Alfred Adler

Alfred Adler
Neo Freudian
Opposition to Freud’s deterministic view of human nature and importance he placed on sex
Opposition to emphasis on instincts as primary motivator for human behaviour
Opposition to Freud’s negative view of human nature
Was never a disciple of Freud
One of Freud’s colleagues said that Adler did not have the ability to probe the unconscious mind and psychoanalyze people – interesting to speculate whether this supposed lack led Adler to base his theories around the conscious rather than unconscious

Individual Psychology
Image of human nature that did not depict people as victims of instincts and conflict, doomed by childhood experiences and biological forces
Focused on the uniqueness of each person
Denied the universality of biological forces ascribed by Freud
Each individual is social being- shaped by social interactions and environments
Minimized role of sex in his system
Conscious was at the core of personality
Actively involved in creating our selves and shaping future
Aspects of childhood influenced theories

Childhood (Relevant to subsequent theories)
Childhood marked by illness, awareness of death
Became doctor to overcome fear of illness and death
Dethroned at age of 2 by arrival of new baby
Jealous of healthy older brother – feelings of inferiority
Worked hard and overcame inferiority- striving for superiority
Social person- emphasized importance of the peer group
Textbook example of his personality theory- overcoming childhood weakness and inferiority to shape his destiny
‘’Those who are familiar with my life work will clearly see the accord existing between the facts of my childhood and the views I expressed’’ (quoted in Bottome, 1939, p.9)

Inferiority
Inferiority feelings are motivating force in human behaviour, source of all human striving
‘’To be human means to feel oneself inferior’’ Adler,1933
Condition is common to all of us – not sign of weakness – the normal condition of people
Individual growth results from compensation- attempts to overcome real or imagined inferiorities
Driven by need to overcome sense of inferiority and strive for higher levels of development
Process begins in infancy- helpless, dependent on adults
Infant aware of parents power and strength, hopelessness of trying to resist that power
Develops feelings of inferiority as a result
Not genetically determined , although applies to everyone- product of environment
Necessary- provide motivation to grow

Inferiority Complex
Inability to overcome feelings of inferiority
Poor opinion of themselves, unable to cope with demands of life
Arises from three sources in childhood:
Organic Inferiority: Defective parts or organs of body shape personality through persons efforts to compensate for weakness (Adler compensated for rickets)Example of conception of personality developed along intuitive lines, drawn from personal experience and then confirmed by data from patients
Spoiling: Centre of attention at home, develop idea that they are most important. School: not centre of attention, shock for which they are unprepared
Never learned to overcome difficulties or adjust to others needs, when confronted with obstacles to gratification, believe they have some personal deficiency which is thwarting them
Neglect: Infancy characterised by lack of love and security, develop feelings of worthlessness

Superiority Complex
Tendency to overcompensate for weakness, develop exaggerated opinion of themselvesand their accomplishments

Strive for superiority, perfection
Not simply motivated to overcome feelings of inferiority
However- view of ultimate life goal changed
First – identified with general feeling of weakness/ femininity – recognition of inferior standing of women
Compensation for this feeling – masculine protest – drive toward power, in which aggression played a large role (aggressive drive)
Later rejecting equating inferiority with femininity – developed broader viewpoint
Striving for superiority – fundamental fact of life
Superiority- ultimate goal toward which we strive
Drive for perfection- from latin word to finish- strive for superiority in an effort to perfect ourselves, to make ourselves complete or whole
Innate goal, for wholeness or completion, oriented toward future
Adler saw human motivation in terms of expectations for future- instincts and impulses insufficient as explanatory principles

Fictional Finalism
Idea that there is an imagined or potential goal that guides our behaviour
Idea that there is an ultimate goal/final state of being that we need to move towards
Strive for ideals that exist within us subjectively
Beliefs influence the way we interact and perceive other people
Eg. belief in afterlife- behave a certain way that will bring us to heaven
Fictional finalism increases rather than reduces tension
Adler did not believe our sole motivation was to reduce tension – freud
Striving for superiority manifested by both individual and society- try to achieve perfection of our culture
Individuals and society are interrelated and interdependent

Style of life
Unique character structure or pattern of personal behaviours and characteristics by which each of us strives for perfection
Everything we do is shaped by our unique style of life
Determines which aspects of our environment we attend to or ignore and what attitudes we hold
Style of life learned from social interactions that occur in early childhood- fixed by the age of 4 or 5
Becomes guiding framework for all later behaviours
Nature depends on social interactions and birth order

Creative power of self
Idea that style of life is fixed by childhood- deterministic view?
Seems to mirror freuds opinion that early childhood is important for formation of personality
Resolved deterministic dilemma by proposing concept of creative power of self
Refers to ability to create an appropriate style of life
Create our selves, personality, character
Not passively shaped by childhood experiences
Experiences themselves not as important as our conscious attitude towards them
Neither hereditary not environments provides complete explanation for personality development- way we interpret these influences forms basis for creative construction of attitude towards life
Existence of free will allows us to create style of life
Unclear on specifics- however adler insisted our style of life is not determined for us- free to choose and create it
Once created however it remains consistent throughout life

