History[edit]
The concept of unconditional positive regard was developed by Carl Rogers in 1956,[4] expanding on the earlier (1954) work of Stanley Standal.[5] During this time, Rogers was working as a clinical psychologist with children at a mental health clinic in Rochester, New York. While working at the clinic, Rogers became influenced by Jessie Taft, a social worker who believed that the relationship between the therapist and the patient was the most influential part of treatment. This appealed to Rogers and led to his development of client-centered therapy.[6] Client-centered therapy requires four characteristics of the therapist in order to promote the highest level of growth. These include empathy, unconditional positive regard, congruence, and attitude versus technique.[7] Rogers defined unconditional positive regard by individually explaining the key elements of the term. He explained that unconditional means, "No conditions of acceptance...It is at the opposite pole from a selective evaluating attitude." He wrote that positive means, "A warm acceptance of the person. A genuine caring for the client." In reference to regard he wrote that, "One regards each aspect of the client's experience as being part of that client. It means a caring for the client, but not in a possessive way or in such a way as simply to satisfy the therapist's own needs. It means caring for the client as a separate person, with permission to have his [or her] own feelings, his [or her] own experiences."[8][9] In Roger's book, On Becoming A Person,[10] Rogers cites Stanley Standal as the source of the theory of unconditional positive regard.[11]
Effect on psychology[edit]
Because it is one part of a larger therapeutic approach, the effect of unconditional positive regard on psychology must be viewed through the context of humanistic psychology, which in the 1960s spawned the widespread human potential movements. By making the positive therapist-client relationship a part of the cure, it also presented a step away from the Freudian tradition which saw the therapist–client relationship as means to an end.[12]
Unconditional positive regard as part of humanistic therapy is still highly regarded by certain therapists, who believe it to be the curative factor in this type of therapy.[16]
Research implications[edit]
Since its emergence in 1956, unconditional positive regard has received little attention in psychological research. Lietaer, G. (1984) conducted research on the controversy surrounding unconditional positive regard. He stated that unconditional positive regard is one of the most questioned aspects of client-centred therapy. Purton, C. (1998) examined the relationship between spirituality and unconditional positive regard.[18]
Criticism[edit]
Criticisms have been made regarding the overall effect of the therapy. Ruth Sanford discusses the value of unconditional positive regard in relationships, asking whether it is possible to show unconditional positive regard to the everyday person you may meet on the street or at a nearby market. According to Sanford, in deeper and more meaningful relationships it is possible to show unconditional positive regard to another individual. Sanford argues that unconditional positive regard is not an all-or-nothing concept, but instead falls along a continuum between short-term relationships and deeper long-term personal relationships.[19]
Albert Ellis has criticized unconditional positive regard stating that such an attitude is, in fact, conditional. Even Carl Rogers, who presumably emphasized unconditional positive regard, actually held that the individual can accept himself only when someone else, such as the therapist, accepts him or loves him unconditionally; so that his self-concept is still dependent on some important element outside himself."[20] While Ellis strongly supported unconditional positive regard of clients, he believed they could, and had better, accept themselves and adopt unconditional positive regard of themselves whether or not their therapist or anyone else does.