Lesson 4 - Individual Psychology PDF

02/10/2024 THEORIES OF PERSONALITY THEORIES OF...

02/10/2024 THEORIES OF PERSONALITY THEORIES OF Alfred Adler: PERSONALITY Individual Psychology MS. GENEIL A. POBLETE, RPm THEORIES OF THEORIES OF PERSONALITY PERSONALITY OVERVIEW Overview Overview of Individual Psychology Adler’s understanding of human personality was Biography based on an optimistic view of people while resting Differences from Psychoanalysis heavily on the notion of social interest, that is, a Tenets of Adlerian Theory feeling of oneness with all humankind. Abnormal Development Safeguarding Tendencies Family Constellation THEORIES OF THEORIES OF PERSONALITY PERSONALITY Born on Feb 7, 1870 in Rudolfsheim, Biography a village near Vienna. Notable He died on March 28, 1937 while on experiences his speaking tour in Aberdeen Alfred Adler Scotland due to heart attack. He is a weak boy and at the age of 5, he nearly died due His mother, Pauline was a to pneumonia. Being sickly homemaker and his father, Leopold and the death of his was a middle class Jewish grain younger brother, Rudolf merchant. motivated him to become a physician. 1  02/10/2024 THEORIES OF THEORIES OF PERSONALITY PERSONALITY He began private practice as an eye specialist but gave up that specialization and turned to psychiatry and He always competes with He attended school with general medicine. his eldest brother, Sigmund neither difficulty nor Adler and his childhood distinction but when he was full of unhappy entered preparation for competition. medical school, he did so poorly that his father threatened him to remove him from school and apprentice to a shoemaker. THEORIES OF THEORIES OF PERSONALITY PERSONALITY By then, they realized their irreconcilable differences. Adler resigned his presidency and formed Free Psychoanalytic Study together with 9 former members In 1911, Adler became the President of Vienna of Freudian circle which later Psychoanalytic Society. He presented his views expressing changed to Individual Psychology. opposition to strong sexual proclivities of psychoanalysis and insisted that drive for superiority was a more basic motive than sexuality. THEORIES OF THEORIES OF PERSONALITY PERSONALITY Freud Adler All motivation is rooted from sex Source of motivation is mostly social and aggression. influences and striving for Difference from superiority or success. People are largely responsible for Psychoanalysis People have little or no choice in shaping personality. who they are. Present behavior is shaped by Present behavior is caused by past people's view of future. experiences. Emphasize unconscious Psychologically healthy people are components of behavior. usually aware of what they are doing and why they are doing it. 2  02/10/2024 THEORIES OF THEORIES OF PERSONALITY PERSONALITY Individual Psychology Tenets of “People are born weak, inferior bodies –a condition that leads to Adlerian Theory feelings of inferiority and a consequent dependence on other people. Therefore, a feeling of unity with others (social interest) is inherent in people and the ultimate standard of psychological health.” THEORIES OF THEORIES OF PERSONALITY PERSONALITY 1. The one dynamic force behind people’s 4. The value of all human activity must behaviour is the striving for success or be seen from the viewpoint of social superiority. interest. 2. People’s subjective perceptions shape 5. The self consisted personality their behaviour and personality. structure develops into a person’s style of life. 3. Personality is unified and self consistent. 6. Style of life is molded by people’s creative power. THEORIES OF THEORIES OF PERSONALITY PERSONALITY 1. The one dynamic force behind people’s A. Striving for superiority behaviour is the striving for success or superiority. Individual Psychology holds that everyone begins life with physical deficiencies that activate feelings of inferiority and those feelings motivate a person to strive for either superiority or success. - Limited to people who strive for personal superiority over others. 3  02/10/2024 THEORIES OF THEORIES OF PERSONALITY PERSONALITY A. Striving for superiority B. Striving for success - Socially non productive attempt to gain personal - People who are motivated by superiority. highly developed social interest. - Actions are largely self- serving and motivated by overcompensation for his exaggerated feelings of personal superiority. THEORIES OF THEORIES OF PERSONALITY PERSONALITY B. Striving for success Psychologically unhealthy individuals strive for personal superiority whereas psychologically healthy ones seek success for all humanity. People strive for superiority or success as means as compensation for feelings of inferiority or - Involves social interest and is aimed at success or weakness. perfection for everyone. - Social progress is more important than personal credit. THEORIES OF THEORIES OF PERSONALITY PERSONALITY Final goal has great significance What guides individuals on because it unifies personality and their decision to strive for renders all behavior comprehensible. superiority or success? Regardless of motivation, each individual is guided by final goal – either personal superiority or success of humankind. 