Adler: Individual Psychology

Overview of Individual Psychology

Alfred Adler's theory of personality, Individual Psychology, emerged after his break from Freud's psychoanalytic group, presenting views nearly diametrically opposed to Freud's.
Key Differences from Freud:
- Freud's View: Pessimistic, rooted in biology, motivated by sex and aggression, people have no choice in shaping personality, present behavior caused by the past, emphasis on the unconscious.
- Adler's View: Optimistic, idealistic, rooted in family experiences, motivated by social influences and striving for superiority, people are largely responsible for who they are, present behavior shaped by the future, people are usually aware of their actions and motivations.
Adler posited that people are born weak with inferior bodies, leading to feelings of inferiority and dependence on others.
A feeling of unity with others, termed social interest, is inherent and serves as the ultimate standard for psychological health.

Biography of Alfred Adler

Alfred Adler's Individual Psychology was deeply influenced by his early life challenges and his growing disagreement with Freud.
Born in 1870, Adler suffered from rickets and pneumonia as a child, leaving him physically weak and emotionally vulnerable. These experiences ignited his lifelong interest in overcoming inferiority.
His personal struggles formed the bedrock of his theory, which emphasized the human drive for superiority, social interest, and purposeful life goals.
Adler rejected Freud's focus on instinct and unconscious conflict, establishing Individual Psychology to highlight the holistic, social, and goal-oriented nature of human beings.
He passed away suddenly from a heart attack in 1937 during a lecture tour in Scotland.

Main Tenets of Individual Psychology

Striving for success or superiority.
Subjective perceptions shape behavior and personality.
Personality is unified and self-consistent.
Human activity must be viewed through the lens of social interest.
A self-consistent personality structure develops into a person's style of life.
Style of life is molded by people's creative power.

Striving for Success or Superiority

The sole dynamic force driving human actions is the striving for success or superiority.
Psychologically unhealthy individuals strive for personal superiority, whereas psychologically healthy individuals seek success for all humanity.
A. The Final Goal
- The ultimate goal of success or superiority unifies personality and imbues all behavior with meaning.
B. The Striving Force as Compensation
- Humans are born with small, inferior bodies, leading to feelings of inferiority. They attempt to overcome these feelings through a natural tendency toward completion.
- This striving force can manifest as either personal gain (superiority) or community benefit (success).
C. Striving for Personal Superiority
- Characterizes psychologically unhealthy individuals who prioritize personal gain with minimal concern for others. Their underlying motivation is self-benefit, even if they appear interested in others.
D. Striving for Success
- Characterizes psychologically healthy individuals who strive for the success of all humanity, without sacrificing their personal identity.

Subjective Perceptions

People's subjective view of the world, rather than objective reality, shapes their behavior.
This includes their expectations of the future.
A. Fictionalism
- Fictions are people's expectations of the future that guide behavior, as individuals act as if these fictions are true.
- Adler emphasized teleology (explanations of behavior in terms of future goals) over causality (explanations based on past causes).
B. Physical Inferiorities
- Adler believed all humans are 'blessed' with physical inferiorities, which stimulate subjective feelings of inferiority.
- These feelings motivate people toward perfection or completion, leading them to develop belief systems (fictions) to overcome deficiencies and become 'big, strong, and superior'.

Unity and Self-Consistency of Personality

Adler maintained that all behaviors are directed toward a single purpose, and seemingly contradictory behaviors can be understood as operating in a self-consistent manner when viewed through this unifying purpose.
A. Organ Dialect
- People often use a physical disorder to express their style of life, a condition Adler termed organ dialect or organ jargon.
B. Conscious and Unconscious
- Conscious and unconscious processes are unified and work together to achieve a single goal.
- The part of our goal that is not clearly understood is considered unconscious.
- The part of our goal that we fail to fully comprehend is considered conscious.

Social Interest (Gemeinschaftsgefuhl)

Human behavior gains value when it is motivated by social interest, which is a feeling of oneness with all of humanity.
Also referred to as 'social feeling' or 'community feeling', it signifies empathy for each member of the human community.
A. Origins of Social Interest
- While social interest exists as a potentiality in all individuals, it must be fostered within a social environment.
- Adler believed that the parent-child relationship is so powerful that it can negate the effects of heredity.
B. Importance of Social Interest
- According to Adler, social interest is the 'sole criterion of human values', and the worthiness of one's actions is judged by this standard.

