Carl Rogers

Carl Rogers was an extremely influential researcher in the field of humanistic psychology whose theories we will examine more closely in a later section. Here, however, it is necessary to look at some of the concepts that he (and others) proposed that are linked to the self and what these actually mean:

• Self-image
• Self-esteem
• Ideal self
• Self-actualisation
• Congruence
• Incongruence

Self-image

In simple terms, a person’s self-image is how they see themselves but this does not necessarily have to reflect reality. For example, someone who has an eating disorder may have a self-image that they are fat but, in reality, this is not the case.

Self-image can be determined by many factors, such as parental or peer influence or the media, and these influences can be both positive and negative. Self-image is also linked to how others reflect back to us, which is highlighted when parents are told that if they tell their children something enough times, they will believe it. This is great if a child is continually told “you can do it!” but has very negative effects if they are continually told “you are hopeless, don’t even bother trying.”

Self-image has been investigated by asking people to write out statements about themselves that begin ‘I am…’ (just as in your first activity) in answer to the question ‘who am I?’ The types of answers that are commonly found are:

• Physical descriptions: I am tall, I am thin, I have brown hair
• Social roles: I am a mum, I am on a football team, I am a student
• Personality traits: I am very emotional, I am happy, I worry about everything.

Most research indicates that younger people tend to define themselves in terms of their personality, whilst older people define themselves in terms of their social roles

Self-esteem

Self-esteem can be summed up as a measure of how much a person values themselves. It also refers to how much we approve of ourselves and how accepting we are of ourselves. Self-esteem must involve some form of self-evaluation because it measures how much value a person places on themselves; therefore, self-esteem is usually described as being high or low.

Someone who has high self-esteem places great value on themselves and has a positive view of who they are. This can lead to:

• Confidence in abilities
• Confidence in decision-making
• Self-acceptance
• Little worry of being judged by others
• An optimistic outlook on life.

On the other hand, someone who has low self-esteem has a negative view of themselves and does not place a high value on themselves. Low self-esteem can be very damaging and can lead to:

• Lack of confidence
• Always negatively comparing self to others
• Always wanting to be someone else
• Continual worry about being judged by others
• A negative outlook on life.

Some research has indicated that self-esteem is based on four important factors:

• The reaction of others: those who have positive interactions with others are much more likely to develop high self-esteem
• Comparison with others: comparing yourself with someone who you perceive as being less successful will lead to high self-esteem, whereas comparing yourself with people who you perceive as more successful will lead to low self-esteem
• Social roles: social roles which carry prestige are linked to high self-esteem, such as an airline pilot or a doctor. Lower social roles such as a prisoner or being unemployed are linked to low self-esteem
• Identification: identification with a social role is what ultimately has a big effect on levels of self-esteem. However, it has also been argued that parental influence is also very important as well.

Ideal self – congruence and incongruence

 The ideal self is who someone would like to be and it is thought that if there is a mismatch between who you think you are (your self-image) and your ideal self then this is what leads to low self-esteem. The bigger the discrepancy between who someone thinks they are and who they would like to be then the lower their self-esteem will be. Obviously, this also works the other way around and someone whose self-image is identical or very close to their ideal self will experience high self-esteem.

When a person’s self-image (also referred to as their ‘actual experience’) and ideal self do not match, this is referred to as incongruence. For example, if someone wants to be an air traffic controller but they do not have the relevant qualifications because they did badly at school, they would be incongruent in terms of their self-image and ideal self because the two do not match.

When a person’s ideal self and actual experience are consistent or very similar, a state of congruence exists, although this is very rare as most people consistently experience some level of incongruence. The development of congruence is dependent on unconditional positive regard (this is discussed in a later section) and Rogers argued that for a person to achieve self-actualisation they must be in a state of congruence.

Self-actualisation

Self-actualisation is a concept which refers to how a person can become the best possible version of themselves. In other words, it is how they achieve their unique potential. Rogers argued that people will always have a tendency to work towards being their ideal self, but in order to do this they need the help and support of others.

When we are made to feel good by other people, this leads to an increase in our self-esteem because the gap is closed between who we perceive ourselves to be and our ideal self. The smaller the gap between ideal self and self-image, the closer we are to self-actualisation.

Maslow developed what he referred to as a ‘hierarchy of needs’, which is shown in the diagram below. This will be discussed more clearly in the next section but it is worth looking at now so that you can familiarise yourself with its levels.