2.4 Development of the Self
2.4.3 Congruence
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Therefore, if individuals in a state of congruence experience strong feelings of aggression, they will only directly act on this urge if the satisfaction of assaulting the other person outweighs the perceived satisfaction they would gain from significant others. Additionally, the behaviour will also need to be consistent with their self-concept as well as deemed necessary to fulfil their actualising tendency.
If one were to provide a criminological interpretation for this phenomenon, an association with the rational choice ideologies of the classical school of thought could be made. Dating back to the eighteenth century this perspective was purported by theorists such as Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham and claimed that criminal behaviour occurred out of a process of rational choice. Individuals are said to consciously weigh up the potential for pleasure and pain and would therefore display deviant behaviour if the pleasure gained from committing the act outweighed the pain of punishment or the likelihood thereof (Williams & McShane, 2010:17). This perspective emphasises the role of free will and therefore does not highlight the influence of environment and societal factors on behaviour.
This perspective could be applied as a behavioural explanation when considering Rogers’
congruent individual, as society is said to have less direct influence on their behaviour because they are accepted for who they are without condition and therefore do not tend to conform to societal norms and values that are inconsistent with their sense of self. It stands to reason that both perspectives are seen as idealistic explanations of human behaviour.
However, taking into consideration one of the primary aspects of Rogers’ view of human nature, that people are seen as having an inherent tendency to act in a positive manner, it would be difficult to find an explanation for a congruent individual partaking in criminal activities (Meyer et al., 1997:463). Therefore, it is more likely that if a congruent individual where to show problematic behaviour, they would not perceive it as such and the context of the behaviour would be an important factor and it is therefore also likely that the type of offense will be of a less serious nature. The context of deviant behaviour and the associated justifications therefore available to the individual can be seen in the neutralisation techniques of Sykes and Matza purported in their drift theory (see 2.4.4). Thus, in order to fully achieve actualisation individuals need to successfully acknowledge the views of others without allowing them to dominate their own self-concept.
33 2.4.3.2 The Incongruent Self
However, not all experiences are as easily internalised as others. When a certain experience cannot be internalised due to its opposing nature with the self-concept, individuals are said to experience anxiety and be in a state of incongruence. The state of incongruence leads to maladjustment, which refers to the outward, behavioural aspects of individuals (Maddi, 1980:92; Meyer et al., 1997:482).
Although Rogers does not speak directly of criminal behaviour, he does extensively mention the behavioural effects or expressions of incongruence. Maddi (1980:92) explains the manifestation of destructive behaviour from a Rogerian perspective as the outward expression of inner experiences. That is to say that outward destructive behaviour will be indicative or stem from inner conflict or incongruence. Peacock (2006:35) comes to a similar conclusion expressing the opinion of Bartollas (1985) which states that the suppression of feelings due to an overdeveloped superego may lead to possible (violent) criminal behaviour.
The core tendencies of the concept of incongruence are somewhat similar to the concept of
“cognitive dissonance”, a term coined by Leon Festinger in 1957 that refers to the psychological discomfort experienced by an individual as a result of disequilibrium between ones beliefs or knowledge of a situation and the actual reality of that situation. This then results in a need to reduce the aforementioned discomfort to maintain psychological wellbeing (Festinger, 1962:93; Theissen, 1997). Thus, if an individual who generally subscribes to the norms and values of a society behaves in a manner that contradicts those values, cognitive dissonance is said to occur.
The concept of peer influence and the adoption of attitudes and beliefs consistent with those of the social environment is present in a number of criminological and psychological theories as the preceding information would come to illustrate. This idea is further continued in the writings of Edwin Sutherland, Albert Cohen and Travis Hirschi as they all emphasise the influence of different social relations on self-perceptions and thereby behaviour. Rooted in the tenets of the social learning perspective, Sutherland’s differential association theory also views deviance or maladjusted behaviour as a result of the discrepancy between value systems. The role of significant others and the importance the individual places on the norms and values of these others, is also key in this perspective and therefore purports that
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problematic behaviour manifests when individuals behave in a manner which is viewed as accepting by a deviant social group or “significant others” whilst being in contradiction with the norms and values of larger society (Bartol & Bartol, 2008:4; Williams & McShane, 2010:68).
Another perspective that was influenced by Sutherlands work and therefore bares a number of similarities is the subculture theory of Cohen. Here it is purported that criminal behaviour is motivated by frustration and competition born out of the inability of individuals from lower social class backgrounds to achieve high social status as prescribed by the dominant middle class. It is then due to this perceived discrepancy between dominant middle class values and the ability to achieve them that an opposing mentality can occur and create a subculture where similar values, contradictory to the dominant system are respected. Once internalised the new values of the subculture are said to motivate behaviour against the dominant culture which can therefore often be classified as deviant or criminal (Williams & McShane, 2010:93).
Furthermore, the role of attachment to, and investment in significant others and the associated value systems is closely investigated by Hirschi from a social control or more accurately social bonding perspective. Hirschi states that individuals are driven by a desire for approval, conscience and the influential nature of an internalised value system to behave in a conventional manner. From this perspective criminal behaviour is viewed in terms of weak bonds to the conventional norms and value system and will thus depend on the amount of time, emotion and belief the individual has invested in these values to build up such bonds (Williams & McShane, 2010:155).
Much like that, which is purported by Rogers, behaviour is said to be motivated by a need for approval by those who are deemed closest to individuals. It is thus the nature of these external actors that increase the possibility of behaving in a manner that can be considered criminal. It also indirectly reinforces the concept of the driven nature of individuals to behave in a manner considered positive by the self and become all they perceive they can be, whether to those on the outside it may seem constructive or destructive. Therefore, if a state of incongruence does exist within an individual due to their inability to incorporate conditions of worth into their self-concept it would theoretically go against Rogers’ assumptions about the actualising tendency for the individual to simply accept this state. In order to deal with
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this state of incongruence and decrease the accompanying anxiety the experience must be ignored, denied or distorted (Meyer et al., 1997:470; Rogers, 1951:504).