4  02/10/2024 THEORIES OF THEORIES OF PERSONALITY PERSONALITY Final goal is a product of creative What determines final power and that is people’s ability to goal? freely shape their behaviour and create their own personality. THEORIES OF THEORIES OF PERSONALITY PERSONALITY 2. People’s subjective perceptions shape 2. People’s subjective perceptions shape their behaviour and personality. their behaviour and personality. The manner in which a person final goal is This subjective, fictional final goal guides shaped by their subjective perceptions of our style of life, gives unity to our by their fictions or expectation of the personality. future. THEORIES OF THEORIES OF PERSONALITY PERSONALITY Several ways in which the entire person 3. Personality is unified and self operates with unity and self-consistency consistent. A. Organ dialect Adler believes that each person is unique and indivisible. - The disturbance of one part of the body which cannot be viewed in isolation and Inconsistent behaviour does not exist; affects the entire person. thoughts, feelings and actions are all directed toward a single goal and serve a single purpose. 5  02/10/2024 THEORIES OF THEORIES OF PERSONALITY PERSONALITY A. Organ dialect B. Harmony of conscious and unconscious - The body’s organs speak a language - We cannot oppose consciousness to which is usually more expressive and unconsciousness as if they were discloses the individual’s opinion more antagonistic halves of an individual’s clearly than words able to do. existence. Example: - The conscious life becomes unconscious as soon as we fail to understand it and as A person with arthritis in his hands where soon as we understand an unconscious the hands shows us the deformity and tendency it has already become conscious. handicap which disables him to do manual work. THEORIES OF THEORIES OF PERSONALITY PERSONALITY 4. The value of all human activity must be seen from the viewpoint of social interest. What contributes to -Social feeling or community feeling. social interest? -Feeling of oneness to all humanity. -Attitude of relatedness as well as empathy for members of human community. -Natural condition of human species that binds society together. THEORIES OF PERSONALITY It originates from mother-child relationship during early months of infancy. A mother develops a bond that encourages the child’s mature social interest and sense of cooperation by giving a deep-rooted love for her child –a love that focuses on a child’s well-being. On the other hand, the father must demonstrate a caring attitude toward his wife and to other people. 6  02/10/2024 THEORIES OF THEORIES OF PERSONALITY PERSONALITY 5. The self consisted personality 5. The self consisted personality structure develops into a person’s style of structure develops into a person’s style of life. life. -Flavors of a person’s life which includes a -A person’s style of life is fairly well person’s goal, self concept, feelings for established by the age of 4 or 5 and all others and attitude towards the world. actions revolve a unified style. -It is a product of interactions of heredity, -Psychologically healthy people can environment and person’s creative power. choose new options at any point in life. They see many ways of striving for success. THEORIES OF THEORIES OF PERSONALITY PERSONALITY -People with a healthy and useful style of He proposed four basic style of life: life actively struggle to solve 3 major problems of life; neighbourly love, sexual 1. The dominant type love and occupation and they so through cooperation, personal courage and This display a ruling attitude with social willingness to make a contribution to awareness. Such person behaves without welfare of another. regard for others. THEORIES OF THEORIES OF PERSONALITY PERSONALITY 2. The getting type 3. The avoiding type For Adler, this is the most common This person makes no attempt in human type. They expect to receive facing his or her problems. He or satisfaction from others and become she avoids possible failures. dependent on them. 7  02/10/2024 THEORIES OF THEORIES OF PERSONALITY PERSONALITY 6. Style of life is molded by people’s 4. The socially useful type creative power. This person cooperates with Each person is empowered with the others and acts in accordance freedom to create his own style of life with their needs. Such persons because all people are responsible for who cope with problems within a they are and how they behave. well-developed framework of social interest. THEORIES OF THEORIES OF PERSONALITY PERSONALITY For Adler, one underlying factor that contributes to all types of maladjustments is underdeveloped social interest. Aside Abnormal from this, the following are other contributing factors for abnormal Development development: 1. Setting goals that are too high. 2. Living in their private world. 3. Having a rigid and dogmatic style of life. THEORIES OF THEORIES OF PERSONALITY PERSONALITY External Factors in Maladjustment 2. Pampered style of life 1. Exaggerated physical deficiencies People with this kind of style of life as weak social interest but strong desire to People with exaggerated physical perpetuate the pampered parasitic deficiencies sometimes develop relationship they originally had with one exaggerated feelings of inferiority because or both of their parents, expecting others they overcompensate for their inadequacy. to look for them, overprotect them and They tend to be overly concerned with satisfy their needs. themselves and lack consideration for others. 