fei75766_ch10_309-344.indd 319  02/06/20 12:29 PM
Chapter 10    Rogers: Person-Centered Theory 319
Aschildren (oradults) become aware thatanother person hassome measure 
ofregard forthem, theybegin tovalue positive regard anddevalue negative regard. 
Thatis,theperson develops aneed tobeloved, liked, oraccepted byanother person, 
aneed thatRogers (1959) referred toaspositive regard. Ifweperceive thatothers, 
especially significant others, carefor,prize, orvalue us,thenourneed toreceive posi-
tiveregard isatleastpartially satisfied.
Positive regard isaprerequisite forpositive self-regard, defined astheexperi -
enceofprizing orvaluing one’s self.Rogers (1959) believed thatreceiving positive 
regard from others isnecessary forpositive self-regard, butonce positive self-regard is
established, itbecomes independent ofthecontinual need tobeloved. Thisconcep -
tionisquite similar toMaslow’s (seeChapter 9)notion thatwemust satisfy ourlove
andbelongingness needs before self-esteem needs canbecome active, butonce we
begin tofeelconfident andworthy, wenolonger require areplenishing supply oflove
andapproval from others.
Thesource ofpositive self-regard, then, liesinthepositive regard wereceive from 
others, butonceestablished, itisautonomous andself-perpetuating. AsRogers (1959) 
stated it,theperson then“becomes inasense his[orher]ownsignificant social other” 
(p.224).
Barriers to Psychological Health
Noteveryone becomes apsychologically healthy person. Rather, most people experi -
enceconditions ofworth, incongruence, defensiveness, anddisorganization.
Conditions of Worth
Instead ofreceiving unconditional positive regard, most people receive conditions of 
worth; thatis,theyperceive thattheirparents, peers, orpartners loveandaccept 
them onlyiftheymeet those people’s expectations andapproval. “Acondition of
worth arises when thepositive regard ofasignificant other isconditional, when the
individual feelsthatinsome respects he[orshe]isprized andinothers not”(Rogers, 
1959, p.209).
Conditions ofworth become thecriterion bywhich weaccept orreject our
experiences. Wegradually assimilate intoourself-structure theattitudes weperceive 
others expressing toward us,andintimewebegin toevaluate experiences onthis
basis. Ifweseethatothers accept usregardless ofouractions, thenwecome tobelieve 
thatweareprized unconditionally. Butifweperceive thatsome ofourbehaviors are
approved andsome disapproved, thenweseethatourworth isconditional. Eventu -
ally,wemaycome tobelieve those appraisals ofothers thatareconsistent withour
negative viewofself,ignore ourownsensory andvisceral perceptions, andgradually 
become estranged from ourrealororganismic self.
From early childhood forward, most ofuslearn todisregard ourownorgan -
ismic valuations andtolookbeyond ourselves fordirection andguidance. Tothe
degree thatweintroject thevalues ofothers, thatis,accept conditions ofworth, we
tendtobeincongruent oroutofbalance. Other people’s values canbeassimilated 
onlyindistorted fashion orattheriskofcreating disequilibrium andconflict within 
theself.Final PDF to printer