THE FOUND▲T重ONS OF A PERSON・CENTERED APPROACH l 17

A DIRECTIONAL PROCESS IN L重FE

Practice, theory, and research make it clear tha=he

PerSOn-Centered approach rests on a basic trust in
human beings, and in au organisms. There is evidence
from many disciplines to support an even broader state-
ment. We can say that there is in every organism, at
Whatever level, an underlying皿ow ofmovement toward
COnStruCtive fulfiument of its inherent possib蘭ties. In
118
human beings’tOO, there is a natural tendency toward a
more complex and complete development. The term
that has most often been used for this is the高actualiz_
ing tendency,,, and it is present in all living organisms.
Whether we are speaking of a flower or an oak tree,
Of an earthworm or a beautiful bird, Of an ape or a
PerSOn, We Win do well, I believe, to reCOgnize that life
is an active process, nOt a PaSSive one. Whether the
Stimulus arises from within or without, Whether the
environment i8 favorable or unfavorable, the behaviors
Of an organism can be counted on to be in the direction
Of maintaining, enhancing, and reproducing itsel豊This
is the very nature of the process we call life. This ten_
dency is operative at au times. Indeed, Only the pres-
ence or absence ofthis total directional process enables
us to te皿whether a given organism is alive or dead.
The actualizing tendency can, Ofcourse, be thwarted
Or WarPed・ but it cannot be destroyed without destroy-
ing the organism. I remember that in my boyhood, the
bin in which we stored our winter,s supply of potatoes
WaS in the basement, SeVeral feet below a sm!皿win_
dow. The conditions were unfavorable, but the potatoes
WOuld begin to sprout-Pale white sprouts, SO unme
the healthy green shoots they sent up when planted in
the soi] in the spring・ But these sad, SPindly sprouts
WO血d grow 2 or 3 feet in length as they reached toward
the distant hight of the window. The sprouts were, in
their bizarre, futile growth, a SOrt Of desperate expres-
Sion of the directional tendency I have been describing.
They would never become plants, neVer mature, neVer
f山fm their real potential. But under the most adverse
Circumstances, they were striving to become. Life
WOuld not give up, eVen ifit could not flourish. I重i deal_
ing with clients whose lives have been terribly warped,
in working with men and women on the back wards of
THE FOUNDATIONS OFA PE購ON CENTERED ▲PPRO▲CH l19
state hospitals, I often think ofthose potato sprouts. So
unfavorable have been the conditions in which these
people have developed that their lives often seem
abnormal, tWisted, SCareely human. Yct, the direc-
tiona量tendency in them can be trusted. The clue to
understanding their behavior is that they are striving,
in the only ways that they perceive as available to them,
to move toward growth, tOWard becoming.恥healthy
persons, the results may seem bizarre and futile, but
they are life’s desperate attempt to become itself. This
potent constructive tendency is an underlying basis of
the person-Centered approach.
So肋C Coぴr肋訪g E青の肋ples qf
拐e D番場Ciio乃αl P「ocess
I am not alone in seeing such an actualizing tendency
as the fund種mental answer to the question of what
makes an organism “tick.’’Goldstein (1947), MasIow
(1954), Angyal (194l, 1965), Szent-Gyoergyi (1974), and
others have held similar views and have influenced my
own thinking. I (1963) have pointed out that this ten-
dency invo重ves a development toward the differentia-
tion of org種ns and functions; it invoIves enhancement
through reproduction. Szent-Gyoergyi says that he can-
not explain the mysteries of bioIogical development
待without supposing an innate `drive’in living matter to
perfect itself’, (p. 17). The organism, in its nomal
state, mOVeS tOW種rd its own fulfillment, tOWard sel轟
regulation and an independence from extemal control.
But is this view confirmed by other evidence? Let me
point to some of the work in biology that supports the
concept of the actua脆zing tendency. One example,
replicated with different species, is the work of Hans
Driesch with sea urchins many ye種rs ago. Driesch
120
leamed bow to tease apart the two ceⅡs that are formed
after the鯖rst division of the fertilized egg. Had they
been left to develop normally, it is clear that each of
these two cells would have grown into a portion ofa sea
urchin larva, the contributions of both being needed to
fom a whole creature. So it seems equa皿y obvious that
When the two ce11s are sk劃f葛lny SeParated, eaCh, if it
grows, Will simply develop into some portion of a sea
