fei75766_ch10_309-344.indd 333  02/06/20 12:29 PM
Chapter 10    Rogers: Person-Centered Theory 333
clients showed littlechange intheirnotion ofwhat theaverage person waslike,they
manifested marked change intheirperceptions ofself.Inother words, intellectual 
insight doesnotresult inpsychological growth (Rudikoff, 1954).
Does therapy bring about noticeable changes inclients’ behavior asperceived 
byclose friends? Participants inboththetherapy andthecontrol groups wereasked 
tosupply theexperimenters withnames oftwointimate friends whowould beina
position tojudge overt behavioral changes.
Ingeneral, thefriends reported nosignificant behavioral changes intheclients 
from thepretherapy period toposttherapy. However, thisglobal rating ofnochange 
wasduetoacounterbalancing effect. Clients judged bytheirtherapists asbeing most 
improved received higher posttherapy maturity scores from theirfriends, whereas 
those rated asleastimproved received lower scores from theirfriends. Interestingly, 
before therapy, clients typically rated themselves lessmature thantheirfriends rated 
them, butastherapy progressed, theybegan toratethemselves higher and,there -
fore,more inagreement withtheirfriends’ ratings. Participants inthecontrol group 
showed nochanges throughout thestudy inemotional maturity asjudged byfriends 
(Rogers &Dymond, 1954).
Summary of Results
TheChicago Studies demonstrated thatpeople receiving client-centered therapy gen-
erally showed some growth orimprovement. However, improvement fellshort ofthe
optimum. Thetherapy group began treatment aslesshealthy thanthecontrol group, 
showed growth during therapy, andretained most ofthatimprovement throughout 
thefollow-up period. However, theynever attained thelevelofpsychological health 
demonstrated by“normal” people inthecontrol group.TherapyTesting points
Wait period
60 daysFollow-up
6–12 months
TherapyFollow-up
6–12 monthsOwn-control group No-wait groupTherapy group
FIGURE 10.1  Design of the Chicago Study.
Source: C.R.Rogers andR.F.Dymond, Psychotherapy and Personality Change ,1954. Copyright ©1954 The
University ofChicago Press, Chicago, IL.Final PDF to printer