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SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THE ORGANIZATIONOF PERSONALITY 1

CARL R. ROGERSUniversity o f ChicagoIN V A R I O U S f i e l d s o f s c i e n c e r ap id s t r i d e sh a v e b e e n m a d e w h e n d i r e c t o b s e r v a t i o nof s i g n i f i c a n t p r o c e s s e s h a s b e co m e p o s s i b l e .

In m e d i c i n e , w h e n c i r c u m s t an c e s h a v e p e rm i t t e dt h e p h y s i c i a n to pe e r d i r e c t l y i n t o th e s t o m achof h is patient, u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f d i g e s t i v e processesh a s i n c r e a s e d and t he i n f l u ence o f e m o t i o n a l t e n s i o nu p o n a l l aspects o f that process h as been mo r ea c cu r a t e l y o b s e rv e d an d u n d e r s t o o d . I n o u r w o rkw i t h n o n d i r e c t i v e t h e r a p y w e o f t e n f e e l t h a t w ea re h a v i n g a p sy ch o l o g i c a l o p p o r t u n i t y c o m p a r ab l et o t h i s med i ca l e x p e r i e n c e a n o p p o r t u n i t y t oo b s e r v e d i r e c t l y a n u m b e r o f t h e e f f e c t i v e proce s s e so f p e r s o n a l i t y . Q u i t e a s i d e f r o m any q u e s t i o nr e g a r d i n g n o n d i r e c t i v e t h e r a p y a s t h e r a p y , h e r ei s a pre c i ou s v e i n o f o b s e r v a t i o n a l m a t e r i a l o fu n u s u a l v a l u e f o r t h e s t u d y o f p e r s o n a l i t y .

C H A R A C T E R I S T I C S O F T O E O B S E R V A T I O N A LMATICRTAT.

T h e r e a r e s e v e r a l w a y s i n w h i c h t h e r a w c l i n i c a ld a t a t o w h i c h w e h a v e h ad a cc e s s i s u n i q u e i ni t s v a l u e f o r u n d e r s t a n d i n g p e r s o n a l i t y . T h ef a c t t h a t t h e s e v e r b a l exp re s s i on s o f i n n e r d y n a m i c sa rc p r e s e rv e d b y e l e c t r i ca l r e c o r d i n g m ak e s p o s s i b l ea d e t a il e d analysis o f a sort no t h e r e t o f o r e po s s ib l e .R e co r d i n g h as g i v en u s a m i c r o s co p e by w h i c h w em ay exam in e a t l e i s u r e , a nd i n m i n u t e de t a i l ,a l m o s t e v e ry a s p e c t o f w h a t w a s , i n i ts o c cu r r e n c e ,a f l e e t i ng mo m en t impo s s i b l e o f accu ra t e ob se rva -t i o n .A n o t h e r s c i e n t i f i c a l l y f o r t u n a t e c ha r a c t e r i s t i co f t h i s m a t e r i a l i s t h e f a c t that th e v e r b a l p r o d u c -t i o n s o f the c l ient a r e biased to a m i n i m a l d e g r e eb y t h e therapist. Material f r om c l i e n t - c e n t e r e di n t e r v i e w s probably co me s c l o s e r to b e i n g a "pure"express ion of attitudes than has yet been achieved

1 Addr e s s o f the re t i r ing President o f the American Psy-chological Association delivered at the Sep t embe r 1947 An-n u a l M e e t i n g .

t h r o u g h o t h e r m e a n s . O n e c a n r e a d t h r o u g h acomp l e t e r e co rd e d ca se o r l i s t e n t o i t , w i t h o u tf i n d i n g m o r e t h a n a h a l f - d o / e n i n s t a n c e s i n w h i c hth e t h e r a p i s t ' s v i e w s o n a ny p o i n t a rc e v i d e n t .On e w o u l d f i n d i t i m p o s s i b l e to f o r m an e s t i m a t eas to the therapist's v i e w s a b o u t personality dy-n am i cs . O n e c o u l d n o t d e t e rm i n e h i s d i a g n o s t i cv i ew s , h i s standards o f b ehav io r , h i s so c ia l class.T h e o n e v a l u e o r s t a n d a r d he l d by t h e t h e r ap i s tw h i c h w o u l d e x h i b i t i t s e l f i n h i s t o n e o f v o i c e ,r e spon se s , an d a c t i v i t y , i s a d e e p r e s p e c t f o r t h ep e r s o n a l i ty a n d a t t i t u d e s o f t h e c l i e n t as a s ep a ra t ep e r s o n . Tt is d i f f i c u l t t o s e e how t h i s w o u l d b ia st h e co n t e n t o f t h e i n t e r v i e w , e x c e p t t o p e r m i td e e p e r exp re s s i on t h a n th e c l i e n t w o u l d o r d i n a r i l ya l l o w h i m s e l f . T h i s a l m o s t c o m p l e t e l a ck o f a nyd i s t o r t i n g a t t i t u d e i s f e l t , an d s o m e t i m e s exp r e s s edby t h e c l i e n t . O ne w o m a n s a y s :

"It's a lmo s t impe r sona l . 1 l i ke y o u o f cour se f d o n ' tk n o w w h y I s h o u l d l i ke y o u o r w hy I s h o u l d n ' t l i k e y o u .It's a pecu l i a r t h i n g . I ' v e n e v e r h ad that r e la t ionsh ipw i t h a n y b o d y b e f o r e a n r l l ' v e o f t e n t h o u g h t a b o u t i tA lot of t i m e s T w a l k o u t w i t h a f e e l i n g o f e l a t i o n t ha t ,yo u t h ink h i g h ly o f m e , a n d o f cour se at the s am e t im eJ h a v e th e f e e l i n g t h a t 'Gee , h e m u s t t h i n k I 'm an a w f u lj e r k ' o r s o m e t h i n g l i k e t h a t . H u t i t d o e s n ' t r e a l l y t ho sef e e l i n g s a r e n ' t s o d e e p that I c an f o rm an o p in i o n o n e wayo r th e o the r abo u t you ."

H e r e i t w o u l d se e m t h a t e v e n t h o u g h s h e w o u l dl i k e to d i scove r some type o f e v a l u a t i o n a l a t t i t u d e ,s h e i s u n a b l e t o d o s o . P u b l i s h e d s t u d i e s an dr e s e a r ch a s y e t u n p u b l i s h e d b e a r o u t t h i s p o i n tt h a t c o u n s e l o r r e s p o n s e s w h i c h a r c i n a n y w aye v a l u a t i o n a l o r d i s t o r t i n g as to c o n t e n t a r e a t am i n i m u m , t h u s e n h a n c i n g th e w o r t h o f s u c h i n t e r -v i e w s f o r p e r s o n a l i t y s t u d y .

Th e counse lo r attitude o f w a r m t h a n d u n d e r -s t a n d i n g , w e l l d e s c r i b e d b y S n y d e r ( 9 ) a n d R o g e r s(8) , a l so he lps to m a x i m i z e t h e f r e e d o m o f e x p re s -s i on by t h e i n d i v i d u a l . Th e c l i e n t e x p e r i e n c e s

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TILE O R G A N I Z A T I O N or P E R S O N A L I T Y 359s u f f i c i e n t i n t e r e s t i n h im a s a p e r son , and s u f f i c i e n ta c c e p t an c e , to e n ab l e h im t o t a l k o p e n l y , n o t o n l ya b o u t s u r f a c e a t t i tu d e s , b u t i n c r e a s i n g l y a b o u ti n t i m a t e attitudes a n d f e e l i n g s h i d d e n e v e n f r o mh i m s e l f . H e n ce i n t h e s e r e c o r d e d i n t e r v i e w sw e have m a t e r i a l o f v e r y c o n s i d e r ab l e d e p t h s of a r a s p e r s o n a l i t y d y n am i c s i s c o n c e r n e d , a l o n gw i t h a f r e e d o m f r o m d i s t o r t i o n .

Finally the very n a t u r e of the i n t e rv i ew s andt h e t e c h n i q u e s b y w h i ch t h e y a r e h a n d l e d g i v e u sa rare opportunity to see to some extent t h r o u ghth e eye s o f a n o t h e r p e r s o n t o p e r c e i v e th e w o r l das it appears to h im , to achieve at least par t i a l l y ,th e i n t e rn a l , f r a m e o f r e f e r e n c e o f a n o t h e r p e r s o n .We see his behavior t h r o u gh his eyes, and also thep s y c ho l o g i c a l m e a n i n g w h i c h i t had f o r h i m . W es e e a l s o c h an g e s i n p e rs o n a l i ty a n d b e h av i o r ,a n d t h e m e a n i n g s w h i c h th o s e c h a n g e s h a v e f o rt h e i n d i v i d u a l . W e a r e a d m i t te d f r e e l y i n t o t h eb a c k s t a g e o f t h e p e r s o n 's l i v i ng w h e r e w e c a no b s e r v e f r o m w i t h i n s o m e o f t h e d r a m a s o f i n t e r n a lc h a n g e , w h i c h a rc o f t e n f a r m o r e c o m p e l l i n g an dm o v i n g than th e d r a m a w h i c h i s p r e s e n t e d o n t h es t a g e v i e w e d by the publ ic . Only a n o v e l i s t or apoe t cou l d d o j u s t i c e t o t he d e e p s t r u g g l e s w h i c h w ea re p e rm i t t e d to o b s e r v e f r o m w i t h i n th e c l i e n t ' sow n w o r l d o f r e a l i t y .

This rare o p p o r t u n i t y to obse rv e s o d i r e c t l yand so c l e a r ly t h e i nne r dynamics o f p e r son a l i t yis a learning expe r i e nce of the d e e p e s t sort for thec l i n i c i an . Mos t o f c l i n i ca l p sycho logy and psy -chiatry involves j u d g e m e n t s about the i n d i v i dua l ,j u d g e m e n t s w h i c h m u s t , o f n e ce s s i t y , b e base d o nso m e f r am e w o rk b r o u gh t to the situation by thec l i n i c i an . To try co n t i n u a l l y to see and t h i nkwith th e i n d i v i dua l , a s i n c l i e n t - c e n t e r e d t h e r ap y ,i s a m i n d s t r e t c h i n g e x p e r i e n c e i n w h i c h l e a r n i n ggo e s o n apace b e cau s e th e c l i n i c i an b r i n g s t o t hei n t e r v i e w no p r e - d e t c r m i n e d y a r d s t i c k b y w h i c h toj u d g e th e m a t e r i a l .I w i s h i n this p ap e r to t ry to b r i n g y o u s o m e o fth e c l i n i ca l ob se rva t i on s wh i ch w e have m a d e asw e h av e r e p e a t e d l y p e e r e d t h r o u gh these psy -c h o l o g i c a l w i n d o w s i n to p e r s o n a l i t y , a nd t o ra i sew i t h yo u s o m e o f t he q u e s t i o n s about th e o r g an i z a -t io n o f p e r s o n a l i t y w h i c h t h e s e o b s e r v a t i o n s havef o r c e d u p o n us. I shall not attempt to presentt h e s e o b s e r v a t i o n s i n l o g i c a l o r d e r , b u t r a t h e r i nthe o r d e r in w h i c h they impressed t h emse l v e s upon

o ur n o t i c e . Wh a t I sha l l o f f e r i s no t a s e r i e s o fr e s e a rch f i n d i n g s , b u t on ly t h e f i r s t step i n t h a tp roce s s o f g r a d u a l a p p r o x i m a t i o n w h i c h w e ca l lsc i ence , a d e s c r i p t i o n o f s o m e o b s e rv e d p h e n o m e n aw h i ch appear t o be s i g n i f i c an t , and s o m e h i g h l ytentative e x p l a n a t i o n s o f t h e s e p h e n o m e n a .

