1.

Theorist’s Personality
2. Theory: Constructs, Concepts, development of Personality, techniques for
counseling/therapy
3. Personality Measurement/ assessment
4. Application to relevant personality issues
5. Application to researches

Alfred Adler
1.
 Born February 07, 1870
 At 5, he almost died of pneumonia which led him to become a physician
 He was student and was very outgoing, popular, and active
 He began his career as an ophthalmologist, but soon he switched to general practice
 His office was in a lower class part of Vienna, which was a combination of an
amusement park and circus
 His clients included circus people and their unusual strength and weaknesses led his
insights into organ inferiorities and compensation
 After writing about organ inferiority, he wrote his first paper on aggression instinct
which Freud didn’t approve of
 He also wrote a paper on children’s feelings of inferiority which suggested that Freuds
sexual notions should be more metaphorical than literal
 During WW1, Adler served as a physician in the Austrian Army, first on the Russian front
and then later in a children’s hospital
 He saw the damage war had on people and this led him to his concept of social interest
 He is the founder of individual psychology
2.
 There is a single drive or motivating force behind all of our behavior and experience
o Striving for perfection: it is the desire to fulfill our potentials and to come closer
and closer to our ideal
o Aggression Drive: the reacrion we have when other drives, such as need to eat,
to be loved, etc. are not met.
o He also believe basic motivation was compensation. (striving to overcome)
 Masculine Protest
o Adles noted that boys were held in higher esteem than girls
o Boys wanted desperately to be thought of as strong, aggressive, in control – ie
Masculine
o The idea of weakness and dependency is seen feminine
 If a boy fusses or demands to have his own way (MP), they say it is
natural
 If a girl us quiet and shy, she is praised for her femininity. However, if a
boy is quiet and shy, they worry he may grow us to be sissy and if a girl is
assertive, they call her a “tomboy” and hope she grows out of it.
  Adler asserted that men are no more successful or powerful because they
are men but because they are encouraged to be assertive.
 Both genders begin life with a capacity to “protest”, what they protest
though is largely shaped by what we expect them to be.
 Striving for superiority
o It refers to the desire to be better, but also has the idea that we want to be
better than others, rather than be better in our own right
o Adler later asserted that striving for superiority can be unhealthy and neurotic
 Inferiority
o What do we ultimately strive for everyday?
 The pull towards fulfillment, perfection, self- actualization
 This can be positive, but we lack social interest (community feeling0 and
re instead self-interested
 Our self-interest comes because we suffer from inferiority
 You can only afford to thing of the well-being of others if you are
feeling competent and doing well.
 Organ Inferiority
o We all are physically stronger or weaker than one another as people as well as
stronger and weaker anatomically
o Organ inferiorities are linked very closely with compensation – they make up for
deficiencies in their own way
 Some organs may be strengthened than others, but some can be
overdeveloped to compensate psychologically for the real problem by
developing certain personality styles or skills.
 Example – someone that is extremely insecure about their height
may invest all of their energy in working out to compensate for
their inferiority.
 Inferiority Complex
o Depending on whatever complex you may have (it can be more than one), you
will develop an inferiority complex
o Example – if I have a very successful and talented parents that are famous
musicians and also am personally bad at sports and generally in school, I may
develop an inferiority complex that makes me becomes ashamed making me shy
and withdrawn in the real world.
 Birth Order
o Adler was the first theorist that focused not only on the child’s parents for
influencing the behavior but also the child’s brothers and sisters as well
 Only Child
o More Likely to be pampered
o Because the parents have probably invested all of their love and energy into this
one and only child, this child is usually extremely taken care of
o Sometimes this excessive care can lead to anxiety-filled control because the child
is the pride and joy of the parents
 o If the parents are abusive, the child will suffer the consequences of abuse all
alone.
 First Child
o The first step of this child’s life is an only child
o The child will be used to complete attention given to him/her
o When the second child comes and “dethrones” the first child, this child often
battles for his/her lost position
o The child may act like a baby and cry, refusing to grow up
o Some may become disobedient and rebellious
o Adler believed the eldest child is more likely than any other to become a
problem child
o On the positive side – they tend to be solitary and more conservative
o They are also extremely caring with the rest of the family and extremely
responsible
 Second Child
o This child has the role of “pace-setter”
o He/She will often be very competitive, constantly trying to outdo the eldest child
– they also often succeed
o They still feel often throughout their whole lives that the race is never complete
and tend to dream of constantly running without getting anywhere
 Youngest Child
o Most likely to be most pampered in the family with more than one child – this
child is never “dethroned” that’s why!
o Youngest children are often the second most likely the source of problem
children after the first children
o They may also incredibly feel inferior with everyone being older, thus “superior”
o The youngest are often very social and confident and usually funnier.
Erich Fromm
Erik Erikson