Helping Others Help Themselves... Psych 101...

Carl  Rogers was born on January 8th, 1902, in Oak Park, Illinois, to a strict Protestant family. As a teenager, he and his family moved to Glen Ellen, Illinois, where Rogers took an interest in agriculture. In 1919, Rogers started attending the University of Wisconsin, where he decided to major in agriculture. He would later change his major to history, and then once again to religion. 
During his junior year at the University of Wisconsin, Rogers and ten others were chosen to participate in an international Christian youth conference in China for six months. From this trip, Rogers began to question his choice of career. Following graduation in 1924, he attended the Union Theological Seminary, but transferred 1924, he attended the Union Theological Seminary but transferred to Teachers College, Columbia University, 1926. It was while at Teachers College, Columbia University, that Rogers took his first psychology courses. 

After earning his Ph.D. in psychology, Rogers worked at Ohio State University, the University of Chicago, and the University of Wisconsin. While working at the University of Wisconsin, Rogers developed one of his most significant contributions to the world of psychology: client-centered therapy. Believing that a client or patient was ultimately in charge of their happiness, Rogers changed the role of the therapist from a mere technician into someone that would be able to guide a client towards happiness. The therapist was to embody empathy, congruence, and positive regard. In addition to this, Rogers created his "self-theory," which provided a description of how a client viewed him or herself, and how therapy would be able to change this view. 
Today, the work of Carl Rogers would be considered "humanistic psychology." His ideas of how psychology should work focused less on diagnosing and more on how a person could help him or herself, with the ultimate goal to become what Rogers referred to as a "fully-functioning person." Carl Rogers died on February 4th, 1987. 

SELF- ACTUALIZATION

Clar Rogers rejected the claims of both behaviorism (which claimed behavior was the result of conditioning) and psychoanalysis (which focused on the unconscious and biological factors), instead theorizing that a person behaves in certain ways because of how he or she perceives a situation and that only people themselves can know how they perceive things. Rogers believed that people have one basic motive, the propensity to self-actualize. 

In its most basic form, self-actualization can be understood by using the metaphor of a flower. A flower is constrained to its environment, and only under the right conditions will it be able to grow to its full potential. 

Of course, humans are much more complex than flowers. We develop according to our personalities. Carl Rogers posited that people were inherently good and creative, and only became destructive when external constraints or a poor self-concept superseded the valuing process. Rogers claimed that a person with high self-worth, who has come close to attaining their ideal self, would be able to face the challenges they encountered in life, accept unhappiness and failure, feel confident and positive about his or herself, and be open with others. In order to achieve high self-worth and a degree of self-actualization, Rogers felt one must be in a state of congruence. 

CONGRUENCE

If someone's ideal self is similar to or consistent with their actual experience, then they are experiencing a state of congruence. When there is a difference between someone's ideal and their actual experience, this is known as incongruence. 

It is very rare for a person to experience a complete state of congruence; but, Rogers states, a person has a higher sense of worth and is more congruent when the self-image (how one sees oneself) approaches the ideal self that a person is striving for. Because people want to view themselves in ways that are compatible with their self-image, they may begin to use defense mechanisms like repression or denial to feel less threatened by feelings that might be considered undesirable.

Rogers also emphasized the importance of other people in our lives, believing that people need to feel that they are regarded positively by others because everyone possesses an inherent wish to be respected, valued, loved, and treated with affection. Rogers broke his idea of positive regard into two types: 

1. Unconditional positive regard: When people are loved and respected for who they are, especially by their parents, significant others, and therapists. This leaves a person unafraid to try new things and to make mistakes, even if the consequences of these mistakes are not good. When a person can self-actualize, he or she usually receives unconditional positive regard.

2. Conditional positive regard: When people receive positive regard not because they are loved and respected for who they are, but because they behave in ways others think are correct. For example, when children get approval from their parents because they behave the way their parents want them to act. Someone who always seeks approval from others most likely experienced conditional positive regard when he or she was growing up. 

~Bella

Psych 101... Hierarchy of Needs

In 1943, Abraham Maslow first introduced the world to his hierarchy of needs, which is most often expressed as a pyramid. According to Maslow, needs play an important role in motivating a person to behave a certain way. The more basic a need is, the lower it is in the pyramid; and the more complex a need is, the higher it is on the pyramid. Needs towards the bottom of the pyramid are more physical and needs towards the top become more psychological and social. In order to move up the pyramid, the levels must be completed from the bottom up. The needs are as follows:

Physiological
The physiological needs are the needs that are most basic and vital to survival. All other needs are secondary unless the needs in this category are met. These include the need for food, water, air, sleep, homeostasis, and sexual reproduction.

Safety
The safety and security needs are needs that are also important for survival but are not as crucial as the physiological needs. This level of the model includes needs like personal security- such as a home and a safe neighborhood- financial security, health, and some form of safety net to protect against accidents, like insurance.

Love and Belonging
The love and belonging needs, also known as social needs, include a desire to belong, be loved, feel accepted, and not be lonely. These needs are less basic than the first two levels, and these needs can be met through friendships, romantic relationships, and family, as well as by being involved in religious, social, or community groups and organizations. 

Esteem
Everyone has a need to be respected, valued by other people, and have a sense that they are contributing to the world. Having high self-esteem and the respect of others can lead to confidence, while low self-esteem and lack of respect from others can lead to feelings of inferiority. One way people can feel valued and have high self-esteem is by participating in professional activities, athletic teams, and hobbies, and through their academic accomplishments. 

Self-Actualization
At the top of Maslow's model is the need for self-actualization, or the need to realize one's full potential. In other words, a person must become everything that they are capable of becoming. All other levels of Maslow's model must be completed before one can reach this level. While the needs for self-actualization is broad, it is applied very specifically. For example, a person could desire to be the best possible painter, or to be an ideal father.

Different Types of Needs

Maslow identified different varieties of needs, as well as different levels. Deficiency needs, or D-needs, are needs that arise out of deprivation (such as security needs, social needs, esteem needs, and physiological needs). These needs are lower-level needs, and must be satisfied in order to avoid feelings or consequences that are unpleasant. Growth needs, also known as Being-needs or B-needs, are needs that arise out of a desire to grow as a human being. Growth needs are not the result of deprivation. 

CRITICISMS OF MASLOW'S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS

Maslow's hierarchy of needs has met its fair share of criticism. Most importantly, the method in which Maslow went about determining the characteristics of self-actualization has been brought into question. Maslow used biographical analysis, a qualitative method whereby he searched through biographies and writings of twenty-one people that he determined were self-actualized, and then from this specific group created his list of qualities.

This means that Maslow's definition of self-actualization is based completely on his subjective vision of self-actualization and that the definition he provides does not have to be accepted as a scientifically proven fact.

Another criticism that has been raised concerning the hierarchy of needs in Maslow's stance that the lower needs must be satisfied before someone has the ability to reach self-actualization. People who live in poverty, for example, are still capable of love or belonging, even though- according to Maslow - this should not be the case. Despite criticisms, there is no denying how important and significant Abraham Maslow was to modern psychology. He shifted attention away from abnormal behavior and made psychology focus on the positive aspects of human nature, mental health, and human potential.

"What you want and what you need aren't always the same. Be willing to delay short-term GRATIFICATION for long-term GREATNESS." - Mandy Hale

~Bella