Congruence is a state of complete sincerity and integrity, when all parts of the personality work in a single rhythm to achieve a single goal. When all the actions of a person are coordinated with each other and aimed at obtaining the desired result.
In psychology, the term “congruency” was introduced by Carl Rogers to describe the correspondence of “I”, “ideal self” and human life experience. Also, this term is used to determine the dynamic state of a psychotherapist when various components of his internal experience (experiences, emotions, etc.) are freely and not distortedly recognized and expressed in the process of his work with a client.
Definition of congruency
The presence of congruency or its absence is easier to see from the side, and not feel on your own. Congruence in psychology is a process of a person's awareness of his real and actual feelings, problems, experiences, their subsequent articulation, and expression in ways that do not infringe on the people around him.
In this state, a person is maximally freed from the need to use psychological methods of protection, to hide behind masks and roles. Congruence is observed when a person expresses exactly what he feels with his behavior. Congruence is a special condition when people around him perceive it as who it really is.
How to achieve congruency
To achieve this state, it is necessary to try to voice internal and subconscious contradictions. It is not so simple to do this, since congruency is honesty with oneself and perception of oneself as an integral person. This condition is ideal for the realization of our desires. After all, just imagine: I wanted to - I decided and did it right away. Without much thought, doubt and hesitation.
What gives us congruence
When our actions are coordinated, they are most effective. Due to this, the process of achieving the desired result brings us the same pleasure as the result. This happens because our whole personality rejoices. When we are congruent, it seems to us that the whole world helps us, and circumstances are in our favor.
Osgood and Tannenbaum congruence theory
This theory belongs to the group of theories of cognitive correspondence. Its authors Osgood and Tannenbaum derived the following definition: a person as a perceiving subject to achieve compliance in the structure of the cognitive at the same time changes his attitude to another person and to the object that they both evaluate.
That is, if the attitude of the subject to another subject is positive, but at the same time his attitude to the evaluated object is negative, then in the case of a positive attitude of the second subject to the object, the first subject reduces his “negativity” in relation to this object, and at the same time reduces his “positivity” "In relation to the second subject. In this case, congruence is a simultaneous change in two series of relations, in some cases due to a change in their sign.