XT1K R K L A ' H O IS' O F TIIK ORGANIZED P l i K C K P T U A I .FIELD TO BEHAVIOR

One s i m p l e o b s e r v a t i o n , w h i c h i s r e pe a t e d ove rand over aga in in each success fu l therapeutic case,s e e m s t o h a v e r a t h e r d e e p t h e o r e t i c a l i m p l i c a t i o n s .It is that as change s o ccu r in the perception of selfand in the pe rcep t i on o f r e a l i t y , ch an g e s o c cu r inbehav io r . In therapy, these pe rcep tua l changesa re m o r e o f t e n c o n c e r n e d w i t h th e self t h a n w i t hth e e x t e r n a l w o r l d . He nc e w e f i n d in t h e r ap y t h a tas the p e r c e p t i o n o f se l f a l t e r s , b e h av i o r a l t e r s .P e r h a p s an i l l u s t r a t i o n wi l l i n d i c a t e th e type o fo b s e r v a t i o n u p o n w h i c h t h i s s t a t e m e n t i s based.

A y o u n g w o m a n , a g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t w h o m w es ha l l cal l Miss Vib , came i n f o r n i n e i n t e r v i e w s .If w e co m p a r e t h e f i rs t i n t e r v i e w w i t h t h e l a s t,s t r i k i n g c h an g e s a r e e v i d e n t . P e r h ap s s o m e f e a t u r e sof t h i s c h an g e m ay b e c o n v e y e d b y t a k in g f r o m th ef i r s t and last i n t e r v i e w s a l l th e m a j o r statementsr e g a r d i n g s e l f , and a l l t h e m a j o r s t a t e m e n t s r e g a r d i n gcu r r e n t b e h av i o r . In t h e f i r s t i n t e rv i ew , f o r e x -am p l e , h e r pe rcep t i on o f he rs e l f may b e c r u d e l yindicated by taking all her own statements abouth e r s e l f , g r o u p i n g th o s e w h i c h s e em s i m i l a r , bu to th e rw i s e d o i n g a m i n i m u m o f editing, and r e t a i n ingso fa r a s po s s i b l e , h e r o w n w o r d s . W e t h en co m eou t w i t h this as the conscious perception o f selfw h i c h w as h e r s at the o u t s e t o f c o u n s e l i n g .

"J f e e l d i s o r g a n i z e d , m u d d l e d ; T ' v e lost a l l d i r e c t i on ;my pe r s ona l l i f e h a s d i s i n t e g r a t e d ."] sorta experience things f r o m the f o r e f r on t of mycon sc i ou sne s s , bu t n o t h i n g s i n k s in ve ry d e e p ; t h i ng sdon't s e em rea l to me; 1f e e l n o t h i n g m a t te r s ; I don't h a v eany emo t i ona l r e spon se to situations; I'm w o r r i e d aboutm y s e l f .

"I haven't been acting l ik e m ys e l f ; it doesn't seem l ikem e ; I'm a d i f f e r e n t pe r son a l t o g e t h e r f r om w h a t I us e dto be in the past.

"I don't und e r s t and myse l f ; I haven't k n o w n w h a t wash a p p e n i n g t o m e ."I h a v e w i t h d r a w n . from ev e ry th i n g , a n d f e e l a l l r i g h to n ly w h e n I 'm al l a l one and no on e c an exp ec t me to dot h i n g s .

"I don't ca re about my pe r sona l app ea ranc e .

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360 T . E I K A M E R I C A N P S Y C H O L O G I S T"I don't k n o w anything a n y m o r e ." I f e e l gu i l t y a bou t th e t h i n g s I h a v e l e f t u n d o n e ."I don't t h i n k I cou ld e v e r a s sume r e spon s i b i l i t y for

anything."If w e attempt to e v a l u a t e this p i c t u r e o f selff r o m an ex t e r na l f r a m e o f r e f e r enc e va r i o u s d i a g -

n o s t i c l abe l s m ay come to m ind . T r y i n g to pe r -ce ive i t so le ly f r om th e client ' s f r a m e o f r e f e r enc ew e o b s e r v e that t o t h e y o u n g w o m a n her se l f s h eappea r s d i s o r g an iz ed , and no t h e r s e l f . She i sp e r p l e x e d and almost u n a c q u a i n t e d w i t h w h a t i sgo i n g on i n he r s e l f . Sh e f e e l s u n a b l e and unw i l l i n gto f unc t i on in any r espons ib le or soc ia l way. Thisi s a t l e a s t a s ampl in g o f t h e w ay she expe r i e nce s o rperce iv e s he r s e l f .

Her behav io r i s en t i r e ly cons i s t en t w i t h th i sp i c t u r e o f s e l f . I f we abs t rac t al l he r s t a t emen t sde s c r ib ing he r behav io r , i n t he s ame f a s h i on a s w eabs t r a c ted he r s t a tem en t s abou t s e l f , th e f o l l ow i ngpa t t e r n e m e r g e s a pattern w h i c h in t h i s c as e w a sco r r obo r a t ed b y ou t s i d e obs e r va t i on .

"I cou l dn ' t get up n e r v e to come in b e f o r e ; I h a v e n ' tavailed myse l f o f help."Eve ry th i n g I shou l d do or w a n t to do, I d o n ' t do.

"1 haven't kept in t o u ch w i th f r i e n d s ; I a v o i d m a k i n gth e e f f o r t t o go w i t h them; T s t o pp ed w r i t i n g l e t t e r sh o m e ; I don ' t a n s w e r l e t te rs or te l ephone ca l l s ; I avo i dcontacts that w o u l d be professional ly he lp fu l ; I didn'tg o h o m e t h o u g h I sa id I w o u l d .

"I f a i l e d to hand in my w o r k in a cou r s e t h ough I hadi t all d o n e ; I d i d n ' t e v e n buy c l o th i n g that I n e e d e d ;J hav e n ' t ev en k ep t my nai l s man i cu r ed .

"T didn't l i s t en to material we w e r e s tu dy i n g ; 1w a s t eh o u r s r e a d i n g the f u n n y papers; 1 can sp end the w h o l ea f t e r n o o n do ing abso lu te ly no th ing ."The p ic tu r e o f behav io r i s v e r y m u c h in k e e p i n g

w i t h th e pic ture o f s e l f , and i s s u m m e d up in thestatement that "Everything 1 s ho u l d do or w a n t tod o , I don't do." The b eh av i o r g o e s on, in w a y st h a t s e e m t o t h e i n d i v i d ua l b e yo nd und e r s t a nd i n gand be yo nd c o n t r o l .

If w e con t r a s t this p ic tu r e o f self a nd b e h a v i o rw i t h t h e p i c tu r e a s i t ex i s t s i n t h e n i n t h in t e rv i e w ,t h i r t y - e i g h t d a y s l a t e r , w e f i n d bo t h th e pe r c e p t i o no f self and the w a y s o f b e h a v i n g d e e p l y a l t e r e d .1 l e r s t a t e m e n t s a b o u t self are as f o l l o w s :

"I'm f e e l i n g m u c h b e t t e r ; I'm t a k i n g m o r e i n t e r e s t i nmyse l f ."I do h a v e s o m e i n d i v i d u a l i t y , s om e i n t e r e s t s ."I s e em to be g e t t i n g a n e w e r u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f m y s e l f .

I can l ook at myse l f a l i t t l e b e t t e r ."I rea l i ze I'm j u s t one pe r son , w i th so much ab i l i ty ,

but I'm not w o r r ie d a b o u t it; 1 can accep t the f a c t thatI'm not always right." I f e e l m o r e m o t i v a ti o n , h a v e m o r e of a d e s i r e t o goahead.

"I still occas iona l ly regre t the past, t h o u g h 1 f e e l lessunhappy abou t it; I s t i l l have a l o n g w a y s to go; I don'tk n ow w h e t h e r I can ke ep the p i c tu r e of myse l f I'm beg i n -n i n g t o e v o l v e ." I c an go on l e a r n i n g i n schoo l o r o u t ."I do f e e l more l i k e a n o r m a l p e r son n o w ; I f e e l m o r e1 can h a n d l e my l i fe m y s e l f ; 1t h i nk I'm at the p o i n t w h e r e

I can go a l o n g on my own . "O u t s t a n d i n g i n t h i s p e r c e p t i o n o f he r s e l f are t h r e et h i n g s t h a t s h e k n o w s h e r s e l f , that s he c an v i eww i t h c o m f o r t her assets and liabilities, and f inal ly

that s h e h a s d r iv e a nd c o n t r o l o f that d r i v e .I n t h i s n i n t h i n t e r v i e w t h e b e h a v i o r a l p i c t u r ei s a g a i n c o n s i s t e n t w i t h th e pe r c e p t i o n o f s e l f .It may be abstracted in these terms.

"I've been mak in g p l a n s a bou t s c hoo l and a b o u t aj o b ; I've b e e n w o r k i n g h a r d o n a t e rm pap e r ; I ' v e b e e ngo i n g to the l ib ra ry to t r a c e d o w n a top ic o f specia linterest and f i n d i n g it exc i t ing.

"I've c leaned out my c l o s e t s ; wa sh ed my c l o th e s ."I f ina l ly w r o t e my parents; I'm g o i n g h o m e for

the ho l idays ." I 'm ge t t ing out and m i x i n g w i t h peop l e ; I am r e a c t i n gs en s i b l y t o a f e l low w h o i s i n t e r e s t e d i n m e s e e i n g bo thh i s good a n d b a d p o i n t s .

