Adler and Freud's Views on Masculine Protest

Alfred Adler and Masculine Protest

• Adler believed that the psychic life of women is essentially the same as that of men and that a male-dominated society is not natural but rather an artificial product of historical development.
• Cultural and social practices, not anatomy, influence many men and women to overemphasize the importance of being manly.

Adler vs Freud

• Adler assumed that women want more or less the same things that men want, whereas Freud regarded women as the “Dark continent for Psychology”.
• The opposing views on feminity were reflected in the women they chose to marry: Martha Bernays Freud, a dedicated housewife, and Raissa Epstein Adler, an intensely independent woman who abhorred traditional domestic roles.

Applications of Individual Psychology

Family Constellation

• Firstborn children may experience intensified feelings of power and superiority, leading to self-centered or cooperating styles of life depending on their age when a sibling is born.

Alfred Adler's Life

• Born on February 7, 1870, in Vienna, Austria, to a middle-class Jewish family, Adler was the third-born son.
• He experienced feelings of inferiority in childhood, witnessed the death of his younger brother, and eventually became a successful mathematician and medical doctor.
• He married Russian feminist Raissa Epstein in 1897 and had four children with her.
• Adler was part of the Wednesday Psychoanalytic Society with Sigmund Freud but eventually resigned due to disagreements.

Main Tenets of Adlerian Theory

• The one dynamic force behind people's behavior is the striving for success or superiority.
• People's subjective perceptions shape their behavior and personality.
• Personality is unified and self-consistent.
• The value of all human activity must be seen from the viewpoint of social interest.
• The self-consistent personality structure develops into a person's style of life.
• The style of life is molded by people's creative power.