Freud vs. Adler: Personality Theory

Freud and Adler

• Freud believed humans were motivated by sex and aggression
• Freud claimed people had no choice in shaping personality
• Freud thought present behavior was caused by the past
• Freud emphasized the unconscious
• Adler considered humans to be motivated by social influences and striving for superiority
• Adler believed people are largely responsible for who they are
• Adler considered present behavior shaped by the future
• Adler thought people are usually aware of what they are doing and why

Individual Psychology

• Individual Psychology presents an optimistic view of people
• People are born with weak, inferior bodies, leading to dependence on others
• Social interest, or the feeling of oneness with humanity, is inherent in all individuals

Adler's Biography

• Alfred Adler was born on February 7, 1870
• Adler was a sickly child, leading him to want to become a doctor
• Adler considered his childhood an unhappy experience
• Adler resented his older brother, who was his mother’s favorite
• Adler pursued medicine at the University of Vienna
• Adler studied Ophthalmology, General Practice, and Psychiatry
• Adler's first association with Freud was in 1902
• Adler wrote a paper on Organ Inferiority and Compensation in 1907
• Adler broke from Freud and established the SOCIETY FOR FREE PSYCHOANALYTIC RESEARCH in 1911
• This break eventually led to Individual Psychology
• Adler was interested in Child Psychology and Guidance in Schools
• Adler's experience in WWI led to his ideas of social interest, as he was an Army Doctor
• Adler went to the United States in 1934 to escape Nazi Persecution
• Adler lectured in various parts of the US and abroad
• Adler died of a heart attack while on a lecture tour in Aberdeen, Scotland in 1937

Individual Psychology Key Concepts

• The dynamic force behind behavior is striving for success or superiority
• Subjective perceptions shape behavior and personality
• Personality is unified and self-consistent
• The value of human activity is seen from the viewpoint of social interest
• The self-consistent personality structure develops into a person’s style of life
• Style of life is molded by an individual's creative power

Striving for Success or Superiority

• It is the single drive of motivation
• Physical deficiencies activate feelings of inferiority
• Psychologically unhealthy individuals strive for personal superiority
• Psychologically healthy individuals seek success for all humanity
• It is guided by a Final Goal
• It involves acts of compensation

The Final Goal

• It is fictional
• It has no objective existence
• It unifies personality
• It renders all behaviors comprehensible
• It is unconscious for neglected or pampered children
• It is conscious for children who experienced love and security

Subjective Perceptions

• Fictions are expectations of the future
• Goal of superiority or success
• Teleology explains behaviour in terms of its final purpose/aim
• Physical deficiencies serve as impetus toward perfection or completion

Unity and Self-Consistency

• Each person is unique and indivisible
• Inconsistent behavior does not exist
• All actions are directed at a single goal and serve a single purpose
• Organ Dialect speaks a language
• Harmony exists between conscious and unconscious actions, despite their dichotomous nature

Social Interest

• It is membership in a social community of all people
• It is an attitude of relatedness
• It is empathy for each member of the community
• The goal is for social advancement rather than personal gain
• It bears the fruits of early social environment
• It serves as the sole criterion of human values

Style of Life

• It is the flavor of a person’s life
• It includes a person’s goal, self-concept, feelings for others, and attitude towards the world
• It is fairly established by age 4 or 5
• Unhealthy individuals have rigid Style Of Life
• Healthy individuals have flexible Style Of Life
• Problems may arise in neighborly love, sexual love, and occupation
• Solutions require cooperation, courage, and willingness to contribute to another

Creative Power

• It implies movement toward a goal, and direction
• It enables people to be in control of their lives
• It makes each person a free individual

Abnormal Development

• It is due to underdeveloped social interest
• Setting goals too high may arise
• Living in their own private world is possible
• It can involve a rigid and dogmatic style of life

External Factors

• Exaggerated Physical Deficiencies
• Exaggerated feelings of inferiority might result
• Overcompensation for their inadequacy is possible
• It can result in narcissism and lack of consideration for others

Pampered Style of Life

• Weak social interest emerges
• A parasitic relationship with other people is maintained
• Experiencing feelings of being unloved because parents have done everything for them

Neglected Style of Life

• Low self-confidence arises
• Overestimating difficulties is possible
• Distrust ensues
• Refusal to cooperate is possible
• A Strong sense of envy and hostility can develop

Safeguarding Tendencies

• They are comparable to Freud’s Defense Mechanisms
• They are largely conscious
• They protect self-esteem from public disgrace
• They include Excuses, Aggression, & Withdrawal

Excuses

• People state what they claim they would like to do, but that others will like, then they follow it up with an excuse
• This can protect a weak sense of self-worth and deceive people into believing they are more superior than they really are

Aggression

• Depreciation involves undervaluing other people’s achievement while overvaluing one’s own
• Accusation reflects the tendency to blame others and seek revenge
• Self-Accusation indicates self-torture or guilt and can lead people to devalue themselves to inflict suffering on others

Withdrawal

• Running away from difficulties is an example
• Safeguarding through distance arises
• Moving backward involves reverting to a secure period of life
• Standing still involves avoiding responsibilities
• Hesitating involves vacillation and procrastinations
• Constructing obstacles involves creating problems or trials

Masculine Protest

• Overemphasis arises regarding the importance of being manly
• It results from cultural and social influences
• Women want the same things that men have

Applications of Individual Psychology

• Family Constellation and influences like birth order, gender of siblings, age spread
• Early Recollections are consistent with style of life and reflect patterns of one’s life
• Dreams are analyzed as there may be inconsistencies
• Psychotherapy assists to enhance courage, lessen feelings of inferiority, and encourage social interest

Birth Order - Oldest Child

• Positive Traits: Nurturing and protective
• Negative Traits: Highly anxious, exaggerated feelings of power, unconscious hostility, fights for acceptance, always must be right, highly critical of others, uncooperative

Birth Order - Second Child

• Positive Traits: Highly Motivated, Cooperative, Moderately Cooperative
• Negative Traits: Highly Competitive, Easily Discouraged

Birth Order - Youngest Child

• Positive Traits: Realistically Ambitious
• Negative Traits: Pampered, Dependent, Wants to excel in everything, Unrealistically ambitious

Birth Order - Only Child

• Positive Traits: Socially Mature
• Negative Traits: Exaggerated Superiority, Low Cooperation, Inflated Sense of Self, Pampered Style of Life

Critique of Adler's Theory

• High on Generating Research, Organizing Known Data, and Guiding Action
• Moderate on Parsimony
• Low on Verification, Falsification, and Internal Consistency