"I w i l l w o r k t o w a r d my d e g r e e ; I'll start l o o k in g for aj ob th i s week."Her behav io r , i n con t r a s t t o t he f irs t i n t e r v i e w ,i s now o r g an i ze d , f o r w a r d - m o v i n g , e f f e c t i v e , r e a l i s t i cand p l an f u l . It is in a c co r d w i t h the r e a l i s t i cand o r gan iz ed v i ew she ha s a ch i eved o f he r s e l f .I t is this type of obse rva t ion, in case a f t e r case ,that l e a d s us to say wi t h s o m e a s s u r a nc e that aspe r c ep t i ons o f self and r e a l i t y c h a ng e , b e h a v i o rc h a ng e s . L ik e w i s e , i n c as e s w e m i g h t term f a i l u r e s ,t h e r e appea r s t o be no appr ec i ab l e c h a n g e i n pe r c ep-t u a l o r g a n i z a t i o n or in b e h a v i o r .

What type o f e x p l a na ti o n m i g h t a c c o un t f o r t h e s ec o n c o m i t a n t c ha ng e s i n t h e p e r c e p t u a l f i e ld and t h ebe ha v i o r a l p a t t e r n? Let us e x a m i n e s o m e o f t h elog ica l poss ib i l i t i e s .In the f i r s t place , i t i s poss ib le that f a c to r s un -r e l a t e d to therapy may ha v e b r o ug h t a bo u t thea l te r e d pe r c e p ti o n a nd b e h a v i o r . Th e r e m a y h a v ebeen phys io log i c a l p r oc e s s e s o c c u r r i n g w h i c h pro -

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THE O R G A N I Z A T I O N OF P K R S O N A L I T Y 361d u c e d th e change . The r e m ay h a v e be e n a l t e r a -t ions in the f am i l y re la t ionsh ips , o r in the soc ia lfo rce s , o r i n t h e e du ca t i ona l p i c t u re o r i n some otherarea o f cu l t u r a l i n f l u e n ce , w h i ch m i gh t a c co u n t fo rth e rather d ra s t i c s h i f t in the concep t o f self andin t h e b ehav io r .

There a re di f f icul t i es in this type o f exp l ana t i on .No t o n l y w e r e th e r e n o k n o w n g r o s s c h an g e s in th ephysical or cu l tura l situation as far as Miss Vib wasc o n c e r n e d , bu t t h e exp l ana t i on g radua l l y b e come sinadequate w h e n one tries to apply it to the manycase s i n w h i ch such change o ccu rs . To po s t u l a t ethat some external facto r brings the change andthat on ly by ch an c e d o e s this p e r i o d o f c h a n g eco i nc i d e w i t h th e p e r i o d o f t h e r ap y , b e co m e s anu n t e n a b l e h y p o t h e s i s .Le t us t h en l ook a t a n o t h e r e x p l a n a t i o n , n a m e l ythat th e t h e r a p i s t e x e r te d , d u r i n g t h e n i n e h o u r s o fcon t ac t , a p e cu l i a r l y po t en t , c u l t u r a l i n f l u e n c ew h i c h b r o u gh t a b o u t th e ch an g e . H e r e a g a i n w ea re f a c ed w i t h s e v e r a l p r o b l e m s . It s e e m s t h a tn i n e hou r s s ca t t e r e d ove r f iv e and one -ha l f w e e k si s a ve ry m inu t e po r t i on o f t ime i n w h i c h to b r i n gab o u t alteration o f pa t t e rn s w h i ch have b e en bu i l d -i n g f o r thirty y e a r s . We w o u l d h av e t o p o s t u l a t e a ni n f luence so po t e n t a s t o b e cl a s s e d a s t r aumat i c .This theory i s par t icu lar ly d i f f i c u l t t o m a i n t a i nw h e n w e f i n d , o n e x a m in i n g t h e recorded i n t e r v i e w s ,that n o t o n c e i n t h e n i n e h o u rs d i d t h e t h e r a p i s texpress any evaluation, positive or nega t i v e , of thec l ient ' s in i t i a l or f i n a l pe rcep t i on o f s e l f , or herinitial o r f inal mode o f behavior. There w a s n o tonly no e v a l u a t i o n , but no standards exp re s s e d byw h i ch evaluation might be i n f e r r e d .

There was , on t h e part o f t h e t h e rap i s t , e v i d enceof w a r m i n t e r e s t i n th e i n d i v i d u a l , and t h o r o u g h -go i n g accep t ance of the self and o f the b e h a v i o ra s they ex i s t ed in i t i a l ly , i n t he i n t e rm e d i a t e stages,a nd a t t h e co n c l u s i o n o f therapy. It appearsreasonab le t o s a y t h a t th e the rap i s t e s tab l i shedc e r t a i n de f i n i t e co n d i t i o n s o f i n t e r p e r s o n a l r e l a ti o n s ,b u t s i n ce t h e v e r y e s s e n c e o f t h i s r e l a t i o n s h i p i sr e s p e c t f o r t h e pe r son a s h e i s a t that m o m e n t , th etherapist ca n h a r d l y b e r e g a r d e d a s a c u l t u r a lf o r c e m ak i n g f o r c h a n g e .We f i nd ou r s e l v e s f o rce d t o a t h i r d type o f ex-p l a na t i o n , a type o f explanation wh ich i s n o t n e w t op sy ch o l o gy , b u t w h i c h ha s h a d only par t ia l accept -ance . Brie f ly i t m a y b e pu t that t h e observed

p h e n o m e n a o f ch an g e s e e m m o s t a d e q u a te l y e x-p l a in e d by t he hypo th e s i s that given certain psy-chological condit ions, th e individual has the capacityto reorganize hi s field o f perception, including th eway he perceives himself, an d that a concomitanto r a resultant o f this perceptual reorganization is anappropriate alteration o f behavior. This p u t s i n t of o r m a l and ob j ec t i v e t e rm i n o l o gy a c l i n i c a l h y p o t h -e s i s wh i ch expe r i e nce fo rce s upon th e therapistu s i n g a c l i e n t -cen t e r e d app roach . One is compe l l e dth rough c l in ica l obse rvat ion to develop a h i gh d e g r e eo f r e s p e c t fo r the e g o - i n t e g r a t i v e f o r c e s r e s i d i n gw i t h i n each i n d i v i dua l . One comes to recogni/cthat u n d e r p r o p e r c o n d i t i o n s t h e se l f i s a ba s i c f a c t o ri n th e f o r m a t i o n o f p e r s o n a l i t y and i n th e d e t e r m i n a -t ion ol b e h a v i o r . Cl in i c a l e x p e r ie n c e w o u l d s t r o n g l ys u g g e s t t h a t th e self i s , t o s o m e e x t e n t , an a r c h i t e c tof s e l f , and t h e ab o v e h y p o t h e s i s s i m p l y p u t s t h i so b s e r v a t i o n i n t o p s y ch o l o g i c al t e r m s .In supp o r t o f t h i s hypo th e s i s i t i s no t e d i n s o m ecase s that one o f t h e co n co m i t an t s o f success int h e rapy i s t h e r e a l i za t i on on t h e part o f t h e c l i e n tthat th e self ha s t h e c ap ac i t y f o r r e o r g a n i z a t i o n .Thus a s t u d e n t says:

"You know F spoke o f the f a c t that a pe r son ' s back -g r o u n d r e t a r d s one . Like t h e f a c t that m y f am i l y l i f ew a s n ' t g o o d f o r m e , a n d m y mothe r c e r t a i n l y didn'tg i v e m e any of the kind of br ing ing up that I should havehad . W e l l , I 'v e b e e n t h i n k i n g that over . I t ' s t rueup to a point . But w h e n y o u g e t s o that you c an s e c t h es i t u a t i o n , t h en i t ' s r e a l l y up to you. "

F o l l o w i n g th i s statement of the re lat ion of theself to e x p e r i e n c e m an y ch an g e s o c cu r r e d i n thisy o u n g man ' s b ehav io r . In t h i s , a s i n o the r case s ,i t a p p e a r s t h a t w h e n th e pe r son c o m e s t o s e e h i m -self a s the p e r c e i v i n g , o r g an i z i n g a g e n t , t h e n re -o r g a n i z a t i o n o f p e r c e p t i o n and c o n s e q u e n t ch an g ein pa t t e rn s o f r eac t i on t a k e p l ac e .

On t h e o t h e r s i d e o f t h e p i c t u r e w e h av e f r e q u e n t l yobse rv e d that w h e n t h e i n d i v i d u a l h a s b e e n au t h o r i -t a t i v e l y to ld that h e i s g o v e r n e d by ce r t a i n f ac t o r so r cond i t i on s b eyond h is con t ro l , i t m ak e s t h e r ap ymore d i f f i cu l t , an d i t is o n ly w h e n t h e i n d i v i d u a ld i s cove r s f o r h i m s e l f that h e can o r gan i z e h i s pe rcep -tions that c h a n g e i s po s s i b l e . In ve t e ran s w h o haveb e e n g i v e n t h e i r o w n p sy ch i a t r i c d i a gn o s i s , th ee f fec t i s o f t e n that o f mak ing t h e i nd i v i dua l f e e lthat h e i s u n d e r a n u n a l t e r ab le d o o m , that l i e i sunab le to cont ro l the o rg an izat ion o f h i s l i f e . W h e n

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362 TIIK A M . K R I C A N P S Y C H O L O G I S Th o w e v e r th e se l f s e e s i t s e l f as c a p a b l e o f r e o r g a n i z i n gi t s o w n p e r c e p t u a l f i e l d , a m a r k e d c h a n g e in bas i cc o n f i d e n c e o ccu r s . M i s s Nam , a s t u d e n t , i l l u s t r a t e st h i s p h e n o m e no n w h e n s h e s ay s , a f t e r h a v in g m a d ep rog r e s s i n therapy:

"I t h i n k t d o f e e l b e t t e r a b o u t th e f u t u r e , t oo , b e cau s eit's as il I w on ' t b e a c ti ng in d a r k n e s s , It's s o r t o f , w e l l ,k n o w i n g s o m e w h a t w h y I a c t th e w ay I do . .. and a tl eas t i t i sn ' t the f e e l i n g that y o u ' r e s i m p l y o u t o f y o u r o w nco n t r o l and th e f a t e s a r e d r i v i n g you to a c t that w a y . Ifyo u r e a l i z e i t, J t h i n k y o u c a n d o s o m e t h i n g m o r e a b o u tit."A v e t e r a n at the c o n c l u s i o n o f c o u n s e l i n g p u t s

it . m o r e b r i e f l y a n d m o r e p o s i t i v e l y : " M y a t t i t u d et o w a r d m y s e l f i s c h a n g e d now t o w h e r e 1 fee l I ca nd o s o m e t h i n g w i th m y se l f and l i f e . " Ti e ha s co m et o v i e w h i m s e l f a s t h e i n s t r u m e n t by w h i c h s o m er e o r g a n i z a t i o n c a n take p l a c e .

