Lesson Notes

Lesson 13.3a  Rogers’s Theory:  The Importance of the Self

In this lesson you will learn about the personality theory of Carl Rogers. Looking at Rogers’s theory one may think that it is very simplistic and obvious, but at the time, his ideas were important in altering the viewpoints of many psychologists who fell under either the psychoanalytic or behavioural paradigms. Rogers stressed that people are innately good. He believed that we all strive for a sense of congruence, a balance between out self-concept and our life experiences. For example, if you believed that education was important, yet you rarely study or do homework, Rogers would say that you were incongruent. Your ideal self and real self are not the same, thus this incongruence would result in a lower self-esteem. Since we are born with a positive drive towards self-fulfillment, when we do have low self-esteem, it is usually do to the lack of unconditional positive regard from the child’s caregivers.

Lesson 13.3b  Maslow’s Theory: The Search for Self-Actualization

The second major Humanistic theorist is Abraham Maslow. His main contribution to the understanding of personality is best described through his hierarchy of needs. Maslow believes that we all strive for self-actualization, an innate drive to develop all of our talents and capabilities. According to Maslow, we can reach self-actualization by satisfying lower physiological needs that are essential for personal development. For example, before someone can satisfy the need of love and belonging, needs such as hunger and safety must be met first. Think about it, if you were living on the street with no food or shelter, you would not be worried about making friends, your primary need would be to eat and find somewhere to sleep.

Lesson 13.3c  Evaluating Humanistic Theories: Three Major Criticisms

As with most theories there are some major criticisms. The belief that people are born “good” is seen as naïve, by many researchers. Others criticize that the theory is not only difficult to test, but it also does not attempt to explain personality, but rather focuses only on describing it.