fei75766_ch10_309-344.indd 339  02/06/20 12:29 PM
Chapter 10    Rogers: Person-Centered Theory 339
relationship between satisfaction withlifeandgritbecame statistically insignificant 
when authenticity andsense ofcoherence wereadded tothemodel. Thissuggests 
thatsimply being gritty isnotenough togiveusafeeling ofsatisfaction withourlives. 
Instead, asense ofcoherence within ourselves andanauthentic connection between 
ourgoalpursuits andourcoreselfareneeded inorder forgrittobring uslifesatisfac -
tion.Inother words, thepursuit ofourgoals must bemeaningful to us —thepursuit 
must beconnected toourtrueandauthentic motives forustofeelsatisfied withit.It’s
nousegrittily pursuing goals thathavenoorlowself-relevance.
These results suggest thatgritmaybesomething particularly strongly con-
nected totheself.Authenticity andsense ofcoherence provide aconnection towho
wereally are,andthismayprovide a“compass” forgritty individuals inpursuing their
goals (Vainio &Daukantaitė, 2015). Thismeans thatgrit,rather thanbeing adogged 
determination, blind toanycosts thatmight accrue inpursuit ofgoals, isonly“true” 
ifthegoals areconsistent withourinner values. These findings suggest thatpeople 
should setouttodetermine what theirrealvalues are,andthenbring alltheirgritto
thepursuit ofthegoals thatlineupwiththose values. Indoing so,gritwilllikely keep
them hopeful about thefuture, givethem asense ofmeaning inlife,andinthelong
runbring them real,lasting happiness.
CarlRogers clearly hadkeeninsight intothehuman condition, andhisideas 
continue tobesupported bythemost modern research. Ifyouengage inexperiences 
thatarepartofyourideal self,youwillbeledtopursuits thataremore engaging, 
enriching, interesting, andrewarding (Schwartz &Waterman, 2006). Butwhat ifyou
don’t know what specific pursuits youwillfindthemost rewarding? Taken together, 
these various linesofresearch support theideathatwehaveabuilt-in system (the
OVP) thatwilldirect ustoward fulfilling pursuits even, or,perhaps especially, when 
lifepresents uswithstressful challenges. Allwehavetodoislisten toourgut.
Critique of Rogers
How welldoesRogerian theory satisfy thesixcriteria ofauseful theory? First, does
itgenerate research andsuggest testable hypotheses? Although Rogerian theory has
produced much research intherealm ofpsychotherapy andclassroom learning (see
Rogers, 1983), ithasbeen onlymoderately productive outside these twoareas and
thusreceives onlyanaverage rating onitsability tospark research activity within the
general fieldofpersonality.
Second, werateRogerian theory highonfalsifiability. Rogers wasoneofonlya
fewtheorists whospelled outhistheory inanif-then framework, andsuchaparadigm 
lends itself toeither confirmation ordisconfirmation. Hisprecise language facilitated 
research attheUniversity ofChicago andlaterattheUniversity ofWisconsin that
exposed histheory oftherapy tofalsification. Unfortunately, since Rogers’ death, 
many humanistically oriented followers havefailed toputhismore general theory 
totest.
Third, doesperson-centered theory organize knowledge intoameaningful frame -
work? Although much oftheresearch generated bythetheory hasbeen limited to
interpersonal relations, Rogerian theory nevertheless canbeextended toarelatively 
widerange ofhuman personality. Rogers’ interests went beyond theconsulting room Final PDF to printer