The Perils of Autobiography
Evidence, Meaning, Reliability, and Context in the Historiographical Canon on Carl Ransom Rogers, 1950s–2020s
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7514540 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Claudia Fierro (0000-0001-7635-7012, Universitat Autonòma de Barcelona, corresponding author), Catriel Fierro (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 60 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Publication date | 2026-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1932-4502 • E-ISSN: 1936-3567 |
| Publisher | Springer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s12124-026-09982-3 |
| PMID | 41796419 |
| OpenAlex | W7134276313 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 39 |
This article examines the historical canon on Carl Ransom Rogers (1902–1987) as a case study in the epistemological and methodological shortcomings of ‘insider’ psycho-biographical narratives in the historiography of psychology. Most accounts of Rogers, written by Rogerian practitioners, rely heavily on a limited cluster of biographies and autobiographical recollections treated as transparent self-reports confirming the personal, developmental origins of his theories. I suggest such dependence has produced an ‘echo-chamber’ historiography: a closed system of citation, repetition, and uncritical reverence for inherited narratives privileging Rogers’ first-person accounts. Through methodological criticism of published historical scholarship and archival reconstruction of Rogers’ mid-century writings and professional context, I show that his autobiographical texts emerged from specific institutional, rhetorical, and personal circumstances rather than spontaneous self-disclosure. By situating these materials within broader debates on the historiography of the human sciences, I argue that the Rogerian canon exemplifies how disciplinary self-legitimation can distort historical explanation by collapsing history, memory, and celebration. I conclude by calling for a reflexive historiography grounded in archival evidence, methodological pluralism, and epistemic caution
Context (archaeology · Criticism · Historiography · Narrative · Ransom · Reflexivity · Reverence · Scholarship · Academic and Historical Perspectives in Psychology · Contemporary Sociological Theory and Practice · Social Representations and Identity
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| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |