Psychology AP – P3

Evan D. Mickey Y. Richard P. Ni Z.

Roger’s Person-Centered Theory (pgs 610-611) Study Guide

#1. What is personality according to this theory?

 According to his theory, people have are inherently good and are endowed with self-actualizing
tendencies, unless they are thwarted by an environment that inhibits growth.
 Central feature of personality is one’s self concept-all the thoughts and feelings we have in
response to the question.
o Ex. “Who am I?”
 Can be positive or negative

#2. What factors are responsible for shaping personality according to the theory?

 A person’s nature is affected by the environment in which he lives. A climate that is good for
promoting growth has:

o Genuineness – People are open with their own feelings.

o Acceptance – People offer unconditional positive regard – an attitude of total

acceptance toward another person, despite their failures.

o Empathy – People share and mirror our feelings.

#3. How is personality measured in this theory?

 Carl Rogers believed that any standardized assessment or questionnaires are too narrow in their
categories that remove the identity of the person.
 He believes it is better to have an interview because a conversation would provide a better
understanding of each person's unique experience. They would typically ask people to describe
both what they would ideally like to be and what they actually are.
 If the results are similar, the self-concept is positive.

#4. What are the important terms, concepts, and ideas related o this theory?

Rogers believed that a growth-promoting climate required three conditions: genuineness,

acceptance, and empathy.

People nurture our growth by being

1. Accepting – by offering us what Rogers called unconditional positive regard.

a. An attitude of total acceptance toward another people.
2. Genuine – by being open with their own feelings, and being transparent and self-
disclosing.
 Psychology AP – P3
Evan D. Mickey Y. Richard P. Ni Z.

3. Empathic – by sharing and mirroring our feelings and reflecting our meanings.

Central feature of personality is one’s self – concept

- all the thoughts and feelings we have in response to the question, “who am
I?”
- if self concept is …
o Positive: tend to act and perceive to the world positively,
o Negative, fall for short of our idea self. (Dissatisfied and unhappy)