Read the passage below and answer the questions
Rishabh often feels dissatisfied with himself, despite receiving appreciation from his family and friends. According to Carl Rogers, such dissatisfaction arises when there is an incongruence between an ideal and real self of an individual. Rogers proposed that individuals have an inherent tendency towards growth and fulfillment known as self-actualization. However, this growth can be hindered when an individual receives conditional positive regard and when acceptance depends on certain fixed expectations. If this continues, individuals like Rishabh may deny or distort their lived experiences. This in turn can harm their self-concept and psychological well-being.
Rishabh’s dissatisfaction is mainly due to:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Incongruence between ideal and real self
Option (1) Type anxiety — Incorrect. There is no such term. Personality types such as Type-A and Type-B describe patterns of behaviour, and none of them is a cause of Rishabh’s dissatisfaction in the passage.
Option (2) Incongruence between ideal and real self — Correct. For Rogers, the ideal self is the self a person would like to be. When the real self and the ideal self correspond, a person is generally happy; a discrepancy between them often results in unhappiness and dissatisfaction. The passage says Rishabh’s dissatisfaction arises from this incongruence, despite the appreciation he gets.
Option (3) Strong ego — Incorrect. In Freud’s theory the ego works by the reality principle and directs the id towards appropriate ways of behaving. A strong ego helps a person deal with reality; it is not what makes Rishabh dissatisfied.
Option (4) Dominant defense mechanism — Incorrect. A defence mechanism is a way of reducing anxiety by distorting reality, such as repression or denial. The passage mentions denying or distorting experiences only as a later result of conditional regard, not as the cause of the dissatisfaction.
NCERT (2025-26): “Humanistic Approach … Rogers suggests that each person also has a concept of ideal self. An ideal self is the self that a person would like to be. When there is a correspondence between the real self and ideal self, a person is generally happy. Discrepancy between the real self and ideal self often results in unhappiness and dissatisfaction.…” |