ALFRED ADLER: INDIVIDUAL a person to strive for either
PSYCHOLOGY superiority or success
OVERVIEW OF INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY
FREUD AND ADLER COMPARED
INTRODUCTION TO ADLERIAN THEORY
FREUD ADLER
STRIVING FOR SUCCESS OR SUPERIORITY
● THE FINAL GOAL
Motivation Sex and Striving for superiority
● THE STRIVING FORCE AS COMPENSATION
agression or success
● STRIVING FOR PERSONAL SUPERIORITY
● STRIVING FOR SUCCESS Determinism Determinism Free Choice
SUBJECTIVE PERCEPTIONS vs. Free
● FICTIONALISM Choice
● PHYSICAL INFERIORITIES
UNITY AND SELF-CONSISTENCY OF PERSONALITY Causality vs. Causality Teleology
● ORGAN DIALECT Teleology
● CONSCIOUS AND UNCONSCIOUS
SOCIAL INTEREST Conscious vs. Unconscious Conscious
● ORIGIN OF SOCIAL INTEREST Unconscious
● IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL INTEREST
STYLE OF LIFE
CREATIVE POWER INTRODUCTION TO ADLERIAN THEORY
ABNORMAL DEVELOPMENT 3 reasons why Adler lacks clout:
● GENERAL DESCRIPTION
● EXTERNAL FACTORS UN MALADJUSTMENTS
1. Did not establish a tightly run
○ EXAGGERATED PHYSICAL organization to perpetuate his
DEFICIENCIES theories
○ PAMPERED STYLE OF LIFE
○ NEGLECTED STYLE OF LIFE
2. Was not a particularly gifted writer
● SAFEGUARDING TENDENCIES 3. Many of his views were incorporated
○ EXCUSES into the works of later theorists (i.e.
○ AGGRESSION
○ WITHDRAWAL
Maslow, Rogers and Ellis)
● MASCULINE PROTEST “People are born weak with inferior bodies -
● APPLICATIONS OF INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY a condition that leads to feelings of
○ FAMILY CONSTELLATION
○ EARLY RECOLLECTIONS
inferiority and a consequent dependence on
○ DREAM other people”
○ PSYCHOTHERAPY Social Interest - feelings of unity with
others; ultimate standard for psychological
health
OVERVIEW OF INDIVIDUAL
Main tenets of Adlerian Theory
PSYCHOLOGY
1. Striving force for success or
Individual Psychology - presents an
superiority - dynamic force behind
optimistic view of people while resting
people’s behavior
heavily on the notion of social interest
2. Subjective perceptions - shape
(feeling of oneness with all humankind)
people’s behavior and personality
- Opposing theory of Freud’s
3. Personality is unified and
Psychoanalysis
self-consistent
- Holds that everyone begins life with
4. Social Interest - value of all human
physical deficiencies that activates
activity
feelings of inferiority which motivates
1
5. Style of life - developed through a to overcome inferiority feelings and
self-consistent personality pulled by the desire for completion
6. Style of life is molded by people’s Heredity - establishes potentiality
creative power Environment - contributes to the
development of social interest and courage
STRIVING FOR SUCCESS (social interest, 2 avenues of striving:
motivation) OR SUPERIORITY (personal 1. Striving for Personal Superiority -
superiority over others) socially unproductive attempt; little
- Single drive; Striving power: or no concern for others; caused by
psychologically unhealthy individuals exaggerated forms of inferiority i.e.
(personal superiority), inferiority complex; personal credit
psychologically healthy individuals 2. Striving for Success - motivated by
(success for all humanity) social interest and success of all
Timeline for Adler’s dynamic force: humankind; sense of personal worth
Aggression (single motivational force) is tied closely to their contribution to
→Masculine Protest (will to power or human society; capable of helping
domination with others)→Striving for others without expecting anything in
superiority and success return; maintains a sense of self;
1. The Final Goal - guide of each social progress
individual regardless of the
motivation for striving (superiority or SUBJECTIVE PERCEPTIONS
success); fictional and has no 1. Fictionalism - guides our lifestyle
objective existence; reduces the and gives unity to our personality
pain of inferiority and directs to ○ Fictions - expectations of
either superiority or success; unifies the future; ideas that have no
personality and renders all behavior real existence yet they
comprehensible influence people as if they
Creative power - people’s ability to shape really existed
their behavior and create their own a. Teleology - explanation of
personality behavior in terms of
Neglected/pampered children - purpose/aim; concerned with
unconscious goals lead to a goal of goals and aspirations
superiority b. Causality - considers
Love/secured children - conscious goals behavior as springing from a
lead to a goal of success and social interest specific cause; deals with
Preliminary goals - subgoals, conscious; past experiences that
seldom realized; takes on new significance produce present effect
if the final goal is known 2. Physical Inferiorities - physical
2. Striving Force as Compensation - handicaps lead to feelings of inferiority;
innate, coping up with people develop a fiction or belief about how
weakness/inferiority; towards to overcome these physical deficiencies
completion and wholeness; the need - these physical handicaps
have no importance but
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become meaningful when STYLE OF LIFE - flavor of a person’s life;
they stimulate subjective product of interaction of heredity,
feelings of inferiority environment and creative power
- E.g. person’s goal,
UNITY AND SELF CONSISTENCY OF self-concept, feelings for
PERSONALITY (Individual Psychology others and attitude towards
insists on fundamental unity of personality the world
