PRESENTER/S Lin, Stephen & Noprada, Joseph Due Date: March 21

Educational Psychology
Keywords Topic

Alfred Adler’s Individual Psychology

Psychoanalysis
Discussion
Individual
Psychology
See documents attached.
Inferiority
Complex
Research –Based Article
Self-change Title /Author/Journal

Environment Triplett, N. (1902). A Contribution to Individual Psychology. The American Journal of Psychology, 13(1), 149-160.
doi:10.2307/1412208
Society
Relevance of the article to the topic:
Family
The article shows an insight on how Adler’s Individual Psychology works in the real world, and how Adler’s
theories and writings still hold significant meaning in modern psychology. Adler’s Individual Psychology is still
growing and there are people still discovering the nuances of this school of thought. Triplett tells his own
childhood story in relation to the family, occupation, and love that Adler predominantly presents as the main
factors of development of an individual.

Books
Adler, A. (1927). Understanding Human
Nature. (W. B. Wolfe, Trans.) New
York: Garden City.
Basic Books, Inc. (1956). The Individual
Psychology of Alfred Adler. (P. Heinz
Ansbacher, & P. Rowena Ansbacher,
Eds.) New York: Basic Books, Inc.
Carlston, J., & Maniacci, M. (2012). Alfred
Adler Revisited. New York: Routledge.
Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., Ltd.
(1931). Alfred Adler: The Pattern of
Life. Abingdon: Routledge.
Kishimi, I., & Koga, F. (2013). The courage to
be disliked. New York: Atria Books.
References
Web/URL links
Adler University. (Unknown). Alfred Adler: Short Biography and Explanation of Theories.
Retrieved from Adler University: https://www.adler.edu/page/about/history/about-
alfred-adler
Chiriac, J. (2003). Freud vs. Adler. Retrieved from Freud File:
http://www.freudfile.org/freud_adler.pdf
Henry Stein, P. (2007). Alfred Adler's Legacy: Past, Present, and Future. Retrieved from Alfred
Adler Institute of Northwestern Washington: http://www.adlerian.us/adlers-legacy.htm
Illinois Valley Community College (Unknown). Adler: Individual Psychology. Retrieved from
IVCC: https://www.ivcc.edu/uploadedFiles/_faculty/_mangold/Adler-%20Individual
%20Psychology.pdf
Journal Psyche. (2015). Alfred Adler's Personality Theory and Personality Types. Retrieved from
Journal Psyche: http://journalpsyche.org/alfred-adler-personality-theory/
Stepp, G. (2011). Biography of Alfred Adler: To Heal and to Educate. Retrieved from Vision:
http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/biography-alfred-adler/41041.aspx
 Discussion
Biography

Alfred Adler was born the second of six children in Penzing, Austria on February 7, 1870, the son of a Jewish grain merchant. Sickly as a child, he
did not walk until age four because of rickets; at age five Adler developed pneumonia and was diagnosed as unlikely to survive. He did recover,
but was so profoundly shaken by the experience that he resolved to become a doctor himself someday in order to help the suffering caused by
such illness and disease. This accomplishment began to look out of reach later when he was struggling in school and failing at math. The teacher
suggested that young Adler be removed from school and apprenticed to a cobbler. But his father only scoffed at the teacher, letting the boy
know how little he thought of the teacher's judgment. Adler then became determined to excel and to show the teacher just how wrong he was.
He was soon at the top of his class in mathematics.

In 1902 famed Austrian psychiatrist Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) invited Adler to join a small discussion group, which became the famous Vienna
Psychoanalytic Society. Adler was an active member but did not consider himself a pupil or follower of Freud.

He could not agree with Freud's basic assumption that gender (male or female) was the main factor in the development of an individual's
personality. Whereas Freud tried to explain man in terms of his similarity to machines and animals, Adler sought to understand and influence
man in terms of what makes man different from machines and animals, such as concepts and values. This humanistic view characterized all the
ideas of his theory. In 1911 Adler resigned from Freud's circle to found his own school.

