INDIVIDUAL THEORY OF PERSONALITY BY ALFRED ADLER

Individual psychology, according to Adler, is a science that attempts to understand the

experiences and behaviour of each person as a single, indivisible, self-consistent and unified

entity. He believed that no person can be viewed in isolation, but instead, must be seen as

embedded in a larger context, the social-ecological system of which he/ she is an integral part.

Furthermore, no person can be understood without reference to his/ her goals and that all

individuals are creative agents of their own possibilities, actively directing and creating their

own growth and future. Humans are motivated primarily by social urges for which they are

inherently social beings (having balanced amount of cognition, conation and affection).

Individual Psychology is predicted upon certain basic tenets as follows:

1. The individual as a unified and self-consistent entity:

The person has been regarded as an indivisible unity both in regard to mind-body relationship

and to the various activities and functions of the mind. Adler believed that the foremost

challenge confronting individual psychology is to prove this unity in each individual in every

expression of personality. This self-consistent and unified personality structure has been

designated as the style of life of the individual. The distinctiveness and uniqueness of an

individual gets manifested in the socio-cultural context.

2. Human life as a dynamic striving for perfection:

Life cannot be conceived without an on-going movement in the direction of growth and

expansion. It is only in the movement toward identifiable goals that an individual can be

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perceived as a unified and self-consistent entity. The life goals are largely self-selected whose

attainments help to enhance their personal self-esteem and provide themselves with niches in

the world. The concept of the striving for superiority is of much importance here.

3. The individual as a creative and self-determined entity:

Adler insisted that the individual is distinctly depicted as possessing a creative power that

places him in control of his lives. It is the creative power which is then responsible for unity,

subjective opinions, the manner of striving, the level of social interest and essentially, one’s

unique style of life.

4. The social embeddedness of the individual:

Adler saw the individual not only as a unified, rational system but also as an integral part of

larger systems – the family, community and indeed humanity itself. All behaviour occurs in a

social context and the essence of human nature can only be grasped through the

understanding of social relationships. Thus, every individual has a natural aptitude for

community feeling/ social interest. It provides a sort of social apriori for the individual.

5. Individual subjectivity:

The subjective opinions of the individual shape behaviour and personality for they are much

dependent on their own schema of apperception. Besides, people are much motivated by

fictional goals – privately held beliefs about present and future events – that regulate

behaviour.

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It should be noted that the affective element of personality has been highlighted by Adler’s

theory like those of Freud and Jung (though being distinct from them in different ways as well)

and unlike Roger’s theory which stressed the cognitive aspect.

Central concepts of Individual Psychology

1. Inferiority feeling and compensation:

Adler proposed that in each individual, certain organs are somewhat weaker than others,

making the person more susceptible to illnesses and diseases involving these organs. Such

inferiority may exist either by virtue of heredity or because of some developmental abnormality

– being often the product of social comparison. He observed that a person with a defective

organ often tries to compensate for the weakness by strengthening it though training and

exercise, that often results in the development of the individual’s greatest skill or strength.

According to Adler, it is not the defect itself that produces the striving, but the person’s

attitude toward it for which individuals are often driven to compensate not only for organ

inferiorities but for subjective feelings of inferiority. As such, the process of compensation can

proceed in the psychological sphere as well. Besides, Adler (1956) viewed inferiority feelings as

the motivational basis for essentially all human striving. In fact, inferiority feelings and the

resultant efforts at compensation are the cause of all improvement in humanity’s lot, serving as

the impetus toward perfection or completion.

Adler believed that feelings of inferiority or inadequacy begin in infancy, owing to his prolonged

period of dependency during which he is quite helpless and must rely upon adults to survive. An

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inability to overcome inferiority feelings frequently reinforces the feelings and leads to the

development of inferiority complex which may occur due to three contributory factors as:

a. Organ inferiority

b. Spoiling/ pampering

c. Neglect

Furthermore, a person may also develop superiority complex by overcompensation; it being a

tendency to exaggerate one’s physical, intellectual or social skills. It should also be noted that

as long as the individual acknowledges the presence of certain inferiorities/ superiorities, there

is no scope of having complexes. Complexes arise only when individual has inferiority or

superiority feelings that he cannot acknowledge or accept.