and inconsistent behavior did not exist) - people with a socially useful
1. Organ Dialect - speak a language style of life represent the
which is usually expressive and highest form of humanity in
discloses the individual’s opinion the evolutionary process
more clearly than words are able to 3 Major Problems of Life
do; actions that pertain to something 1. Neighborly love
2. Harmony between the Conscious 2. Sexual love
and Unconscious - two cooperation 3. Occupation
parts of the same unified system
where the conscious is regarded as CREATIVE POWER - dynamic concept
helpful in striving for success while implying movement (most salient
the unconscious is not characteristic of life) the ability to shape
behavior and personality; makes each
SOCIAL INTEREST person a free individual
(Gemeinschaftsgefühl) - social - Adler acknowledged the importance
feeling/community feeling; oneness with all of heredity and environment (bricks
humanity and implies empathy for members and mortar) in forming personality
of the community; an attitude of relatedness (architectural design)
with humanity in general; natural conditions - Analogy: The law of the low
of human species that binds them together doorway
and the adhesive that binds the society
together ABNORMAL DEVELOPMENT
- Rooted as potentiality in Underdeveloped social interest - one
everyone factor underlying all types of
1. Origin of Social Interest: maladjustments
1. Mother-child relationship Maladjusted people (neurotics) - set
during the early months of extravagant goals as an overcompensation
infancy for exaggerated feelings of inferiority
2. Marriage and parenthood ● Factors:
“The relationship a child has with the mother ○ Set their goals to high
and father is so powerful that it smothers ○ Live their own private world
the effects of heredity (after age 5)” ○ Rigid and dogmatic style of
2. Importance of Social Interest: life
● Adler’s yardstick for measuring Private meaning - personal angle that
psychological health; sole criterion of precludes successful solutions; view of the
human values world is not in focus with that of others
3
External Factors in Maladjustment: c. Self - accusation -
1. Exaggerated Physical self-torture and guilt;
Deficiencies - accompanied by devaluing self by inflicting
accentuated feelings of inferiority; suffering on others while
overcompensate for inadequacy; protecting their self-esteem
overconcerned for self and lack of e.g. masochism, depression
consideration for others and suicide
2. Pampered Style of Life - heart of 3. Withdrawal - running away from
most neuroses; weak social interest, difficulties; setting up distance between self
strong desire to perpetuate the and problems
pampered, parasitic relationship they a. Moving backward - safeguarding
had with their parents; feel unloved one’s fictional goal of superiority by
and are incapable of solving their reverting to a more secure life
own problems; materialistic and b. Standing still - avoid responsibility
spoiled by ensuring themselves against any
3. Neglected Style of Life - little social threat of failure; do not move in any
interest, little confidence, direction
overestimate difficulties; they have c. Hesitating - compulsive behavior;
difficulty in trusting and are usually preserving inflated sense of
introverted; more suspicious and self-esteem i.e. attempts to waste
more likely to be dangerous time
d. Constructing Obstacles - least
SAFEGUARDING TENDENCIES - creating severe; building a straw house so
patterns of behavior to protect an they can knock it down
exaggerated sense of self esteem against
public disgrace; hide inflated self-image and MASCULINE PROTEST - overemphasize
maintain their current style of life; counter- the importance of being manly; women are
part of defense mechanism by Freud; inferior
self-defeating behaviors
1. Excuses - “Yes, but” or “If only” is APPLICATIONS OF INDIVIDUAL
always used to protect a weak sense PSYCHOLOGY (ADLERIAN THERAPY)
of self-worth and If only 1. Family Constellations
2. Aggression - protect exaggerated a. Eldest child - have feelings
superiority complex and fragile of power and superiority,
self-esteem experience a dethronement
a. Depreciation - undervalue when second child is born;
other people’s achievements nurturing and protective of
to overvalue own e.g. others, good organizer; have
criticisms and gossips exaggerated feelings of
b. Accusation - blame others power, uncooperative
for one’s failures and to seek b. Second child - personality is
revenge shaped by their perception of
attitude of the eldest child to
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them; highly competitive and
easily discouraged;
revolutionary attitude
c. Youngest - most pampered,
have a strong sense of
inferiority; realistically
ambitious, dependent on
others
d. Only child - socially mature,
has exaggerated feelings of
superiority; inflated sense of
self, pampered style of life
2. Early Recollections - gain an
understanding of patient’s
personality; consistent with people’s
present lifestyle
3. Dreams - can provide clues for
solving future problems; most
dreams are self-deceptions and not
easily understood by the dreamer
a. Interpretation of dreams: “if
one interpretation doesn’t
feel right, try another”
4. Psychotherapy
a. Postulates that
psychopathology results from
lack of courage, exaggerated
feelings of inferiority and
underdeveloped social
interest
b. GOAL: to enhance courage,
lessen feelings of inferiority
and encourage social interest
c. METHOD: treating problem
children in front of an
audience
