Essay Adler Assignment
Gabriella A. Viloria
School of Behavioral Sciences, Liberty University PSYC 341: Psychology of Personality
Prof. Sally Bruce
May 29, 2023
Essay Adler Assignment
Alfred Adler created three safeguarding techniques that all humans have used at some
point in their lives to shield their self-image and maintain their current style of life. These three
safeguarding techniques are the tendency of using excuses, aggression, and withdrawal. Each of
these safeguarding techniques is found in the bible. Ranging from the Old Testament to the New
Testament there are frequent occurrences of the people of God using safeguarding techniques to
maintain the corrupt lifestyle they enjoyed and to hide themselves from their Creator.
One of the first safeguarding techniques seen in the bible is aggression. Aggressive
reactions tend to be activated by social threats that feel “inescapable”, which then facilitate an
angry and aggressive approach toward a situation (Bertsch et al., 2020). Aggression goes all the
way to the beginning of Genesis in the Garden of Eden. After God had placed man in the garden,
they were made to have a perfect Godly relationship in the covenant of marriage. This holy union
was meant to keep each other safe and accountable, but because of the sin that has been passed
down through generations into today’s current population, that perfect union was broken.
The union Adam and Eve had with God and with each other was never the same after
they invited sin into the world. In the bible when Eve is deceived by the serpent and ate of the
fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, she was left unprotected. After she shared the
fruit with Adam and God came looking for them, their first response was to hide in shame and
guilt. This is a safeguarding technique as well, but then Adam uses aggression.
In the book of Genesis, Adam tells God “The woman you put here with me- she gave me
some fruit from the tree, and I ate it” (English Standard Version Bible, 2001, Genesis. 3:12).
Adam used the accusation style of aggression. What’s worse is that Adam was accusing not only
Eve, but also God. He made it seem like it was God's fault for giving him a partner like Eve. He
cast the blame onto everyone but himself, and this is a tendency seen multiple times from that
moment on.
The issue of aggression experienced in relationships, specifically married couples, has
continued and escalated ever since. This has led researchers to find practical ways to de-escalate
the intensity of the scenarios in which aggressive behavior can come forth (Vickerman &
Margolin, 2018). The very helpful practice of gently speaking to each other in the couple and
reminding one another that they are a team, a unit, meant to take care of each other and keep
each other safe would have been a good change in the story of Adam and Eve. If Adam had been
present with his wife and shared with her what God had shared with him about the tree of
knowledge of good and evil, and if Adam had refrained from using the safeguarding technique
after the act had been made, there is no telling how the story would have changed for good.
References
Bertsch, K., Florange, J. G., & Herpertz, S. C. (2020). Understanding Brain Mechanisms of
Reactive Aggression. Current Psychiatry Reports, 22(12).
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-020-01208-6
English Standard Version Bible. (2001). ESV Online. https://esv.literalword.com/
Vickerman, K. A., & Margolin, G. (2018). Trajectories of Physical and Emotional Marital
Aggression in Midlife Couples. Violence & Victims, 23(1), 18–34.
https://doi.org/10.1891/0886-6708.23.1.18