8  02/10/2024 THEORIES OF THEORIES OF PERSONALITY PERSONALITY 2. Pampered style of life 3. Neglected style of life Pampered children have not received too Though no one feels totally neglected or much love, but rather, they feel unloved. completely unwanted, abused and Their parents have demonstrated a lack of mistreated children will develop weak love by doing too much for them. Some of social interest and tend to create a neglected style of life. them may also feel neglected, they are fearful when separated from that patient. THEORIES OF THEORIES OF PERSONALITY PERSONALITY 3. Neglected style of life They are distrustful of other people, are unable to cooperate for the common good Safeguarding and have a strong sense of envy to the success of others. Compared to pamper Tendencies ones, they are more suspicious and dangerous. THEORIES OF THEORIES OF PERSONALITY PERSONALITY “Adler believed that people use 1. Excuses different ways to protect their inflated sense of self-esteem against public The most common of all safeguarding disgrace. These protective devices are tendencies which are typically entirely operating in the consciousness expressed in the “Yes, but” or “if only” format. These excuses protect a weak – of an individual.” but artificially inflated sense of self- worth and deceive people into believing that they are more superior than they really are. 9  02/10/2024 THEORIES OF THEORIES OF PERSONALITY PERSONALITY 2. Aggression b. Accusation: The tendency to blame This is used by people to protect their others for one’s failure and to seek fragile self-esteem. Aggression may take revenge, thereby safeguarding one’s the form of: own tenuous self-esteem. a. Depreciation: The tendency to Ex. undervalue other’s people achievement and overvalue one’s own. I wanted to be a doctor but my parents forced me to be a teacher. Now, my life Ex. gossip and criticism is miserable. “The only reason Kenneth got a good grade is because he is the teacher's pet.” THEORIES OF THEORIES OF PERSONALITY PERSONALITY c. Self-accusation: This is marked by 3. Withdrawal – The safeguarding self-torture and guilt as a way of tendency through distance. There are hurting people who are close to them. four modes of setting up a distance between a person’s problems and his or Ex. her own self: “I feel distressed because I wasn’t nicer to my grandmother while she was still alive. Now, it’s too late.” THEORIES OF THEORIES OF PERSONALITY PERSONALITY a. Moving backward: The tendency to b. Standing still: Similar to moving safeguard one’s fictional goal of backward, but is not as severe. People superiority by psychologically who use this do not move in any reverting to a more secured period of directions for they avoid responsibility. life. This is designed to elicit sympathy. This is somehow similar to Freud’s regression. 10  02/10/2024 THEORIES OF THEORIES OF PERSONALITY PERSONALITY c. Hesitating: This is closely related to d. Constructing obstacles: The tendency standing still. Their procrastination for people to create obstacle they can eventually gives them the excuse “it’s surpass in order to protect their self- too late now”. For Adler, compulsive esteem and prestige. behaviors are attempt to waste time. THEORIES OF THEORIES OF PERSONALITY PERSONALITY “ The family and reciprocal relationships with siblings and Family parents determine how a person finds a place in the family and Constellation what he learns about finding a place in the world. ” THEORIES OF THEORIES OF PERSONALITY PERSONALITY Positive Traits Negative Traits A. Firstborn children Nurturing and Highly anxious protective of Exaggerated feelings of According to Adler, they have others power Good organizer Unconscious hostility intensified of power and superiority, Fights for acceptance high anxiety and overprotective Must always be “right,” tendencies. whereas others are always “wrong” Highly critical of others They also experience a traumatic Uncooperative dethronement when a younger sibling is born. 11  02/10/2024 THEORIES OF THEORIES OF PERSONALITY PERSONALITY Positive Traits Negative Traits B. Secondborn children Highly motivated Highly competitive Cooperative Easily discouraged Begin life with cooperation and social Moderately interest. The secondborn typically competitive matures toward moderate competitiveness, having a healthy desire to overtake the older rival. THEORIES OF THEORIES OF PERSONALITY PERSONALITY Positive Traits Negative Traits C. Younger children Realistically Pampered style of ambitious life They are the most pampered and run a Dependent on high risk of being a problem child. They others are likely to have strong feelings of Wants to excel in inferiority and to lack a sense of everything independence. In addition, they are Unrealistically ambitious often highly motivated to exceed older siblings and to become fast runner, best musician, athlete and etc. THEORIES OF THEORIES OF PERSONALITY PERSONALITY Positive Traits Negative Traits D. Only children Socially mature Exaggerated feelings of superiority They are in unique position of Low feelings of competing not against siblings but cooperation against their parents. They are socially Inflated sense of self mature and tend to develop Pampered style of life exaggerated sense of superiority and an inflated self-concept. 12