carl rogers

Meaning: Rogers held that people have an inborn actualizing tendency toward growth and fulfillment. Self-concept has two parts: the actual self (how you see yourself) and the ideal self (who you want to be). When they match, the person is congruent. A large gap is incongruence, linked to anxiety and low self-esteem. Conditions of worth, where acceptance is given only when a person behaves in approved ways, tend to widen that gap.

Person-centered (client-centered) therapy is nondirective. The therapist provides three core qualities: empathy, genuineness (congruence), and unconditional positive regard. The client, not the therapist, leads the session and reaches insight on their own.

On the MCAT: A passage describes a therapist who reflects the client's feelings back without judging, advising, or interpreting, and you must identify the humanistic perspective. Or a vignette describes someone whose self-view differs sharply from their ideals, and you must name incongruence. Answer choices often set Rogers against Freud (psychoanalytic), Skinner (behaviorist), or Maslow.

Common confusion: Rogers and Maslow are both humanistic and both use self-actualization, but Maslow is tied to the hierarchy of needs and Rogers to self-concept and therapy. Also, unconditional positive regard means accepting the person's worth, not approving of every behavior.