Alfred Adler

ed d e
The ggoal of the human
soul is conquest,
perfection
perfection, security
security,
superiority. Every child is
faced with so many
obstacles in life that no
child grows up without
strivingg for some
significance.
 Overview of Individual Psychology

• Individual Psychology presents an optimistic view 
p p g y
of people while resting heavily on the notion of 
social interest.
• Also believes that each person is unique and 
Also believes that each person is unique and
indivisible.
 Biography
• Born February 7, 1870.
• Sickly child, led to his ambition to be a doctor.
Sickly child, led to his ambition to be a doctor.
• Considered childhood as unhappy experience.
• Resented an older brother, Mother’s favorite.
• Pursued medicine at the University of Vienna
Pursued medicine at the University of Vienna.
• Opthalmology, General Medicine, Psychiatry.
• 1902 – First association with Freud.
 Biography
• Upon receiving his medical degree, he established 
a private practice in a lower‐middle‐class Vienna 
l ddl l
neighborhood near a famous amusement park.
• 1911 – Break from Freud, established SOCIETY FOR 
FREE PSYCHOANALYTIC RESEARCH.
• Experience in WWI led to his ideas of social 
interest (Army Doctor)
interest (Army Doctor)
• Went to the U.S. in 1934 to escape Nazi 
P
Persecution.
ti
• Died of a heart attack while on a lecture tour in 
Aberdeen, Scotland in May 1937.
 Freud and Adler

• Man is motivated by Sex • Man is motivated by 

Man is motivated by Sex  Man is motivated by
and Aggression. social influences and 
• People have no choice in 
People have no choice in striving for superiority.
striving for superiority.
shaping their personality. • People are largely 
• Present behavior is 
Present behavior is responsible for who they
responsible for who they 
caused by the past. are.
• Emphasis on the 
E h i h • Present behavior is 
Present behavior is
unconscious. shaped by the future.
• People are usually aware 
P l ll
of what they are doing 
and why
and why.
 Reactions to similar life events with 
Freud

Death of siblingg

• Freud felt guilty and self‐reproach

• Adler felt a challenge to overcome death
g
 Social Relations
Social Relations

• Freud
Freud felt most comfortable in one on one 
felt most comfortable in one on one
situation.

• Adler felt most comfortable in group 
f f
settings.
 Professional Organization
Professional Organization

• Freud had a tight organization.

• Adler had a very loose organization.
Adler had a very loose organization
 Academic Attitudes
Academic Attitudes

• Freud was a hardworking/good student.

• Adler was an unmotivated/poor student.
Adler as an nmoti ated/poor st dent
 Overview of Adlerian Theory
Overview of Adlerian Theory
1. The one dynamic force behind people’s behavior 
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is the striving for success or superiority .

2 P
2. People’s subjective perceptions shape their 
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behavior and personality. 

3 Personality is unified
3. P lit i ifi d and self‐consistent.
d lf it t
4. The value of all human activity must be seen 
from the viewpoint of social interest
from the viewpoint of social interest .

5. The self‐consistent personality structure 
develops into a person’ss style of life. 
develops into a person style of life.

6.  Style of life is molded by people’s creative 
p
power. 
Striving for Success or Superiority
g p y

• Single drive of motivation.
• Physical deficiencies activate feelings of inferiority.
Physical deficiencies activate feelings of inferiority.
• Psychologically unhealthy individuals strive 
personal superiority. (Superiority)
l i i (S i i )
• Psychologically healthy individuals seek success for 
y g y y
all humanity. (Success)
• Guided by a Final Goal (guiding self‐ideal)
G id d b Fi l G l ( idi lf id l)
• Acts of Compensation
• All
All children start life with feelings of inferiority 
children start life with feelings of inferiority
because they are completely dependent on adults 
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for survival. This feeling of being weak, inferior 
l h f l fb k f
and impotent stimulates an intense desire to seek 
power, thereby overcoming the feelings of 
inferiority.

• people who found themselves born with certain 
psychical defects develop feelings of
p y p g inferiorityy and 
start taking actions to compensate for their 
weaknesses.
weaknesses
• Adler did not consider feelings of
inferiority as something “bad”.
According to him it is normal among
human beingsg and therefore it is not
a sign of weakness or abnormality.
I fact,
In f t suchh feelings
f li ate
t the
th primary
i
motivating forces behind all
personal accomplishments.
Striving for Superiority
Striving for Superiority
• A fundamental fact of life, an innate need from the
time of birth.
birth It is a “master
master motive
motive” that leads
people to pursue a superior or perfect society.