urchin. But thi6 aSSumPtion overlooks the directional
and actualizing tendency characteristic of all org種nic
growth. It is found that each ceu, ifit can be kept alive,
now develops into a whole sea urchin larva-a bit
Smaller than usual, bu置normal and complete.
I have chosen this example because it seems so
CIosely analogous to my experience in dealing with
individuals in one-tO-One therapeutic relationships, in
faci血ating intensive groups, in providing ``freedom to
leam’’for students in classes. In these situations, I am
most impressed with the fact that each human being
has a directional tendency toward wholeness, tOWard
actualization of hi§ Or her potentialities. I have not
found psychotherapy or group experience effective
When I have tried to create in another individual some_
thing that is not already there; I have found, however;
that if I can provide the conditions that auow growth to
OCCuI; then this positive directional tendency b轟ngs
about constructive results. The scientist with the
divided sea urchin egg was in the same situation. He
CO山d not cause the cell to develop in one way or
another, but when he focused his skill on providing the
COnditions that permitted the cell to survive and grow,
the tendency for growth and the direction of growth
Were eVident, and came from within the organism. I
CannOt think of a better analogy for therapy or the
group experience, Where, if I can supply a psychoIogi-
THE FOUNDATIONS OF A PERSON-CENTERED APPROACH 12l
Cal amniotic組uid, forward movement of a constructive
SOrt Will occuL
I would like to add one comment which may be clar-
ifying・ Sometimes this growth tendency is spoken ofas
though it invoIved the development ofa皿the potentiali-
ties of the organism. This is clearly not true. As one of
my collcagues・ POinted out, the organism does not tend
toward developing its capacity for nausea, nOr does it
actualize its potentiality for selfLdestruction, nOr its
ability to bear pain. Only under unusual or perverse
Circumstances do these potentialities become actual.
ized・ It is clear that the actualizing tendency is selec-
tive and directional-a COnStruCtive tendency, if you
w皿1.
S均ppO手所o肋Mode「珊瑚eoγ α"d E草pe手書e鵜e
Pentony (unpub量ished paper; 1978) points out forcefully
that those who favor the view of an actualizing ten-
dency付do not need to be inhibited by the belief that it
is in conflict with modern science or theories of
knowledge,, (p. 20). He describes the differing recent
叫StemOIogies・ Particular重y that of Murayama (1977)・ It
lS nOW theorized that the =genetic code,, does not con-
tain all the information necessary to specify the charac_
teristics of the mature organism. Instead, it contains a
Se‡ Q/r“les detemining the interactions of the dividing
Cells. Much less information is needed to codify the
rules than to guide every aspect of maturing develop-
ment.待Thus information can be generated within the
Organism system」nformation can gro撮,,, (Pentony,
P. 9, emPhasis added). Hence, Driesch,s sea urchin ceus
are doubtless f州owing the coded rules and, COnSe_
quently, are able to develop in original, nOt PreViously
Or rigidly specified ways.
122
A皿this goes deeply against the current (and possibly
outdated) epistemoIogy of the social sciences, Which
holds that a “cause’’is fouowed in a one-Way direction
by an “effect.” In contrast, Murayama and others
believe that there are m“他al cause-effect interactions,
which amplify deviations and pemit new information
and new forms to develop. This “morphogenetic episte-
moIogy’’appears to be basic to an understanding ofa皿
1iving systems, including all growth processes in organ-
isms. Murayama (1977) state§ that an understanding
of bioIogy ``lies in the recognition that the bioIogical
processes are reciprocal causal processes, nOt random
PrOCeSSeS’’(p. 130). On the other hand, aS he points out
elsewhere, an understanding of bioIogy does noi
emerge from an epistemoIogy based on one-Way CauSe-
effect systems. Thus, there is great need to rethink the
stimulus-reSPOnSe, CauSe-effect basis on which most of
social science rests.
The work in the field of sensory deprivation shows
how strong is the organismic tendency to amplify diver-
sities and create new information and new forms. Cer-
tainly, tenSion reduction, Or the absence of stimulation,
is a far cry from being the desired state ofthe organism.
Freud (1953) could not have been more wrong in his
POStu量ate that “The nervous system is. ‥ an aPPa-
ratus which would even, if this were feasible, maintain
