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Alfred Adler
Born on February 7, 1870
Adlerian Theory
Less famous because of: not having an organization, not a gifted writer, many of his views are incorporated in the works of later theorists
To Adler, people are born with weak, inferior bodies - a condition to feelings of inferiority and a consequence of dependence on other people
A feeling of unity with others (SOCIAL INTEREST) is inherent in people and the ultimate standard for Psychological Health
Major Tenets of Adlerian Theory
The one dynamic force behind people’s behavior is the striving for success or superiority
People’s subjective perceptions shape their behavior and personality
Personality is unified and self-consistent
The value of all human activity must be seen from the viewpoint of social interest
The self-consistent personality structure develops into a personal style of life
Style of life is molded by people’s creative power
The one dynamic force behind people’s behavior is the striving for success or superiority
Physical Deficiencies
Strving for Success
Striving for Superiority
Feelings of Inferiority
Compensation
Inferiority Complex
Superiority Complex
Physical Deficiencies
Activate feelings of inferiority - feelings that motivate a person to strive for either
Striving for Success
Success for all humanity: Psychologically healthy
Striving for Superiority
Striving for personal superiority over others: Psychologically unhealthy
Feelings of Inferiority
Psychological aspect of being inadequate
For Adler, perception of inadequency or weakness is more important than the actual weakness
Compensation
Adler believed that all humans are “blessed” at birth with small, weak and inferior bodies
People are continually pushed by the need to overcome feelings of inferiority and pulled by the desire for completion
The striving force is innate
Efforts one makes to make up for a weakness or deficiency (organ inferiority)
Inferiority Complex
Feelings of inferiority act as a barrier to positive accomplishment - “inability to solve life’s problems”
Superiority Complex
Exaggerated opinion of one’s abilities and accomplishments - The person becomes insensitive, boastful, arrogant, insulting and lacking social interest
People’s subjective perceptions shape their behavior and personality
Fictionalism
Final Goal
Fictionalism
Fictions are ideas that have no real existence, yet they have influence peope as if they really existed
People are motivated not by what is true but by their subjective perceptions of what is true
Most important fiction is the goal of superiority or success
This subjective, fictional final goal guides our style of life, gives unity to our personality
Personality is unified and self-consistent
Organ Dialect
Conscious and Unconscious
Organ Dialect
The disturbance of one part of the body cannot be viewed in isolation; it affects the entire person
Through organ dialect, the body’s organs “speak a language which is usually more expressive and discloses the individual’s opinion more clearly than words are able to do”
Conscious and Unconscious
Unified personality is the harmony between conscious and unconscious
Adler avoided the dichotomy between the unconscious and the conscious, which he saw as two cooperating parts of the same unified system
Social Interest
Feeling of oneness with humanity
Manifests itself as cooperation with others for social advancement rather than for personal gain
It is the natural condition of the human species and the adhesive that binds society together
Necessity for perpetuating the human species
Originates from the mother-child relationship
The relationship of a child with the mother and father is so powerful that it smothers the effect of heredity
Yardstick for measuring psychological health and is thus “the sole criterion of human values”
The only gauge to be used in judging the worth of a person
Standard to be used in determining the usefulness of life
GEMEINSCHAFTSGEFUHL
German word for Social Interest
Social feeling
Community feeling
Style of Life
Flavor of a person’s life
Includes person’s goal, self-concept, feeling for others, and attitude towards the world
Established by age 4 or 5
People with a healthy, socially useful style of life express their social interest through action
Creative Power
The people’s creative power places them in control of their own lives, is responsible for their final goal, determines their method of striving for that goal, and contributes to the development of social interest
Makes each person a FREE INDIVIDUAL
Abnormal Development
Underdeveloped Social Interest
Neurotics
People have become failures in life because they are overconcerned with themselves and little care about others
Underdeveloped Social Interest
One factor underlying all types of maladjustments
Besides lacking social interest neurotics:
Set their goal too high
Live in their own private world
Have a rigid; and
Dogmatic style of life
3 Factors that Contribute to Abnormality
Exaggerated Physical Deficiency
Pampered Style of Life
Neglected Style of Life
Exaggerated Physical Deficiencies
Each person comes into the world “blessed” with physical deficiencies, and these deficiencies lead to feelings of inferiority. People with exaggerated physical deficiencies sometimes develop exaggerated feelings of inferiority because they overcompensate for their inadequacy. They tend to be overly concerned with themselves and lack consideration for others.
