Individual Psychology PDF

zINDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY Mr. Gerardo Gonzales Jr, RPm  z INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY  presents an optimistic view of people while resting heavily in the notion of social interest. People are motivated mostly by social influences and by their striving for superiority of success ...

zINDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY Mr. Gerardo Gonzales Jr, RPm  z INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY  presents an optimistic view of people while resting heavily in the notion of social interest. People are motivated mostly by social influences and by their striving for superiority of success  z BIOGRAPHY OF ALFRED ADLER  Alfred Adler was born on February 7, 1870, in Vienna, Austria. He was the third of seven children in a middle-class Jewish family. As a child, he suffered from rickets, a disease that affected his physical development and left him with a lasting sense of physical inferiority compared to his healthier siblings. This early struggle with his own physical limitations and feelings of inadequacy would later become central to his psychological theories.  Adler initially pursued a medical career, specializing in ophthalmology. However, he later shifted his focus to psychiatry and became associated with Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic movement. Despite his collaboration with Freud, Adler's ideas eventually diverged, leading to the development of his own psychological framework, known as Individual Psychology.  STRIVING z FOR SUCCESS OR SUPERIORITY  Adler believed that aggression was the dynamic power be- hind all motivation, but he soon became dissatisfied with this term. After rejecting aggression as a single motivational force, Adler used the term masculine protest, which implied will to power or a domination of others  Striving for Superiority – striving with little or no concern for others  Striving for Success – motivated by social interest and success of all humankind  z THE FINAL GOAL  what people strive; fictional and has no objective existence  zSubjective Perceptions: shapes one’s behavior and his personality  Fictionalism: a goal created in early life and may not be clearly understood; guides the style of life; gives unity to the personality  Physical Inferiorities: a belief system to overcome physical deficiencies.  Because people begin life small, weak, and inferior, they develop a fiction or belief system about how to overcome these physical deficiencies and become big, strong, and superior. But even after they attain size, strength, and superiority, they may act as ifthey are still small, weak, and inferior.  Unity z and Self-Consistency of Personality: makes each individual unique and indivisible  Adler emphasized that every person is distinct and whole. Individual psychology underscores the core unity of personality and rejects the idea of conflicting behavior. Thoughts, feelings, and actions align towards a single purpose. Erratic behavior makes others wary, but when seen in light of a final goal, it becomes a strategy, likely unconscious, to perplex and control others.  z CASE EXAMPLE: Unity and Self- Consistency of Personality (cont)  Consider a coworker named Sarah who is usually quiet and reserved. However, during team meetings, she suddenly becomes overly critical and argues against others' ideas. While this behavior might seem inconsistent with her usual demeanor, Adlerian theory suggests that Sarah's seemingly erratic behavior could be an attempt to gain control and assert herself in the group. Even though her behavior appears unpredictable, it serves the purpose of establishing dominance and making others pay attention to her opinions.  ORGAN DIALECT: the disturbance of one part of the z body affects the entire person; this expresses the direction of the individual goal  One example of organ dialect might be a man suffering from rheumatoid arthritis in his hands. His stiff and deformed joints voice his whole style of life. It is as if they cry out, "See my deformity. See my handicap. You can't expect me to do manual work." Without an audible sound, his hands speak of his desire for sympathy from others.  Adler (1956) presented another example of organ dialect-the case of a very obedient boy who wet the bed at night to send a message that he does not wish to obey parental wishes. His behavior is "really a creative expression, for the child is speaking with his bladder instead of his mouth" (p. 223).  SOCIAL INTEREST: a deep concern for the welfare of z other people; a feeling of oneself with all humanity  Gemeinschaftsgefiihl - has a meaning that is not fully expressed by any English word or phrase. Roughly, it means a feeling of one- ness with all humanity; it implies membership in the social community of all people.  A person with well-developed Gemeinschaftsgefuhl strives not for personal su- periority but for perfection for all people in an ideal community. Social interest can be defined as an attitude of relatedness with humanity in general as well as an em- pathy for each member of the human community. It manifests itself as cooperation with others for social advancement rather than for personal gain (Adler, 1964).  Importance of Social Interest z  Adler asserted that social interest was the ultimate measure of psychological well-being (Adler, 1927, p. 167). He considered it the singular gauge for assessing an individual's value, indicating normality and the usefulness of one's life. According to Adler, psychological maturity aligns with possessing social interest, while immaturity involves self-centeredness, pursuit of personal power, and superiority. Those with robust social interest genuinely care about others and pursue a success that benefits everyone.  It's important to note that social interest differs from mere charity and selflessness. Acts of kindness and philanthropy may lack genuine Gemeinschaftsgefühl motivation. For instance, a wealthy person might donate to the less fortunate not out of a sense of unity, but to reinforce their perceived superiority. Adler believed that assessing the value of such acts hinges on the yardstick of social interest.  z  Style of Life: flavor of a person’s life; includes a person’s goal, self-concept, feeling for others, and attitude toward the world.  