Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Psychology
Alfred Adler
Alfred Adler
Final Goal?
Final Goal
Subgoal
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oSubgoal
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Subgoal Fo r c e
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Strategy
Compensation
Final Goal
Everyone has the power to create a
personalized fictional goal (one
constructed by raw materials provided by
heredity and environment)
Goal is a product of Creative Power – the
ability to freely shape their behavior and
create their own personality
At the age of 4 to 5 one can create their
final goal
Final Goal
If children feel neglected or pampered, their
goals remain largely unconscious
Example of girl who was pampered set a
goal to make her parasitic relationship with
her mother permanent
When she grew up, she looked dependent
and self-depreciating but consistent with her
goal she set at the age of 5 to become a
parasite to her mother (never leaves the
home and always depends on her mother)
Final goal
Striving Force
From within (innate) Final Goal
Shaped by our Potential (nature) Completenes
Shaped by our Actualize And
(environment) Wholeness
We provide the
nurture and care
for you to be who
you are meant to Actualized
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I have F
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potential
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to be
Striving Force
An interest in
Social interest furthering the
welfare of others
Body Dialect
Conscious and Unconscious
Organ or Body Dialect
The disturbance of one part of the body cannot
be viewed in isolation.
It affects the entire person
Organ Dialect – deficient organ expresses the
direction of the individual’s goal
Through Organ Dialect – body’s organs “speak
a language that is usually more expressive and
discloses the individual’s opinions more clearly
than words are able to do”
Organ Dialect
Example of man with a rheumatoid arthritis in his
hand.
Hand communicates “see my deformity. See my
handicap. You can’t expect me to do manual
work”.
Hand speaks for a desire for sympathy.
Boy who bed wets. Sending message that he
does not want to obey his parents.
Really creative because boy speaks with his
bladder instead of his mouth.
Conscious and
Unconscious
Unity – harmony between conscious and
unconscious actions
Adler’s Unconscious – that part of the
goal that is neither clearly formulated nor
completely understood by the individual
No dichotomy between conscious and
unconscious – two cooperating parts of
the same unified system
Conscious and
Unconscious
Conscious thoughts – those that are
understood and regarded as helpful in
striving for success
Unconscious thought – thoughts that are
not helpful in striving for success.
Conscious and
Unconscious
“we cannot oppose “consciousness” to
“unconsciousness” as if they were
antagonistic halves of the individual’s
existence. The conscious life becomes
unconscious as soon as we fail to
understand it – and as soon as we
understand an unconscious tendency, it has
already become conscious” (Adler,
1929/1964)
Conscious and
Unconscious
Complementary entities operating under
the dominance of a unifying style of life.
Both have one purpose – to realize the
goal
Social Interest
Social Interest
Gemeinschaftsgefühl – social interest but
better as “social feeling” or “community
feeling”
An attitude of relatedness with humanity in
general as well as an empathy for each
member of the human race
Feeling of oneness with all humanity
Implies membership in the social
community of all people
striving for perfection of all people
Social Interest
Feelings of Inferiority
Physical deficiencies
First Born
Likely to have intensified feelings of
power and superiority,
high anxiety,
and overprotective tendencies
First Born
Dethronement Experience – Change in
world view
Age 3 or older – incorporate into previous
established style of life
If already developed a self centered life style –
Feeling of hostility and resentment
If cooperating style – eventually feel hostility
and resentment
Less than 3 – Unconscious feeling making a
more resistant to change when older
Second Born
In a better position to develop cooperation and
social interest
To some extent – personality shaped by their
perception of the first born attitude towards them
If hostile and vengeful – second becomes
competitive or discouraged
Normal second born – mature to moderate
competitiveness, having desire to overtake older
rival
If successful – challenges authority and
revolutionary attitude
Youngest Child