T h e r e i s a n o t h e r c l i n i c a l o b s e r v a t i o n w h i c h m a yb e c i t ed i n s u p p o r t o f the g e n e r a l h y p o t h e s i s t h a tt h e r e i s a c l o s e r e l a t i on sh ip b e t w e e n b e h av i o r a n dt h e w a y i n w h i c h r e a l i t y i s v i e w e d b y t h e i n d i v i d u a l .i t l ia s b e e n n o t e d i n m an y c a s e s t h a i b e h av i o rch an g e s c o m e ab o u t f o r t h e m o s t part i m p e r c e p t i b l yan d a l m o s t au t o m a t i c a l l y , o n c e th e p e r c e p t u a lr e o r g an i z a t i o n h a s t ak en p l ace . A y o u n g w i f e w h oh as be en r e ac t i ng v i o l e n t l y t o h e r m a i d , an d h a sbeen q u i t e d i s o r g an i z e d i n h e r b e h av i o r a s a r e s u l to f t h i s an t i p a t h y , says " A f t e r 1 . . . d i scove r e d i tw a s n o t h i n g moi'e t h an t h a t , s h e r e s e m b l e d m ym o t h e r , s h e d i d n ' t b o t h e r m e a n y m o r e . I s n ' tt h a t i n t e r e s t i n g ? She ' s s t i l l the same." F T e r eis a c l e a r s t a t eme n t i nd i ca t i ng t h a t t h o u g h th e bas icp e r c e p t i o n s h a v e n o t c h an g e d , t h e y h av e b e e n d i f -f e r e n t l y o r g an i z e d , h av e a cq u i r e d a n e w m e a n i n g ,an d that b e h a v i o r c h a n g e s t h e n occu r . S im i l a re v i d e n c e i s g i v e n by a c l i e n t , a t r a i n e d p s y ch o l o g i s t ,w h o a f t e r co m p l e t i n g a br ief se r i e s o f c l i e n t - c e n t e r e di n t e r v i e w s , w r i t e s :"Another interesting aspect of the situation was in

connec t i on w i t h the change s i n s o m e o f m y a t t i t u d e s .W h e n the change occu r r e d , i t wa s a s i f e a r l i e r a t t i t u d e sw e r e w i p e d ou t a s comp l e t e l y a s i f e r a s e d f r o m a b lack-b o a r d . . . . W h e n a s i t u a t i o n w h i c h w o u l d f o r m e r l y h a v ep r o v o k e d a g i v e n t ype o f r e spon se o c c u r r e d , i t w a s n o ta s i f I w as t e m p t e d to ac t in the w a y I f o r m e r l y h a d b u tin s ome w ay f o u n d i t e a s i e r to c o n t r o l m y b e h a v i o r .R a t h e r t h e n e w t y p e o f b e h a v i o r c a m e q u i t e s p o n t a -n e o u s l y , a n d i t w a s o n l y t h r o u g h a d e l i b e r a t e a n a l y s i sthat [ b e c am e a w a r e that 1 was ac t i ng in a new and d i f -f e r e n t way . "

Here aga in i t i s o f i n t e r e s t that th e i m a g e r y i s pu tin t e r m s o f v i s ua l pe rcep t i on and t h a t as a t t i t u d e s a re"erased f r o m th e b l a ck b o a r d " b e h av i o r a l c h an g e stake p lac e a u t o m a t i c a l l y a n d w i t h o u t , con sc i ou se f f o r t .Thus w e have obse rv e d that a p p r o p r ia t e c h a n g e sin b e h av i o r o c cu r w h e n t h e i n d i v i d u a l a c qu i r e s ad i f f e r e n t v i ew o f h i s w o r l d o f e x p e r i e n c e , i n c l u d i n gh i m s e l f ; t h a t t h i s c h an g e d p e r c e p t i o n d o e s n o t n e e dt o b e d e p e n d e n t u p o n a change i n t h e " r e a l i t y , "but may be a p r o d u c t o f i n t e r n a l r e o r g an i z a t i o n ;t ha t i n s o m e in s t ance s th e aw arene s s o f t h e capac i t yfo r r e p e r c c iv i n g e x p e r ie n c e a c co m p an i e s t h i s p r oc e s so f r e o r g a n i z a t i o n ; that t h e a l t e r ed b e h av i o r a l r e -s p o n s e s o c cu r a u t o m a t i c a l l y a n d w i t h o u t c o n s ci o u se f f o r t as soon a s t h e p e rcep tua l r e o rgan i za t i on ha st aken p l ace , appar en t l y a s a r e su l t o f t h i s .

I n v i e w o f th e s e o b s e r v a t i o n s a se c o n d h y p o t h e s i sm ay b e stated, w h ich i s c l os e l y r e l a te d t o t h e f i r s t .It i s that behavior is no t directly influenced o r deter-mined by organic o r cultural factors, bu t primarily,(and p e r h ap s on ly , ) by the perception o f these elements.I n o th e r w o r d s th e c r u c i al e l e m e n t i n t h e d e t e r m i n a -t ion o f b e h av i o r i s t he p e r c ep t u a l f i e l d of the i n d i -v i d u a l . W h i l e t h i s p e rcep tua l f ie ld i s , t o b e su r e ,d e e p l y i n f l u enc ed and la r g e ly shaped by cu l t u r a land phy s i o l o g i ca l f o r c e s , i t . i s n ev e r t h e l e s s imp o r t an t ,that i t ap p e a r s t o be only th e Held as i t i s perceived,wh ich ex e rc i s e s a spec i f ic d e t e r m i n i n g i n f l u e n ceupon behav io r . This i s no t a n ew id ea in psy -c ho l o g y , bu t i t s imp l i ca t i on s have n o t a lways b e enf u l l y r e c o gn i z e d .If m i g h t m e a n , f i r s t o f a l l , that i f it i s t he pe rcep -t u a l f ield w h i c h d e t e r m i n e s b e h a v i o r , t h en t h ep r i m a r y o b j e c t o f study f o r p sy ch o l o g i s t s w o u l dbe the pe r son and h i s w o r l d a s viewed by th e personhimself. It co u l d m e an that th e i n t e r n a l f r a m e o fr e f e r en ce o f th e p e r s o n m i gh t w e l l c o n s t i t u t e t h ef i e ld o f p sycho log y , an id e a s e t f o r t h p e r suas i v e l yby Snygg and Combs in a s igni f icant man u s c r i p tas yet u n p u b l i s h e d . It m i gh t m e an that the l aw sw h i c h go v e r n b e h av i o r w o u l d b e d i s c o v e r e d m o r ed e e p l y by t u r n i n g o u r attention t o t he l aw s w h i c hg o v e r n p e r c e p t i o n .

Now i f ou r s p e cu l a t i o n s c o n t a i n a m e a s u r e o ft r u th , i f t h e specific d e t e r m i n a n t o f b e h av i o r i s thepe rcep tua l f i e l d , and i f t h e self ran r e o r g an i z e thatpe rcep tua l f i e l d , t h e n w h a t a r e t h e l i m i t s o f t h i sprocess? Is the r e o r g an i z a t i o n o f pe rcep t i on capr i -

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Tin'. O R G A N I Z A T I O N or P E R S O N A L I T Y 363c i o u s , o r d o e s i t f o l l o w c e r t a i n l a w s ? A r e t h e r el imi t ; ; t o t h e d e g r e e o f r e o r g a n i s a t i o n ? I f s o , w h a tare they? In this connection we have observedw i t h s o m e c a r e th e p e r c ep t i o n o f o n e p o r t i o n o f t h ef i e l d o f e x p e r i e n c e , t h e p o r t i o n w e c a l l l l i c : s e l f .

Tin-, R E L A T I O N ( > [ < ' TIIK. L ' K R C F J ' T I O X OFTH K S H I , I ' TO A D J U S T M E N T

Initially we were oriented by the b a c k g r o u n d ofboth l a y a n d p s y c h o l o g i c a l t h i n k i n g to r e g a r d th eo u t c o m e o f s u c c e s s f u l therapy a s t h e s o l u t i o n ofp r o b l e m s . If a p e r s o n had a m a r i t a l p r o b l e m , av o c a t i o n a l p r o b l e m , a problem o f e d u c a t i o n a la d j u s t m e n t , th e o b v i o u s purpose o f c o u n s e l i n g o rtherapy was to s o l v e that problem. But as we ob-serve an d study th e r e c o r d e d a c c o u n t s o f t h e c o n -c lu s ion of therapy, it is clear that the mostcharacteristic outcome is not. necessarily solutionof p r o bl e m s , b u t a f r e e d o m f r o m t e n s i o n , a d i f f e r e n tf e e l i n g about, a n d p e r c e p t i o n o f , s e l f . Perhapss o m e t h i n g o f t h i s o u t c o m e m a y b e c o n v e y e d b y s o m eillustrations.

Se v e ra l statements t a k e n f r o m the f i n a l i n t e r v i e wwith a twenty year old y o u n g w o m a n , Miss Mir ,give indications of the characteristic attitude t o w a r ds e l f , and the sense of f r e e d o m w h i c h appears toaccompany it.

"I've always tried to be what the others thought Is h o u l d he , but now 1 am w o n d e r i n g w h e t h e r I s h o u l d n ' tj u s t sec that I am w h a t I am.""Well, I've just no t iced such a d i f f e r ence . I f ind that

w h e n I f e e l t h i n g s , e v e n w h e n [ f e e l hate, 1 don't care .I don't m i n d . T f e e l m o r e f r e e s o m e h o w . I don't f e e lgu i l t y about things.""You k n o w i t 's s u d d e n l y a s t h o u g h a b ig c loud h as b e e nl i f t ed o f f . I f e e l s o m u c h more content."Note in these statements the w i l l i n g n e s s to p e r -

c e i v e h e r s e l f as she is, to accept h e r s e l f "realis-tically," to perceive and accept her "bad" attitudesas w e l l as "good" o n e s . This r e a l i sm s e ems to beaccompanied b y a sense o f f r e e d o m an d c o n t e n t m e n t .