Adler worked three years of hospital service during World War I (1914–18) when European forces fought for world domination. In 1919 he
organized a child-guidance clinic in Vienna, and also became a lecturer at the Pedagogical Institute. He was perhaps the first psychiatrist to
apply mental hygiene (mental health) in the schools. Working with teachers in child-guidance clinics, he carried out his groundbreaking
counseling before a small audience, dealing with the family and teacher as well as the child. This was probably the first "family therapy" and
"community psychiatry" on record.

Beginning in 1926, Adler spent much time in the United States lecturing and teaching. When  Adolf Hitler's (1889–1945) Nazi Party rose to power
in Austria in 1932, Adler left with his wife and went to New York. On May 28, 1937, he died suddenly while on a lecture tour in Aberdeen,
Scotland.
Important Works

Adler’s name does not appear that often in most literatures of psychology and psychiatry today. The main reason for this is that his writings are
unsystematic and makes for an unsatisfactory reading. [ CITATION Bas56 \l 1041 ] There are however, many scholars and academics who
compiled, translated, and arranged Adler’s works in such a way that it will be more appealing and easier to read, much like a college textbook.
(The Collected Clinical Works of Alfred Adler, a ten-volume edition containing works from 1898-1937.)

A few of his works are cited and used in this presentation, whose contents will be discussed. The two most relevant would be: Understanding
Human Nature (1923) and The Practice and Theory of Individual Psychology (1927).

What is Individual Psychology?

A method of psychotherapy, or more importantly, a school of psychology founded by Alfred Adler which was formed promptly after his breaking
away from the psychoanalytic school of Sigmund Freud. Individual Psychology focuses mainly on the holistic approach to the study of an
individual’s character and how external factors affect his/her development, with three main forces: societal, love, and vocational, being the
driving force of his/her growth.

His break with Freud is very much reasonable as they had very opposing ideas, albeit still having major influence in modern psychology.

 Freud saw all human motivation reduced to sex and aggression while Adler saw people as being motivated mostly by social influences
and the striving for superiority or success.
 Freud assumed that people have little or no choice in shaping their personality whereas Adler believed that people are largely
responsible for who they are.
 Freud’s assumption that present behavior is caused by past experiences was directly opposed to Adler’s notion that present behavior is
shaped by people’s view of the future.
 Freud placed very heavy emphasis on unconscious components of behavior while Adler believed that psychologically healthy people are
aware of what they are doing and why they are doing it.
Adler’s Theory 3. Can be partly conscious
4. Common types:
Adler’s theory suffered from a number of critical problems a. Excuses
including: b. Aggression
1. poor organization o depreciation
2. he was not a particularly good writer o accusation
3. and that much of his work was incorporated into other o self-accusation
writers work. c. Withdrawal
o moving backwards
 The one dynamic force behind people’s behavior is o standing still
the striving for success or superiority o hesitating
 People’s subjective perceptions shape their o constructing obstacles
behavior and personality
Relevance in Psychology
 Personality is unified and self-consistent
 The value of all human activity must be seen from Alfred Adler may not be as well-known as his fellow contemporaries
the viewpoint of social interest in modern psychology, Freud and Jung, but his studies and works
 The self-consistent personality structure develops are perhaps one of the most overlooked yet phenomenal works in
into a person’s style of life psychotherapy.“Alfred Adler, more than even Freud, is probably the
 Style of life is molded by people’s creative power true father of modern psychotherapy. . . . It is difficult to find any
leading therapist today who in some respect does not owe a great
Adler's Safeguarding Techniques (Can be compared with Freud’s
debt to the Individual Psychology of Alfred Adler.” [Albert Ellis,
Defense Mechanisms)
1970].
1. Limited mostly to the construction of neurotic style of life
His work on Individual Psychology allowed for a new approach to
2. To protect the person's fragine self-esteem from public
psychology regarding an individual’s development, and shows
disgrace
parallels with Abraham Maslow’s humanistic approach.
Classical Adlerian Psychotherapy

