Feist−Feist: Theories of
Personality, Seventh
EditionIII. Humanistic/Existential
Theories- Rogers:
Person−Centered Theory
(^342) © The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2009
pursue the goal to do well in biology but does not even like biology or may not even
need it for her or his goal of being an architect. Perhaps this person’s parents are bi-
ologists and it was always expected he or she would do the same even though the per-
son feels that architecture is more exciting and fulfilling. In this example, biology is
a part of the person’s self-concept, but architecture is a part of his or her ideal self.
The incongruence between the two can be a source of distress. Fortunately, Rogers
(1951) expanded on these ideas to propose that we all have an organismic valuing
process (OVP)—that is, a natural instinct directing us toward the most fulfilling pur-
suits. In the above example, the OVP would be represented as a visceral or unex-
plainable gut feeling that architecture, not biology, is the right path.
Ken Sheldon and colleagues (2003) have explored the existence of an OVP in
college students by designing studies that ask students to rate the importance of sev-
eral goals repeatedly over the course of multiple weeks. Any time people rate the
same thing (for example, goals) over time, there is bound to be fluctuation in their
ratings. Sheldon and colleagues, however, predicted that the fluctuation in the im-
portance of several goals would have a distinct pattern. If people truly possess an
OVP as Rogers theorized, then over time they will rate goals that are inherently
more fulfilling as more desirable than goals that lead only to materialistic gains.
To test their prediction, Sheldon and colleagues had undergraduate students rate
multiple pre-selected goals (some of which were inherently more fulfilling than
others). Six weeks later, participants rated the same goals again, and then one final
time 6 weeks after that. What the researchers found was that, in line with the pre-
diction that people possess an OVP, the participants tended to rate the more ful-
filling goals with increasing importance over time and the materialistic goals with
decreasing importance.
Although the study discussed above on the role of the OVP in goal pursuit is
a direct test of Rogers’s ideas, there is other modern personality research inspired by
the potential for incongruence that uses a different terminology. For example, per-
sonality researchers talk about goals being either intrinsically or extrinsically moti-
vated. Intrinsic goals are goals a person finds satisfying and fulfilling; these goals are
part of the ideal self, and people will be directed toward them by their OVP. The pur-
suit of intrinsic goals does not need to be encouraged by rewards such as money,
grades, or treats. Simply pursuing the goal is a rewarding experience in its own right.
Extrinsic goals, conversely, are goals that are not experienced as inherently reward-
ing; these goals can be represented in one’s self-concept but are not necessarily part
of the ideal self. Extrinsic goals are typically motivated by factors such as money and
prestige. A simple test to see if one of your goals is intrinsic or extrinsic is to ask
yourself if you would pursue the goal even if you never received any material com-
pensation for it. If the answer is yes, then the goal is intrinsic, but if the answer is no,
then the goal is likely to be extrinsically motivated.
Intrinsically motivated activities generally make people happier and more ful-
filled. Intrinsic motivation and fulfillment are connected because intrinsically moti-
vated activities represent the ideal self. Recent research has explored the extent to
which having more self-realizing experiences in which people are allowed to express
who they really are (similar to Rogers’s ideal self ) is related to experiencing more in-
trinsic motivation (Schwartz & Waterman, 2006). Schwartz and Waterman designed
a longitudinal study in which at Time 1 participants listed several activities that were
336 Part III Humanistic/Existential Theories