Miss Vib , w h o s e attitudes w e r e quoted ea r l i e r ,wrote out her own f e e l i n g s about c o u n s e l i n g somesix weeks a f t e r the interviews were over, and gavethe statement to her c o u n s e l o r . She b e g i n s :

"The h app ies t ou tcom e o f t h e r a p y ha s b e en a n ew f e e l -ing a b o u t m y s e l f . As I t h i nk of i t , i t m i g h t be t h e on lyo u t c o m e . C e r t a i n ly i t i s bas ic to a l l the c h a n g e s i n m yb e h a v i o r t h a t have resulted." In d i s c u s s i n g h e r e x -

pe r i e nc e i n t h e r a p y s h e s t a t e s , " I wa s c o m i n g t o s e c my-s e l f as a w h o l e . 1 beg an to r ea l i ze that I" am o n e pe r son .This w a s a n i m p o r t a n t i n s i g h t t o m e . 1 s aw that th ef o r m e r g o o d a c a d e m i c a c h i e v e m e n t , j o b succes s , e a s e insocia l situations, a n d t h e p r e s e n t w i t h d r a w a l , d e j ec t i o n ,apathy and f a i lu re w e r e a ll a d a p t i v e b e h a v i o r , p e r f o r m e db e m e . T h i s m e a n t t h a t T had t o r e o r g a n i z e m y f e e l i n g sabout m ys e l f , no longer ho ld ing to the unrealistic no t iont h a t th e v e r y g o o d a d j u s t m e n t w a s t h e exp r e s s i o n o f t h er ea l "me" and t h i s n e u r o t i c b e h a v i o r w a s n o t . I c a m eto f e e l that I am the same pe r son , s ome t ime s f u n c t i o n i n gm a t u r e l y , a n d s o m e t i m e s a s s um i n g a n e u r o t i c r o l e i n t h eface o f w h a t I had co nc e iv ed a s i n s u r m o u n t a b l e p r o b -lems. Th e acceptance o f myse l f a s one person g av e m es t r e n g t h i n the p ro c e s s o f r e o r g a n i z a t i o n . N o w t h a da s ub s t r a t u m , a c o r e o f un i t y o n w h i c h t o wo rk . " As s h ec o n t i n u e s h e r d iscus s ion there a rc such statements as"T am g e t t i n g m o r e h app in e s s i n b e in g m y s e l f . " "1a p p r o v e o f m y s e l f m o r e , and I hav e s o much les s anxiety."A s i n t h e p r e v i o u s e x a m p l e , th e o u t s t a n d i n g

aspects appear to be the realization that all of herb e h a v i o r "belonged" to h e r , that she c o u l d acceptboth th e go o d a n d b a d f e a t u r e s about h e r s e l f a n dthat d o i n g so gave her a release f r o m a n x i e t y and af e e l i n g o f so l id happiness. Tn both instances thereis o n l y incidental r e f e r e n c e to the serious "problems"w h i c h h ad been i n i t i a l l y d i s c us s e d .

S i n c e Miss Mir is u n d o u b t e d l y above averagei n t e l l i g e n c e and Miss Vib is a p e r s o n with somepsychological training, it may appear that such re-s u l t s a r e f o u n d only w i t h t h e s o p h i s t i c a t e d i n d i v i d -u a l . To c o u n t e r a c t this o p i n i o n a q u o t a t i o n maybe g i v e n f r o m a statement w r i t t e n b y a veteran o fl i m i t e d ability and education who had just c o m-pleted counseling, and was asked to write whateverr e a c t i o n s he had to the e x p e r i e n c e . He says:

"As f o r t h e con so l e i ng f have had I can say t h i s , Itr e a l l y m a k e s a m a n s t r i p h i s o w n m i n d b a r e , an d w h e nhe does he k n o w s then what he realy is and what he cando . Or a t least t h i n k s h e k n o w s h ims e l f pa r t y w e l l .As f o r m y s e l f , I k n o w that m y i d e a s w e r e a l i t t l e t oo b i gf o r what I realy am, but now Trea l ize one must try starto u t a t h i s o w n l e v e l ."No w a f t e r f o u r v i s i t s , I h av e a m uch c l e a r e r p i c t u r e o fmyse l f and my f u t u r e . 11 makes m e fee l a little depresseda n d d i s a ppo in t ed , bu t on t h e o t h e r hand, i t h a s t a k e nm e ou t o f th e d a r k , th e load s e e m s a l o t l i g h t e r n o w , thati s I can see my way n o w , I k n o w w h a t J w a n t to do, Ik n o w a b o u t w h a t , I can do, so now that I can sec mygoa l , f w i l l b e a b l e to w o r k a w h o l e lo t e a s y e r , a t m y o w nlevel."Al though the express ion i s much s impler onen o t e s a g a i n th e s ame tw o e l e m e n t s t h e accep t ance

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364 TH E A M E R I C A N PSYCHOLOGISTof self as i t is , and the f e e l i n g o f e a s i n e s s , o f l i g h t e n e db u r d e n , w h i c h a c c o m p a n i e s i l .

As w e e x a m i n e m a n y i n d i v i d u a l case r e c o r d s a ndcase r e c o r d i ng s , i t appears t o b e p o s s i b l e t o b r i n gtogether th e f i n d i n g s i n regard to succes s fu l therapyb y s t a t i n g a n o t h e r h y p o t h e s i s i n regard t o t h a tpo r t i on o f t h e perceptual f i e l d w h i c h w e c a l l t h es e l f . I t wou l d appea r t h a t w hen a l l o f t he w ays i nwhich th e individual perceives himself all percept ionso f th e qualities, abilities, i m puls es , and alti tudes o f th eperson, and al l perceptions o f himself in relation toothers- -are accepted into th e organized consciousconcept o f the self, I lien this achievement is a cco mpa n ie dby feel ings o f comfort an d f reed om f rom t ens i o n whichare experienced a s psychological adjustment .

This h y p o t h e s i s w o u l d s e e m to a c c o u n t f o r t h eo b s e r v e d f a c t t h a t th e comfo r t a b l e p e r c ep t i on ofse l f w h i ch is a c h i e v ed i s s ome t ime s mo r e po s i t iv et h a n b e f o r e , s o m e t i m e s m o r e n e g a t i v e . W h e n t h ei n d i v i d u a l p e r m i t s a l l h i s p e r c e p t i o n s o f h i m s e l f tob e o r g a n i z e d i n t o o n e pattern, t h e p i c t u r e i s s o m e -times mor e f l a t t e r i n g than h e h a s h e l d i n t h e past,s o m e t i m e s l e s s f l a t t e r i n g . I t i s a l w a y s m o r ec o m f o r t a b l e .It may be pointed out also that this tentativeh y p o t h e s i s s u p p l i e s a n o p e r a t io n a l type o f d e f i n i t i o n ,based o n t h e c l i e n t ' s i n t e r na l f r ame o f r e f e r e n c e , f o rs u ch h i t h e r t o v a g u e t e r m s a s ' ' a d j u s t m e n t , " " i n -tegration," and "acceptance o f s e l f . " They a red e f i n e d i n t e r m s o f p e r c e p t i o n , i n a w a y w h i c h i ts h o u l d be po s s i b l e to prove o r disprove. W h e n a l lof th e organ ic pe rcep tua l e x p e r i e n c e s t h e e x p e -r i e nc i ng o f a t t i t u d e s , i m p u l s e s , ab i l i t i e s and d i s -ab i l i t i e s , t h e e xpe r i e nc i ng o f o t h e r s a n d o f ' ' r e a l i t y "-when all of these perceptions are f r ee ly assimilatedi n t o a n o r g a n i z e d a n d con s i s t e n t s y s t em , ava i l ab l eto c o n s c io u s n e s s , t h e n p s y c h o l o g i ca l a d j u s t m e n t o ri n t e g r a t i o n m i g h t be said to ex i s t . Th e d e f i n i t i o no f a d j u s t m e n t i s t h u s m a d e a n i n t e r n a l a f f a i r , r a t h e rt h a n d e p e n d e n t u p o n a n e x t e r n a l "reality."

S o m e t h i n g o f w h a t i s m e a n t b y t h i s a c c e p t a n c eand as s im i l a t i on o f p e r c e p t i o n s a b o u t the self m a y b ei l l u s t r a t e d f r o m t h e c a s e o f M i s s N a m , a s t u d e n t .Lik e man)' o t h e r c l i e n t s s h e g i v e s e v i d e n c e o f h a v i n gexperienced attitudes and f e e l i n g s w h i c h are de-f e n s i v e l y d e n i e d be c a us e t h e y a r e n o t c o n s i s t e n tw i t h th e c o n c e p t , o r p i c t u r e s h e h o l d s o f h e r s e l f .T h e w a y i n w h i c h they a r e f i r s t f u l l y a d m i t t e d i n t ocon s c i ou sne s s , a n d t h e n o r g a n i z e d i n t o a u n i f i e d

s y s t e m m a y b e s h o w n b y e x c e r p t s f r o m t h e r e c o r d edi n t e r v i e w s . S h e h a s s p o k e n o f t h e d i f f i c u l t y s h e h a sh a d i n b r i n g i n g h e r s e l f to w r i t e p a pe r s f o r h e r u n i -v e r s i t y c o u r s e s .

"t just t h o u g h t o f s o m e t h i n g e l s e w h i c h p e r h a p s h i n d e r sm e , a n d that i s t ha i , aga i n i t ' s two d i f f e r e n t f e e l i n g s .W h e n 1h a v e to sit d o w n and do (a p a p e r ) , t h o u g h I h a v ea lo t o f i d e a s , u n d e r n e a t h T t h i n k I a l w a y s h a v e th e f e e l i n gt h a t I j u s t can't d o i t. . . . I h a v e t h i s f e e l i n g o f b e i n gt e r r i f i ca l ly c o n f i d e n t that 1 c an do s o m e t h i n g , w i t h o u tb e i n g w i l l i n g t o pu t t h e w o r k i n t o i t . A t o t h e r t ime sI 'm p r a c t i c a l l y a f r a i d of w h a t \ h a v e l o do. . . ."N o t e t h a t th e c o n s c i o u s se l f h a s b e e n o r g an i z e d a s

" h a v i n g a l o t o f ideas," b e i n g " t e r r i f i c a l l y c o n f i d e n t "b u t t h a t "underneath," i n other w o r d s n o t f ree lya d m i t t e d i n t o c o n s c i o u s n e s s , h a s b e e n t h e e x p e r i e n c eo f f e e l i n g "1 j u s t c a n ' t d o i l . " S h e c o n t i n u e s :

"I 'm t ry ing l o w o r k th r o u g h t h i s f u n n y r e l a t i on sh i pb e t w e e n t h i s t e r r i f i c con f i d ence an d t h e n t h i s a l m o s tf e a r o f d o i n g a n y t h i n g . . .and I t h i n k t h e k i n d o ff e e l i n g t h a t J can r e a l l y d o t h i n g s i s p a r t o f an i l l u s i ont h a v e a b o u t m y s e l f o f be i ng , i n m y i m a g i n a t i o n , s u re thati t w i l l b e s o m e t h i n g g oo d a n d v e r y g o o d a n d a l l that,bu t w h e n e v e r I get d o w n t o t h e actua l task o f g e t t i n gs t a r t e d , it's a t e r r i b l e f e e l i n g o f - w e l l , i n capac i t y , thatI won't g e t it d o n e e i t h e r t h e w a y I w a n t t o do i t , o r e v e nno t b e i n g s u r e how I w a n t to do i t."

