Feist−Feist: Theories of
Personality, Seventh
EditionIII. Humanistic/Existential
Theories- Rogers:
Person−Centered Theory
© The McGraw−Hill^335
Companies, 2009experience a constant state of fluidity and change. What they experience in each mo-
ment would be new and unique, something never before experienced by their evolv-
ing self. They would see each experience with a new freshness and appreciate it fully
in the present moment. Rogers (1961) referred to this tendency to live in the moment
as existential living.Persons of tomorrow would have no need to deceive themselves
and no reason to impress others. They would be young in mind and spirit, with no
preconceptions about how the world should be. They would discover what an expe-
rience means to them by living that experience without the prejudice of prior expec-
tations.
Fourth, persons of tomorrow would remain confident of their own ability to ex-
perience harmonious relations with others.They would feel no need to be liked or
loved by everyone, because they would know that they are unconditionally prized
and accepted by someone. They would seek intimacy with another person who is
probably equally healthy, and such a relationship itself would contribute to the con-
tinual growth of each partner. Persons of tomorrow would be authentic in their rela-
tions with others. They would be what they appear to be, without deceit or fraud,
without defenses and facades, without hypocrisy and sham. They would care about
others, but in a nonjudgmental manner. They would seek meaning beyond them-
selves and would yearn for the spiritual life and inner peace.
Fifth, persons of tomorrow would be more integrated, more whole, with
no artificial boundary between conscious processes and unconscious ones. Because
they would be able to accurately symbolize all their experiences in aware-
ness, they would see clearly the difference between what is and what should be; be-
cause they would use their organismic feelings as criteria for evaluating their ex-
periences, they would bridge the gap between their real self and their ideal self;
because they would have no need to defend their self-importance, they would pre-
sent no facades to other people; and because they would have confidence in who they
are, they could openly express whatever feelings they are experiencing.
Sixth, persons of tomorrow would have a basic trust of human nature.They
would not harm others merely for personal gain; they would care about others and
be ready to help when needed; they would experience anger but could be trusted not
to strike out unreasonably against others; they would feel aggression but would chan-
nel it in appropriate directions.
Finally, because persons of tomorrow are open to all their experiences, they
would enjoy a greater richness in lifethan do other people. They would neither dis-
tort internal stimuli nor buffer their emotions. Consequently, they would feel more
deeply than others. They would live in the present and thus participate more richly
in the ongoing moment.
Philosophy of Science
Rogers was first a scientist; second, a therapist; and third, a personality theorist. Be-
cause his scientific attitude permeates both his therapy and his theory of personality,
we look briefly at his philosophy of science.
According to Rogers (1968), science begins and ends with the subjective ex-
perience, although everything in between must be objective and empirical. Scientists
Chapter 11 Rogers: Person-Centered Theory 329