• NOT associated with struggle for domination or

the aggressive, all‐powerful control over others.
The Final Goal
The Final Goal

• Fictional
• No objective existence
No objective existence
• Unifies personality
• Renders all behaviors comprehensible
• Unconscious for neglected or pampered children
Unconscious for neglected or pampered children
• Conscious for children who experienced love and 
security.
Subjective Perceptions
Subjective Perceptions
• Fictions –
i i expectations of the future
i f h f
• Goal of superiority or success.
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• Teleology – explanation of behavior in terms of its 
final purpose or aim
final purpose or aim.
• People strive for superiority or success to 
compensate for feelings of inferiority but the
compensate for feelings of inferiority but the 
manner in which they strive is not shaped by 
reality but by their subjective perceptions of 
lit b t b th i bj ti ti f
reality – their fictions or expectations of the 
f t
future.
 Teleology
• Adler sees motivation as a matter of moving 
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towards the future, rather than being driven, 
mechanistically by the past. We are drawn towards 
our goals our purposes our ideals
our goals, our purposes, our ideals.
Unity and Self‐Consistency
y y

• EEach person is unique and indivisible.
h i i d i di i ibl
• Inconsistent behavior do not exist.
a. All actions are directed at a single goal and 
serve a single purpose
serve a single purpose.
1) Organ dialect – the deficient organ expresses the 
direction of the individual’s goal.
2) Harmony between Conscious and Unconscious 
Harmony between Conscious and Unconscious
Actions ‐ dichotomous in nature. Cooperating 
parts of the same unified goal system.
t f th ifi d l t
Social Interest
• A force that binds society together.
• Origins of Social Interest:
– Potentiality is found in everyone
Potentiality is found in everyone
– Found in Mother‐Infant relationship
– Fostered by social environment.
• Importance of Social Interest:
I t fS i lI t t
– Measure of psychological health and maturity
py g y
– The “sole criterion” of human values and the 
“barometer” of normality
“barometer” of normality.
Style of Life
• Style of Life is the term Adler used to refer to the 
y
Flavor of a person’s life.
• Includes personal goal, self concept, empathy, and 
I l d l l lf t th d
attitude towards the world.
• Product of heredity, environment, and creative 
power.
• Mostly set between 4 or 5 years of age.
• Healthy individuals express this through action and 
struggle to solve neighborly love, sexual love and 
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occupation.
Creative Power
Creative Power
• Creative
Creative Power is Adler
Power is Adler’ss term for an inner 
term for an inner
freedom that empowers each person to create his 
or her own style of life
or her own style of life.
• Places one in control of his/her own life.
• Responsible for one’s final goal
• Determine one’s method of striving.
ete e o e s et od o st g
• Contributes to the development of one’s social 
interest.
interest
• Importance is not endowment but how one uses 
this power.
thi
 Abnormal Development
Abnormal Development
• People are what they make of themselves.
• The creative power endows humans, within 
The creative power endows humans, within
certain limits the freedom to be either 
psychologically healthy or unhealthy and to follow
psychologically healthy or unhealthy and to follow 
either a useful or useless style of life. 
• According to Adler, the factor underlying all types 
of maladjustments is due to an underdeveloped
of maladjustments is due to an underdeveloped 
social interest.
• Neurotics tend to:

1. Set their goals too high.
1 Set their goals too high
2. Live in their own private world.
3. Have a rigid and dogmatic style of life.

All these three happen because of a lack
All these three happen because of a lack
of social interest.
 External Factors of Maladjustment
External Factors of Maladjustment

• Exaggerated Physical Deficiencies
– EExaggerated feelings of inferiority
aggerated feelings of inferiorit
– Overcompensation for their inadequacy
Overcompensation for their inadequacy
– Results in narcissism and lack of 
consideration for others.
 External Factors
External Factors
• Pampered Style of Life
–Weak Social Interest
W kS i lI t t
–Maintains
Maintains Parasitic relationship with other 
Parasitic relationship with other
people.
–Feelings of being unloved because their 
parents have done everything for them.
parents have done everything for them.
 External Factors
External Factors
• Neglected Style of Life
–Low self‐confidence
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–Overestimating
Overestimating difficulties
difficulties
–Distrust
–Refusal to cooperate
–Strong sense of envy and hostility
S f d h ili
Assessment Techniques
Assessment Techniques