A ga in th e p i c t u r e o f he r s e l f w h i c h i s present inc o n s c i o u s n e s s i s that o f a pe r s on w h o i s "very g o o d , "b u t t h i s p i c t u r e i s e n t i r e l y o u t o f l i n e w i t h th e a c tua lo r g a n i c e x p e r i e n c e i n t h e s i t u a t i o n .

Later in the same i n t e r v i ew she expresses veryw e l l th e f a c t that h e r p e r c e p t i o n s a r e no t a l l o r -g a n i z e d i n t o o n e c o n s i s t e n t c o n s c i o u s s e l f .

"I'm not s u r e a b o u t what kind of a p e r s o n 1a m w e l l ,i rea l i ze that all of t h e s e are a p a r t of m e , but I'm notq u i t e su r e o f how t o m a k e a l l o f t h e s e t h i n g s f a l l in line."In the next i n t e r v i e w w e h a v e an e x c e l l e n t o p -

p o r t u n i t y to ob s e r v e th e o r g a n i z a t i o n o f both o fthese c o n f l i c t i n g p e r c e p t i o n s i n t o o n e p a t t e r n , w i t hth e resultant sense o f f r e e dom f r o m t e n s i o n wh ich ,h a s b e e n d e s c r ib e d above.

"It ' s very f u n n y , e v e n as T s i t h e r e I r ea l iz e that 1have more con f id ence in m y s e l f , i n t h e sense that w h e nI u s e d to a p p r o a c h ne w s i t ua t i on s I w o i d d h a v e t w o ve ryf u n n y t h i n g s o p e r a t i n g at the s a m e t im e . I had a f an t a sythat T c o u l d d o a n y t h i n g , w h i c h w a s a f a n t a s y w h i c hcove red over all these other f ee l ings that I really couldn'td o i t , o r cou l d n ' t do i t a s w e l l a s t w a n t e d to , and i t ' s

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TllK O R G A N I Z A T I O N OJ' ' PERSONALITY 365a s i f n o w those tw o t h i n g s h a v e m e r g e d t o g e t h e r , a n d i tis m o r e r e a l , that a s i t u a t i o n i s n ' t c i th e r t e s t i n g my se l for proving something to myse l f or anyone else. It'sj u s t i n t e r ms o f d o i n g i t . And T t h i n k T h a v e d o n e a w a yb o t h w i t h that f a n t a s y and that f e a r . ... So I t h i n k Ic a n g o ahead an d app r oach t h i ng s w e l l , just sensibly."

No l o n g e r i s i f nece s sa ry f o r t h i s c l i en t to "coverover" her real exper iences . Instead the pic ture ofherse l f as v e r y a b l e , and the e x p e r i e n c e d f e e l i ng o fco m p l e t e i n a b i l i t y , h a v e n o w be e n b r o ug h t t o g e t h e rin to one in t e g r a t ed pa t t e r n o f self a s a pe r s on w i t hrea l , bu t i m p e r f e c t abi l i t i e s . Once th e self i s thusaccep t ed th e i n n e r e n e r g i e s m a k i ng f o r s e l f - a c tua l i -za t i on a r e r e leased an d s h e a t t a cks h e r l i f e p r o b l e m sm o r e e f f i c i en t ly .

Observing t h i s type o f material f r equen t ly i ncoun s e l i n g e x p e r ie n c e w o u l d l e ad t o a t e n t a t i v eh y p o t h e s i s o f m a l a d j u s t m e n t , w h i c h l i ke th e o t h e rhypo t h e s i s s u g g e s t e d , f ocu s e s on the p e r c e p t i o n o fs e l f . It m i g h t be propos ed that the t en s io ns c a l le dp s yc ho l o g i c a l m a l a d j u s t m e n t e x i s t wh e n t h e o r -gan i z ed c o nc e p t o f self (consc ious or ava i l ab l e toconsc ious awa r ene s s ) is no t i n a cco r d w i t h t he pe r -ceptions ac tua l ly exper ienced.Th i s d i s c re pa nc y b e tw e e n th e c o nc e p t o f se l f andt h e a c tua l pe r c ep t i ons s e ems t o be exp l i c ab l e on lyin t e rms of the f a c t that th e self concept r e s i s t s as -s im i l a t i ng i n t o i t se l f any pe r c e p t wh i c h i s i ncon-s i s t en t w i t h i ts present organiza t ion. Th e f e e l i ngthat she may not ha v e the abi l i ty to do a pa pe r isi n con s i s t e n t w i t h Mis s Nam's consc ious p i c tu r e o fherself as a very able and conf i d en t pe r s on , andh e n c e , t h o ug h f i e e t i n g l y pe r c e i v e d , i s d e n i e d o r-gan iza t i on as a pa r t o f h e r s e l f , u n t i l t h is c o m e s a bo u tin t h e r apy .TO E C O N D I T I O N S O F CHAN'GK (>!'' SKLI ? P K K C K P T I O N

If t h e way i n w h i c h th e self i s pe r c e ived has a sc lo se and s i gn i f i c an t a r e l a t i onsh ip to b e ha v i o r ashas be e n s u g g e s t e d , th e n the m a n n e r in w h i c h thispe rcep t i on m ay b e a l te r ed b e co m e s a que s t i o n o fim por t ance . I f a r e o r g a n i z a t i o n o f s e l f - p e r c e p t i o n sb r i n g s a c h a n g e in b e h a v i o r ; i f a d j u s t m e n t and m a l -a d j u s t m e n t d e p e n d on t he c o n g r u e n c e b e t w e e npe r c ep t i ons as exper ienced and the self as pe r c e ived ,t h e n th e f a c to r s w h i c h p e r m i t a r e o r g an i z a t i on o fth e pe r c e p t i o n o f se l f a re s i g n i f i c a n t .

Our obs e r va t i ons o f p s y c h o t h e r a p e u t i c e x p e r i e n c ew o u l d s e em to i n d i c a t e t h a t a b s e n c e o f a n y t h r e a t to

th e s e l f - conce p t i s an i m p o r t a n t i l e m i n t he p r o b l e m .N o r m a l l y th e se l f r e s i s t s i n c o r po r a t i n g i n t o i ts e l ft ho se e xpe r i e nce s w h i c h a re i n c o n s i s t e n t w i t h th ef u n c t i o n i n g o f s e l f . H u t a po i n t o v e r l o o k e d byLe c ky and o t h e r s i s t h a t w h e n th e se l f i s f r ee f r o many t h r e a t o f a t t a c k o r l i k e l i hood o f a t t a c k , t h e ni t i s poss ib le f o r the self to c o n s i d e r t h e s e h i t h e r t ore jec ted perceptions, to inakc ne w d i f f e r en t i a t i on s ,a n d t o r e i n t e g r a t e t h e self in s u c h a w ay a s t o i n -c l u d e t h e m .

An i l l u s t r a t i on f r om th e case o f Miss Vib m ays e r v e to c l a r i f y t h i s po i n t . In h e r s ta t e m e n t w r i tt e ns ix w e e k s a f t e r th e c o nc l u s i o n o f c o u n s e l i n g Mis sVib t hus d e s c r ibe s t h e w ay i n w h i c h una c c e p t a b l ep e r c e p t s b e c o m e i n c o r po r a t e d i n t o th e s e l f . Sh ewr i t e s :"In the e a r li e r i n t e r v i e w s 1k e p t saying such t h i n g s as,

'I am not a c t i n g l ik e m y s e l f , 'I n e v e r acted t h i s wayb e f o r e . ' What I meant was that this w i t h d r a w n , untidy,and apathetic person w a s n o t m y s e l f . Then T b e g a n tor e a l i z e that I was the s ame person, s e r i o u s l y w i t h d r a w n ,e t c . now, as I had been be f o r e . That did not happenu n t i l a f t e r I had talked out my s e l f - r e j e c t i o n , shame,d e spa i r , an d d o u b t , i n t h e accep t i n g s i t u a t i o n o f t h e i n -terview. The counselor was not startled or shocked..1 w as t e l l i n g h im a l l these t h i n g s about m y s e l f w h i c h d i dnot fit into my p i c t u r e of a g r a d u a t e student, a t e a che r ,a s o u n d p e r s o n . He r e s p o n d e d w i t h complete accep t anceand w a r m interest w i t h o u t h e a v y e m o t i o n a l o v e r t o n e s .Here was a s ane , i n t e l l i g en t p e r s o n w h o l e h e a r t e d l y ac-cep t i n g this b e h a v i o r that s e e m e d so s h a m e f u l to me. Ic an r e m e m b e r an o r gan i c f e e l i n g of r e l ax a t i on . I did noth a v e to keep up the s t r u g g l e to c o v e r up and h i d e t h i ss h a m e f u l person."Note h o w c l e a r ly o n e c an s e e he r e th e w h o l e ra n g e

of d e n i e d p e r c e p ti o n s o f s e l f , and t he f a c t that t h eycould be cons idered as a part o f self on ly in a socials i tua t ion w h i c h i n v o l v e d no t h r e a t to the s e l f , inw h i c h a no t h e r p e r s o n , t h e coun s e l o r , be c o m e s a l -m o s t an a l t e r n a t e self and l o o ks w i t h u n d e r s t a n d i n gand acc ep t ance upon t he s e s ame pe r c e p t i ons . Shec o n t i nu e s :

"Retrospectively, i t s e e m s t o m e that w h a t T f e l t a s' w a r m a c c e p ta n c e w i t h o u t e m o t i o n a l o v e r t o n e s ' w a swhat T needed to w o r k through my d i f f i cu l t i e s . . . . Thec o u n s e l o r ' s i m p e r s o n a l i t y w i t h i n t e r e s t a l l o w e d me tot a l k o u t m y f e e l i n g s . T h e c l a r i f i c a t i o n i n t h e i n t e r v i e wsituation presented the attitude to me as a 'ding an sich"w h i c h I cou l d l ook at, m a n i p u l a t e , and put in p l ac e . Tno r g a n i z i n g my a t t i t u d e s , I was b e g i n n i n g to o r g a n i z e m e . "

He r e th e na t u r e of the exp lo r a t i on o f e x p e r i e n c e ,o fsee ing i t a s e x p e r i e n c e a nd no t a s a t h r e a t to s e l f ,

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366 TJLE A M K R F C A N PSYCHOLOGISTe n a b l e s t h e c l i e n t to r e o r g a n i z e h e r p e r c e p t i o n s o fs e l f , w h i c h a s s h e says w as a l s o " r e o r g a n i z i n g m e . "

