Adlerian psychology Flashcards
Learn about the basic premise of Adler’s philosophical and psychological ideas and teachings
Who is Adler?
It is a school of psychology that was established by the Austrian psychiatrist, Alfred Adler, at the beginning of the twentieth century.
Adler was one of the original core members of the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society (originally called the “Wednesday Society”, which was led by Freud. His ideas were counter to Freud’s, and he split from the group and proposed an ‘individual psychology’ based on his own original theories.
Thedifferences between Adler and Freud centered on Adler’s contention that the social realm (exteriority) is as important to psychology as is the internal realm (interiority).
Adler was influenced by the mental construct ideas of the philosopherHans Vaihinger(The Philosophy of ‘As if’) and the literature ofDostoyevsky.
Adler, like Socrates , showed little interest in literary activities, preferring to engage in personal dialogue at cafés in Vienna, and hold small discussion groups.
Born 7th February 1870 in Rudolfsheim near Vienna Austria-Hungary
Died 28th May 1937 in Aberdeen Scotland.
Why does Adler believe people can change, and that everyone can find happiness?
If we focus only on past causes and try to explain things solely through cause and effect, we end up with ‘determinism’; that our present and our future have already been decided by past occurrences, and are unalterable.
Adlerian psychology does not focus on past ‘causes’, but rather about present ‘goals’.
This is the difference between ‘aetiology’ (the study of causation) and teleology (the study of the purpose of a given phenomenon, rather than its cause).
What are aetiology and teleology?
Aetiology is the study of causation (Freud)
Teleology is the study of the purpose of a given phenomenon, rather than its cause (Adler)
Why Trauma does not exist
‘No experience is in itself a cause of our success or failure. We do not suffer from the shock of our experiences—the so-called trauma—but instead we make out of them whatever suits our purposes. We are not determined by our experiences, but the meaning we give them is self-determining.’
Your life is not something that someone gives you, but something you choose yourself, and you are the one who decides how you live.
How do we use emotions to achieve a goal?
Anger is a tool that can be taken out as needed. It can be put away the moment … (the phone rings, for example).
We are not controlled by emotion. In this sense, while it shows that ‘people are not controlled by emotion’, additionally it shows that ‘we are not controlled by the past’.
People are not driven by past causes, but move toward goals that they themselves set
Why are you “okay just as you are?”
‘The important thing is not what one is born with, but what use one makes of that equipment.’ Adler
It’s okay for you to be you. However, I am not saying it’s fine to be ‘just as you are’. If you are unable to really feel happy, then it’s clear that things aren’t right just as they are. You’ve got to put one foot in front of the other, and not stop.
Why is unhappiness something you chose for yourself?
There is not one person who desires evil in the purest sense of the word; that is to say something ‘not beneficial’. For example, Every criminal has an internal justification for getting involved in crime… it is something for which there is a justification, and which can be restated as an accomplishment of ‘good’.
In Adlerian psychology, we describe personality and disposition with the word ‘lifestyle’. Lifestyle is the tendencies of thought and action in life. How one sees the world. And how one sees oneself. It is ‘the way one’s life should be’. In Adlerian psychol, lifestyle is thought of as something that you choose for yourself. The issue is not the past, but here, in the present.
Adlerian psychology’s view is that lifestyle choice happens around the age of ten. People can change at any time, regardless of the environments they are in.
Why do people resist change?
Although there are some small inconveniences and limitations, you probably think that the lifestyle you have now is the most practical one, and that it’s just easier to leave things as they are. If you stay just like this, experience enables you to respond properly to events as they occur, while guessing the results of one’s actions.
On the other hand, if one chooses a new lifestyle, no one can predict what might happen to the new self, or have any idea how to deal with events as they arise. It will be hard to see ahead to the future, and life will be filled with anxiety. A more painful and unhappy life might lie ahead. Simply put, people have various complaints about things, but it’s easier and more secure to be just the way one is.
Why is your life decided here and now?
life just seems complicated because I make it complicated
What you should do now is make a decision to stop your current lifestyle.
Saying ‘if only’ is an excuse not to change. living inside that realm of possibilities, where s/he can say that s/he could do it if s/he only …
if you change your lifestyle—the way of giving meaning to the world and yourself—then, both your way of interacting with the world and your behaviour will have to change as well.
‘No matter what has occurred in your life up to this point, it should have no bearing at all on how you live from now on.’
the past does not exist.
Why you dislike yourself
your goal is to not get hurt in your relationships with other people. Just find your shortcomings, start disliking yourself, and become someone who doesn’t enter into interpersonal relationships.