2. Striving for superiority or success

The concept of a single governing force behind motivation underwent a metamorphosis in

Adler’s thinking. As early as 1908, he believed aggression to be the dynamic power behind all

motivation. Soon after, he changed the name to the masculine protest, which implied will to

power, ie, a striving to dominate others. Weakness was equated with feminity and power with

masculinity. Masculine protest is a form of overcompensation that both genders employ in an

effort to supplant feelings of inadequacy and infertility. By 1912, Adler rejected the concept and

instead developed the much broader viewpoint of striving for superiority. Thus, there were

three distinct stages in his theorizing on the ultimate goal of human life:

 To be aggressive

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  To be powerful;

 To be superior.

The striving for superiority is the dynamic power in people itself that provides the great upward

drive from minus to plus, from below to above, from incompletion to perfection, and from

inability to capability in facing the problems of life. It is innate in nature and is present at birth

as potentiality, and not actuality, and as such, it must be developed. It remains for each

individual to actualize this potential in his/ her own manner, in accordance of one’s style of life.

The following points should also be noted:

a. Striving for superiority is one fundamental motive, rather than a combination of

separate urges.

b. It is universal in nature.

c. The goal of superiority can take either a negative (destructive) or positive

(constructive) direction;

d. It calls for a considerable expenditure of energy and effort.

e. It occurs at both the individual and societal levels.

3. Style of life

It represents the most distinctive feature of Adler’s dynamic theory of personality. It refers to

the flavour of a person’s life and includes not only the person’s goals, but also self-concept,

feelings towards others, and attitude toward the world. It refers to the unique patterns of

traits, behaviours, and habits which when taken together, define the particular route one has

charted for him to reach the life-goal. It is the product of the interaction of heredity,

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environment, goal of success, social interest and creative power. The style of life becomes

firmly implanted by the age of 4/5 yrs and is totally resistant to change thereafter. It becomes

the guiding framework for later behaviour.

It should be noted that the style of life is similar to Freud’s concept of the Ego in that it is the

governing force of personality. However, it does not include the Id/ Superego waging war

against the self. Style of life encompasses the whole person plus the flavour or attitude that

makes the person unique. Thus, it constitutes the flame in our personality.

Adler proposed different types of life-style attitudes (personality types) on the basis of

people’s attitudes and behaviour toward the three major life tasks – work, friendship and love

and marriage.

Degree of activity

High Low High

Level of social x Socially useful type

interest Low Getting type Ruling type

Avoiding type

Social interest represents a feeling of empathy for each member of the human race and

manifests itself as cooperation with others for social advancement rather than personal gain. It

constitutes the major criterion of psychological maturity in Adlerian theory and is the opposite

of selfish interest.

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Degree of activity refers to the individual’s movement toward the solution of life’s internal and

external problems and would coincide with arousal or energy level.

a. The ruling type

Individuals are assertive, aggressive, and active with little social awareness and interest. They

possess a domineering attitude toward the outside world. They approach life’s major

problems in a socially useless manner. He is an authoritarian, autocratic, rigid,

compulsive type of personality.

b. The getting type

Such individuals relate to the outside world in a parasitic manner, depending on others to

satisfy most of their needs. They possess a low degree of activity and little social interest. They

are not especially dangerous, but contribute little to the society. Dependent in character, they

tend to absorb resources from others and are relatively passive.

c. The avoiding type

Such people have neither sufficient social interest nor activity to participate in any way in life.

Their lives are marked by socially useless behaviour of running away from the tasks of life, ie,

they are characterized by an attitude of avoidance. They lack the courage to face problems.

d. Socially useful type

Such an individual is the epitome of psychological health in Adler’s theory. He embodies both a

high degree of social interest and a high level of activity. They see the three major tasks of

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occupation, friendship and love as social problems. They also realize that solution to social

problems requires cooperation, personal courage and a willingness to make a contribution to

the welfare of others. It thus accounts for a balanced personality. They tend to face life

confidently.

4. Social interest

It can be defined as an attitude of relatedness with humanity in general, as well as an empathy

for each member of the human race. It manifests itself as cooperation with others for social

advancement rather than for personal gain. It is also rooted as potentiality in everyone (innate)

like striving for success, and needs to be developed. It has to be nourished through guidance

and training. Its development takes place in a social environment. It is initially the mother and

later on the other family members (father, being the 2nd important figure) who contribute to

the developmental process. The mother performs the crucial task of encouraging mature social

interest in her child. Thus, social interest reflects Adler’s belief that human beings are social

beings and that one must consider his relationship to others and to the larger socio-cultural

context in which he lives to fully understand himself.

