fei75766_ch10_309-344.indd 317  02/06/20 12:29 PM
Chapter 10    Rogers: Person-Centered Theory 317
The Ideal Self
Thesecond subsystem oftheselfistheideal self, defined asone’s viewofselfasone
wishes tobe.Theideal selfcontains allthose attributes, usually positive, thatpeople 
aspire topossess. Awidegapbetween theideal selfandtheself-concept indicates 
incongruence andanunhealthy personality. Psychologically healthy individuals 
perceive littlediscrepancy 
between their self-concept 
andwhat theyideally would 
liketobe.
Awareness
Without awareness the
self-concept andtheideal 
selfwould notexist. Rog-
ers(1959) defined aware -
nessas“thesymbolic 
representation (notneces -
sarily inverbal symbols) of
some portion ofourexperi -
ence” (p.198). Heusedthe
termsynonymously with
bothconsciousness and
symbolization.
Incongruence between theideal selfandtheperceived selfcanresult inconflict andunhappiness. 
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