Overview of Individual Psychology

• individual psychology presents an optimistic view of people while resting heavily on the notion of social interest, that is, a feeling of oneness with all humankind
• Adler, people are born with weak, inferior bodies—a condition that leads to feelings of inferiority and a consequent dependence on other people.
• Therefore, a feeling of unity with others (social interest) is inherent in people and the ultimate standard for psychological health.
• The one dynamic force behind people’s behavior is the striving for success or superiority
• People’s subjective perceptions shape their behavior and personality
• The value of all human activity must be seen from the viewpoint of social interest.
• The self-consistent personality structure develops into a person’s style of life
• Style of life is molded by people’s creative power.
• The first tenet of Adlerian theory is: The one dynamic force behind people’s behav ior is the striving for success or superiority
• , Adler believed that aggression was the dynamic power be hind all motivation, but he soon became dissatisfied with this term. After rejecting aggression as a single motivational force, Adler used the term masculine protest, which implied will to power or a domination of others
• Adler called the single dynamic force striving for superiority. In his final theory, however, he limited striving for superiority to those people who strive for personal superiority over others and introduced the term striving for success to de scribe actions of people who are motivated by highly developed social interest
• people strive toward a final goal of either personal supe riority or the goal of success for all humankind.
• the goal is neither genetically nor environmentally determined. Rather, it is the prod uct of the creative power, that is, people’s ability to freely shape their behavior and create their own personality.
• h 4 or 5 years of age, their cre ative power has developed to the point that they can set their final goal.
• If children feel neglected or pampered, their goal remains largely unconscious. Adler (1964) hypothesized that children will compensate for feelings of inferiority in devious ways that have no apparent relationship to their fictional goal.
• if children experience love and security, they set a goal that is largely conscious and clearly understood
• Adler (1956) used the analogy of the playwright who builds the characteristics and the subplots of the play according to the f inal goal of the drama. When the final scene is known, all dialogue and every sub plot acquire new meaning. When an individual’s final goal is known, all actions make sense and each subgoal takes on new significance.
• The Striving Force people strive for superiority or success as a means of compensation for feelings of inferiority or weakness
• believed that all humans are “blessed” at birth with small, weak, and inferior bodies
• The striving force itself is innate, but its nature and direction are due both to feelings of inferiority and to the goal of superiority
• Striving for Personal Superiority Some people strive for superiority with little or no concern for others. Their goals are personal ones, and their strivings are motivated largely by exaggerated feelings of personal inferiority, or the presence of an inferiority complex.
• Murderers, thieves, and con artists are obvious examples of people who strive for personal gain.
• Striving for Success In contrast to people who strive for personal gain are those psychologically healthy people who are motivated by social interest and the success of all humankind. These healthy individuals are concerned with goals beyond themselves, are capable of helping others without demanding or expecting a personal payoff, and are able to see others not as opponents but as people with whom they can cooperate for social ben efit
• Adler’s second tenet is: People’s subjective perceptions shape their behavior and personality.
• People strive for superiority or success to compensate for feelings of inferior ity, but the manner in which they strive is not shaped by reality but by their subjec tive perceptions of reality, that is, by their fictions, or expectations of the future.
• Fictionalism Our most important fiction is the goal of superiority or success, a goal we created early in life and may not clearly understand. This subjective, fictional final goal guides our style of life, gives unity to our personality
• People are motivated not by what is true but by their subjective perceptions of what is true
• Adler adopted a teleological view, one in which people are motivated by present perceptions of the future.
• Physical Inferiorities Because people begin life small, weak, and inferior, they develop a fiction or belief system about how to overcome these physical deficiencies and become big, strong, and superior. But even after they attain size, strength, and superiority, they may act as if they are still small, weak, and inferior.
• Adler (1929/1969) emphasized that physical deficiencies alone do not cause a particular style of life; they simply provide present motivation for reaching future goals. Such motivation, like all aspects of personality, is unified and self-consistent.