fei75766_ch10_309-344.indd 341  02/06/20 12:29 PM
Chapter 10    Rogers: Person-Centered Theory 341
and understood by another healthy individual. However, Rogers (1959) was 
also aware that people can be quite brutal, nasty, and neurotic:
I do not have a Pollyanna view of human nature. I am quite aware that out 
of defensiveness and inner fear individuals can and do behave in ways 
which are horribly destructive, immature, regressive, anti-social, hurtful. Yet, 
one of the most refreshing and invigorating parts of my experience is to 
work with such individuals and to discover the strongly positive directional 
tendencies which exist in them, as in all of us, at the deepest levels. (p. 21)
This tendency toward growth and self-actualization has a biological basis. 
Just as plants and animals have an innate tendency toward growth and 
fulfillment, so too do human beings. All organisms actualize themselves, but 
only humans can become self-actualizing. Humans are different from plants 
and animals primarily because they have self-awareness. To the extent that 
we have awareness, we are able to make free choices and to play an active 
role in forming our personalities.
Rogers’ theory is also high on teleology,  maintaining that people strive 
with purpose toward goals that they freely set for themselves. Again, under 
proper therapeutic conditions, people consciously desire to become more 
fully functioning, more open to their experiences, and more accepting of self 
and others.
Rogers placed more emphasis on individual differences and unique -
ness  than on similarities. If plants have individual potential for growth, people 
have even greater uniqueness and individuality. Within a nurturant environ -
ment, people can grow in their own fashion toward the process of being 
more fully functioning.
Although Rogers did not deny the importance of unconscious processes, 
his primary emphasis was on the ability of people to consciously  choose their 
own course of action. Fully functioning people are ordinarily aware of what 
they are doing and have some understanding of their reasons for doing it.
On the dimension of biological versus social influences,  Rogers favored 
the latter. Psychological growth is not automatic. In order to move toward actu -
alization, one must experience empathic understanding and unconditional posi -
tive regard from another person who is genuine or congruent. Rogers firmly 
held that, although much of our behavior is determined by heredity and environ -
ment, we have within us the capacity to choose and to become self-directed. 
Under nurturant conditions, this choice “always seems to be in the direction of 
greater socialization, improved relationships with others” (Rogers, 1982, p. 8).
Rogers (1982) did not claim that, if left alone, people would be righ -
teous, virtuous, or honorable. However, in an atmosphere without threat, 
people are free to become what they potentially can be. No evaluation in 
terms of morality applies to the nature of humanity. People simply have the 
potential for growth, the need for growth, and the desire for growth. By 
nature, they will strive for completion even under unfavorable conditions, but 
under poor conditions they do not realize their full potential for psychological 
health. However, under the most nurturant and favorable conditions, people 
will become more self-aware, trustworthy, congruent, and self-directed, quali -
ties that will move them toward becoming persons of tomorrow.Final PDF to printer