Individual Psychology

Born in Vienna in 1870 of a middle-class family Died in Aberdeen, Scotland in 1937 while on a lecture tour Received a medical degree in 1895 from the University of Vienna First specialized in Ophthalmology but after a period of practice in general medicine, he became a Psychiatrist One of the charter members of the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society and later became its President

He soon began to develop ideas that were at variance with those of Freud and others in the Vienna Society, and when these differences became acute, he was asked to present his views to the society. This was in 1911. As a consequence of the vehement criticism and denunciation of Adlers position by other members of the society, Adler resigned as President and a few months later terminated his connection with Freudian Psychoanalysis.

 Adler served as a Physician in the Austrian Army during World War I. He became interested in child guidance and established the first guidance clinics in connection with the Viennese school system. Inspired the establishment of an experimental school in Vienna that applied his theories of education In 1935, Adler settled in the United States, where he continued his practice as a Psychiatrist and served as Professor of Medical Psychology at the Long Island College of Medicine.

1. The one dynamic force behind peoples behavior is the striving for success or superiority. 2. Peoples subjective perceptions shape their behavior and personality. 3. Personality is unified and self-consistent. 4. The value of all human activity must be seen from the viewpoint of social interest. 5. The self-consistent personality structure develops into a persons style of life. 6. Style of life is molded by peoples creative power.

Striving for Superiority It is a striving for perfect completion. Final Goal: - To be aggressive - To pe powerful - To be superior

Fictional Finalism Humans are motivated more by their expectations of the future than by experiences of the past. (Influenced by Hans Vaihinger) Ex: All men are created equal. Honesty is the best policy. The end justifies the means. Final Goal: A fiction, an ideal that is impossible to realize but that nonetheless is a very real spur to human striving and the ultimate explanation of conduct. Adler believed that the normal person could free him- or herself from the influence of these fictions and face reality when necessity demanded, something that the neurotic person is incapable of doing.

Unity and Self-Consistency of Personality Thoughts, feelings, and actions are all directed toward a single goal and serve a single purpose. Organ Jargon or Organ Dialect speak a language which is usually more expressive and discloses the individuals opinion more clearly than words are able to do (Adler, 1956, p. 223)
The disturbance of one part of the body cannot be viewed in isolation; it affects the entire person. The deficient organ expressed the direction of the individuals goal.

Social Interest Gemeinschaftsgefhl social feeling or community feeling - Oneness with all humanity consists of the individual helping society to attain the goal of a perfect society: Social interest is the true and inevitable compensation for all the natural weaknesses of individual human beings (Adler, 1929b, p. 31)

Style of Life Flavor of a persons life explains the uniqueness of a person no two people develop the same style established by age 4 or 5 The whole that commands the parts.

Creative Power Each person is empowered with the freedom to create her or his own style of life. Ultimately, all people are responsible for who they are and how they behave. places people in control of their own lives, is responsible for their final goal, determines their method of striving for that goal, and contributes to the development of social interest dynamic concept implying movement, and this movement is the most salient characteristic of life makes each person a free individual

Adler (1929/1964) used an interesting analogy, which he called the law of the low doorway. If you are trying to walk through a doorway four feet high, you have two basic choices. First, you can use your creative power to bend down as you approach the doorway, thereby successfully solving the problem. This is the manner in which the psychologically healthy individual solves most of lifes problems. Conversely, if you bump your head and fall back, you must still solve the problem correctly or continue bumping your head. Neurotics often choose to bump their head on the realities of life. When approaching the low doorway, you are neither compelled to stoop nor forced to bump your head. You have a creative power that permits you to follow either course.

1. Family Constellation Adler almost always asked patients about their family constellation, that is, their birth order, the gender of their siblings, and the age spread between them. Although peoples perception of the situation into which they were born is more important than numerical rank, Adler did form some general hypotheses about birth order.

Adlers View of Some Possible Traits by Birth Order

Positive Traits Negative Traits

Oldest Child

Nurturing and protective of others Good organizer

Highly anxious Exaggerated feelings of power Unconscious hostility Fights for acceptance Must always be right, whereas others are always wrong Highly critical of others Uncooperative Highly competitive Easily discouraged Pampered style of life Dependent on others Wants to excel in everything Unrealistically ambitious Exaggerated feelings of superiority Low feelings of cooperation Inflated sense of self Pampered style of life

Second Child

Highly motivated Cooperative Moderately competitive Realistically ambitious

Youngest Child

Only Child

Socially Mature

2. Early Recollections To gain an understanding of patients personality

Although Adler believed that the recalled memories yield clues for understanding patients style of life, he did not consider these memories to have a causal effect. Whether the recalled experiences correspond with objective reality or are complete fantasies is of no importance. People reconstruct the events to make them consistent with a theme or pattern that runs throughout their lives.

3. Dreams Although dreams cannot foretell the future, they can provide clues for solving future problems.

If one interpretation doesnt feel right, try another.

4. Psychotherapy Adlerian theory postulates that psychopathology results from lack of courage, exaggerated feelings of inferiority, and underdeveloped social interest. Thus, the chief purpose of Adlerian psychotherapy is to enhance courage, lessen feelings of inferiority, and encourage social interest. This task, however, is not easy because patients struggle to hold on to their existing, comfortable view of themselves.