Personality Psyc Paper for movie Good Will Hunting
KarruechesTwin
alfred_adler_1.pptxAlfred Adler
A. The Life of Adler
Adler called his approach to human nature Individual Psychology, which focused on the uniqueness of each person and denied the universality of biological motives and goals.
Adler had an early childhood where he suffered from illness, was near death from pneumonia and experienced isolation from other children because of his illnesses.
A. The Life of Adler (cont.)
3. Adler felt childhood relationships with other children and siblings were much more important in personality development than did Freud.
4. Adler associated with Freud for nine years, but eventually became a critic of Freud and his psychoanalytic theory.
5. Adler went on to found the Society for Individual Psychology in 1912.
6. Adler was active in organizing government-sponsored child counseling clinics and introduced group training and guidance procedures.
B. Inferiority Feelings: The Source of Human Striving
Adler believed that inferiority feelings were common for human to feel and they were the source of all human striving.
Compensation is the drive we need to overcome this sense of inferiority and to strive for increasingly higher levels of development. This process begins in infancy, when the infant is aware of his or her parents’ greater power and strength, and the hopelessness of overcoming this power. This becomes an environment of helplessness and dependency on adults.
B. Inferiority Feelings: The Source of Human Striving (cont.)
2. For a child, an inability to overcome inferiority feelings intensifies them, leading to the development of an inferiority complex.
Adler used his theory to explain how neglected, unwanted, and rejected children can develop an inferiority complex.
B. Inferiority Feelings: The Source of Human Striving (cont.)
3. The superiority complex involves an exaggerated opinion of one’s abilities and accomplishments.
A person may feel such a need and work to become extremely successful; or, the person may feel superior and self-satisfied and have no need to demonstrate his or her accomplishments.
C. Striving for Superiority, or Perfection
Adler described a drive for perfection as a striving for superiority.
We strive for superiority in an effort to perfect ourselves, to make ourselves complete or whole.
D. The Style of Life
According to Adler, we develop a unique or distinct character, or style of life.
In an attempt at compensation, children acquire a set of behaviors. These behaviors become part of the style of life, a pattern of behaviors designed to compensate for an inferiority.
This style of life becomes the guiding framework for all later behaviors.
D. The Style of Life (cont.)
2. Adler proposed four basic styles of life for dealing with problems involving our behavior, problems of occupation, and problems of love:
(a) the dominant type who displays a dominant ruling attitude with little social awareness;
(b) the getting type which is the most common, where a person expects to receive satisfaction from other people and so becomes dependent on them;
(c) the avoiding type is a person who avoids any possibility of failure; and
(d) the socially useful type who cooperates with others and acts in accordance with their needs.
E. Social Interest
Social interest is defined as the individual’s innate potential to cooperate with other people to achieve personal and societal goals.
We depend on our early social experiences to realize our innate potential.
The mother’s role becomes vital in developing the child’s social interest or can thwart the development of this potential.
The mother must teach the child cooperation, companionship, and courage.
F. Birth Order
1. Adler viewed a person’s birth order is a major influence in childhood. Even though siblings have the same parents and live in the same house, they do not have identical social environments.
F. Birth Order (cont.)
The first-born child gets the full and undivided attention of the parents.
As a result, first-borns have a secure, happy existence, until the second-born appears.
First-borns may become stubborn, ill-behaved, and destructive as they try to regain their former position in the family.
They may blame any discipline on the parents’ love for the other child, who the first-born perceives is the cause of the problem.
The advantages of being the oldest child include playing the role of teacher, tutor, leader, and disciplinarian, when helping with the younger children.
F. Birth Order (cont.)
The second-born child, the parents are less concerned and anxious about their own behavior and may be more relaxed in their approach with the second child.
Competition with the first-born may motivate the second-born.
They become more optimistic about the future and may even excel in sports or scholarship.
However, if the second-born feels they can not surpass the first-born, they may become an underachiever, performing below their ability.
F. Birth Order (cont.)
The youngest child is driven to surpass all the older children and learn at a fast rate, even into adulthood.
The youngest can be excessively pampered and come to believe they need not learn anything, therefore, they may become helpless and dependent as adults.
F. Birth Order (cont.)
The only child remains the focus and the center of attention.
The only child spends more of their time with adults and may mature faster than others.
Only children experience difficulties when they find they are not the center of attention.
They may not have learned to compete, and if their abilities do not bring them sufficient recognition or attention, they are likely to feel keenly disappointed.
G. Assessment in Adler’s Theory
Adler assessed the personalities of his patients by observing everything about them, such as the way they walked or sat, the manner of shaking hands, even the choice of chair they sat in.
A person’s body language indicates something of our style of life, according to Adler.
H. Reflections on Adler’s Theory
Adler has influenced many other psychologists, such as Karen Horney and Gordon Allport, especially in the area of how social forces influence personality.
