Feist−Feist: Theories of
Personality, Seventh
EditionIII. Humanistic/Existential
Theories- Rogers:
Person−Centered Theory
(^316) © The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2009
Even though he formulated a rigorous, internally consistent theory of person-
ality, Rogers did not feel comfortable with the notion of theory. His personal prefer-
ence was to be a helper of people and not a constructor of theories. To him, theories
seemed to make things too cold and external, and he worried that his theory might
imply a measure of finality.
During the 1950s, at a midpoint in his career, Rogers was invited to write what
was then called the “client-centered” theory of personality, and his original statement
is found in Volume 3 of Sigmund Koch’s Psychology: A Study of a Science(see
Rogers, 1959). Even at that time, Rogers realized that 10 or 20 years hence, his the-
ories would be different; but unfortunately, throughout the intervening years, he
never systematically reformulated his theory of personality. Although many of his
subsequent experiences altered some of those earlier ideas, his final theory of per-
sonality rests on that original foundation spelled out in the Koch series.
Biography of Carl Rogers
Carl Ransom Rogers was born on January 8, 1902, in Oak Park, Illinois, the fourth
of six children born to Walter and Julia Cushing Rogers. Carl was closer to his
mother than to his father who, during the early years, was often away from home
working as a civil engineer. Walter and Julia Rogers were both devoutly religious,
and Carl became interested in the Bible, reading from it and other books even as a
preschool child. From his parents, he also learned the value of hard work—a value
that, unlike religion, stayed with him throughout his life.
Rogers had intended to become a farmer, and after he graduated from high
school, he entered the University of Wisconsin as an agriculture major. However, he
soon became less interested in farming and more devoted to religion. By his third
year at Wisconsin, Rogers was deeply involved with religious activities on campus
and spent 6 months traveling to China to attend a student religious conference. This
trip made a lasting impression on Rogers. The interaction with other young religious
leaders changed him into a more liberal thinker and moved him toward independence
from the religious views of his parents. These experiences with his fellow leaders
also gave him more self-confidence in social relationships. Unfortunately, he re-
turned from the journey with an ulcer.
Although his illness prevented him from immediately going back to the uni-
versity, it did not keep him from working: He spent a year recuperating by laboring
on the farm and at a local lumberyard before eventually returning to Wisconsin.
There, he joined a fraternity, displayed more self-confidence, and in general, was a
changed student from his pre-China days.
In 1924, Rogers entered the Union Theological Seminary in New York with the
intention of becoming a minister. While at the seminary, he enrolled in several psy-
chology and education courses at neighboring Columbia University. He was influ-
enced by the progressive education movement of John Dewey, which was then strong
at Teachers College, Columbia. Gradually, Rogers became disenchanted with the
doctrinaire attitude of religious work. Even though Union Theological Seminary was
quite liberal, Rogers decided that he did not wish to express a fixed set of beliefs but
desired more freedom to explore new ideas. Finally, in the fall of 1926, he left the
310 Part III Humanistic/Existential Theories