PHASES STAGE NO. STAGE TASKS TO BE ACCOMPLISHED

Providing warmth, empathy, and acceptance.
1 Empathy & Relationship Generating hope, reassurance, and encouragement. 
Establishing a cooperative working relationship.
Support
Unstructured gathering of relevant information: 
2 Information Eliciting details of presenting problem & life tasks. 
Exploring early childhood influences and memories.
Clarifying vague thinking with Socratic questioning. 
3 Clarification Evaluating consequences of ideas and actions. 
Correcting mistaken ideas about self and others.
Encouragement
Helping generate alternatives. 
4 Encouragement Stimulating movement in a new direction, away from life style. 
Clarifying new feelings about effort and results.
Interpreting inferiority feelings & goal of superiority. 
5 Interpretation - Recognition Identifying what has been avoided. 
Integrating birth order, recollections, dreams, & daydreams.
Insight
Client fully aware of life style without help. 
6 Knowing Individual knows and accepts what needs to be changed. 
In spite of insight, client may feel emotionally blocked.
When needed, promoting an emotional breakthrough. 
7 Emotional Breakthrough - Missing Experience Offering corrective or missing developmental experiences. 
Creative use of role-playing, guided imagery, and narration.
Converting insight into new attitude--breaking old patterns. 
Change 8 Doing Differently Fostering experiments, concrete steps based on abstract ideas. 
Making the unproductive feel unpleasant.
Encouraging all new movements toward significant change. 
9 Reinforcement Affirming positive results and feelings. 
Evaluating progress and new courage.
Using client's better feeling of self to promote more cooperation. 
10 Social Interest Extending feeling of equality, cooperation and empathy to others. 
Giving one's all, 100% in relationships and work--taking risks.
Challenging client to let go of self and old fictional goal. 
Challenge 11 Goal Redirection Dissolving the old style of life--finding a new direction. 
Opening a new psychological horizon--living by new values.
Inspiring client to love the struggle and prefer the unfamiliar. 
12 Support & Launching Strengthening the feeling of connectedness & desire to share. 
Promoting a path of continual growth for self and others.
Meta-Therapy - Post-Therapeutic Dialogue A philosophical and/or spiritual discussion of values, the meaning of one's life, and the committment to a mission.
Classical Adlerian psychotherapy is characterized by a diplomatic, warm, empathic, and Socratic style of treatment. This climate embodies the
qualities of respect and equality necessary for building a trusting, cooperative relationship. A full psychotherapy can be envisioned as a
progression though twelve stages, however, these stages should be considered as teaching guidelines and should not be interpreted as a
systematic procedure. Psychotherapy is an art that must be practiced creatively. The best therapeutic strategy is frequently a unique invention
for the individual client.

Contributions

Adler left behind many theories and practices that very much influenced the world of psychiatry. Today these concepts are known as Adlerian
psychology. His theories focused on the feelings of inferiority, and how each person tries to overcome such feelings by overcompensating (trying
too hard to make up for what is lacking). Adler claimed that an individual's lifestyle becomes established by the age of four or five, and he
stressed the importance of social forces, or the child's environment, on the development of behavior. He believed that each person is born with
the ability to relate to other people and realize the importance of society as a whole

As a therapist, Adler was a teacher who focused on a patient's mental health, not sickness. Adler encouraged self-improvement by pinpointing
the error in patients' lives and correcting it. He thought of himself as an enabler, one who guides the patient through "self-determination," so
that the patients themselves can make changes and improve their state. Adler was a pioneer in that he was one of the first  psychiatrists to use
therapy in social work, the education of children, and in the treatment of criminals.

Important Questions

1. Adler treated Freud as a father figure, yet he decided to break away from Freud’s school of thought. What is the reason for Adler’s
disagreement with Freud’s beliefs and ideas?
2. Adler proposed three driving factors of personality development, what are the three factors and how are they related?
3. What is the main reason why Adler did not get as much attention as Freud and Jung, despite being titled with them as one of the Three
Giants of Modern Psychology?
4. How did Adler view life as compared to Freud, who viewed it as being run by sexual drive and unconscious behaviors?
5. Adler stated that inferiority is the feeling of inadequacy and can lead to stress and pessimism. What is the main driving force that
opposes inferiority, often with a feeling of “the need for perfection”?