• Birth Order
Birth Order
• Early Memories
• Dream Analysis
 Birth Order
Birth Order
• Birth order, gender of siblings, age spread between 
g
siblings.
• Adler considered birth order to be a strong 
contributor of lifestyle He emphasized that every
contributor of lifestyle. He emphasized that every 
individual is born into a different family; this is 
b
because with the addition of a new family 
h h f f l
member, the family dynamics change and anew 
family is born.
 Early Recollections
Early Recollections
• A research technique of asking a person 
to describe his or her earliest 
recollections These recollections are
recollections. These recollections are 
evidences of the origins of one’s 
lifestyle.
• Reflects patterns of one’s life.
 Dream Analysis
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• A method wherein a person’s dreams are used to 
provide a way of dealing with person’s life 
problems. By analyzing how problems are 
confronted and future events are planned through 
their dreams, a great deal could be learned about
their dreams, a great deal could be learned about 
a person’s lifestyle.
• May present inconsistencies.
M i i i
• Adler applied the golden rule of individual 
pp g
psychology to dream work, namely, “Everything 
can be different”. If one interpretation doesn
can be different If one interpretation doesn’tt feel 
feel
right, try another.
 Safeguarding Tendencies
• Compared to Freud’s Defense Mechanism
• Largely conscious
Largely conscious
• Protects self‐esteem from public disgrace
• Includes:
–Excuses
–Aggression
–Withdrawal
 Masculine Protest
Masculine Protest
• Overemphasis on the importance of being manly.
• Resulting from cultural and social influences
Resulting from cultural and social influences
• Women want the same things that men have
• In contrast to Freud, Adler believed that the 
psychic life of women is essentially the same as
psychic life of women is essentially the same as 
that of men and that a male‐dominated society is 
not natural but rather an artificial product of 
t t l b t th tifi i l d t f
historical development
Psychological
Psychological 
Types
Ruling type
Ruling type

• Th
They are, from childhood on, 
f hildh d
characterized by a tendency to be
characterized by a tendency to be 
rather aggressive and dominant 
over others.
Leaning Type
Leaning Type

• Th
They are sensitive people who have 
iti l h h
developed a shell around
developed a shell around 
themselves which protects them but 
they must rely on others to carry 
them through life’ss difficulties
them through life difficulties
Avoiding Type
Avoiding Type

• Th
They have the lowest levels of 
h th l tl l f
energy and only survive by
energy and only survive by 
essentially avoiding life, especially 
other people.
Socially Useful Type
Socially Useful Type

• This is the healthy person, one who 
yp
has both social interest and energy. 
N t th t ith t
Note that without energy, you can’t ’t
really have social interest since you
really have social interest since you 
would not be able to actually do 
anything for anyone.
Evaluation
and 
and
Summary  y
 Limitations and Criticisms of the 
Adl i Th
Adlerian Theory
• Adler
Adler chose to teach and practice over getting 
chose to teach and practice over getting
organized and presenting a well‐defined 
systematic theory, making his written 
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presentations difficult to follow
• More research needed to support the 
effectiveness of the theory
effectiveness of the theory.
• Limited use for clients seeking immediate solutions 
to their problems and unwilling to explore 
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childhood experiences, early memories and 
dreams.
From the beginning, Adler’s theory 
of personality was open to growth 
and evolution. His theory became 
more comprehensive and 
h i d
conclusive as his work matured
conclusive as his work matured, 
without contradicting his earlier
without contradicting his earlier 
ideas.
Adler chose the term individual 
psychology for his conception of 
h l f hi ti f
personality Nevertheless he
personality. Nevertheless he 
realizes early in his theorizing that
realizes early in his theorizing that 
the individual could not be 
considered in isolation or apart 
from their context.
His emphasis shifted from the 
Hi h i hift d f th
“INTRA
INTRA PSYCHIC
PSYCHIC” (within the 
(within the
psyche) which is basically Freudian,
psyche) which is basically Freudian, 
to the “INTERPSYCHIC” 
(interpersonal relations)
 Concept of Humanity
• Adler believed that people are basically self‐
determined and that they shape their personalities
determined and that they shape their personalities 
from the meaning that they give to their experiences.
• He believed that people’s interpretations of 
b li d h l ’ i i f
experiences are more important than the experiences 
themselves.
• People are forward moving, motivated by future goals 
p g, y g
rather than by innate instincts or causal forces.
• Adler believed that people are ultimately responsible 
Adler believed that people are ultimately responsible
for their own personalities. We are free to choose 
b t
between psychological health and neuroticism.
h l i l h lth d ti i