2 Answers

  1. This is a complex term that literally means “consonant, consonant” and is used in very different cases – in mathematics, geometry, and anatomy. But most likely the question concerns psychology.

    In psychology, the best translation of the word “congruent” is organic. The bottom line is that Karl Rogers, and then other psychologists, tried to use this term to describe a fairly simple thing: how organic a person's manifestations (his words, facial expressions, behavior) are to each other and/or internal state.

    If we see a strange discrepancy (for example, cheerful speeches, but a tired voice, or angry, but the body is relaxed, communicating, and the pose is closed, or even having fun, and the pupils are narrowed), this is a manifestation of incongruity, which indicates an internal discord in a person. It is difficult to communicate with such people, sometimes not just to communicate, but even to be close to them. Conversely, a congruent personality is natural and does not cause such discomfort.

    However, it seems to me that “congruent personality” is a myth, just an idelization of naturalness (which, meanwhile, can also be annoying).

  2. Congruence in psychology is a metaphor and is taken from mathematics.

    Where it means, for example, that “these two triangles are the same with each other, you just need to carefully overlay them on top of each other and see their identity”

    Congruence in psychology is an antonym for “internal dissonance” and means (in simple terms) that:

    The inner world of a “congruent” person and the external manifestations of this person, his words, actions do not differ from what he is inside. The inner Self and the outer, visible Self are identical. The state of Inner peace and harmony.

    And it grew out of the thousand-year history of philosophy.

    Many religious traditions encourage their followers to strive for such Congruence with the external ideal.

    Through changing the inner content: clean yourself from the inside, so that your manifestations are perfect, without explosive emotions and jumps. When a person finally attains the congruence of his inner world with his ideal, it is assumed that the person no longer has any shortcomings, problems, or mental illnesses.

    On the other hand, acting schools are formally suitable for the search for congruence.

    They polish the actor's performance, external content, body and face work in such a way that they look perfect. Or a perfect beauty and genius (like BradPitt) or a perfect idiot (like Pierre Richard) or a perfect villain.

    But for artists, this is an” apparent ” congruence.

    The same cognitive dissonance that almost all great artists suffer from. Many, alas, cannot even live with this dissonance.

    But this is a completely different topic.

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