BY: SARAH CHOO-YICK & TAMMY LEUNG
ALFRED ADLER
Areas of Discussion
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The Life and Times of Alfred Adler
The Big Break- Individual Psychology
Important Theories
Did you know?
Alfred Adler Lecturing in Berlin
ALFRED ADLER
Biography
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Alfred Adler as a Student, age 15
Born on February 7, 1870 in Penzing, Austria
Second of six children; was raised in Vienna in the suburbs
Age of 5 developed pneumonia; this life threatening experience
motivated Adler to pursue medicine
In 1895, received medical degree at University of Vienna; here he met a
group of social students & his future wife, Raissa Timofeyewna
Epstein, an intellect*
Married in 1897 and had four children
The Adlers' Country Home
Raissa Adler and the Children - Valentine, Alexandra, Nelly, & Kurt (About 1914)
ALFRED ADLER
Biography Cont’d
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He became a physician and had an office across from a circus in a
lower-class part of Vienna
He later turned to psychiatry as it related to physical/mental disorders
In 1902 he met Sigmund Freud and they formed the Vienna
Psychoanalytic Society where Adler was the president
This led Freud to claim Adler as a disciple*
HE IS THE FOUNDER OF INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY
He passed away May 28, 1937 in Aberdbeen, Scotland from a heart
attack.
Alfred Adler With Raissa,
Alexandra, and Colleagues
Adler
ALFRED ADLER
The Big Break-Individual Psychology
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Adler was influenced by the writings of Jan
Smuts, a South African philosopher
Smuts felt that in order to understand
people,
“we have to understand them more as
unified wholes than a collection of bits and
pieces, and we have to understand them in
the context of their environment, both
physical and social.”- Smuts
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This approach is called holism
Adler categorized the idea that we see
people as wholes as Individual
Psychology*
Individual Psychology- a school of
thought stressing the influence of inferiority
feelings on human behavior
Adler is different from other psychologist
because he prefers to talk about lifestyle*
Flyer for August, 1937 Seminar
Scheduled for the Williams Institute in Berkeley, California
Proposed Western Headquarters for Adler in the U.S.
Adler
ALFRED ADLER
Theory of Inferiority
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Need for self-esteem can be thought of as one of the social needs
A person’s sense of self-esteem depends on feedback from others
The need and anxiety it produces was emphasized by Adler*
Everyone feels inferior to a certain degree, this motivates us to get better
Common cause: parental neglect
5 types of inferiority:
1. Physical
2. Intellectual
3. Psychological
4. Social
5. Economical
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2 methods of coping with inferiority-> inferiority complex*, superiority
complex*
to deal with inferiority, people either overcompensate* by engaging in vocal
behavior* , or become lazy, tentative, and helpless
Overall the way people overcome inferiority provides the basis for their
lifelong personality*
ALFRED ADLER
Theory of Psychological Types
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All humans have unique lifestyles
They include patterns of thinking, feeling, emotion, and behavior
The 4 types of lifestyle:*
Ruling
Getting
Avoiding
Socially Useful
ALFRED ADLER
Theory of Childhood Development
• Parenting and childhood development
influences one’s personality
• Parental “overpampering”: a child
becomes spoiled and may fail to find love
• Parental neglect: a child may lack
confidence in their ability to complete
tasks and attract love
ALFRED ADLER- Childhood Developement
ALFRED ADLER
Theory of Sibling Rivalry
• Position in birth order could
affect a child’s development
• First born:
Case 1. May act out and
misbehave to gain attention
Case 2. Accept authority and
conservative values
• Second born: competitive
need to catch up with the
first born
• Youngest: fail to become
independent while having a
high self-esteem due to
pampering
Alfred Adler's Older Brother
Sigmund
ALFRED ADLER
Sibling Rivalry- Birth Order Chart
(This table is a broad simplification of Adler's theory. )
POSITION
FAMILY SITUATION
CHILD'S CHARACTERISTICS
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Birth is a miracle. Parents
have no previous experience.
Retains 200% attention from
both parents. May become rival
of one parent. Can be overprotected and spoiled.
Likes being the center of adult attention.
Often has difficulty sharing with peers.
Prefers adult company and uses adult
language.
OLDEST
Dethroned by next child. Has
to learn to share. Parent
expectations are usually very
high. Often given responsibility
and expected to set an example.
May become authoritarian or strict. Feels
power is his right. Can become helpful if
encouraged. May turn to the father after
birth of the next child.
SECOND
He has a pacemaker. There is
always someone ahead.
Is more competitive, wants to overtake
older child. May become a rebel or try to
outdo everyone. Competition can
deteriorate into rivalry.
MIDDLE
Is "sandwiched" in. May feel
squeezed out of a position of
privilege and significance.
May be even-tempered, "take it or leave
it" attitude. May have trouble finding a
place or become a fighter of injustice.
YOUNGEST
Has many mothers and
fathers. Older children try to
educate him. Never dethroned.
Wants to be bigger than the others. May
have huge plans that never work out. Can
stay the "baby." Frequently spoiled.
ALFRED ADLER
Theory of Teleology and Fictional Finalism
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Concept that we are drawn towards our goals, our purposes and our
ideals
Teleology acknowledges life is hard, uncertain, but always has room for
change*
In relation to teleology is Fictional Finalism
Hans Vaihinger, a philosopher, studied Fictions (partial truths)*
Finalism refers to teleology of it*
Fiction lies in the future and yet influences our behavior today
Adler notes: in the center of each of our lifestyles, there sits one of these
fictions
“We behave as if the end of the world would be here tomorrow, as if
we were sure what good and bad are all about, as if everything we
see is as we see it”- Adler
Adler
ALFRED ADLER
Timeline
1870
Birth of Alfred Adler on February 7th
1888
Adler begins study at the University of Vienna Medical School and receives medical degree in 1895
1897
Adler marries Raissa Timofeivna Epstein
1898
Adler sets up private practice in Vienna
1902
Sigmund Freud invites Adler to join the fledgling Vienna Psychoanalytic Society
1904
Adler publishes his most important article to date, The Physician as Educator
Adler converts from Judaism to Protestanism
1905
Publication of A Study of Organ Inferiority
1911
Adler is expelled from the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society
Adler forms his own group called Society for Individual Psychology
1912
Publication of The Neurotic Constitution
1916
Adler is drafted as a military physician for World War I
1918
Adler is discharged from military service, begins emphasizing social feeling in his writings
1922
Publication of The Practice and Theory of Individual Psychology
Adler begins a consulting team in child guidance
1927
Publication of Understanding Human Nature
Adler's first lecture-tour of the United States
1932
Adler becomes a professor at the Long Island College of Medicine
1933
Publication of Social Interest: A Challenge to Mankind
1934
Austria is taken over by its fascists, and Adler's psycho-educational movement is suppressed
1935
Austria is annexed by Hitler's Nazi Germany
Raissa relocates to New York City and resumes living full-time with Adler
Adler becomes mentor to the young Abraham Maslow
1937
Death of Alfred Adler on May 28th, Aberdeen, Scotland
"The striving for personal power is a disastrous delusion and poisons man's
living together. Whoever desires the human community must renounce the
striving for power over others.“ – Alfred Adler
ALFRED ADLER
Bibliography
Psychology by Peter Gray
Human Society by Fred Jarman and Helmut Manzl
Psychology: An Introduction by Josh R. Gerow
The Marshall Cavendish Encyclopedia of Personal Relationships
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Adler
http://brainmeta.com/personality/adler.php
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/hstein/homepage.htm