we detect meaning, the one right thing to do in any particular situation or moment in life
- our conscience, unlike the superego, functions on the transhuman dimension, timeless and universal meanings that address the human conscience in unique ways and that can be discovered and experienced by anyone, at any time, under all circumstances
- the experience of unconditional meaningfulness of life is illustrated by the phenomenon of faith
A highly personalised way of being
- the transcendent dimension evades full human grasp
- no-one particular belief system can claim sole right to the whole truth
- we are constantly in a state of becoming what we are meant to be
- the tension between what is and what ought to be operates through our conscience until the very last day of our lives
- something can only be meaningful to the person if it is personally experienced as such
- life holds meaning under all circumstances and can be experienced by anyone at any time and anywhere
Frankl’s structure of the personality (dimensional ontology)
Physical dimension
- all physiological and biological processes
Psychological dimension
- primitive drives and needs that is similar to that found in animals
Noögenic dimension
- the third or spiritual level of existence that is unique to humans
- Frankl’s dimensional ontology contends a three-dimensional view of human functioning
- the holistic nature of human functioning is explained by Frankl as being due to the fact of our self-awareness
- we intelligently experience our drives and need, how we respond to these drives and direct them is up to us
The spiritual core of the personality
- the human personality has a spiritual core
- it is what we do with what we have been given in terms of genetic make-up, how we respond to our environmental circumstances, that shape our personalities
- we are thus responsible for our personalities, we determine the kind of characteristics we come to be known by
Frankl’s dynamics of the personality
The freedom of will
- the capacity of self-determination through the exercise of choice
- we all know that we are constantly faced with decisions, that we make decisions, at that these choices influence our lives, thus we are all aware of our free will
- there does exist certain limitations and constraints due to our environment, but our freedom is made evident through what we achieve despite our limitations, the way in which we transcend our environment
The will to meaning
- deeper and more powerful than any other human motivation
- the will to meaning is manifested in circumstances of destitution as well as in circumstances of plenty
- the satisfaction of physical and psychological needs is not the ultimate aim of human striving, but rather the means to being free to strive towards spiritual goals
- the more we pursue happiness, the more it eludes us because happiness is the effect of the attainment of meaning and cannot be pursued as an end
- when the will to pleasure and power are uppermost in our behaviour, this would be a sign that our will to meaning is frustrated, leading to life in an existential vacuum
The meaning of life
- discovering that life never ceases to hold meaning and that meaning can be found in all circumstances, even suffering and death
1. Creative values: what we contribute to life, like your job
2. Experiential values: blessings we receive in life. We are inspired, uplifted and moved by what is good, beautiful and genuine. We appreciate these things. Greatest experiential value is love
3. Attitudinal values: experiences through the right attitudes we have towards life, especially towards unavoidable suffering.
- by changing ourselves, by rising and growing beyond ourselves we gain spiritual stature as Eco Homo: the moment suffering has a reason, or challenges us to rise above ourselves and becoming exemplary human beings, it loses its unbearable quality and becomes another one of life’s tasks, one which- because it asks so much of us- offers us the opportunity to achieve moral greatness
Frankl’s view on optimal development
9 characteristics:
- Self-determining action
- realising that you cannot attribute your fate to factors that coerce us from the inside or that pressurise us from the outside
- knows we have the choice to decide how we will react to these internal and external factors - Realistic perception
- can separate yourself from what is happening to you, and therefore view it objectively and critically - Humour
- can distance yourself from your weakness and problems and laugh at yourself in a way that isn’t self-deprecating or immature - Self-transcendence
- outward looking rather that turned in on themselves
- wants to be involved in something that adds meaning to your life, something bigger then yourself
- too much focus on yourself hampers your psychological health
- your own satisfaction and happiness isn’t the primary goal in life p, but rather incidental side-effects of meaning fulfilment - Future directedness
- the will to meaning is directed to the future
- forever reaching beyond yourself
- involved in something or someone else so deeply you forget yourself
- developed beyond a self-conscious and self-absorbed state of being
- death is no threat, but rather a meaningful conclusion to life - Work as a vocation
- you view your work as a vocation rather than merely a job
- it is an opportunity to make a worthwhile contribution to life - Appreciation of goodness, beauty and truth
- enjoy things such as literature, art, music and nature
- every moment is ready with new meaning
- open to mew experiences offered to them each day - Respect and appreciation for the uniqueness of others
- never make use of other people as objects for their own satisfaction or use others in order to achieve their own selfish ends
- do not discriminate against others in their attitude towards them (forgiveness) - Meaning in suffering
- accept the tragic facts in life in a way that doesn’t diminish their joy in life but instead deepens the meaning of their lives
- discover meaning in their suffering
- accompanied by the feeling after suffering that you have to fear no one, except God
Noögenic neurosis
- lack of courage to respond to the challenge of life to exercise their freedom to responsibility
- responsibility is evaded, while seeking pleasure and power becomes central
- they rush around madly trying to manage overfull schedules that leave them little time tp contemplate the meaning of life or where their life is headed
- referred to as speed mania, which is symptomatic of the denial of the spiritual side of being human
- this leads to frustration of the basic will to meaning
- life becomes an existential vacuum
- they live an unplanned, day-to-day existence
- have a fatalistic attitude towards life
- conform to others in an effort to evade the stress of authenticity
- totalitarianism where people blindly follow the orders of others on what to believe and how they must behave
