Alfred Adler (1870 – 1937) was an Austrian physician, psychotherapist and founder of individual psychology. He based his theory on his own experiences – he was the main example of it – which helped him construct some of the most interesting psychological conjectures put forward in his time. Adler was even classified as the “character of the moment” within the American intellectual environment, until his death in 1937 upon his arrival in New York (Schultz & Schultz, 2010, p.132).
To understand what Adlerian psychology is trying to explain, mention must be made of Adler’s life since since his childhood he suffered from rickets, a condition that prevented him from carrying out physical activities and which led to a certain envy towards his older brother who, unlike him, he was healthy and athletic; he strove to overcome his physical condition and his illness. In many aspects of his life he achieved this, highlighting the importance of social acceptance of his environment and the self-esteem that he had built. Years later, he studied Medicine at the University of Vienna, beginning as an ophthalmologist, then he dedicated himself to General Medicine until he was invited by Freud to meet to talk about psychoanalysis, attributing to it the psychological etiology in the formation of diseases as a great achievement. until then considered exclusively medical. Freud was amazed by Adler’s ability to gain the trust of his patients. Beyond this, their relationship was close and Adler was never a disciple of Freud. Despite this, in 1910 he presided over the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society and was editor of the magazine of the same name. There he began to publish articles that criticized psychoanalytic theory and proposed a new idea about personality, which would end in the definitive break with Freud. A couple of years later he founded the Society for Individual Psychology.
The Adlerian “individualist” psychological proposal is so called because it is around the individual himself that his theory revolves and where he is attributed an active and conscious participation in his decisions. According to Cavazzana (1934) “individual psychology has taken on the task of studying the personality of the human being as a single unit and that this is directed towards a purpose” (p.284). In turn, Cloninger (2003) proposes the following: “Adler’s theory, in contrast to the theories of Freud and Jung, places emphasis on the conscious struggle of individuals to improve their lives” (p.108).
This theory presents various points about the way of perceiving oneself, which will be described and explained for a better understanding:
Feeling of inferiority as a source of human effort. Regarding this, various authors point out that “Adlerian theory will be directed towards the situation of insecurity that mobilizes all behavior: the feeling of inferiority” (Chavéz, 2009). Adler, like Freud, did not have such an optimistic view of the human being, he even stated that “being “human” meant being inferior” although, because this condition is the same for everyone, it should not be understood as a weakness. or a defect. This “inferiority” is present since we are children, having the need to be protected by our caregivers and there is a subordination to them. Adler once wrote: “Every human being starts – like a child – from an initial position of inferiority that produces feelings of imperfection, helplessness and insignificance, experienced in the first years of life.” (Adler cited in Oberst & Ruíz, 2014). Overcoming this inferiority (real or imaginary) is achieved through “compensation”, in which the subject sets an objective or goal to overcome this adverse position. When the situation cannot be compensated, the person can fall prey to an inferiority complex, in which an exaggerated inability to face reality is expressed. The authors Shultz & Shultz (2010) write: “The inferiority complex can arise from three sources during childhood: organic inferiority, excessive pampering, and neglect.”(p.133). On the contrary, he also theorized the existence of a superiority complex where the individual exaggerates his achievements, not because he wants to feel more than others but rather lies in the fact of not wanting to feel less than the other or others.
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Another key element is the constant struggle for perfection or improvement, where one tends to achieve superiority – understood as achieving personal fulfillment – with this the question arises that one must seek an ideal in life, an imaginary goal, which Adler would call fictitious finalism. With goals, a particular way of carrying them out appears, a series of characteristic behaviors of the individual to achieve his ideal, this is known in Adlerian theory as “lifestyle” and the third element of individual psychology. In Adler’s theory based on this point, he pointed out that there are types of lifestyle: dominant, inclined to receive, avoidant and socially useful. But each one has their own way of achieving their own lifestyle and that is where “the creative force of the self” or the “creative self” comes into action that allows us to build our way of acting towards life.
The fourth element is the community feeling, which is mostly known as social interest. According to Oberst, Virgili, & León (2004) it is “an innate latent force in the human being that has to be awakened and developed in childhood through the interaction of the boy or girl with his or her parents.” Similarly, Oberst & Ruíz point out that: “An important aspect of the feeling of community is the concept of cooperation; Cooperation is an essential requirement for the development and progress of humanity.” The individual must cooperate and contribute to society to achieve his or her personal and community goals, hence the reason for its importance in the study of personality.
As the fifth and last central element of individual psychology is the order of birth (having read the first part of this article about Adler’s experiences and vicissitudes is essential for its understanding). In Adlerian theory there are four situations: the first-born, the second child, the youngest child and the only child. The first-born enjoys the attention of the parents to care for him and meet his needs, with which he is frequently spoiled or spoiled. The second child will not experience that position of power, even his parents can change the way they parent and be less concerned with his growth. In general, second-order children tend to be the rebellious ones. The youngest son, for his part, becomes the darling of the family and does not fear the arrival of another brother. They tend to grow rapidly and if they are very conceited they become very dependent people. The only child never competes with siblings and has power over his parents and it is likely that he will be very attached to the mother and spoiled. By spending more time with adults, he develops characteristics similar to them.
In summary, individual psychology tries to explain the personality of each person from a human and vivid approach where the individual is an active participant in their decision-making, in which a feeling of improvement prevails by arriving in an inferior condition, according to to Adler’s vision of the person. This theory allows us to understand why human beings seek a purpose in life and manage to excel and improve themselves: on the other hand, it allows us to have an idea of why other people do not conceive that idea and feel inferior to others.
The social environment plays an important factor in overcoming the set goals and according to their experiences they create a pattern of actions or habits to achieve them; The family issue is another aspect to consider to understand why people act in one way or another.
Finally, it must be considered that this theory conceives the person as an active and conscious unit and not as impulses that govern our behavior or a sum of conditioning.
Bibliographic references:
Cavazzana, J. (1934). “Individual psychology” by Alfred Adler. Journal of the Catholic University, 276-286. Recovered from
Chávez, I. (2009). Alfred Adler and Viktor Frankl: The discourse about the meaning of life. Advances in Psychology, 17(1), 35-58. Recovered from http://revistas.unife.edu.pe/index.php/avancesenpsicologia/article/view/1907
Cloninger, S. (2003). Personality theories. Naucalpan de Juárez, Edo. from Mexico: Prentice Hall.
Oberst, Ú., & Ruíz, J. (2014). Introductory manual to Adlerian psychology. Spanish Association of Adlerian Psychology, 1-15.
Schultz, D., & Schultz, S. (2010). Personality theories. Mexico City: Cengage Learning.