ALFRED ADLER’S INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY

OVERVIEW OF INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY

• Individual Psychology
• Each person is an integrated whole striving to attain
future goals and attempting to find meaning in life
while working harmoniously with others.
• It presents an optimistic view of people while resting
heavily on the notion of social interest, that is, a
feeling of oneness with all humankind of their
deepest impulses and fictional finalism and, with
conscious intent.
THE FINAL STATEMENT (TENETS) OF INDIVIDUAL
PSYCHOLOGY
• 1. One dynamic force behind people's behavior is the
striving for success or superiority.
• 2. People's subjective perceptions shape their
behavior and personality
• 3. Personality is unified and self-consistent.
• 4. The value of all human activity must be seen from
the viewpoint of social interest.
THE FINAL STATEMENT (TENETS) OF INDIVIDUAL
PSYCHOLOGY
• 5. The self-consistent personality structure develops
into a person's style of life.
• 6. Style of life is molded by people's creative power.
ALFRED ADLER'S BIOGRAPHY (1870-1937)
 ALFRED ADLER'S BIOGRAPHY (1870-1937)
• Adler was born in February 7, 1870 in Vienna,
Austria.
• He was weak and sick and at the age of 5, he nearly
died because of pneumonia.
• His poor health was in sharp contrast to the health of
his older brother, Sigmund.
• Several of Adler's earliest memories were concerned
with the unhappy competition with his brother's
good health and own illness.
 ALFRED ADLER'S BIOGRAPHY (1870-1937)
• In 1907, Adler published the “Study of Organ
Inferiority and its Physical Compensation”
• He finished his doctorate in medicine in 1895 from
the University of Vienna.
• He wrote the book “The Practice and Theory in
Individual Psychology.”
• He died at the age of 67 while on a lecture tour in
Scotland.
ADLER'S CONCEPT
 ADLER'S CONCEPT
• A. Organ Inferiority Theory
• People are more vulnerable to disease in organs that
are less developed or “inferior” than other organs.
• Organ Dialect
• “Speak a language which is usually more expressive
and discloses the individual's opinion more clearly
than words are able to do.”
 ADLER'S CONCEPT
• B. Feeling of Inferiority
• All children start life with feeling of being weak since
they are completely dependent upon adults for
survival.
• For Adler, to become more powerful meant to
become more masculine and less feminine. He
referred to this drive to become more masculine as
Masculine Protest.
 ADLER'S CONCEPT
• Masculine Protest- Desire to become stronger.
• When a person becomes overwhelmed by feelings of
inferiority and he is prevented from accomplishing
anything, the feeling of inferiority acts as barrier for
positive accomplishment.
 ADLER'S CONCEPT
• C. Striving for Superiority
• Is a fundamental fact of life. It is an innate need,
“built in” in all human beings at birth.
• It is the massive motive which leads people in the
pursuit of a superior or perfect society.
• A person who has superiority complex tends to be
domineering, vain, boastful, arrogant and insulting to
others. According to Adler, such person lacks social
interest and is indeed undesirable.
 ADLER'S CONCEPT
• D. Style of Life
• Is the means by which an individual attempts to gain
superiority, Lifestyle determines which aspects of life
are focused on and how it gives a person individual
identity.
 ADLER'S CONCEPT
• E. Social Interest (Gemeinschaftsgefühl )
• Is the innate need of all human beings to live in
harmony and friendship with others and to inspire
for the development of the perfect society.
THREE MAJOR TASKS IN LIFE TO BE ABLE TO
DEVELOP SOCIAL INTEREST
 THREE MAJOR TASKS IN LIFE TO BE ABLE TO
DEVELOP SOCIAL INTEREST
• 1. Occupational Tasks- Through constructive work,
the person helps to advance society.
• 2. Social Tasks- This requires cooperation whith
fellow humans.
• 3. Love and Marriage Tasks- Relationship between
this tasks and the continuance of society is clear.
FOUR TYPES OF PEOPLE ACCORDING TO THEIR
DEGREE OF SOCIAL INTEREST
FOUR TYPES OF PEOPLE ACCORDING TO THEIR
DEGREE OF SOCIAL INTEREST
• 1. Rulling-Dominant Type- Attempts to rule or
dominate people.
• 2. Getting-Learning Type- Expects everything from
others and gets everything he/she can from
them.
• 3. Avoiding Type- Succeeds in life by avoiding
problems. Such a person avoids failure by never
attempting anything.
• 4. Socially Useful Type- Confronts problem and
attempts to solve them in a socially useful way.
 ADLER'S CONCEPT

