Alfred Adler Flashcards
Who is Alfred Adler?
- developed individual psychology
- 1870-1937
- childhood marked by illness, awareness of death, and intense jealousy of his older brother
- feelings of inferiority
- compensated for weaknesses through persistence
What were Adler’s main contributions to the understanding of personality?
- notion of striving for superiority
- role of parental influence on personality development
- effects of birth order
What were the main differences between Adler and Freud (what did Adler believe)?
- Mind is an integrated whole
- Emphasis on conscious mind
- Future goals are an important source of motivation
- Optimistic about human existence
- Dreams important to learn about lifestyles
- Humans free to determine their own personality
- Minimized importance of sex
- Goal of therapy to encourage a lifestyle that includes social interest
What is striving for superiority?
- single motivating force that can subsume all other motives
- life begins with feelings of inferiority
- when children become aware of their weakness, begin lifelong struggle to overcome sense of inferiority
- virtually all individual actions aim to establish a sense of superiority over life’s obstacles
- the more inferior we see ourselves, the stronger our striving for superiority
- urge toward perfection or completion that motivates each person
- Innate goal, which is future oriented
What is an inferiority complex?
- excessive feelings of inferiority
- belief that they are vastly inferior to everyone else
- develops when a person is unable to compensate for normal inferiority feelings
- poor self- opinions
- feel helpless
- find it difficult to cope with life demands
- avoid or run away from challenges
What is a superiority complex?
- develops when a person overcompensates for normal inferiority feelings
- boastful
- self-centered
- tend to denigrate others
When are feelings of inferiority good?
- motivational
- drive to accomplish
- healthy
- need to succeed
What is fictional finalism?
- imagined or potential fictional goals
- goals guide behaviour toward a complete state of being
- these fictions are determinants of lifestyle
- mean or good world (depending on how we see world determines goals and steps to achieve)
What indicates a well adjusted person?
- concern for social interest combined with a superiority striving indicates mental health of a person
- achieve superiority and personal satisfaction only if they reach goals with consideration for the welfare of others
What indicates a poorly adjusted person?
- striving for superiority through selfishness and a concern for personal glory at the expense of others
What is lifestyle?
- the personality structure
- psychological processes that we need to reach a goal
- established very young, childhood experiences
- people use different means to reach the same goal
What is social interest?
- People’s innate ability to socialize
- Crucial to adjustment
What is the striving process?
- Striving is based on a unique feeling of inferiority that develops early on in life
What is maladjustment?
- Feeling too inferior
- Social interest not sufficiently developed
- Striving for goals that will make you feel better than everyone
- At odds with being social
What is parental influence on personality development?
- first few years are extremely important in the formation of adult personality
- emphasis on parents’ role
- parental behaviours that lead to problems in children’s life
What are the 2 parental behaviours that lead to problems in children’s life?
- pampering
- neglect
What is pampering?
- give child too much attention
- robs the child of independence
- adds to feelings of inferiority
What does pampering lead to?
- leave children unable to deal with inevitable challenges life throws their way
- up to others to satisfy every need
What is neglect?
- give too little attention
What does neglect lead to?
- grow up cold and suspicious
- incapable of warm relationships
- uncomfortable with intimacy
- ill at ease with closeness or touching
- child feels worthless and angry
- looks at others with distrust
What are causes of inferiority/faulty lifestyles?
- organic/physical inferiority
- spoiling or pampering
- neglecting
What is organic/physical inferiority?
- born with disability
- something happened to disable child during development
What does physical inferiority lead to?
- compensation
- overcompensation
- inferiority complex
- superiority complex
What is style of life?
- Unique character structure or pattern of behaviours
- Expression of striving is different and unique for every person
- Influenced by social interactions
What are the mistaken lifestyles?
- ruling-dominant type
- getting-leaning type
- avoiding type
What is the ruling-dominant type?
- attacking
- aggressive
- feeling powerless as child
- feel powerful when assert dominance over others
What is the getting-leaning type?
- dependent
- child pampered
- expects to get things from others
- can’t decide on own
What is the avoiding type?
- ignores problems
- wants to feel perfect all the time
- avoid situations that make them feel imperfect
- avoiding people
What is the socially useful type?
- ideal lifestyle
- cooperative
- cares about others
- healthy lifestyle
What are safeguarding strategies?
- similar to Freud’s defense mechanisms
- only used by neurotics
What are types of safeguarding strategies?
- excuses
- accusation
- blaming others for shortcomings
- self-accusation
- distancing
- moving backwards
- creating obstacles
- no lose situations
- it was too hard anyways
- aggression: depreciation, idealization, solicitude
What is depreciation aggression?
- depreciating someone else to make self feel better
What is idealization aggression?
- unrealistic high standards to judge people
- diminish other person’s achievement
What is solicitude aggression?
- treating others as if they are incapable of caring for themselves
What is birth order?
- how birth order shapes personality
- firstborn
- middle born
- last born
How are firstborn children affected?
- subjected to excessive attention from parents, pampering
- short lived; arrival of second child ends pampering
- strong perception of inferiority
- problem children, neurotics, criminals, drunkards, perverts
How are middle born children affected?
- never pampered
- develop an intense superiority striving
- highest achievers
- try to catch up with their older siblings
How are last born children affected?
- pampered throughout childhood by all members of the family
- dependent
- no personal initiative
- vulnerable to strong inferiority feelings
