Adlerian Approach
“It is easier to fight for one’s principles than to live up to them (Alfred Adler).” This statement sums up Alder’s theory of personality in a nutshell. Alder calls this theory Individual Psychology because he felt each person was unique. Adler’s theory includes four aspects: the development of personality, striving towards superiority, psychological health, and the unity of personality. Though Adler examined personality around the same time as Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud, I prefer the direction Adler took far more than Freud’s emphasis on sex.
Adlerian theory maintains that personality difficulties are rooted in a feeling of inferiority deriving from restrictions on the individual’s need for self-assertion. One aspect I respect about Adler is that he recognized changes throughout his life and changed his theory on personality accordingly. A common thread throughout his theory is that people are focused on maintaining control over their lives. He believed in a single “drive” or motivating force behind our behavior, claiming that the desire we have to fulfill our potential becomes closer and closer to our ideals.
In studying personality, Alfred coined the term “inferiority complex.” He described this as feelings of lack of worth. He wrote, “We all wish to overcome difficulties. We all strive to reach a goal by the attainment of which we shall feel strong, superior, and complete.” (Ansbacher & Ansbacher, 1956) Alder also used the term superiority complex. This complex developed when a person tried to conquer their inferiority complex by suppressing their existing feelings. He felt that people were constantly trying to overcome their feelings of inferiority to reach superiority.
Along with the idea of trying to overcome inferiority, Adler believed that every person had an idea about what their perfect self would be like (Adler, 1927). He named this image the fictional finalism. Fictional finalism applies clearer direction to decisions that are to be made concerning the individual. Although individuals may have an idea about their image, they seldom ever understand it. Although the image may be altered, the common direction throughout one’s life stays the same. Unlike Freud, Adler believed the conscious and unconscious worked in union with one another towards the fictional finalism (Adler, 1927).
Adler declared that each individual has an incomparable way of life in that some are negative and others are positive. Adler did not like to take big groups of people and put them into general categories, but when describing basic lifestyles, he found it simpler to do so. He studied various types of people and came to the conclusion that there are four main types of people and three out of the four are negative. These are the ruling, getting, avoiding, and socially useful types.
The ruling type tries to control others. The getting type tends to be very passive and goes along with other’s ideas while being rarely inventive. The avoiding type tries to remain isolated to avoid defeat and is usually very cold. The socially useful type values having control over their life and strives to do good things for the sake of society.
One of Adler’s most significant contributions may be his theory on birth order and sibling relationships. According to Adler, the first child receives much attention and does well until the second child enters the arena. The first child may then feel that he is being robbed of the love that they had enjoyed up to now. The second child always has the competition of the first child and may strive to constantly out perform his sibling. The middle child may often feel left out and develop a feeling of self-pity. This child is very often the problem child and may exhibit a very self-centered attitude early in life. The youngest child has the advantage of learning from the mistakes of those before him. This child may have advantages that the others did not have. By and large, according to this author, the youngest child is the best looking and most talented of all other siblings.
It is important to note that many of these aspects can over-lap within an extended family. It is quite possible to have two first children for instance due to substantial age between them or the combining of step-children that refuse to step down from their pecking order.
In conclusion, I feel that Adler’s Approach has many elements that fit my particular style and thoughts of a therapeutic situation. The one thing I know I must strive for is to be able to implement these ideas naturally. I look forward to the challenge.
Works Cited
Adler, Alfred. Understanding Human Nature. Trans. from the 1927 edition by Colin Brett. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 1992b.
Ansbacher, Heinz L. and Ansbacher, Rowena, eds. The Individual Psychology of Alfred Adler. New York: Basic Books, 1956.
Hamilton, W. D. “The Genetic Evolution of Social Behavior,” Journal of Theoretical Biology, 1964, 7, 1-52.