• F. Creative Power
• People's ability to freely shape their behavior and
create their own personality. This is considered
Adler's “crowning achievement” as a personality
theorist.
• According to Adler, human beings are not simply
passive recipients of environmental influences.
• It is the individual's attitude toward life which
determines his relationship with the outside
world.
 ADLER'S CONCEPT
• G. Adler's Concept of Abnormal Development
• According to Adler the one factor underlying all
types of maladjustments is underdeveloped
social interests. Besides lacking social interest,
neurotics tend to:
• 1. set their goals too high.
• 2. live in their own private world
• 3. have a rigid and dogmatic style of life.
EXTERNAL FACTORS WHICH TEND TO CREATE A
FAULTY LIFESTYLE
• 1. Exaggerated Physical Deficiencies
• People with exaggerated physical deficiencies
sometimes develop exaggerated feelings of
inferiority because they overcompensate for their
inadequacy.
EXTERNAL FACTORS WHICH TEND TO CREATE A
FAULTY LIFESTYLE
• 2. Pampered Style of Life
• Pampered people have a weak social interest but a
strong desire to perpetuate the pampered, parasitic
relationship they originally had with one or both of
their parents.
• They expect others to look after them, overprotect
them, and satisfy their needs.
EXTERNAL FACTORS WHICH TEND TO CREATE A
FAULTY LIFESTYLE
• 3. Neglected Style of Life
• Children who feel unloved and unwanted are likely to
borrow heavily from these feelings in creating a
neglected style of life.
• These children are distrustful of other people and
are unable to cooperate for the common welfare.
 ADLER'S CONCEPT
• H. Safeguarding Tendencies
• Patterns of behavior to protect their exaggerated
sense of self-esteem against public disgrace.
• These protective devices enable people to hide their
inflated self-image and to maintain their current style
of life.
COMMON SAFEGUARDING TENDENCIES
 COMMON SAFEGUARDING TENDENCIES
• 1. Excuses
• In this protective device, people first state what they
claim they would like to do- something that sounds
good to others- then they follow with an excuse.
• Excuses are typically expressed in the “Yes”, “But” or
“If only” format.
 COMMON SAFEGUARDING TENDENCIES
• 1. Excuses
• “Yes, I would like to go to college, but my children
demand too much of my attention.”
• “Yes, I agree with your proposal, but company policy
will not allow it.”
• “If only my husband were more supportive, I would
have advanced faster in my profession.”
 COMMON SAFEGUARDING TENDENCIES
• 2. Aggression
• This protective device is used to safeguard the
exaggerated superiority complex, that is, to protect
their fragile self-esteem, Safeguarding through
aggression may take the form of depreciation,
accusation, or self-accusation.
 COMMON SAFEGUARDING TENDENCIES
• 2. Aggression
• Depreciation- This is the tendency to undervalue
other people's achievements and to overvalue one's
own.
• Accusation- This is the tendency to blame others for
one's failure and to seek revenge, thereby
safeguarding one's own tenuous self-esteem.
• Self-accusation- This safeguarding tendency is
marked by self-torture, including masochism,
depression, and suicide, as means of hurting people
who are close to them.
 COMMON SAFEGUARDING TENDENCIES
• 3. Withdrawal
• The style of running away from difficulties. This is
safeguarding through distance. Adler recognized the
following four modes of safeguarding through
withdrawal:
 COMMON SAFEGUARDING TENDENCIES
• 3. Withdrawal
• Moving Backward- This is the tendency to safeguard
one's fictional goal or superiority by psychologically
reverting to a more secure period of life.
• Standing Still- They avoid all responsibility by
ensuring themselves against any threat of failure.
• Hesitating- This includes procastinations which
eventually give them the excuse “It's too late now.”
 COMMON SAFEGUARDING TENDENCIES
• 3. Withdrawal
• Constructing Obstacles
• People using this safeguarding tendency creates
problem and showing people that they are capable
of overcoming the problem or obstacle they created.
APPLICATIONS OF INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY
 APPLICATIONS OF INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY
• 1. Family Constellation
• This includes birth order, the gender of siblings and
the age spread between them.
• Although people's perception of the situation into
which they were born is more important than
numerical rank, Adler did form some general
hypotheses about birth order.
 APPLICATIONS OF INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY
• 1. Family Constellation
• Firstborn Children
• They are most likely to have intensified feelings of
power and superiority, high anxiety and
overprotective tendencies.
• They occupy a unique position, being an only child
for a time and then experiencing a traumatic
development when a younger sibling is born.
 APPLICATIONS OF INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY
• 1. Family Constellation
• Second born Children
• Begin life in a better situation for developing
cooperation and social interest.
• Typically, the second born children mature towards
moderated competitiveness, having a healthy desire
to overtake the older rival.
 APPLICATIONS OF INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY
• 1. Family Constellation
• Youngest Children
• Are often most pampered and consequently run a
high risk of being problem children.
• They are likely to have strong feelings of inferiority
and to lack a sense of independence. They are often
highly motivated to exceed older siblings and to
become the fastest runner etc.
 APPLICATIONS OF INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY
• 1. Family Constellation
• Only Children
• Are in a unique position of competing not against
brothers and sisters, but against father and mother.
Living in an adult world, they often develop an
exaggerated sense of superiority an inflated self-
concept.
 APPLICATIONS OF INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY
• 2. Early Recollections (ERs)
• These are recalled memories which can yield clues
for understanding patients' style of life.
• Adler did not consider there memories to have a
casual effect to personality.
 APPLICATIONS OF INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY
• 3. Dream Analysis
• Is a method wherein a person's dreams are used to
provide a way of dealing with the person's life
problems. By analyzing how to confront problems
and how to plan future events through dream
analysis.
 APPLICATIONS OF INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY
• 4. Psychotherapy
• The chief purpose of Adlerian psychotherapy is to
enhance courage, lessen feelings of inferiority and
encourage social interest.
• He believed that a warm, nurturing attitude by the
therapist encourages patients to expand their social
interest.