Alfred Adler

• Individual Psychology presents an optimistic view of a person resting heavily on social interest (feeling of oneness with all humankind)
• Freud reduced all motivation to sex and aggression
• People have little or no choice in shaping their personality
• Present behavior is shaped by past experiences
• Freud put high emphasis on the unconscious
• Adler believed people are motivated by social influences and their striving for superiority and success
• Adler believed people are responsible for who they are
• Present behavior is shaped by people’s view of the future
• Psychologically healthy people are aware of what they are doing and why they are doing it
• Alfred Adler was born in Rudolfsheim, Vienna, a suburb in 1870
• Adler was the second son of middle-class Jewish parents
• Adler was weak and sickly when he was young
• Adler nearly died of pneumonia at age 5
• Adler received his medical degree in 1895
• Adler published "Study of Organ Inferiority and its Physical Compensation" in 1907
• Adler was a charter member of Freud’s organization
• Rivalry with Freud led to Adler's departure from the group
• Adler founded the Society for Individual Psychology
• Adler died in Scotland in 1937
• Adler's goal in life at a young age was to conquer death and become a physician
• Tenets of Adlerian Theory:

  • Striving for Success or Superiority is the dynamic force behind people’s behavior
  • Subjective perceptions shape people’s behavior and personality
  • Each person is unique and indivisible
  • Social interest is the value of all human activity seen from the viewpoint of social interest
  • Style of life is the self-consistent personality structure that develops into a person’s style of life
  • Creative power molds style of life and places individuals in control of their own lives
• Striving for Success and Superiority:

  • The final goal is fictional and has no objective existence
  • Each person has the power to create a personalized fictional goal
  • People strive for superiority or success as a means of compensation for feelings of inferiority or weakness
  • Some people strive for superiority with little or no concern for others
  • Inferiority complex is common among those striving for success
• Subjective Perceptions:

  • Our most important fiction is the goal of superiority or success, a goal created early in life
  • This subjective, fictional final goal guides our style of life and gives unity to our personality
  • People develop beliefs about overcoming physical deficiencies and may continue to act as if they are still inferior even after attaining success
• Unity and Self-Consistency of Personality:

  • Organ dialect refers to the body speaking more expressively than words
  • Unified personality is the harmony between conscious and unconscious actions
  • Conscious thoughts are understood and helpful in striving for success
  • Unconscious goals are not clearly formulated or completely understood by the individual
• Social Interest is defined as an attitude of relatedness with humanity and empathy for each member of the human community

  • Origins of social interest came from the German term “Gemeinschaftsgefühl”
  • Healthy individuals are genuinely concerned about people and have a goal of success that encompasses the well-being of all people
• Style of Life is a unique character structure of personal behavior and characteristics by which each person strives for perfection

  • Dominant types have little social awareness and behave without regard for others
  • Getting types expect satisfaction from others and become dependent on them
  • Avoiding types make no attempt to face life’s problems
  • Socially useful types cooperate with others and act in accordance with their needs
• Creative Power:

  • Style of life is molded by people’s creative power
  • Creative power makes each person a free individual
  • All psychic life involves movement toward a goal with a direction
• External Factors in Maladjustments:

  • Exaggerated physical deficiencies lead to feelings of inferiority
  • Pampered style of life involves weak social interest and a strong desire to perpetuate a pampered, parasitic relationship
  • Neglected style of life is created by children who feel unloved and unwanted
  • Safeguarding tendencies protect a person’s exaggerated self-esteem against public damage
• Safeguarding Tendencies:

  • Excuses are the most common safeguarding tendency expressed in the “yes but” or “if only” format
  • Aggression safeguards a person’s exaggerated superiority complex through depreciation, accusation, and self-accusation
  • Withdrawal involves setting up a distance between oneself and problems through moving backward, standing still, hesitating, and constructing obstacles
• Masculine Protest:

  • Adler believed that cultural and social practices, not anatomy, influence men and women to overemphasize the importance of being manly
  • Boys are expected to be courageous, strong, and dominant, while girls are expected to be passive and accept an inferior position in society
• • Only child: socially mature, exaggerated feelings of superiority, low cooperation, inflated self-esteem
• Family Constellation:

  • Refers to birth order, gender of siblings, and age spread between them
  • The number, birth order, and personality characteristics of family members are important in determining lifestyle
  • Birth order influences positive and negative traits in individuals:
  • Oldest child: nurturing, protective, highly critical, fights for acceptance
  • Second child: highly motivated, cooperative, competitive, easily discouraged
  • Youngest child: realistically ambitious, pampered, dependent
• Individual Psychology presents an optimistic view of a person resting heavily on social interest, which is the feeling of oneness with all humankind
• Freud reduced all motivation to sex and aggression
• People have little or no choice in shaping their personality
• Present behavior is shaped by past experiences
• Freud put high emphasis on the unconscious
• Adler believed that people are motivated by social influences and their striving for superiority and success
• Adler emphasized that people are responsible for who they are
• Present behavior is shaped by people’s view of the future