Personality Theories – Self theory

The best known self-theorist is Carl Rogers. The individual as a whole is the central focus of Roger’s theory of personality. He distinguishes between two components of the personality – the organism and the self. The organism is the center of experience, and experience is everything that is going on within a person at a particular time. The self, is best thought as the concept of ‘I’, ‘me’, ‘myself’. The self is in fact one’s own awareness of himself as he works, plays, studies, sings, relates to others, and so on. In order to achieve the goal of self growth, four conditions are necessary. First, the choices available must be clearly perceives, that is, the individual must be aware of alternatives. Second, the choices must be clearly symbolized. Third, he must be loved and respected by others. Stemming from positive regard by others is the fourth condition necessary for self growth.