Theories of Personality

Topic Outline:

Alfred Adler’s Individual Psychology

Submitted by:

Rosario, Tricia

Sabularce, Mae

Submitted to:

Ms. Rizzi Minoza

2023
 I. INTRODUCTION
A. ABOUT THE PROPONENT: ALFRED ADLER

Born on 1870 in a village near Vienna, Adler grew up frail and fragile. At the young age of
five, Adler almost passed away. After an older boy abandoned a young Adler while ice-skating,
he shortly developed pneumonia after walking home alone in the cold and passing out in their
living room couch. This experience along with the death of his younger brother—whom he found
dead in the bed next to his just a year before his near-death accident—motivated a young Adler
to conquer or overcome death. Because medicine gave the possibility of preventing death, Adler
decided to pursue and study medicine with the hopes of becoming a physician.

Adler continued to finish his primary school years without any failing remarks nor flying
colors. Nonetheless, when he joined the Gymnasium as a pre-med student, he performed so
inadequately that his father threatened to have him expelled and work as an apprentice
shoemaker. He once again completed his coursework as a medical student without receiving any
particular accolades, and after earning his medical degree at the end of 1895, he started his
own private practice as an eye specialist before switching to psychiatry and general medicine.

In 1902, Freud had a conference in his house to discuss psychology and neuropathology
and along with three other Viennese doctors, he had also invited a then-thirty-two-year-old
Adler. This group came to be known as the Wednesday Psychological Society before changing its
name to Vienna Psychoanalytic Society. Despite Adler being a founding member of Freud’s group,
the two failed to develop a close friendship; in fact, Adler never saw Freud as his mentor. In 1911,
after realizing that their opposing views could not be resolved, Adler resigned from his position
as president and member of the Psychoanalytic Society and established the Society for Individual
Psychology.

Adler spent the remaining years of his life by traveling to the United States to teach
Individual Psychology at Columbia University and the New School for Social Research. He
acquired the title of Visiting Professor for Medical Psychology at Long Island College of Medicine
when he had become a citizen and resident of the United States in 1932. In 1937, Adler started
to feel chest pains whilst on Netherlands for a speaking tour. Sadly, he still continued the trip and
went next to Scotland where he died of a heart attack on the 28 th of May.

B. OVERVIEW OF ADLER’S INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY

Alfred Adler believed that human behavior along with therapeutic methods and
approaches, empower and motivate people to contribute positively to society while achieving
personal satisfaction and success. Adler’s Individual Psychology suggests an optimistic and
idealistic image of people who are rooted with the concept of social interest or a sense of oneness
with all mankind.

According to Adler's Individual Psychology, humans are primarily driven by social forces
and their desire for success or superiority. People have the power to shape or alter their
personalities and are mainly accountable for who they are. With that being said, our current
actions and behavior is influenced by how people envision the future. Lastly, Individual
Psychology suggests that psychologically healthy individuals are often conscious of their
surroundings—they are aware of what they are doing and why.

II. TENETS OF ADLERIAN THEORY

Adlerian Theory is a cognitive, goal-oriented, social psychology, which is based on a

humanist model of man. There are six concepts that make up the Adlerian theory, among them
are striving for success or superiority, subjective perception, unity and self-consistency, social
interest, style of life, and creative power.

A. STRIVING FOR SUCCESS OR SUPERIORITY

Striving for success or superiority is the first tenet of the Adlerian Theory, which indicate
that the only dynamic measure influencing people's behavior is striving for superiority or success.
Adler believed that since people are born with weak and Therefore, with inferior bodies, they
feel inferior and try to cope with the feelings through their desire towards moving in the direction
of what Adler refers to as a "final goal." For individuals, this driving force has two potential paths:
superiority for oneself or Success for the community. According to Adler, an individual striving
for personal gain is considered unhealthy as they have little or no concern for other people and
are therefore considered “useless” in society, whereas an individual striving for the success of all
humanity would be considered healthy as they do so naturally.