z  Creative Self / Power: makes one in control of his own life; responsible for their final goal; determines the method for striving the final goal, contributes to the development of social interest  In simple terms, creative power means each person has the ability to make their own way in life. They can choose how they act, what they aim for, and how they try to achieve it. This power also shapes how they connect with others and care about society. It's like being an architect of their own personality. While things like how they're born and their surroundings matter, what really counts is how they use those things to build who they are. Just like when you encounter a low doorway, you can either bend down to pass through or bump your head. It's up to you to decide how you handle challenges – just like in life, you have the freedom to choose how you respond.   z ABNORMAL DEVELOPMENT  According to Adler (1956), the one factor underlying all types of maladjustments is underdeveloped social interest. Besides lacking social interest, neurotics tend to:  (1) set their goals too high  (2) live in their own private world  (3) have a rigid and dogmatic style of life  z External Factors in Maladjustment: Adler (1964) recognized three contributing factors, any one of which is sufficient to contribute to abnormality:  1. Exaggerated Physical Deficiencies  Whether congenital or the result of injury or disease, are not sufficient to lead to maladjustment. They must be accompanied by accentuated feelings of inferiority.  Those with noticeable physical weaknesses might feel extra inferior due to overcompensating. They often focus on themselves, not others. 2. Pampered z Style of Life  A pampered style of life lies at the heart of most neuroses. Pampered people have weak social interest but a strong desire to perpetuate the pampered, parasitic relationship they originally had with one or both of their parents. They expect others to look after them, overprotect them, and satisfy their needs. They are characterized by extreme discouragement, indecisiveness, oversensitivity, impatience, and exaggerated emotion, especially anxiety.  Pampered children have not received too much love; rather they feel unloved. Their parents have demonstrated a lack of love by doing too much for them and by treating them as if they were incapable of solving their own problems. Because these children feel pampered and spoiled, they develop a pampered style of life.  z 3. Neglected Style of Life  Abused and mistreated children develop little social interest and tend to create a neglected style of life. They have little confidence in themselves and tend to over- estimate difficulties connected with life's major problems. They are distrustful of other people and are unable to cooperate for the common welfare.  See society as enemy  Feel alienated from other people  Strong sense of envy toward success of others  More likely to be dangerous to others  z SAFE GUARDING TENDENCIES  Adler believed that people create patterns of behavior to protect their exaggerated sense of self-esteem against public hsgrace.  Enable people to hide their inflated self-image and to maintain their current style of life  Adler's concept of safeguarding tendencies can be compared to Freud's concept of defense mechanisms. Basic to both is the idea that symptoms are formed as a protection against anxiety.  Adlerian safeguarding tendencies are largely conscious and shield a person's fragile self-esteem from public disgrace  SAFE GUARDING TENDENCIES z  Excuses:  Common tendency expressed as "Yes, but" or "If only" statements.  Excuses protect inflated self-worth, deceive about superiority.  Example: "Yes, I want to go to college, but my kids need me."  SAFE GUARDING TENDENCIES z  Aggression:  Used to protect fragile self-esteem and exaggerated superiority.  Depreciation: Undervaluing others, overvaluing oneself.  Ex: "The only reason Kenneth got the job I applied for is because he is an African American."  Accusation: Blaming others for failures, seeking revenge.  Ex: I wanted to be an artist, but my parents forced me to go to medical school. Now I have a job that makes me miserable."  Self-accusation: Self-torture, guilt, hurting others indirectly.  Ex: "I feel distressed because I wasn't nicer to my grandmother while she was still living., Now, it's too late."   SAFE GUARDING TENDENCIES z  Withdrawal:  Escaping difficulties by creating psychological distance.  Moving backward: Reverting to a more secure life phase.  Similar to Regression of Sigmund Freud: Moving backward is designed to elicit sympathy, the deleterious attitude offered so generously to pampered children.  Standing still: Avoiding action to prevent failure.  Hesitating: Procrastination, wasting time to maintain self-esteem.  “It’s too late now” excuse  Constructing obstacles: Creating and overcoming barriers for self-esteem.  Some people build a straw house to show that they can knock it down. By overcoming the obstacle, they protect their self-esteem and their prestige. If they fail to hurdle the barrier, they can always resort to an excuse.  z  Masculine Protest  In contrast to Freud, Adler (1930, 1956) 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. According to Adler, cultural and social practices-not anatomy-influence many men and women to overemphasize the importance of being manly, a condition he called the masculine protest.  z  Family Constellation  In therapy, Adler almost always asked patients about their family constellation, that is, their birth order, the gender of their siblings, and the age spread between them. Although people's perception of the situation into which they were born is more im- portant than numerical rank, Adler did form some general hypotheses about birth order. z  Dreamsz  In Adlerian Theory, dreams are seen as a window into an individual's psyche, providing insights into their thoughts, feelings, and attitudes. While dreams may not predict the future, they can offer clues for resolving upcoming challenges. However, individuals often resist facing these challenges constructively.  For instance, Adler recounted a dream of a man considering marriage where he crossed borders and faced imprisonment. Adler interpreted this dream as the man's desire to halt progress due to fear of failure if he moved forward, indicating his reluctance to change his marital status.  z  Psychotherapy  Adlerian theory suggests that psychological issues stem from insufficient courage, exaggerated inferiority feelings, and weak social interest.  Adlerian psychotherapy aims to boost courage, reduce inferiority feelings, and foster social interest.  Patients often resist altering their familiar self-perceptions. Adler would challenge this resistance by asking, "What if you were cured right now?" This query prompted patients to confront their goals and acknowledge personal responsibility for their struggles.  z  THANK YOU FUTURE Registered Psychometricians and Psychologists!