Humanistic psychology is one of the most important currents of thought in psychology. From her, people like Abraham Maslow (with its popular Maslow’s Pyramid) or Roll May They defended a positive vision of the human being, according to which we are all capable of becoming the type of people we want.
The Carl Rogers’ personality theory It is an example of this vital optimism brought to psychology and philosophy. Let’s see what this theory consists of.
Certain currents of psychology have been associated with a pessimistic view of the human being. For example, Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis presents an explanation of the psyche in which unconscious desires and their clash with social norms govern our behavior, and American behaviorism has been accused of presenting people as machines that react to external stimuli. .
However, humanistic psychologists such as Carl Rogers proposed some ideas about the mental processes in which emphasizes the freedom of individuals when it comes to taking the direction of their lives According to them, neither biological nor environmental factors are determining factors in our behavior, and they do not irremediably “drag” us toward certain types of behavior. In short, they were not deterministic.
Specifically, Carl Rogers He believed that each person’s personality developed according to the way in which they managed to get closer to (or further away from) their life goals goals.
This idea that personal development and the way in which the individual strives to become how they want to be is a central idea of ​​humanistic psychology, but for Carl Rogers it has special importance, because for him it is through personal development how character and way of being are formed.
Carl Rogers and the theory of highly functional personality
Carl Rogers proposes the idea that the personality of each individual can be analyzed according to the way in which he approaches or distances himself from a way of being and living life to which he labels highly functional person.
Highly functional people are characterized by being in a constant process of self-actualization, that is, searching for an almost perfect fit with life objectives and goals. This process of personal development is in the present, so it is always in operation. In this way, the personality of highly functional people is, for Carl Rogers, a framework in which a way of living life that constantly adapts to circumstances flows in real time
What is a highly functional person like?
According to Carl Rogers, the personality traits that defined highly functional people are defined by the following five characteristics.
1. Openness to experience
The personality of highly functional people is, according to Carl Rogers, very open to experience, in a broad sense. He does not adopt a default defensive attitude towards the unknown, but prefers to explore new possibilities. That is why This type of personality is defined by the acceptance of the emotions associated with what one is experiencing non-avoidance of “negative emotions” and the adoption of receptive attitudes in situations that are not clearly dangerous.
This feature has to do with the tendency to assume that it is oneself who has to give meaning to the experiences one lives at every moment, through a process of meaning creation. In this way, the way of living day to day is allowed to be spontaneous, creative, without trying to force everything that is perceived to fit into preconceived schemes. The lifestyle associated with this type of personality, for Carl Rogers, is characterized by avoiding the tendency to prejudge.
The present is not analyzed as something that must be fully explained by the experiences of the past, but is lived fully.
3. Self-confidence
For Carl Rogers, embracing a free way of living life entails trusting one’s own judgment and way of making decisions above any other reference. The idea is that, since no one knows your own way of living life better than yourself, there is no tendency to rely on codes of behavior imposed from external bodies
4. Creativity
The fact that Carl Rogers’ highly functional people are enemies of dogma and convention makes them look beyond what is considered “normal.” This provides the necessary foundations for them to develop their creativity.
5. Freedom of choice
The creative and innovative way of being of the highly functional personality theorized by Carl Rogers makes These people are able to find new behavioral options where there are apparently only a few This defines the nonconformist character of this type of personality, which is capable of resolving paradoxes in which there is an apparent contradiction between the options that a priori seem available.
This type of personality shows great ease in responding to all needs in a balanced way so that crises are used as opportunities to build new opportunities and find ways to achieve levels of well-being.
7. Personal development
personal development It is the vital engine of highly functional people It is experienced as a process of constant change, in which a definitive final goal is never reached but rather one moves from one stage to another.
Criticisms and observations on Rogers’ theory
The characteristics and definitions that Carl Rogers uses to define highly functional people are very abstract and highly ambiguous, since sticking to very rigid concepts would go against his idea that a personality based on self-actualization and personal development flows constantly and escapes conventions.
However, this has also earned him a lot of criticism: after all, Virtually everyone can identify with the traits attributed to highly functional people following the logic of the Forer effect.
Only each person is capable of judging to what extent it is useful or inspiring to have these characteristics as a reference.
