Biographical Sketch of Alfred Adler

Biographical Sketch of Alfred Adler

• Adler was born in 1870 in Vienna, Austria, the second of six children.
• He experienced rivalry with his older brother, who was considered the model child.
• Adler felt inferior due to his perceived physical shortcomings (ugly and short) and lack of athletic ability.
• He suffered from rickets and pneumonia as a child.
• He initially wanted to be a medical doctor.
• He read Freud's The Interpretation of Dreams and wrote a paper supporting it.
• Freud invited Adler to join the psychoanalytic society, and Adler became the president.
• Adler eventually broke from Freud and developed his own theory of Individual Psychology.
• His work focused on issues like child rearing, education, and everyday problems.
• His daughter and son continued practicing his theory in New York.

Individual Psychology

• Adler's theory emphasizes the uniqueness of each individual.
• Individuals have an inner harmony and strive to cooperate with others.
• It's not just self-centered motivations, but a focus on the whole individual, viewing the person as more complex than just their parts.
• It is like a Gestalt theory approach.

Organs of Inferiority and Compensation

• Adler believed we are all born with weaknesses (organs of inferiority).
• These weaknesses can be physical or psychological.
• People compensate for these weaknesses.
• Compensation can take the form of emphasizing alternative strengths or concentrating on improving deficient aspects.
• Examples include people like Helen Keller and Beethoven.

Feeling of Inferiority

• Adler believed feelings of inferiority are unavoidable owing to our dependence on others for survival and support in early life.
• This feeling of inferiority is a motivating force to strive to overcome feelings of inferiority and strive to become more powerful.
• The desire to overcome these feelings is natural but if intensified can lead to a need to succeed at all costs.

Striving for Superiority

• Striving for superiority is a fundamental human motivation towards a perfect society.
• The drive is to be the best version of ourselves.
• Striving for a better (or perfect) society is beneficial, but only when the benefits of our striving extend beyond our personal needs.
• A focus on personal needs over societal ones leads to a superiority complex (being domineering and arrogant).

Style of Life

• Style of life represents the unique way each person seeks to overcome feelings of inferiority.
• This style of life shapes our identities, goals, and approaches to life's challenges.
• Adler noted the style of life develops early in life, during childhood, whereas Erikson sees style of life as developing during later adolescence.
• A healthy style of life is one that allows individuals to live in harmony with others and contribute to the advancement of society.

Explore the life and contributions of Alfred Adler, the founder of Individual Psychology. Discover how his early experiences shaped his theories and how he distinguished his work from Freud's psychoanalytic ideas. Learn about his impact on child rearing, education, and everyday issues.