4: Adler - Social Interest Flashcards
Adler’s final term for our “single motivating force” - the desire we all have to fulfill our potentials and come closer to our ideal (resembles self-actualization)
striving for perfection
earliest Adler term for a “single motivating force” - the reaction we have when other drives (need to eat, finish tasks, be loved, etc.) are frustrated - appears as fighting, competition
aggression drive
early Adler term for a “single motivating force” - humans’ drive to overcome problems and inferiorities within themselves, which accounts for the nature of our personalities
compensation
early Adler term for a “single motivating force” - capacity for both boys and girls to be strong, aggressive, assertive, “in control” but which is socially encouraged in men and discouraged in women - seeking privileges associated with men
masculine protest
early Adler term for a “single motivating force” - desire to be better in our own right as well as better than other people
striving for superiority
philosophical approach stating that in order to understand humans, you need to understand them as unified wholes in the context of their physical/social environment, and not just as bits and pieces (on a more physiological level)
holism
Adler’s holistic and “undivided” approach to understanding human psychology
individual psychology
how one goes about living, addresses problems and handles interpersonal relations - Adler preferred to speak on this then traditional notions of personality
style of life
view of motivation as a matter of moving towards the future (goals, purposes, ideals) rather than being driven by the past
teleology
title of a book by philosopher Hans Vaihinger - belief that “ultimate truth” is beyond our understand, so we must create “partial truths”
The Philosophy of “As If”
“partial truths” described by Hans Vaihinger that we accept “as if” they were true to advance our limited understanding of reality
fictions
living our lives “as if” we know tomorrow is guaranteed, we understand right from wrong, everything is as it seems, etc. (ex. believing Heaven or Hell is in your future)
fictional finalism
Adler’s concept second in importance to striving for perfection - concerns relationship with larger social world - both inborn and learned, innate but must be nurtured to survive
social interest
original term for social interest - means “community feeling”
Gemeinschaftsgefuhl
the fact that each of us has weaker and stronger parts of our anatomy/physiology, compensation for weakness leads to strength in a different aspect - a basis for Adler’s theoretical work
organ inferiority
internal feelings of weakness due to certain differences in cognitive/physical traits and abilities and beliefs imposed by society (peers, family, etc.)
psychological inferiorities
general sense of being “not good enough” in some aspect, developed from combined effects of psychological inferiorities - stagnation of growth because difficulties seem too immense to overcome
inferiority complex
mental condition of irrational anxiety, stress, obsession etc. that becomes a “life-size” problem - according to Adler, a result of insufficient social interest
neurosis
covering up feelings of inferiority by pretending to be better than everyone else, inflating your own sense of importance - making everyone else feel small
superiority complex
work put in by neurotic people to address their negative feelings - high or low
energy
type of neurotic person with high energy - tendency to be aggressive and dominant, push over anyone who gets in their way
ruling type
type of neurotic person with low energy - sensitive, rely on others to carry them through life (anxiety, OCD, phobias, etc.)
leaning type
type of neurotic person with extremely low energy - avoids life and other people almost entirely, may become psychotic and retreat into “inner world”
avoiding type
healthy person without neurosis - has both social interest and energy
socially useful type
four bodily fluids, the relative presence of which was believed by Greeks to be responsible for four types of neurosis
humors
humor resulting from too much yellow bile, with a constant state of anger - parallel to ruling type
choleric
humor resulting from too much phlegm, with a constant state of sluggishness - parallel to leaning type
phlegmatic
humor resulting from too much “black bile” (not an actual thing), with a constant state of sadness - parallel to avoiding type
melancholy
state of friendliness and positivity resulting from relative balance of the humors - parallel to socially useful type
sanguine
a fiction that has use in describing certain concepts but does not describe an absolute reality (ex. Adler’s four types)
heuristic device
foundation of your personality / style of life that is established around 5 years old
prototype
child-raising situation that leads to a faulty lifestyle, in which a child is given anything they please, doesn’t learn to do things for themselves (feels inferior) - takes without giving, only knows how to give commands
pampering
child-raising situation that leads to a faulty lifestyle, in which a child is told and shown that they are of no value or not cared about, don’t develop an understanding of love and fail to trust others - may become selfish
neglect
child who never has siblings and is more likely to be pampered - parents give special attention to them
only child
child who begins life as an only child, but has their position as center of attention dethroned by a second child - more independent and conservative, may become disobedient/rebellious or sullen/withdrawn
first child
when a second child usurps the position as center of attention from the first child
dethroning
child who views the first child as a “pace-setter” and model - becomes competitive, constantly wants to “surpass” first child
second child
child likely to be the most pampered in a family with multiple children, only one who is never dethroned - may feel inferior due to older age, greater maturity of siblings
youngest child
supposed first recollection from life that’s viewed in Adler’s therapy more as an indication of the early prototype for your lifestyle
earliest childhood memory
a concern for your community, a need to be with others, and a need to work with and for others
social feelings
