Personality Theorist: a Look at Carl Rogers

Personality Theorist: A Look at Carl Rogers Through his eyes, Carl Rogers' theory saw people in a basic form, which was relatively simple. They were either healthy or good, or at the very least, they were not bad or ill. This essay will outline his contributions to the field of psychology of personality and point out some of his simple theories. I want to begin by giving you some background on Carl Ransom Rogers. He was born in Oak Park, Illinois on January 8, 1902. At an early age he demonstrated signs of intelligence; he was able to read before kindergarten, so he started school from the second grade. He later went on to college and studied theology – and as part of those studies he was acting pastor of a church in Vermont. After attending a seminar called "Why am I entering the ministry", he had second thoughts about the ministry and turned to clinical and educational psychology, studying at Columbia University, where he received his Ph.D. in 1931 (Boeree, 1998). Carl Rogers began his clinical work at the Rochester Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, where he was exposed to such diverse influences as John Dewey, W. H. Kilpatrick, and Otto Rank (Smith, 1997). During his time at the clinic and being exposed to this unique combination of influences and the wide variety of individuals Rogers began to develop his own approach to psychology, and a strong belief in the positive nature of human beings. With the help of Abraham Maslow, a fellow theorist, Rogers developed what was called the humanist approach to psychology; this approach played an integral part in what was later called person-centered psychotherapy.
. Dagmar Pescitelli looked to examine Carl Rogers' theories more closely and wrote in his essay, An Analysis of Carl Rogers' Theory of Personality, that Rogers had a view of self, and a view of the human condition and his rationale for improvement of this condition. Rogers' humanistic conception of personality has both strengths