Chapter 10 Rogers: Person-Centered Theory 299Levels of Awareness
Rogers (1959) recognized three levels of awareness. First, some events are expe-
rienced below the threshold of awareness and are either ignored or denied. An
ignored experience can be illustrated by a woman walking down a busy street, an
activity that presents many potential stimuli, particularly of sight and sound.
Because she cannot attend to all of them, many remain ignored. An example of
denied experience might be a mother who never wanted children, but out of guilt
she becomes overly solicitous to them. Her anger and resentment toward her chil-
dren may be hidden to her for years, never reaching consciousness but yet remain-
ing a part of her experience and coloring her conscious behavior toward them.
Second, Rogers (1959) hypothesized that some experiences are accurately
symbolized and freely admitted to the self-structure. Such experiences are both
nonthreatening and consistent with the existing self-concept. For example, if a
pianist who has full confidence in his piano-playing ability is told by a friend that
his playing is excellent, he may hear these words, accurately symbolize them, and
freely admit them to his self-concept.
A third level of awareness involves experiences that are perceived in a dis-
torted form. When our experience is not consistent with our view of self, we
reshape or distort the experience so that it can be assimilated into our existing
self-concept. If the gifted pianist were to be told by a distrusted competitor that
his playing was excellent, he might react very differently than he did when he
heard the same words from a trusted friend. He may hear the remarks but distort
their meaning because he feels threatened. “Why is this person trying to flatter
me? This doesn’t make sense.” His experiences are inaccurately symbolized in
awareness and therefore can be distorted so that they conform to an existing self-
concept that, in part, says, “I am a person who does not trust my piano-playing
competitors, especially those who are trying to trick me.”
Denial of Positive Experiences
Our example of the gifted pianist illustrates that it is not only the negative or
derogatory experiences that are distorted or denied to awareness; many people have
difficulty accepting genuine compliments and positive feedback, even when
deserved. A student who feels inadequate but yet makes a superior grade might
say to herself, “I know this grade should be evidence of my scholastic ability, but
somehow I just don’t feel that way. This class was the easiest one on campus. The
other students just didn’t try. My teacher did not know what she was doing.”
Compliments, even those genuinely dispensed, seldom have a positive influence
on the self-concept of the recipient. They may be distorted because the person
distrusts the giver, or they may be denied because the recipient does not feel
deserving of them; in all cases, a compliment from another also implies the right
of that person to criticize or condemn, and thus the compliment carries an implied
threat (Rogers, 1961).
Becoming a Person
Rogers (1959) discussed the processes necessary to becoming a person. First,
an individual must make contact—positive or negative—with another person.
This contact is the minimum experience necessary for becoming a person. In