Alfred Adler and Individual

Psychology

Group member:
-Truong Phong
-Steparies Martin
-Zita dewi L.R.M Robert
ALFRED ADLER - Biography
Born February 7,1870 in suburb of Vienna.
Second of seven children.
1895, graduated with degree in medicine
from University of Vienna Medical School.
1897, married with Raissa Timofejevna
Epstein, a Russia student.
Adler had 4 children, Valentina, Alexandra,
Kurt & Cornelia.
Established his office in a lower- class
of Vienna. His clients include circus
people  discover the unusual
strength and weaknesses are deep
effected by organ inferiorities and
compensation
From 1902 to 1911, be the member
of Viennese psychoanalytic school.
1911, resign to form the Society for
Free Psychoanalysis. It become The
Society for Individual Psychology in
the following year.
Served as Physician in the Austrian
Army during World War I increasing
the concept of social interest.
wrote books, organized child
guidance clinics in the Viennese
school system
 ‘cont

Personal life
Childhood: unable to walk until 4 years
old due to rickets ; pneumonia, near
death
Tormented by his older brother. Was
jealous of his older brother Sigmund
Weak relationship with mother, felt
small, unattractive, and rejected by his
mother
 ‘cont
Strong relationship with father, idolized
his father
Worked hard to overcome his handicaps
and inferiorities
Became very outgoing and social.
He could be characterized as the
forerunner of humanistic psychology.
Influenced others’ s thinking : Karen
Horney ( social factors), Abraham
Maslow (Self- Actualization)
Aggression drive

aggression drive – the reaction we

have when other drives
Need to eat, sexually satisfied, be loved
Aggression as physical and negative
Better called assertiveness drive.
Caused friction between Adler and
Freud.
 Compensation or striving to
overcome
Our personalities could be accounted for
the ways in which we do – or don’t –
compensate or overcome those problems(
short comings, inferiorities, etc)
"To be a human being means to feel
oneself inferior." Adler believed that
inferiority feelings are the source of all
human striving
inability to overcome inferiority feelings 
domineer over others, lean on others
An important role in Adler theory but not a
label for the basis motive of human life
Masculine protest
In his culture. Man is more important and
held in higher esteem than woman.
Adler did not see men’s assertiveness and
success as due to some innate superiority
But he saw it as:
Boy – be encouraged to be assertive
Girl – be discouraged.
Both boys and girls begin life with the
capacity for “protest
DRIVE - STRIVING FOR
SUPERIORITY (OR PERFECTION)
Desire to be better
Refer to unhealthy or neurotic striving
Desire to be better than others rather
than better in our own right.
Life Style
Adler’s theory was influenced by Jan
Smuts. To understand people, we must
understand them in the context of their
environment, background, both physical
and social, called holism
See people as whole rather than parts 
individual psychology
Life style refers to how you live your life,
how you handle problems and
interpersonal relations
Life style is not merely a mechanical
reaction to the environment.
Teleology

Adler see motivation as a matter of

moving towards the future, rather
then being driven by the past
We are drawn toward our goals, our
purpose, called teleology
As If
“ As If ” ( influenced by philosopher Hans
Vaihinger )
For practical purposes, we need to create
partial truths – frictions
We behave as if we knew the world would
be here tomorrow, as if we were sure what
good and bad are all about….Adler called
this fictional finalism

The fiction lies in the future, and yet

influences our behavior today
Ideal Personality: THE SOCIALLY
USEFUL PERSON.

Potential to corporate with others to

achieve personal and social goal.
Give basically a positive outlook in
life.
Social Interest and Intelligence

Important part of a persons

intelligence functioning in a situation.
Social concern is based on innate
disposition.
Involves feeling the pain of others.
Sense of caring for family,
community, society, humanity and
life.
.
 Genius
is primarily a person of supreme
usefulness

Good Adjustment
Striving on the "commonly useful side."
Poor adjustment is striving on the "commonly
useless side.“
Poor Adjustment
Greatest difficulties in life and provides the
greatest injury to others.

"It is from among such individuals that all

human failures spring."
Inferiority

Inferiority “pulled” towards fulfillment,

perfection, self-actualization.
3 type of inferiority:
Organ inferiority
Psychological inferiorities
Inferiority complex
1907 : Studies of Organ Inferiority

“ to be a man means to suffer from an

inferiority feeling which constantly
drives him to overcome it” from
Alfred Adler, The meaning of life
Sickness, near death experience from
early age  decide to become the
doctor “in order to overcome death
and fear of death”
Personality problem
Related to a faulty of lifestyle, usually
develop in childhood
Community
People have to cooperate
Need the social relationship
Psychological type

Emerges from combining degrees of

activity with social interest.
3 type of insufficient social interest:
Ruling type
Aggressive and dominant over other
Low social interest and high degree of
activity
Choleric, angry all time (Greek)
 Leaning type -
Sensitive people who have develop a shell around
themselves.
Low energy level and become dependent.
Phlegmatic, be sluggish (Greek )
Avoiding type
Low social interest and low activity.
Tend to become psychotic, finally knock themselves
into their own world
Melancholy, sad constantly (Greek )
Social interest : Socially useful type
High social interest and high degree of activity
Healthy person has both social interest and energy
Sanguine, cheerful, friendly (Greek)
Childhood

Personality or lifestyle as something

established quite early in life.
Three basic childhood situations
Organ inferiorities, early childhood diseases.
Pampering- children are taught, by actions of
others, that they can take without giving.
Neglect- child who is neglected or abused
learns what the pampered child learns.
 Birth order

Not only parents but also brothers

and sisters influence the child (Adler
is the first theorist.
Only child
more likely than other to be pampered.
First child
begins life as an only child, with all the
attention to him or herself
‘cont

Second child
he or she has the first child as a sort of
‘pace-setter’ & tends to become quite
competitive, constantly trying to surpass
the older child.
Youngest child
most pampered in a family with more
than one child.
Diagnosis

Help to discover the ‘fictions’ lifestyle

is based upon.
Birth order
Earliest childhood memory
Childhood problem
Day dream
Exogenous factors
Guess- work
Therapy
Adler preferred to have everyone sitting up
& talking face to face.
Not let patient sees therapist as
authoritarian but advisor
The patient must understand the nature of
his or her lifestyle & its roots in self-
centered fictions. Therapist must
encourage the patient.
Patient needs be listened, understood.
Conclusion
Although Adler was born and grew up
with children problems, inferiorities,
he did not give up his life but left the
helpful theory – individual psychology.
It helps people realize themselves to
overcome their difficulties.

Life is hard and difficult but it always

has room for changes