fei75766_ch10_309-344.indd 310  02/06/20 12:29 PM
Part III    Humanistic/Existential Theories310
Heshared hiselementary school daysinOakPark, Illinois, withErnest Heming -
wayandthechildren ofFrank Lloyd Wright, buthehadnoaspirations foreither 
literature orforarchitecture. Instead, hewanted tobeafarmer, ascientific farmer 
whocared about plants andanimals andhowtheygrew anddeveloped.
Although hewasfrom alarge family, hewasquite shyandlacking insocial 
skills. Asensitive boy,hewaseasily hurtbytheteasing hereceived from classmates 
andsiblings.
Atthebeginning ofhishighschool years, hisparents—hoping foramore whole -
some andreligious atmosphere—moved theirfamily toafarmabout 45miles westof
Chicago. Themove methisparents’ purpose. Inthisisolated atmosphere, thefamily 
developed close tieswithoneanother butnotwithyoung people from other families. 
Reading theBible, working hard, andtaking careoffarmanimals andplants occupied 
much ofhistime. Although hebelieved thathisparents cared verymuch fortheir
children, healsobelieved thattheywerequite controlling intheirchild-rearing prac-
tices. Asaresult, thechildren grew upinahome thatincluded almost nosocial life
andanabundance ofhardwork. Dancing, playing cards, drinking carbonated bever -
ages, andattending thetheater wereallforbidden.
Inthisenvironment, theyoung mandeveloped ascientific attitude toward 
farming, taking detailed notes onhisobservations. These notes taught himabout the
“necessary andsufficient” conditions fortheoptimal growth ofplants andanimals. 
Throughout hishighschool years andintohiscollege days, heretained apassionate 
interest inscientific agriculture. However, henever didbecome afarmer. After two
years ofcollege, hechanged hislifegoalfrom agriculture totheministry andlaterto
psychology.
Butdevotion tothescientific method wastoremain withCarlRogers 
foralifetime, andhisresearch onthe“necessary andsufficient” conditions for
human psychological growth wasatleastpartially responsible forhiswinning 
thefirst Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award granted bytheAmerican 
Psychological Association.
Overview of Client-Centered Theory
Although heisbestknown asthefounder ofclient-centered therapy ,CarlRogers 
developed ahumanistic theory ofpersonality thatgrew outofhisexperiences asa
practicing psychotherapist. Unlike Freud, whowasprimarily atheorist andsecond -
arilyatherapist, Rogers wasaconsummate therapist butonlyareluctant theorist 
(Rogers, 1959). Hewasmore concerned withhelping people thanwithdiscovering 
whytheybehaved astheydid.Hewasmore likely toask“How canIhelpthisperson 
grow anddevelop?” thantoponder thequestion “What caused thisperson todevelop 
inthismanner?”
Likemany personality theorists, Rogers builthistheory onthescaffold pro-
vided byexperiences asatherapist. Unlike most ofthese other theorists, however, he
continually called forempirical research tosupport bothhispersonality theory and
histherapeutic approach. Perhaps more thananyother therapist–theorist,  Rogers 
(1986) advocated abalance between tender-minded andhardheaded studies that
would expand knowledge ofhowhumans feelandthink.Final PDF to printer