itself in an altogether unstimulated condition’7 (p. 63).
On the contrary, When deprived of extemal stimuli, the
human organism produces a flood of intemal stimuH,
SOmetimes of the most bizarre sort. Lilly (1972) was one
of the first to tell of his experiences when suspended
weightless in a soundprooftank ofwater He speaks of
trance量ike states, myStical experiences, the sense of
being tuned in on communication networks not availa-
ble to ordinary consciousness, and even experiences
THE FOUNDATIONS OF A PERSON.CENTE鵬D APPRO▲CH 123
that can only be caued hallucinatory. It is very clear
that when a person is receiving an absolute minimum of
extemal stimuli, he or she is opened to a flood of expe-
riencing at a level far beyond that of everyday living・
The individual most certainly does not lapse into
homeostasis, into a passive equ址brium. This occurs
only in diseased organisms.
A舟場のuor訪γ Bo$e
Thus, tO me it is meaningful to say that the substratum
of all motivation is the organismic tendency toward
ful組Iment. This tendency may express itself in the
widest range of behaviors and in response to a wide
variety of needs. Tb be sure, Certain basic wants must
be at least partially met before other needs become
urgent. Consequently, the tendency of the organism to
actualize itself may at one moment lead to the seeking
of food or sexual satisfaction, and yet, unless these
needs are overpoweringly宣eat, eVen these satisfac-
tions w皿be sought in ways that enhance, rather than
diminish, SelfLesteem. And the organism w皿also seek
other fulfillments in its transactions with the environ-
ment. The need for expIoration of and producing
change in the environment, the need for play and for
selfLexpIoration-all of these and many other behaviors
are basically expressions of the actualizing tendency. ,
In short, Organisms are always seeking, always
initiating, always ``up to something・’’There is one cen-
tral source of energy in the human organism. This
source is a trustworthy function of the whole 8yStem
rather than of some portion of it; it is most simply con-
ceptualized as a tendency toward fulfiument, tOWard
actualization, invoIving not only the maintenance but
a量so the enhancement of the organism.
124
A BROADER VIEW:
THE FORMAT重VE TENDENCY
There are m種ny who criticize this point of view. They
regard it as too optimistic, nOt dealing adequately with
the negative element, the evil, the dark side in human
be血gs.
Consequent量y, I wo血d hke to put this directional ten-
dency in a broader context. In doing so, I sha皿draw
heavily on the work and thinking of others, from disci-
pHnes other than my own. I have learned from many
scientists, but I wish to mention a special indebtedness
to the works of Albert SzenトGyoergyi (1974), a Nobel
Prize-Winning bioIogist, and Lancelot Whyte (1974), a
historian of ideas.
My main thesis is this: there appears to be a forma-
tive tendency at work in the universe, Which can be
observed at every level. This tendency has received
much less attention than it deserves.
Physical scientists up to now have focused primarily
on ``entropy,’’the tendency toward deterioration, Or
disordeL They know a great deal about this tendency.
Studying cIosed systems, they can give it a clear
mathematical description. They know that order tends
to deteriorate into randomness, eaCh stage less
organized than the last.
We are also very familiar with deterioration in
organic life. The system-Whether plant, animal, Or
human-鵜eVentua11y deteriorates into a lesser and lesser
degree of functioning organization, Or Order; until decay
reaches a stasis. In one sense, this is what one aspect
of medicine is all about_a COnCem With the malfunc-
tioning or deterioration of an organ or the organism as a
whole. The complex process of the death ofthe physi-
cal organism is increasingly well understood・
125
So a great deal is known ofthe universaltendency of
SyStem8 at au levels to deteriorate in the direction of
less and less ordehiness, mOre and more randomness.
When this system operates, it is a one-Way Street: the
WOrld seems to be a great machine, running down and
Weanng Out.
But there is far less recognition of, Or emPhasis on,
the even more important formative tendency which oan
be equally we皿observed at every level of the universe.
After all, eVery fom that we see or know emerged from
a simpler; less complex form. This a a phenomenon
Which is at least as significant as entropy. Examples
CO山d be given from every form of inorganic or organic
being. Let me皿ustrate withjust a few.
