ABSTRACT
Introduction The theories of George Kelly and Carl Rogers are treated together because they are both phenomenological in nature – they assume that a person’s conscious experience can reveal their basic personality. More specifically, they suggest that an individual’s personality can be understood by knowing how they understand and experience the world, both emotionally and cognitively. Thus both Kelly and Rogers focus on how the individual perceives him-or herself and other people. The aim is to understand each individual’s unique view of the world, through exploring his or her thoughts, feelings and beliefs. This technique (known as introspection) is perhaps the most obvious and simple way of investigating personality, which is why we consider these theories first.