B. SUBJECTIVE PERCEPTIONS

Subjective perception, which is the second tenet of Adler's Adlerian Theory, is the idea
that a person's personality and behavior are shaped by their subjective perceptions. As he
believed that people seek success or superiority as a form of compensation for feelings of
inferiority, but their approach is not guided by reality but instead rather by their fictitious or
unrealistic expectations of reality, that is, by their subjective perceptions of the future.

C. UNITY AND SELF CONSISTENCY

Adler’s third tenet of the Adlerian Theory is the unity and self-consistency of personality,
which suggests each person is unique and indivisible and that the notion of inconsistent behavior
does not exist. Thus, the whole individual strives in a self-consistent way towards a single goal,
and all separate actions and functions can be understood as parts of this goal.

D. SOCIAL INTEREST

The fourth tenet of Adler's Adlerian Theory is that all human activity must be valued. and
be viewed in light of social interest. social interest originates in German word
"Germeinschaftgefuhl," which translates as "community feeling." Depending on their
community, a person's style can either be "useful" or "useless."” A “useful” person has a social
interest in the community around them whereas a “useless” person does not and is only
concerned with one’s self. Most individuals have the potential of social interest, as it is a natural
condition of the human species, which is why we live in groups for most if not all of our lives.
Social interest is formed through the relationship between mother and child during early infancy
and continues to develop through early childhood because of continued parental relationships.

E. STYLE OF LIFE
 A self-consistent personality structure develops into a person’s style of life, according to
Adler's fifth tenant is a person's way of living. Goal, self-concept, emotions for others, and
attitudes toward the world all contribute to their life style, which is referred to as their "style of
life." Adler believed the style of one’s life is the product of interaction of heredity, environment,
and a person’s creative power. Adler described the style of life as “the separate notes of a
composition are meaningless without the entire melody, but the melody takes on added
significance when we recognize the composer’s style or unique manner of expression.” therefore,
an individual that leads a healthy or “useful” life has a style of life that is complex, enriched and
changing while an individual that leads an unhealthy or “useless” life is inflexible and dull in their
actions.

F. CREATIVE POWER

Creative power is Adler’s final tenet, creative power is one’s style of life, which is molded
by an individual’s creative power. Adler believed that people are much more than a product of
their upbringing and environment, and that each person has the ability to shape his or her own
personality.

III. ABNORMAL DEVELOPMENT

A. MALADJUSTMENT

Adler claimed that lack of social interest and underdeveloped personal growth are the
causes behind all forms of maladjustments. Lack of social interest unavoidably leads to three
characteristics of neurotics, such as:

1. having unrealistic ambitions,

2. inhabiting one's own isolated world,
3. and lastly, having strict and dogmatic life principles.

Maladjusted persons overcompensate for extravagant emotions of failure by setting

exuberant plans. These high standards breed dogmatism, and the more rigorous the striving, the
higher the goal gets. These people have a limited outlook in life and strive excessively and
meticulously for unattainable objectives to make up for innate feelings of inferiority and
underlying insecurities.

There are three (3) factors that contribute to maladjustment:

1. exaggerated physical deficiencies,

2. pampered styles of life,
3. and neglected styles of life.

Because they overcompensate for their deficiencies, those with extreme physical
impairments may experience high levels of inferiority. Meanwhile, pampered people expect
others to take care of them, to protect them, and to fulfill their wants and needs. They feel
often excluded and disregarded whenever they have to provide for themselves, thus contributing
to the pampered child's accumulating emotions of inferiority. Lastly, children who experience
abuse and neglect tend to lack social engagement and adopt a neglected lifestyle. They lack a
sense of security and frequently exaggerate when presented with life's toughest situations.