It appears that every galaxy, eVery Sta重; eVery Planet,
including our own, WaS formed from a less organized
Whi亜ng storm of particles. Many of these steⅡar
Objects are themselves formative. In the atmosphere of
Our Sun, hydrogen nuc宣ei conide to form molecules of
helium, Which are more complex in nature. It is
hypothesized that in other stars, eVen heavier mole-
C山es are formed by such interactions.
I understand that when the simple materials of the
earth’s atmosphere which were present before Hfe
began-hydrogen, OXygen, and nitrogen, in the form of
Water and ammonia-are infused by electrical charges
Or by radiation, heavier molecule9 begin to form first,
followed by the more complex amino acids. We seem
Only a step aw種y from the formation of viruses and the
even more complex living organisms. A creative, nOt a
disintegrative process, is at work.
Another fascinating example is the formation of crys-
tals. In every case, from less ordered and less symmeト
rical fluid matter there emerges the startlingly unique,
Ordered symmetrical and often beautiful crystauine
126
form. An of us have marveled at the perfection and
COmPlexity of the snowflake. Yet it emerged from form-
1es8 V種pO京
When we consider the sinde living cell, We discover
that it often forms more complex coIonies, aS in coral
reefe. Even more order enter§ the picture as the ceu
emerges into an organism of many cens with special-
ized functions.
I do not need to portray the whole gradual process of
Organic evolution. We are au fam出ar with the steadily
increa8ing complexity of organisms. They are not
always successful in their ab組ity to cope with the
Ch寄nging environment, but the trend toward complex-
ity is always evident.
Perhaps, for most ofus, the process oforganic evolu-
tion is best recognized as we consider the development
Of the single fertilized human ovum through the sim-
Plest stages of cell division, then the aquatic gi皿stage,
種nd on to the vastly complex, highly organized human
infant. As Jonas Salk has said, there is a manifest and
increasing order in evolution.
Thus, Without ignoring the tendency toward dete場
rior種tion, We need to recognize fully what Szenト
Gyoergyi terms ``syntropy’’and what Whyte c皿s the
``morphic tendency,’’the ever operating trend toward
increased order and interrelated complexity evident at
both the inorganic and the organic level. The universe
is always building and cre種ting as well as deteriorating.
This process is evident in the human being, tOO.
THE FUNCTION OF CONSC重OUSNESS
What part does our awareness have in this formative
function? I believe that consciousness has a small but
THE roUNDATIONS OF A PERSON_CENTERED APPROACH 127
Very import種nt part. The ab址ty to focus conscious
attention seems to be one of the latest evolutionary
developments in our species. This ab通ty can be
described as a tiny peak of awareness, Of symbolizing
CaPaCity, tOPPing a vas置 pyramid of nonconscious
Organismic functioning. Perhaps a better analogy, mOre
indicative of the cbntinual change going on, is to think
Of the pyramid as a large fountain ofthe same shape.
The very tip of the fountain is intermittently皿umi-
nated with the鮎ckering light of consciousness, but the
COnStant flow oflife goes on in the darkness as well, in
nonconscious as weu as conscious ways. It seems that
the human organism has been moving toward the more
COmPlete development of awareness. It is at this level
that new forms are invented, Perhaps even new direc-
tions for the human species. It is here that the recipro-
Cal relationship between cause and effect is most
demonstrably evident. It is here that choices are made,
SPOntaneOuS forms created. We see here perhaps the
highest of the human functions.
Some of my colleagues have said that organismic
Choice-」he nonverbal, Subconscious choice of way of
being-is guided by the evolutionary flow. I agree; I
W皿even go one step furtheL I wo血d point out that in
PSyChotherapy we have leamed something about the
PSyChoIogical conditions that are most conducive to
increasing this highly important self.awareness. With
greater self.awareness, a mOre informed choice is pos-
Sible串Choice more free from introjects亘COusCjoαS
Choice that is even more in tune with the evolutionary
flow. Such a person is more potenti劃y aware, nOt Only
Of the stimuli from outside, but of ideas and dreams,
and of the ongoing組ow offeelings, emOtions, and phys-
ioIogical reactions that he or she senses from within.
The greater this awareness, the more surely the person
128