Dominant, getting, avoidant and socially useful styles
Adler identified several universal problems and grouped them in three categories
1. Problems involving our behaviour towards others
2. Problems of occupation
3. Problems of love

Proposed 4 basic styles of life for dealing with these:
The dominant type
Dominant or ruling attitude with little social awareness
Behaves without regard for others
The getting type
Expects to receive satisfaction from others and so becomes dependent on them
Avoiding type
Makes no attempt to face life’s problems
By avoiding difficulties- avoids possibilities of failure

These three types not prepared to cope with problems of everyday life
Unable to cooperate with other people
Clash between their style of life and the real world results in abnormal behaviour- manifested in psychoses and neuroses
Lack social interest
Socially useful type
Cooperates with others and acts in accordance with their needs
Cope with problems within a well developed framework of social interest

Adler- against rigidly classifying people in this way – proposed these four styles solely for teaching purposes

Social Interest
Our innate potential to cooperate with other people to achieve personal and social goals
Adlers term for this in the original german – Gemeinschaftsgeful – best translated as community feeling
Influenced more strongly by social than biological factors, in adlers view potential for social interest is innate – slight biological element in his approach
However , extent to which our innate potential for social interest is realized depends on early social experiences
No one can avoid people / obligations towards them- always been necessary for people to cooperate, express social interest
Individual must cooperate with an contribute to society to realise personal and communal goals
Adler noted importance of mother – through her behaviour towards child – can foster or thwart social interest
Interesting to note- in adlers early career he suggested that people were driven by a lust for power and a need to dominate
Proposed this idea at a time he was struggling to establish himself in freuds circle
After he broke away and established his own approach- proposed that people are motivated more by social interest than a need for power

Birth Order
One of Adler’s most enduring contributions
Idea that birth order is a major social influence in childhood , and one from which we create our style of life
Siblings do not have identical social environments
Exposed to differing parental attitudes- create childhood conditions that help determine personality
The first born
Typically receive parents undivided attention
Have happy secure environment till next child appears
No longer focus of attention – dethroned by sibling
Affection must be shared
Adler found that first borns are oriented towards the past, locked in nostalgia and pessimistic about the future
Having learned the advantages of power at an early age they are preoccupied with it
Advantages- play the role of teacher to younger siblings- enable them to mature intellectually to a higher degree
Take an unusual interest in maintaining authority and order
The second born
Never experiences powerful position once held by first born- not concerned with it
Even if third child is born they do not suffer the same sense of dethronement
By this time parents have usually changed their child rearing practices
Parents may be less concerned and anxious about their own behaviour- take a more relaxed approach
Second born have a pacesetter in the first sibling – always has the example of their behaviour as a model, a threat or a source of competition
Competition with first born may motivate second child- may strive to catch up and surpass
Goals that spur language and motor development
More optimistic about the future and likely to be competitive and ambitious
Less beneficial outcomes- eg. if first born excels, second born may feel like they can never surpass and give up trying- competitiveness would not be part of their lifestyle and they may become an underachiever
The Youngest
Never face shock of dethronement
Often become pet of the family
Driven my need to surpass older siblings- develop at remarkably fast rate
Often high achievers
Opposite can occur however if they are excessively pampered- don’t learn to do anything for themselves
May retain helplessness as they grow older- retain dependency of childhood
Used to being cared for- find it difficult to adjust to adulthood

The only child
Never lose position of primacy and power
Remain focus of attention
Often mature early and manifest behaviours and attitudes of adults
Likely to experience difficulties when are not centre of attention
Never learned to share or compete

Adler was not proposing firm rules of childhood development- likelihood that certain styles of life will develop as a function of the order of birth combined with early social interactions
The creative self in constructing the style of life uses both influences

Human Nature
Adlers system provides a hopeful, flattering picture of human nature – antithesis of freuds view
More satisfying to consider ourselves capable of consciously shaping our development and destiny rather than being dominated by forces over which we have no control
Adler thinks we have free will and uniqueness- freud – universality in human nature
Although in adlers view some aspects are innate ( potential for social interest and striving for perfection) it is experiences that determine how these tendencies will be realized
Childhood influences are important, eg order of birth and interactions with our parents , but we are not victims of childhood events- use them to create style of life