B. SAFEGUARDING TENDENCIES

People might disguise their overinflated sense of self and keep up their present style of
life by using safeguarding tendencies which are primarily conscious and serve to protect a
person's brittle sense of self from ridicule. The most typical are excuses which defend against
having a poor and fake sense of one's worth and deceive people into thinking they are far greater
than they actually are. Aggression is another typical safeguarding tendency where some people
employ anger as a defense mechanism for their inflated superiority complex, and may take the
form of depreciation, accusation, or self-accusation. Lastly, withdrawal is often referred to as
safeguarding through distance since some people unintentionally create a barrier between
themselves and their troubles in order to avoid the difficulties of life.

C. MASCULINE PROTEST

Being a woman is viewed as inferior in many societies by both men and women.
At a young age, boys are usually taught that being a man implies being brave, powerful, and
domineering. Girls, on the opposite hand, frequently pick up a docile attitude and acceptance of
a lower social status. Some women rebel by adopting a passive position, becoming incredibly
powerless and obedient; others protest by embracing a male-oriented orientation; still other
women resigned to the notion that they are less significant as people and acknowledge men's
privilege by directing roles to them.

As stated by Adler, many men and women overestimate the value of being manly, a
condition he dubbed the masculine protest, due to cultural and social practices.

IV. APPLICATIONS OF INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY

In 1954, Adler developed a theory as a young, helpless children people all developed
feelings of inferiority when comparing themselves to the more powerful, superior adults. The
driving force behind all human endeavors, emotions, and thoughts for Adler was not seeking of
pleasure but seeking of superiority which is really a disagreement to Freud over the importance
of sexuality in personal development. Practical application of individual psychology was divided
into four areas:

A. Family constellation - Family constellation is a term that Adler formed to structure how
each family member fits into the overall system. According to Adler, the constellation of
the family consists of the parents, kids, and any other relatives. Adler emphasized that a
person's lifestyle decisions are influenced by their birth order in this constellation. A child
defines themselves within the constellation in terms of other kids and how they are
similar to or different from other members of the family. The siblings' gender, age
differences, and birth order for each child and sibling are all aspects of the family
constellation. As a result, both the child and other members of the child's family can share
in the experience of the family atmosphere. Furthermore, a person learns how to
communicate with others and a person's behavior in other areas of their life frequently
mirrors how they are perceived and behaved in their family. Therefore, understanding
the function of the family in a person's life is important because most behaviors are
carried over from the home to the community environment.
B. Early Recollections - Early recollection or recollections, according to Adler, are crucial
clues to understanding a person. Adler believed that memories were a crucial
phenomenon because of the time and energy required for storing and recalling
memories. Childhood memories in and of themselves are not as significant as the
memories that are retrieved and how one's perspective is reflected in the selection of
memories. Any childhood memories and experiences may have an effect on lifestyle, but
only the person can confirm the significance by retrieving and reporting those memories.
A person's perspective on themselves and other people in relation to life can be inferred
from their subjective interpretation of those memories.

C. Dreams - Adler believed that dreams are a valuable tool for learning to control your
waking lives; they are tools for resolving problems. Dreams must be brought into
consciousness and interpreted in order to shed more light on your problems. It is crucial
to take what you can from your dreams and apply it to your waking life. According to
Adler, there is a connection between our dreams and the difficulties we face every day
and stated that we are more likely to experience problems the more dreams we have. On
the other hand, fewer dreams are associated with fewer problems and better
psychological health.

D. Psychotherapy - According to Adler, a person can learn to cope with feelings of

inadequacy and inferiority in comparing themselves to others. He believed that when
someone is encouraged and feels adequate and respected, they will be more receptive
and cooperative. In contrast, a person who feels defeated and discouraged will exhibit
unproductive behaviors like competition, defeat, and withdrawal. Finding ways to
communicate the beneficial effects of encouragement increases one's feelings of
contentment and optimism. Adler strongly believed that "a misbehaving child is a
discouraged child," and that children's behavior patterns significantly improve when they
experience feelings of acceptance, relevance, and respect.