If w e a t t e m p t l o d e s c r i b e i n m o r e c o n v e n t i o n a lp s y c h o l o g i c a l t e r m s t h e n a t u r e o f t h e p roc e s s w h i c hc u l m i n a t e s i n a n a l t e r e d o r g a n i z a t i o n a n d i n t e g r a t i o no f se l f i n the p roc e s s o f t h e r a p y i t m i g h t r u n a sf o l l o w s . T h e i n d i v i d u a l i s c o n t i n u a l l y e n d e a v o r i n gto m e e t h i s n e e d s b y r e a c t i n g t o t h e t i ck ! o f e x p e -r i e n c e a s he p e r c e i v e s i t , a n d l o d o t h a t m o r ee f f i c i e n t l y b y d i f f e r e n t i a t i n g e l e m e n t s of t h e f i e l da n d r e i n t e g r a t i n g t h e m i n t o n e w p a t t e r n s . R e -o r g a n i z a t i o n o f t h e f i e l d m a y i n v o l v e t h e r e o r g a n i -z a t i o n o l th e s e l f a s w e l l a s o f o t h e r p a r t s ol th ef i e l d . Th e s e l f , h o w e v e r , r e s i s t s r e o r g a n i z a t i o n a n dc h a n g e . In e v e r y d a y l i l e i n d i v i d u a l a d j u s t m e n t b ym e a n s o f r e o r g a n i z a t i o n o f t h e f i e l d e x c l u s i v e o f t h es e l f i s m o r e c o m m o n a n d i s l e s s t h r e a t e n i n g t o t h ei n d i v i d u a l . C o n s e q u e n t l y , t h e i n d i v i d u a l ' s f i r s tm o d e o f a d j u s t m e n t i s t h e r e o r g a n i z a t i o n o f t h a tpart o f t h e f i e l d w h i c h d o e s n o t i n c l u d e t h e s e l f .

C l i e n t - c e n t e r e d t h e r a p y i s d i f f e r e n t f r o m o t h e rl i f e s i t u a t i o n s i n a s m u c h a s t h e Ih c rap i s t l e n d s tor e m o v e f r o m t h e i n d i v i d u a l ' s i m m e d i a t e w o r l d a l lthose aspects o f the f i e l d w h i c h the i n d i v i d u a l c anr eo r g an i z e ex c ep t t h e s e l f . Th e t h e r a p i s t , b y reac t -i n g t o t h e c l i e n t ' s f e e l i n g s a n d a t t i t u d e s r a th e r t h a nto t h e o b j e c t s o f h i s f e e l i n g s a n d a l t i t u d e s , assists thec l i e n t i n b r i n g i n g f r o m b a c k g r o u n d i n t o f o c u s h i so w n s e l f , m a k i n g it e a s i e r t h a n e v e r b e f o r e f o r t h ec l i e n t to p e r c e i v e a n d r e a c t t o t h e s e l f . .By o f f e r i n go n l y u n d e r s t a n d i n g a n d n o t r a c e o f e v a l u a t i o n , t h et h e r a p i s t r e m o v e s h i m s e l f a s an ob j e c t o f a t t i t u d e s ,b e c o m i n g o n l y a n a l t e r n a t e e x p r e s s i o n o f t h e c l i e n t ' ss e l f . The Ihcrapisl by p r o v i d i n g a c o n s i s t e n t at-m o s p h e r e o f p e r m i s s i v e n e s s an d u n d e r s t a n d i n gr e m o v e s w h a t e v e r t h r e a t e x i s te d t o p r e v e n t a l lp e r c e p t i o n s o f t h e se l f f r o m e m e r g i n g i n t o f i g u r e .H e n c e i n t h i s s i t u a t i o n a l l t h e w a y s i n w h i c h th ese l f h a s b e e n e x p e r i e n c e d can b e v i e w e d o p e n l y, a n do r g a n i z e d i n t o a co m p l e x u n i t y .

. I t i s t h e n t h i s c o m p l e t e a b s e n c e o f a ny f a c t o rw h i c h w o u l d a t t a c k t h e conc ep t , o f s e l f , a n d s e c o n d ,the a s s i s t a nc e i n f o c u s i n g u p o n t h e p e r c e p t i o n o fs e l f , w h i c h s e e m s t o p e r m i t a m o r e d i f f e r e n t i a t e dv i e w o f se l f a nd f i n a l l y t h e r e o r g a n i z a t i o n o f s e l f .K K I . A T L O N S . I j r P T O C U K K F . N T P S Y C H O L O G I C A L T I T T M C I N G

U p t o t h i s p o i n t , t h e s e r e m a r k s h a v e b e e n p r e -s e n t e d a s c l i n i c a l observations a n d t e n t a t i v e hy-

p o t h e s e s , q u i t e a p a r t f r o m a n y r e l a t i o n s h i p to pasto r p r e s e n t t h i n k i n g i n t h e f i e l d o f p s y c h o l o g y . Thish a s b e e n i n t e n t i o n a l . I t i s f e l l lhat i t i s t h e f u n c t i o nof th e c l i n i c i a n to t r y t o o b s e r v e , w i t h a n o p e n -m i n d e d a t t i t u d e , t h e c o m p l e x i t y o f m a t e r i a l w h i c hc o m e s to h i m , to r e p o r t h i s o b s e r v a t i o n s , a n d i n t h el i g h t o f t h i s l o f o r m u l a i c hypotheses a n d p r o b l e m sw h i c h b o t h Ihe c l i n i c a n d t h e l a b o r a t o r y m a y u t i l i z ea s a ba s i s f o r s t u d y a n d r e s e a r c h .

Y e t , t h o u g h th e s e a r e c l i n i c a l o b s e r v a t i o n s a n dh y p o th e s e s , t h e y h a v e , a s h a s d o u b t l e s s b e e n r e co g -n i z e d , a r e l a t i o n s h i p to s o m e o f t h e c u r r e n t s o ft h e o r e t i c a l a n d l a bo r a to r y t h i n k i n g i n p s y c h o l o g y .S o m e o f the ob s e r va t i on s about the s e l f bear a re -l a t i o n s h i p to t h e t h i n k i n g o f G . H. M e a d (7 ) aboutth e "I" and I h e "me . " The o u t c o m e of therapym i g h t , b e d e s c r i b e d i n Mead's t e r m s a s t h e i n c r e a s i n ga w a r e n e s s o f t h e "I," an d Ih e o r g a n i z a t i o n o f t h e''me's" by the ' I." The importance w h i c h hasb e e n g i v e n i n this paper to the se l f a s an o r g a n i z e r o fe x p e r i e n c e and t o s o m e e x t e n t a s a n a r c h i t e c t o fs e l f , bea r s a r e l a t i o n s h i p t o t h e t h i n k i n g o f A l l p o r l(I) a n d o t h e r s c o n c e r n i n g t h e i n c re a s e d place w h i c hw e m u s t g i v e t o t h e i n t e g r a t iv e f u n c t i o n o f t h e e g o .T n th e stress w h i c h h a s b e e n g i v e n to t h e presentf i e l d o f e x p e r i e n c e as th e d e t e r m i n a n t o f b e h a v i o r ,the r e l a t i o n s h i p to (iestalt p s y c h o l o g y , and to thew o r k o f L e w i n (6) and h i s students i s obvious. Th eth eo r i e s o f Angya l ( 2 ) f i n d s ome parallel i n ou r ob -s e r va t i on s . H i s v i ew that the s e l f represents on l ya s m a l l part o f t h e b i o l o g i c al o r g an i sm w h i ch h a sr e a c h e d s y m b o l i c e l a b o r a t i o n , and that it o f t e nattempts the d i r e c t i o n of the o r g an i sm on the bas i sof u n r e l i a b l e a nd i n s u f f i c i e n t i n f o r m a t i o n , s e e m s tobe p a r t i c u l a r l y r e l a t e d to the o b s e r v a t i o n s we havem a d e . Lecky's p o s t h u m o u s b o ok ( 4 ), s m a l l i n s i zeb u t large i n t h e s i gn i f i c an ce o f it s c o n t r i b u t i o n , h a sb r o u g h t a n e w l i g h t o n the w a y i n w h i c h th e se l foperates, a n d t h e p r i n c i p l e o f c o n s i s t e n c y b y w h i c hne w e x p e r i e n c e i s i n c l u d e d i n o r e x c l u d e d f r o m th es e l f . M u c h o f h i s t h i n k i n g r u n s p a r a l l e l t o o u r o b -s e r v a t i o n s . Snygg and Combs (11) have recentlya t t e m p t e d a more r a d i c a l a n d m o r e c o m p l e t e e m -phasis u p o n t h e i n t e r n a l w o r l d o f perception a s t h ebasis for all p s y c h o l o g y , a statement w h i c h hash e l p e d t o f o r m u l a t e a theory i n w h i c h o u r o b s e r-vations f i t .

It i s n o t o n l y f r o m th e realm o f t h e o r y b u t . alsof r o m the e x p e r i m e n t a l laboratory that one finds

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THE ORGANIZATION OF PERSONALITY 367con f i rma t i on of the l ine o f t h i nk ing wh i ch has be enproposed. Tolman (12) has stressed th e need o fth ink ing as a ra t i f f r u i t f u l expe r imen t a l wo rk i s t obe done . The w ork o f Snyg g (10) ind icate s that ra tbehavior m a y b e be t t e r p r e d i c t e d by i n f e r r i n g th erat's field of perception than by v i ew ing him as anobject . Krech (Kr ecbevsky , 3 ) showed in a brilliantstudy s o m e years ag o that ra t l e a rn ing can on ly beu n d e r s t o o d i f w e rea l ize that the rat i s cons i s t en t lyact ing upon one hypothesis a f t e r another. Lecper(5 ) has summar i z ed th e ev idence f r om a numbe r o fe x p e r i m e n ta l i n v e s t i g a ti o n s , s h o w i n g th a t a n i m a lbehav io r cannot be explained by s imple S-Rmechanisms, but only by recogn iz ing that complexin t e rna l p roce s s e s o f pe rcep tua l organ i z a t i on in-t e rv e n e b e t w e e n t h e s t i m u l u s a n d t h e b e h av i o r a lre sponse . Thus the re are para ll e l streams of c l in ica lobservat ion, theoretical th ink ing , and laboratorye x p e r i m e n t , w h i ch a l l po i i i t up t h e f a c t that f o r ane f f ec t ive psycho logy w e ne ed a much more comp l e t eu n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e p r i v a t e w o r l d of th e i n d i v i d u a l ,and n e e d to l earn ways o f en t e r i ng and s t u d y i n g thatw o r l d f r o m w i t h i n .

