Loyola University Chicago Loyola eCommons Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 1961 An Analysis of Some of the Implications of Carl Rogers' Hypotheses Concerning Human Nature George Roderick Youngs Loyola University Chicago Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss Part of the Education Commons Recommended Citation Youngs, George Roderick, "An Analysis of Some of the Implications of Carl Rogers' Hypotheses Concerning Human Nature" (1961). Dissertations. 624. https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss/624 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Loyola eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Loyola eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. Copyright © 1961 George Roderick Youngs AN ANALYSIS OF SQ{E OF '!'HE nwUCA.'1'IONS OF CARL ROOmS' HYPO'mESES CONCERmNG HO'ML~ NATURE It,r George Roderick Younge A D188ertation SUbad. tted to the Faculty of the Qradaate SChool of Loyola Un1 versity in Partial Fl1lf1llmtmt of the Reqa1rements for the Degree of Doctor of EducaU(l1 George Roderick Youngs va8 born in Orud .ven, Mlohlpn, JanuIT 6, 1911. Be vas arad_ted trOll Calvin College, GraM Iapi48, Miohigan, in June of 1932 with the desree of Baohelor of Arts. In 1935 be vas graduated frOll CalY1n Setl.1na17 with the degree of Bacbelor or TheolO8Y. '!'be author receiv­ ed the ..ster of Arts degree 1'1"011 Michigan State Universit,- in 1940 in the fieUs of pa)"Cbolt:7gy and sociology_ Ie baa done graduate work at Georse Wil11all8 College and the University ot Chicago. Ie began work towards the doet.oral degree at Loyola's evenine school in 1951. Mr. Youn.aa vas ordained to the ministry 1n 1936 and bas held paatorates in Lansing, Mtcb1pn, and 1n Ch1caSO. Ie val a 'DCA Secretal"1 trom 1942 to 1949 with program and cOWlSeling re.pomdbIUties. In 1949 he became Guidance Director at the Chicago Christian 1f18h Sebool and since 1953 baa beell Principal of Ti,lIoth7 Christian High SChool in Cicero, nlino18. Ie bas been a book rev1_er tor .1i1&0118 Education and Elnenta£l Inlll,b .p- zl.. a, held ottice in various protea.ional orpnisatious, and is the msident of tbe Christian Educator's Association. Ie bas been interim pIlstor 01' .. nwaber of Cblcagoland ohurches, and i8 also Director of Counsel- , ina in a local 1IIedical clinic. Bis Master's thads vaa Marrial! Coun8,J4,y !!1. !!!!.ljeD.lgl 92PE!!1 t l­ Be bas allo published tlA Selected Bibliography on Marriage, the Faaily I and u. 111 Sex Education tor Pastora, Rallg1cws l4ucators, and COWlselors," Rel1110ua Educatlon, xxx.v.u, Jul7, 19421 itA Prolegomena to a Chr1stiall PaycbolCQ'," Calv19 FQruIl, MIlI'March, 19531 ..veNl artlcles in the Christlan lome e! §Shoo~: and baa _de contribution. to the Prsge,d1gs1 s!.!!!!. Associatlon f2r qbElstlan PsYgholopoal 8\941.. , IV, 1958, and VI, 1960. Chapter Pap 1. .!lI'.I!t~OI • • • • • • .. .. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 1 Development of guidanc.... -Early torma of guidance-­ Be.at trend. 10 su14.nc.-orowth 1n pidanc....... Dt.. erpnces 1n pidance concept...... lapol"taac. of t,h. Boser1an ..pbs.le--Bogers and persoaallty theory-­ Stu4J conoeraed with basic a8stlllptlon8 of Boger. re b.waIul natlU"e. > II. 17 'IlINetold or1I1" of n0D41rectlve tbe'1"&py-.lt8 bu.an.lstlc balis--It. p8ychoanelytlc or111.-·It. pheuoaeoolog1cal oriatatlon--cl.••• lf1oatlon ot n0a41rectlv1s••• basic­ ally psJChoanalytlc•• Specltlc contributlooa ot Rosers. m. 39 Msthodol.osY of cOWlSellna.... Pr1nclple of vara accept­ ano.--Dapendellce of aeth04 on philosopby-...creation ot rapport-.!ecbnlque ot full permis.iven.ss-. Eltablia~nt ot eapathy--PrlllC1ple of I.olation of eli.nt--lased on primacy of emotlon.·IeJectlon ot aU save cllnt ..tenal .... ...concentr.tion 011 feellt11 .tat8a--Beflectlon of feeling tecbnlque-.Process of theraw--Self.. cceptaaoe by the c11.at--s.U­ reorpD1zat1oa by the c11ea.t-Developaellt ot new be_:'floral pett.l'1l8.-8\1811lry. IV. TIl BASIC ASS1IIPrIOIS eoJC:iMDIJ IUJWf JI.AfJ.'UD D ROOI8S' ~y • • • .. • • • • • • • • .. • • • • •• 88 Belationahip of the ..U and the orpnl......... tu.re of the selt--Origin of the seU.-Assumpt1ons of develop;sent·-B1ological basis or buman nature-­ Tendency toward personality adJustment-.Paycb1c and biologic home08taa1a--~ndene1 toward realistic social goala... 'l'he internal frame of reterence-­ Importance of present react1on.-lature of rea11t1-­ Emotional reaction to experience.-Emot1oaal climate 1v v Chapter basic to personal! t1 structure and dlsorganlu.tion-'" Valuational ayateu relative to felt needs of indlvldual··londirect1ve theory and education-­ Therapy and education...... Role of the teacher--Iducatlon and. human nature--SUIIII1ary_ V. !HI EVAWNnOI aI lfOIl)IREC'lIVE ASst.1MPl'IOBS RIOAIWDO JIJICAJI IIA!U.RI • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• 143 Rogers' biological hwaanism .. -'1'be concept of the aelt'--Roa:ers' view of the aelt 1s t'unctlonal.