w皿float in a direction consonant with the directional

evolutionary flow.
When a person is functioning in this way, it does not
mean that there is a seIf-COnSCious awareness of a11 that
i8 gOing on wi皿n, like the centipede whose movements
were pardyzed when it became aware of each of its
Ieg8・ On the contr種ry? SuCh a person is free to Hve a

feeling subjectively, aS Well as be aware of it. The

individual might experience love, Or Pain, Or fe種もOr

just live in these experiences suhiectively. Or; he or she

might abstract self from this subjectivity and realize in
awareness, ``I am in p種in;,, ``I am afraid;,, ``I do Iove.’’

The crucial point is that when a per§On is functioning

fully, there are no barriers, nO inhibitions, Which pre-

vent the full experiencing of whatever is organismicany
present. This person is moving in the direction of
wholeness, integration, a unified life・ ConsciouBneSS

is participating in thi8 larger; Creativel formative

tendency.

ALTERED STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS

But some go even further in their theories. Researchers

such as Grof and Grof (1977) and L皿y (1973) believe
that persons are able to advance beyond the ordin種ry

level of consciousness. Their studies appear to reveal

that in altered st種tes of consciousness, PerSOnS feel

they are in touch with, and grasp the meaning of, this
evolutionary flow. They experience it as tending toward
a transcending experience of unity. They picture the
individual self as being dissoIved in a whole area of
higher values, e8PeCially beauty, harmony, and love.
The person feels at one with the cosmos・ Hard-headed
research seems to be confirming the mystic’s expe-

rience of union with the universal.

 A Ⅵ7ÅY O田

職田INC

醍醐聯際轍鮒閏剛離職離職職暇蘭書喜田
Carl R・ Rogers

加ro九α王o競り

IrⅤin D∴ぬlom

圏
Hb喝枕崎M駒れCo冊やα7y
‖雷時点澱蝿

Bosめれ Ne飢) 】もrん

 Copyright ⑪ 1980 by Houghton Mi鮒in Company
Introduction copyright ㊥ 1995 by Irvin D. Yalom

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Libr櫨ry Of Congress Cataloging-in-Publi(加ion Data

Rogers, C種rl Ran8Om・ date.

A way o!● being.

重ncludes bibliographics and index.

1. Humanistic psychoIogy. I. Title.

BF204.R64 150’.19 80-20275

ISBN O-395-75530-1
ISBN 978-0-395-75530-3

P「inted in the United Stales of America

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∧(・knowledgmcnts begin on pagc 377.

恥rt opening ab8traC‘ art by Tonia Noell-Roberts

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