Pampered Style of Life
A pampered style of life lies at the heart of most neuroses. Pampered people have weak social interest but a strong desire to perpetuate the pampered, parasitic relationship they originally had with one or both of their parents. They expect others to look after them, overprotect them, and satisfy their needs
Neglected Style of Life
The third external factor contributing to maladjustment is neglect. Children who feel unloved and unwanted are likely to borrow heavily from these feelings in creating a neglected style of life. Neglect is a relative concept. No one feels totally neglected or completely unwanted
Safeguarding Tendencies
Adler believed that people create patterns of behavior to protect their exaggerated sense of self-esteem against public disgrace
Enable people to hide their inflated self-image and to maintain current style of life
Excuses
Aggression
Withdrawal
Excuses
Most common of the safeguarding tendencies
Typically expressed in “Yes, but” or “If only”
These excuses protect a weak—but artificially inflated—sense of self-worth and deceive people into believing that they are more superior than they really are
Agression
Some people use aggression to safeguard their exaggerated superiority complex, that is, to protect their fragile self-esteem.
Depreciation
Accusation
Self-accusation
Depreciation
Tendency to undervalue other people’s achievements and to overvalue one’s own
Evident in such aggressive behavior as criticism and gossip
Accusation
Tendency to blame others for one’s failures and to seek revenge, thereby safeguarding one’s own tenuous self-esteem
Self-accusation
Neurotic aggression, marked by self-torture and guilt
Self-accusation is the converse of depreciation, although both are aimed toward gaining personal superiority. With depreciation, people who feel inferior devalue others to make themselves look good. With self-accusation, people devalue themselves in order to inflict suffering on others while protecting their own magnified feelings of self-esteem
Withdrawal
Personality development can be halted when people run away from difficulties
Moving backward
Standing still
Hesitating
Constructing obstacles
Moving Backward
Tendency to safeguard one’s fictional goal of superiority by psychologically reverting to a more secure period of life.
Similar to Freud’s Regression
Standing Still
People who stand still simply do not move in any direction; thus, they avoid all their responsibilities by ensuring themselves against any threat of failure. They safeguard their fictional aspirations because they never do anything to prove that they cannot accomplish their goals
Hesitating
People hesitate or vacillate when faced with difficult problems. Their procrastinations eventually give them the excuse “It’s too late now.”
Adler believed that most compulsive behaviors are attempts to waste time
Constructing Obstacles
Some people build a straw house to show that they can knock it down. By overcoming the obstacle, they protect their self-esteem and their prestige. If they fail to hurdle the barrier, they can always resort to an excuse
Masculine Protest
In contrast to Freud, Adler believed that the psychic life of women is essentially the same as that of men
Men and women overemphasize the importance of being manly
Applications of Adlerian Theory
Family Constellation
Early Recollections
Dreams
Family Constellation
Birth order
Gender of siblings
Birth Order
First Born
Second Born
Youngest Childern
Only Child
First Born
Likely to have intensified feelings of power and superiority, high anxiety, and overprotective tendencies
Feelings of dethronement
Second Born
Extremely ambitious
Youngest Children
Most pampered
Lacks sense of independence
Ambitious but lazy
Only Child
Often sweet and affectionate
Early Recollections
Adler believed that recalled memories yield clues for understanding styles of life and final goals
Dreams
Provide clues for solving future problems
Adlerian Psychotherapy
The chief purpose of Adlerian psychotherapy is to enhance courage, lessen feelings of inferiority, and encourage social interest
Adler emphasized that what people do with what they have is more important than what they have
