nk of himself/herself as unworthy. Indeed, the person will, according to Rogers, distort reality if this is what "worthiness" demands. Perhaps a classic example of this distortion can be seen in the case of a racist who is willing to distort the reality of an entire people in order to maintain a sense of personal worthiness that demands that "self" be above others. However, when reality is ignored, then what is being experienced is a production of the individual's perceptions (thoughts, feelings, emotions, etc.) and this production arises from the self-concept. And it is in this sense that a person is producing his/her experience.
The idea of a person producing certain experiences for himself on the basis of his self-concept is echoed by other humanistic theorists. For example, in Allport's (1961) discussion of adolescence, he delineates this view by noting that adolescents tend to actively seek experiences of popularity and avoid experiences of ostracism. Specifically, Allport (1961) states that the adolescent:
. . .seeks popularity and is fearful of ost
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