ALFRED ADLER
(INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY)
Do you know him/her ?
What do you think about them ?
Their childhood:
Little Hittler:
Dark hair (not so
typical Germany),
Below average in
height
Little Beethoven:
Child parent, Drunken
father, Lost of hearing
 Deaf
Little Ah Lee:
Disabled, only 4
fingers with
abnormal legs.
Social Psychodynamic

Background: the development of social science
 sociology, anthropology  social
psychodynamic
Theorists:
 Alfred Adler (Individual Psychology)
 Karen Horney (Social Psychoanalysis)
 Erich Fromm (Humanistic Psychoanalysis)
Adler vs Freud




F: aggresive & sex as human motivation
A: social interest (striving for superiority or success)
F: people have little or no choice
A: people are responsible for who they are
F: present behavior is caused by past experiences
A: present behavior is shaped by people’s view of the future
F: emphasis on unconscious
A: psychologically healthy people are aware of what they
are doing & why they are doing it.
Alfred Adler (1870 – 1937)

Childhood: Poor health, serious illness

Unhappy competion with his brother: healthier. Continued into middle age:
his brother is better in economic conditon.

Being traumatized by the death of his younger brother

Physical def iciencies (not SEX) formed the foundation for human
motivation.

Member of Freud’s inner circle but not in a close interpersonal relationship

Adler’s personal qualities:optimistic attitude toward human condition, intense
competitiveness coupled with friendly congeniality & strong belief in gender
equality
Alfred Adler
“Motivation is unified and aimed toward either
unhealthy goals (personal superiority) or
healthy goals (success for everyone). Healthy
striving is linked to social interest, or a feeling
of oneness with humanity. Creative power and
individual perceptions – not heredity or
environment – are ultimately responsible for
one’s style of life”
(Feist & Feist, 2006)
The final statement of
individual psychology
(Adler, 1964)
 Basically simple & parsimonious theory
although depth & compexities writing of human
personality.
 People are born with weak, inferior bodies. It
leads to feelings of inferiority & a consequent
dependence on other people
 Feeling of unity with others (social interest) is
inherent in people & ultimate standard for
psychological health.
6 Final statement of individual psychology:
The final statement of
individual psychology
(Adler, 1964)
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
Striving for success or superiority is a dynamic
force behind people’s behavior
People’s subjective perception shape their behavior
& personality
Personality is unified & 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 person’s style of life.
Style of life is molded by people’s creative power
A. Striving for Success or Superiority
Physical deficiencies  Feelings of inferiority
 Striving for (personal) superiority or
success (all humanity)
The development of Adler’s theory of human motivation:
1. Aggression drive
2. Masculine protest
3. Striving for superiority
4. Striving for success
 Striving force as compensation
The final goal

Final goal is fictional & has no objective existence

Final goal unifies personality & renders all behavior
comprehensible

Product of creative power: people’s ability to freely shape
their behavior & create their own personality.

If children feel neglected or pampered, their goals remains
largely unconscious, conversely if children experience love

People create & pursue many preliminary goals in striving
their final goal.
The striving force as compensation

All humans are “blessed” at birth with small, weak, and
inferior bodies  feelings of inferiority because people
possess an innate tendency toward completion or
wholeness

Organ inferiority  need for completion or wholeness
 Goal of superiority or success.

Striving for success is innate & must be developed
Striving for personal superiority

Little or no concern for others

Motivated largely by exaggerated feelings of
personal inferiority/ the presence of an
inferiority complex

Appear to be motivated by social interest, but his
action are largely self-serving & motivated by
overcompensation
Striving for success

Psychologically healthy people who are motivated by
social interest & the success of all humankind.

They maintain a sense of self but they see daily
problems from the view of society’s development

Social progress is more important than personal credit.
B. Subjective perceptions

Fictionalism
–
Most important fiction: the goal of superiority or
success. It was created early in life.
–
This subjective, fictional final goal guides people’s
style of life, gives unity to people’s personality
–
Vaihinger in The Philosophy of “As If”: fictions are
ideas that have no real existence, yet they influence
people as if they really existed.
C. Unity of Personality
Individual psychology , Adler wished to stress his belief
that each person is unique & indivisible. Entire person
operates with unity & self - consistency

Organ jargon/organ dialect: The deficient organ
expresses the direction of the individual’s goal
 Through organ diaclect, the body’s organs speak a
language which is usually more expressive & discloses the
individual’s opinion more clearly than words are able to do.
C. Unity of Personality

Conscious and Unconscious
Unified personality is the harmony between conscious
& unconscious actions.
D. Social Interest

Social Interest (Gemeinschaftsgefühl): social feeling or
community feeling; feelings of oneness with all humanity.

It implies membership in the social community of all
people.

Attitude of relatedness with humanity as well as an
empathy for each member of human community.
D. Origin of Social Interest

Is rooted as potentiality in everyone but must be
developed

Originates from the mother – child relationship during the
early months of infancy

Mother & Father have a significant role in its development

The effects of the early social environment
D. Importance of Social Interest

Not synonymous with charity & unselfishness

Social interest was Adler criteria for measuring
psychological health & is ‘the sole criterion of human
values’

Healthy individuals are generaly concerned about
people and have a goal of success that encompasses
the well-being of all people.
2 Basic methods of
Striving toward the Final Goal
E. Style of Life

The flavor of a person’s life.

Includes : personal goal, self-concept, feelings for others &
attitude toward the world.

Product of the interaction of heredity, environment & a
person’s creative power

Fairly well established by age 4/5

Psychologically healthy people behave in diverse & flexible
ways with styles of life that are complex, enriched &
changing.
F. The Creative Power of The Self

A dynamic concept of implying movement and this
movement is the most salient characteristic of life.

Creative power makes each person a free individual 
control their own lives

We are our own architect and can build either a useful
or a useless style of life.
Abnormal Development
•
•
General Description: underdeveloped social interest
External Factors in Maladjustment
–
–
–
•
Safeguarding Tendencies
–
–
–
•
Exaggerated Physical Deficiencies
Pampered Style of Life
Neglected Style of Life
Excuses
Aggression
Withdrawal
Masculine Protest
Applications of Individual Psy




Family constellation:
Different traits by birth order
Early recollection:
Indicator of style of life, final goal
Dreams:
provide clues for solving future problem.
Psychotherapy:
Purpose: to enhance courage, lessen feelings of
inferiority & encourage social interest.
Freud – Jung -- Adler
Freud
Jung
Adler
Unconscious
Collective
unconscious
Moderate on
unconscious
influence
Biological factors Biological factors
Social factors
Determinism &
pessimism
Middle position
uniqueness vs
similarities
Neither pessimism
nor optimism
Similarities
Free choice &
optimism
The uniqueness
of individuals
Causality
Causal & Teleology Teleology