Adler’s theory Philip Allan Publishers © 2016

Background In 1902 Alfred Adler was invited to join Freud’s Vienna Psychoanalytic Society. In1910 he was made president but by then his ideas had diverged from Freud’s and the two of them began to dislike each other. In 1911 he resigned and in 1912 he founded the rival individual psychology movement. Philip Allan Publishers © 2016

Adler’s main ideas The inferiority complex and the drive for superiority The problem-solving function of dreams The importance of birth order Social interest Philip Allan Publishers © 2016

Comparison between Adler and Freud Main motivations are biological drives. Focus is within the individual mind. Relationship with same-sex parent of primary importance. The Oedipus complex expresses instinctive sexual and aggressive drives. Dreams express instinctive wishes. Personality is the product of id, ego and superego. Adler Main motivation is the inferiority complex. Focus is on interactions between people. Wider family relationships including with siblings of primary importance. The Oedipus complex is the result of spoiling by the opposite-sex parent. Dreams facilitate problem solving. Personality is the result of goal orientation. Philip Allan Publishers © 2016

The inferiority complex In infancy we all have a state of inferiority. Our main motivator is to escape this feeling of inferiority. This manifests in many ways, positive and negative: Negative expressions Positive expressions Arrogance results when we try to assert our superiority. Accomplishment in a work or artistic setting. Agoraphobia results when we feel too inferior to cope with the outside world. Compensation for a weakness by developing a corresponding strength. Domestic abuse results when we express a need to control some aspect of the world. Philip Allan Publishers © 2016

Dreams Adler saw dreams as a mechanism for problem solving, in which our unconscious mind works on problems with which our waking mind has struggled. Adler believed that it is not so much the dream narrative that gives us the answer to our problem but the emotional residue that guides us towards a correct decision. Adler’s murder dream Adler was deciding whether to return a soldier to the First World War front line. He dreamt that he had murdered someone. On waking he realised this was his attempt to solve the problem and decided not to send the soldier back. Philip Allan Publishers © 2016

Birth order Adler saw family dynamics as very important in a child’s development. One important aspect of family dynamics is birth order. A child’s place in birth order can impact on their personality. Firstborns experience dethronement when their siblings are born and seek to regain their position, so are highly power seeking. Later siblings are less power seeking. The youngest child is often the most dependent. Philip Allan Publishers © 2016

Social interest Adler proposed that we have an instinct to make social contact with others. This extends to forming communities and cooperating in social endeavours. Adler saw this as an evolutionary mechanism to equip humans to live effectively in communities The instinct for social interest is mediated by childhood experience. Thus pampered and neglected children are likely to be socially irresponsible. Philip Allan Publishers © 2016