Style of Life

The 'flavor' of a person's life, encompassing their goal, self-concept, feelings for others, and attitude toward the world.
It is a product of the interaction between heredity, environment, and a person's creative power.
The manner of a person's striving, or style of life, is relatively well established by 4 or 5 years of age.
However, healthy individuals exhibit flexible behavior and possess a limited ability to modify their style of life.

Creative Power

Style of life is partially influenced by heredity and environment (the building blocks of personality), but it is ultimately shaped by people's creative power—their ability to freely choose a course of action.
Individuals are empowered to create their own style of life.
All people are responsible for who they are and how they behave.
Creative power places individuals in control of their lives, making them free individuals.
It is a dynamic concept that implies movement and agency.

Abnormal Development

Creative power is not exclusive to healthy individuals; unhealthy individuals also create their own personalities, choosing either a useful or a useless style of life.
A. General Description
- The most significant factor in abnormal development is a lack of social interest.
- People with a useless style of life tend to:
  - Set their goals too high.
  - Have a dogmatic style of life.
  - Live in their own private world.
B. External Factors in Maladjustment
- Adler identified three factors contributing to abnormal development:
  - Exaggerated physical defects: While not direct causes, they can generate subjective and exaggerated feelings of inferiority.
  - Pampered style of life: Fosters an overriding drive to establish a permanent parasitic relationship with a primary caregiver (e.g., mother or mother substitute).
  - Neglected style of life: Leads to a deep distrust of other people.
C. Safeguarding Tendencies
- Both normal and neurotic individuals develop symptoms as a means of protecting their fragile self-esteem.
- These safeguarding tendencies maintain a neurotic lifestyle and shield a person from public disgrace.
- The three principal safeguarding tendencies are:
  - 1. Excuses: Allow individuals to preserve an inflated sense of personal worth, often using 'Yes, but' or 'If only' formats.
    - Example: "If only I weren't so tired, I could have done well." (avoids admitting lack of ability or preparation).
    - Example: "I would've succeeded if I had more support." (shifts blame externally to avoid facing personal limitations).
  - 2. Aggression: Used to safeguard an individual's superiority complex and protect fragile self-esteem. Forms include:
    - Depreciation: The tendency to undervalue others' achievements and overvalue one's own.
      - Example: "They only succeeded because they had connections, not talent."
    - Accusation: The tendency to blame others for one's failures and to seek revenge.
      - Example: "I failed the class because the teacher hates me."
    - Self-accusation: Marked by self-torture and guilt, often used to manipulate or gain sympathy.
      - Example: "I'm such a burden. Maybe everyone would be better off without me."
  - 3. Withdrawal: A means of escaping difficulties by unconsciously creating distance from life problems. Modes of withdrawal include:
    - Moving backward: Reverting to a more secure period of life.
      - Example: Acting sick to avoid a performance or test.
    - Standing still: Refusing to move in any direction, thereby avoiding responsibility and protecting against the threat of failure.
      - Example: Not applying for a job or promotion despite being qualified.
    - Hesitating: Procrastinating when faced with difficult problems, eventually using the excuse "It's too late now."
      - Example: Constantly planning but never executing.
    - Constructing obstacles: Building artificial barriers to demonstrate one's ability to overcome them, thereby protecting self-esteem and prestige. If failure occurs, an excuse is readily available.
      - Example: "I can't concentrate because my room is too noisy."
D. Masculine Protest
- Both men and women may overemphasize the desirability of being manly (courageous, strong, and dominant), a condition Adler termed the masculine protest.
- Adler argued that the inferior status often attributed to women is not based on physiology but on historical developments and social learning.
- Boys are frequently taught early on that masculinity equates to winning, power, and dominance.

Applications of Individual Psychology

A. Family Constellation
- Firstborn children: Often experience intensified feelings of power and superiority, high anxiety, and overprotective tendencies, leading to self-centeredness.
- Second born children: Begin life in a better situation for developing cooperation and social interest.
- Youngest children: Tend to be the most pampered and are highly motivated to exceed their older siblings.
- Only child: May develop an exaggerated sense of superiority and lack well-developed feelings of cooperation, often positioning themselves 'against' their mother and father.
B. Therapy on Public (Psychotherapy)
- Psychopathology is seen as a result of a lack of courage, exaggerated feelings of inferiority, and underdeveloped social interest.
- Adlerian psychotherapy aims to enhance courage, diminish feelings of inferiority, and foster social interest.
- This approach is often applied to treating problems in children.
C. Dreams
- Dreams are also considered an application area within Individual Psychology, though specific details were not provided in the source material.