-Rogers· determ1n1sm.. .Qe.t&ltism and the nature at man-­ Rogers' biological t.nd.nology... ...IJ.'he principle ot' bomeo6t8s1s not ps;ych1ca111 demonatrate4--Dltter­ entiation and 1ntegrat1on--!be principle ot construc­ tive grCNth foreea-·Human nature as Innate17 good .... Rosers and traditional therap:v"" .. Irmate destructive t'orces.. -Romers ov.rsimplifies the human situation-­ Man as the .asure at all tb1ng.... -Locua ot ettect!ve thera-py--.ture ot aut-heri,,--Iepra' approach to rea11ty--!be Internal trame ot reference and rea11ty-­ Bogera' View of reality too s1mple--Reaetlon of others to Rogers-·Ropr.· su'bJeetlvisa oneaided-..cUent centered theNPJ 1. i_rINd. 1n the present--PaJchlc health 1s out-going.... Roprs asserts an orsan1sadc evaluative proce..... Evaluation as orpn1sll1c or experlentlal--Valuatlon a. process and 8ystem--logers and the nature of educat1on--!breat as a bar to ed\1eation. VI. SUIIIARt AJfJ) COlICLUSIOJIS ...." , • • .. .. • • • • • ". 228 Ditficultie. in as.. s.1ns Bogen t tormulatlona.... Reswae of stu.dy--Rogera· technIque basically pqohoanal7tic...... 11. philoaopbJ • biological hUNani ...-Be enda in the impasse of determlnl ......V.lues are relative..... Po.itive oontributions of Rogers to psycbotherapy--Conatructive growtb fore.e .. ·Emphasls "'pot). the s.lt..... !be condl tlons of l1bert:v--Tbe therapeutic proce8.--Roser. and ph11osophy--Conclua1ona. CHAPrER I Iltl'ROWCTIOI The Development Of Guidance Guldance a$ an activity 1s nearly as old as the human race itself. The Old Testament reflects a strongly patriarchal organization of society in which the father of the clan or tribe made basic decisions affecting the life of the entire group_ The atory of Abraham selecting a wite for his son illustrates this paternalIstIc and authoritarian guidance. The fact that Moses found it necessary to create a council of wIse elders to assist the people in solvin;; their problems 1s an indication that even in so early a period indIviduals were seeking aid from others than themselves. Early Forms Of Guidance The inductIon rites of many tribes of preliterate or semiliterate peoples even today contain elements of an early type of;tuldance program. Margaret Mead, in Coming £t~~ Sam08; describes how the elders instructed the youth in patterns of acceptable tribal behavior as well as being the leaders in the sacred r1tes. The priests of Egj~t, the shaman or mediCine man of the f~erlean Indian, and the guardians of the Greek mysteries all performed similar guidance functIons as well as the1r specifIcally relIgIous duties. 1 2 Equally open to observation 1a the tact that tor any generations troubled 1nd.I Vid.uals turned to the local pastor or to 80U other person in the community deemed capable ot providing assIstance with the given problem. Specialized training tor rendering this assistance scarcely existed. Counsel waa sought either because ot the pos1t1on or the reputation ot an 1ndividual in the coamun1ty. Since it 1s unlikely that the hu.an race baa ever been without problems that were very real both to the group and to the individuals concerned it 1. likely that guidance bas been a continuing activity. Slmple observatlon would also indicate the probability that there always bave been those who either could not or would not solve their own problems. IQ some torm or fashion society has tound means to asslst the trOUbled person. Guidance aa an act1vity 1s therefore nothing new 1n the experience of men. Contributions Of Research Into Mental Abnormality Until the latter half of the nineteenth century, when the Dalles of Cbarcot, Mesmer, Janet, and Frewi came into prOll11nence, there seems to bave been 11ttle indication that guidance was any kind of a tpeclallzed function. People of education or native intelligence vere aimply assumed to be quali­ tled to guide theee less favored. In the early stages of specialized inquiry the focus was almo8t entirely on the pathological. Pastors, teachers, lawyers, and physiCians vere deemed perfectly capable of meet1ng the problems of thoae regarded as normal 1ruUv1duals. The pioneer efforts to establish the baaes of Mntal and emotional dev1at10ns lent 811&11 impetus to any program of guIdance for others than those regarded aa abnormal. Even today 3 it is not uncommon to find reflections of the feeling tbat counseling by a trained indIvidual i8 only for those vith problems regarded as beyond the range of the noreal. The early formulations of scientitic guidance vere, therefore, largelJ concerned with the pathological. Through this initial orientation came much ot our current knowledge concerning psychological processea. The concept of guidance as a desirable aDd legitImate assistance to normal individuals baa enjoyed a steady growth since the turn of the twentieth century. This development aince World War II II1ght even be considered a spectacular one. 'l'here are undoubtedl,. a number ot very important tactors contributing to this rise in popularity of guid­ ance. ror the purposes of thts study, however, there are two that seem especially algn1f1eant.