I M P L I C A T I O N SIt w o u l d be mis l e ad ing howeve r ifil e f t you wi t h

the impre s s i on that the h y p o t h e s e s 1h a v e f o rmu la t e di n th i s pa pe r , o r t h o s e s p r i n g i n g f r om th e para l l e lpsycho log ica l studies I h av e m e n t i o n e d , a rc s imp lyex t en s i on s of the m a i n stream o f psycho log ica lt h i n k i n g , add i t i ona l b r i ck s i n the e d i f i c e o f psycho-l og i ca l t h o u g h t . W e have d i s cove r e d w i t h s o m esu rp r i s e t h a t o u r c l i n i ca l ob se rva t i on s , a n d t h etentative hypotheses wh ich s e em to grow out o ft h em , r a i s e d i s t u rb ing que s t ion s w h i ch appea r toca s t doub t o n th e ve ry f o u n d a t i o n s o f m an y o f ou rpsychological endeavors , par t icu lar ly in the f i e l d sof cl in ica l psycho logy and pe rsonal i ty study. Toc la r i fy w ha t i s me an t , 1 shou l d l i k e t o r e s t a t e i nmor e l o g i c a l o r d e r th e f o r m u l a t i o n s ] h av e g i v e n ,a n d t o l eave w i t h y o u c e r t a i n q u e s t i o n s a nd p r o b l e m sw h ich e ach o ne seems to ra i se .

I f w e t ake f i r s t th e t e n t a t i v e p ropo s i t i on that th espec i f i c d e t e r m i n a n t o f b e h av i o r i s Ih e pe rcep tua lf ie ld o f t he i n d i v i d u a l , w o u l d t h i s no t l e a d , i f re -ga rd e d as a w o rk i n g h y p o t h e s i s , to a r ad i ca l l yd i f f e r e n t app roach in c l in ica l p sy ch o l o gy and per-s ona l i t y r e s e a r c h? E t wou ld s e e m t o m e a n , thatin s t ead o f e laborate case h i s to r i e s f u l l o f i n f o r m a t i o n

about the person as an object , we wou ld endeavor todeve l op ways o f see ing h is situation, h is past, andh imse l f , as the se object s appear to h im . W e w o u l dt r y t o s e e w i t h h i m , r a t h e r t h an to eva lua t e h im .It might mean the minimiz ing of the elaboratepsychometric procedure s by which w e have en-deavo re d to measu r e o r va l u e th e individual f r o mour o w n f r a m e o f r e f e r e n c e . It m i gh t m e an th emin im i z i ng or d i scard ing o f all th e vast se r i e s o flabels w h i ch we have painstakingly built up overth e years . Parano id , p r e s ch i zophr en i c , compu l s i v e ,c o n s t r i c t e d t e r m s such as t h e s e m igh t b e come ir-relevant because they are all based in th ink ing whichtakes an ex te rnal f rame o f re fe rence . They a r e no tth e w a y s in w h i ch th e individual exper i ences h im-se l f . I f we con s i s t e n t l y s t ud i e d e ach i nd i v i dua lf rom the internal f r ame o f r e f e r ence o f that in -dividual, f r o m w i t h i n h i s o w n perceptual f ie ld , i ts e e m s probable that we shou l d f i nd g ene ra l i za t i on swh i ch c ou l d be made , and p r i nc ip l e s wh i ch we r eoperat ive , but we may be v e r y sure that they wou ldbe o f a d i f f e r en t order f rom the se ex te rnal ly basedj u d g e m e n t s about i n d i v i d u a l s .Let u s look a t ano th e r of the s u g g e s t e d p r o p o -sitions. If we took seriously the hypothesis thatin t egrat ion and ad ju s tmen t are internal conditionsre la ted to the d eg ree o f acceptance o r no nacceptanceo f all p e r c e p t i o n s , and the d e g r e e of o rgan i za t i on ofthe se pe rcept ions in to o ne consistent system, thisw o u l d decided ly a f f ec t o ur cl inical procedures. Itw o u l d s e em to i m p l y th e a b a n d o n m e n t o f t h e no t i onthat a d j u s t m e n t i s d e p e n d e n t u p o n th e p l e a s an t n e s so r u n p l e a s an t n e s s of the e n v i r o n m e n t , and w o u l ddemand concent ra t ion upon those processes wh ichb r i n g abou t s e l f - i n t e g r a t i on wi t h in th e pe r son .It w o u l d m e a n a min im iz ing or an a b a n d o n i n g o ft h o s e cl in ica l procedure s wh ich u t i l i ze th e al t e ra t ionof env i ronmen t a l forces as a m e t h o d o f t r e a t m e n t .I t w o u l d re l y i n s te a d u p o n t h e f ac t that t h e p e r s o nw h o i s i n t e r n a l l y un i f i e d has th e g r e a t e s t l i k e l i h o o do f m e e t i n g e n v i r o n m e n t a l p r o b l e m s con s t ruc t i v e l y ,e i th e r a s an i nd i v i du a l o r i n coope ra ti on w i t h o t h e rs .

If w e t ake th e r e m a i n i n g propos i t ion that th es e l f , u n d e r p r o p e r c o n d i t i o n s , i s capab l e o f r e o r -g a n i z i n g , to s o m e e x t e n t , i t s o w n p e r c e p t u a l f i e l d ,and o f t h u s a l t e r i n g b e h av io r , this t o o s e ems t ora is e d i s t u rb ing que s t i on s . Fo l l ow ing the path o fth i s h y p o t h e s i s w o u l d ap p e a r to m e a n a s h i f t i ne m p ha s i s i n p sy ch o l o gy f r om focus ing u p o n th e

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368 Tire A M K R I C A N P S Y C H O L O G I S Tf i x i ty of p e r s o n a l i t y a t t r i bu t e s and psycho log i ca lab i l i t i e s , t o the a l t e r a b i l i t y o f t h e s e s ame cha r -acte r i s t i cs . It w o u l d co n c e n t r a t e a t te n t i o n u p o nprocess r a t h e r t h an upon fixed status. Wherea sp sycho logy ha s , in pe r sona l i t y s t udy , been concernedp r i m a r il y w i t h th e m e a su r e m e n t o f t h e f ix ed qual i t i e sof th e i n d i v i d u a l , and w i t h h i s past in o r d e r t o ex -p l a i n h i s p r e s e n t , th e h y p o t h e s i s h e r e s u g g e s t e dw o u l d s e em to co n c e r n i t se l f m u c h m o r e w i t h th ep e r s o n a l w o r l d o f t h e p r e s e n t i n o r d e r to u n d e r s t a n dth e f u t u r e , a n d i n pre d i c t i ng that f u t u r e w o u l d b econce rned w i t h the principles by w h i c h personalityand behav io r arc altered, as w e l l as the ex t en t 1ow h i c h they r e m a i n f i x e d .T h u s w e fi n d that a c l i n i c a l app roach , c l i e n t -c e n t e r e d t h e rapy , ha s l e d u s t o t ry t o a d o p t th ec l i en t ' s p e r c e p t u a l f i e l d a s t h e bas i s f o r g e n u i n eu n d e r s t a n d i n g . In t r y i n g to e n t e r t h i s i n t e r n a lwor l d o f p e r c e p t i on , n o t by i n t r o s p e c t i o n , but byobservation and d i rect i n f e r en ce , we f ind ou r s e l v e si n a new v an t a g e p o i n t f o r unde r s t and ing pe r sona l i t ydynamics , a vantage po in t wh i ch open s up somed i s t u r b i n g v i s t a s . We f i n d that b e h a v i o r s e e m s tob e better u n d e r s t o o d as a r e a c t i o n to t h i s r e a l i l y -a s -p e rce i v e d . W e d i s c o v e r t h a t t h e w a y i n w h i c h t h epe r son see s h i m s e l f , an d the p e r c e p t i o n s h e d a r e s n o ttake as b e l o n g i n g to h i m s e l f , s e em to h av e an i m -portant, relationship to the i nne r peace wh ich con -stitutes ad j u s t m e n t . We d i scove r w i th in the per-son , und e r c e r ta i n cond i t i on s , a capacity f o r t h e

r e s t r u c t u r i n g a n d t h e r eo r gan i z a t i on o f s e l f , andc o n s e q u e n t l y th e r eo r gan i z a t i on o f b e h av i o r , w h i c hh as p r o f o u n d so c i al imp l i ca t i on s . W e s e c th e s eob se rva t i on s , and the t h eo r e ti ca l f o rmu la t i on s wh i chthey inspire , a s a f r u i t f u l n e w approach f o r studyand research in va r i ou s f i e ld s o f psychology.

R E F E R E N C E S1. A L L P O R T , G O R D O N W . The ego in c o n t e m p o r a r y ps y -cho l ogy . Psychol . Rev., 1943, 50 , 451-478.2. A N G Y A L , A N D R A S . Founda t i ons for a science o f person-ality. N e w Y o r k . C o m m o n w e a l t h Fund, 1941.3 . K . R K C I I K V S K Y , I. H y p o t h e s e s in r a t s . P s yc h ol . Kev.,1932, 39 , 516-532.4. LECKY, PKESCOTT Self-Consistency: A theory of per-sonality. New York . I s l and Press , 1945.5 . L K K P E K , R O B E R T The expe r imen t a l p sycho l o g i s t s asr e l u c t a n t d ra g on s . P ap e r p r e s en t e d a t APA mee t i n g ,September 1946.6. L E W T N , KURT A dynamic theory o f personality. Ne wYo rk . McG raw -Hi l l , 1935.7. MEAB, GEORGE II. Mi nd, s e l f , and society. Chicago .Univers i ty of Chicago Press, 1934.8. R O G E R S , C A R L R. S ign i f i cant a sp ec t s o f c l i e n t - c e n t e r e dth e rapy . Amer. Psychologist, 1946, 1, 415-422.9. S N Y D E R , V V . U. 'Warmth' in nond i r e c t i v e c oun se l i n g .J. ab no rm. sac. Psychol . , 1946, 41, 491-495. .

10. S N Y G G , D O N A L D M a z e s in w h i c h r a t s t a k e th e l o n g e rp a t h to f ood . /. Psychol . , 1936,1, 153-166.tl. S N Y G G , D O N A L D AN D C O M H S , A R T H U R W . B o ok m a n u -sc r ip t , l o ane d t o p r e s e n t a u t h o r . In p ro c e s s o f p u b l i -ca t i on . Ne w York . Ha rp e r and Bros .12 . T O L M A N , E. C . T h e d e t e r m i n e r s o f b e h a v i o r at a choicepo i n t . P s yc h ol . Ken., 1938, 46, 1-41.