Assessment in Adlers theory
Like freud, adler developed his theory by analyzing patients, evaluating verbalizations and behaviour
Approach was more relaxed than freuds, informal, used humour
Primary methods of assessment , are order of birth, early recollections and dream analysis
In addition- contemporary psychologists developed assessment tests based on adlers concept of social interest
Purpose in assessing personality was to discover the patients style of life and determine whether it was the most appropriate for them
Early recollections
Early recollections indicate style of life
Adler found that it made little difference whether his clients early recollections were real events or fantasies
Dream analysis
Adler agreed with freud about the importance of dreams in understanding personality but disagreed about how they should be interpreted
Did not believe they fulfil wishes or reveal hidden conflicts
Believed they involve our feelings about a current problem and what we intend to do about it
In the fantasies of dreams we believe we can surmount the most difficult obstacle or simplify the most complex problem
Dreams are oriented towards present and future, not conflicts in the past
Should never be interpreted without knowledge of the person and their lifestyle
Dream is a manifestation of the persons style of life as is unique to them

Measures of social interest
Adler had no desire to use psychological test to assess personality
Argued that such tests create artificial situations and provide ambiguous results
Thought psychologist should develop their intuition
Psychologists have since developed tests to measure adlers concept of social interest
Social interest scale (SIS) – pairs of adjectives

Research in Adlers theory
Adlers primary research method was the case study however little of his data survived
His data and research method are subject to the same criticisms as freud- observations cannot be repeated and duplicated , nor were they conducted in a controlled and systematic fashion
Did not attempt to verify the accuracy of his patients reports or to explain the procedures he used to analyze the data, no interest in applying the scientific method
Most of his propositions have resisted research , however dreams, early recollections, neglect in childhood , social interest and order of birth have been the subjects of research

Review of his theory
His influence within psychology has been substantial
Can see examples of his ideas in the work of other personality theorists- these contributions make his theory one of the most enduring
Was ahead of his time, and his cognitive and social emphases are more compatible with trends in psychology today than they were in his day
Maslow ..’ Adler becomes more and more correct year by year..as the facts come in they give a stronger and stronger support to his image of man’’ 1970
Adlers emphasis on social forces in personality can be seen in the theories of Horney and Fromm
Focus on the whole person and the unity of personality is reflected in the work of Allport
Creative power of the individual in shaping their style of life and the insistence that future goals are more important than past events influenced Maslows work
Adlers ideas also reached into psychoanalysis- it was he who proposed the aggressive drive more than 12 years before freud included aggression as well as sex as a primary motivating force
Disputed freuds views on women- no biological basis such as penis envy for womens alleged sense of inferiority- that was attributable to social conditioning
Specific adlerian concepts of lasting importance include the idea of organic inferiority which has influenced the study of psychosomatic disorders, the inferiority complex, compensation and order of birth
Introduced group training and guidance procedures, forerunners of modern group therapy techniques

Criticisms-
Freud said that adlers psychology was oversimplified and therefore would appeal to many people because it eliminated the complicated nature of the unconscious, had no difficult concepts and ignored the problems of sex
One point that reinforces the charge of oversimplification is that his books are easy to read as he wrote them for the general public
A related charge is that his concepts appear to rely heavily on commonsense observations from everyday life
However it was adlers intention that his theory was simpler than freud or jungs
Critics allege that he was inconsistent and unsystematic in his thinking, and that his theory contains gaps and unanswered questions, however that is true of a lot of theorists
Some psychologists dispute his position on the issue of determinism vs free will
Early in his career he did not dispute determinism, it was later than he felt the need to grant more autonomy to the self and came to reject determinism
His doctrine on the creative self states that before the age of five we fashion a style of life from material provided by out heredity and environment however it is not made clear how a child can make such a momentous decision
It is clear that he favoured free will and opposed that we are victims of childhood events but the specifics of forming the style of life are not clear
Adlerian counselling techniques have been developed by Rudolph Dreikurs and others, and this work has influenced new generations of adlerian clinicians in what dreikurs calls family education centers
Dreikurs work on child rearing practices applies adlers views to contemporary problems

Neo-Freudian, or neopsychoanalytic theorists, were a group of psychologists who were initially loyal to Freud and were committed to his approach of psychoanalysis, but who eventually broke away because of their opposition to certain aspects of his approach (Schultz & Schultz, 2005). Most were disciples of Freud before they rebelled and offered their own approach to personality theory. Most neo-freudians were united in their opposition to Freud’s largely deterministic view of personality and to the importance he placed on sexuality and instincts as the primary motivators of human behaviour (Schultz & Schultz , 2005). One of these theorists was Alfred Adler, and he fashioned an image of human nature that did not depict people as victims of instinct and conflict, who were doomed by biological forces and childhood experiences. Adler titled his approach to personality theory ‘Individual Psychology’, as it placed an emphasis on the uniqueness of each person and their ability to shape and change their personalities. In Adler’s opinion, each person is a social being and their personalities are shaped by their social interactions and environment. To Adler , it was the conscious and not the unconscious that was at the core of personality, he believed that we were actively involved in creating our selves (Schultz & Schultz, 2005).
Adler’s early years were marked by illness and an awareness of death, which seemed to have an effect on his personality theory. Adler was unable to run or play like other children, and felt a sense of inferiority to his brother and to other children. As a result of this he resolved to work hard to over come these feelings of inferiority and his physical limitations.