According to Adler, the degree of social interest represents a useful yardstick for measuring

individual’s psychological health. He referred to it as the “barometer of normality”, the

criterion to be used in judging the worth of a person’s life. It is necessary for every

advancement of humanity and even for our existence. Thus, social interest is the platform on

the basis of which social motives/ urges are developed that ultimately give the final shape of

personality.

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 5. Creative self

Adler maintained that the style of life is developed by the individual’s creative power. This

creative power is responsible for the person’s life goals, determines the method of striving for

the goal, and contributes to the development of social interest. It also influences perception,

memory, imagination, fantasy and dreams. It makes each person a free (self-determined)

individual. According to Adler, people are more than the products of heredity and environment

– they are creative beings who not only react to their environment, but act on it and make it

react to them. This idea of people’s acting as creative agents is similar to Allport’s concept of

pro-action.

Creative power is essentially a dynamic concept. It implies movement which is the most salient

characteristic of life. All psychic life involves free movement toward a goal, movement with a

direction. Creativity is the able part of personality, which provides an individual a sense of

satisfaction.

6. Order of birth

The child’s order of birth in the family provides a subjective influence on personality

development as told by Adler. It is the child’s perception of the situation into which he/ she is

born and not the numerical rank per se that helps to shape his personality for the ordinal

position determines certain life-styles that develop ultimately.

a. First-born (oldest) child:

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Adler often referred to the first-born as the king-dethroned, which might be a very traumatic

experience. He is likely to have intensified feelings of power and superiority, high anxiety, and

overprotective tendencies.

b. Second-born (middle) child

He is characterized by being highly competitive and ambitious, and as such, he is achievement-

oriented to a high extent. He is influenced by the survival-of-the-fittest.

c. Youngest child:

The youngest child is the fighting youngest child, according to Adler, who is most likely to

become a revolutionary. He has got high motivation to surpass the older siblings. He is likely to

have strong feelings of inferiority and to lack a sense of independence.

d. Only child:

The only child is vulnerable to dependency and self-centeredness. He often develops an

exaggerated sense of superiority, an inflated self-concept and a feeling that the world is a

dangerous place (especially if the parents are overly concerned with the child’s health).

7. Fictional finalism

Adler believed that everything we do in life is marked by our striving for superiority, for

perfection. This striving for superiority is a general motivation that takes concrete form

as a striving toward a subjectively experienced super-ordinate goal called fictional goal.

The concept of fictional finalism is that fictional goals guide one’s present behaviours.

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Adler theorized that our ultimate goals are fictional goals, that can neither be tested nor can be

confirmed against reality, ie, people are motivated more by fictions, or expectations of the

future, than by experiences of the past. The goal does not exist in the future, but in the

people’s present perception of the future. Then according to Adler, the concept of fictional

finalism reveals the extent to which he emphasized a goal-directed view of human motivation.

Although the fictional goals have no objective existence, they nonetheless exert an enormous

influence on the direction of one’s lives.

It should also be noted that the fiction of greatest importance is the final goal of superiority/

success, which is in fact, the product of free creative power. It finally enables in unifying

personality and renders all behaviour comprehensible.

However, Adler is still criticized on a number of grounds. Firstly many of his tenets do not

readily lend them to empirical investigation. Eg. His concept of birth order cannot be definitely

studied making it impossible to hypothesize specific personality traits with confidence. A

second weakness is the lack of precise operational definitions. Eg. Terms like goal of

superiority, style of life, social interest and especially creative power have no scientific

definition. As such, Individual Psychology is rated low on internal consistency. Further, studies

of birth-order effects have yielded little data consistent with Adler’s theorizing (Blake, 1989;

Ernst et al, 1983; Schooler, 1972). Nevertheless, Adler’s theory still requires to be cherished for

it stresses on the prime role of social motive in one’s personality and provide a unique

approach to the study of personality; it being an eminent side of a glittering crystal (in the form

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of personality). It must also be rated high on both its ability to generate research and on its

applicability.

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