Biographical Paper

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Biographical Paper: Alfred Adler

Mary Spurlock Stepp

Mr. Feger

PSY 223: Developmental Psychology


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Adlerian Therapy

Alfred Adler developed the Alderian therapy. Adler was born in Vienna, Austria in 1870.

Adlers life experiences and success demonstrate the main principles of Alderian Therapy and

lead to the development of his key concepts. As a child Alder did not experience a happy

childhood. He lost a younger brother at an early age. His brother died in the bed next to him, to

which one could imagine was a devastating experience for a young child, such as Adler. Adler

also experienced sickness himself. He developed pneumonia at the age of four and overheard

his doctor tell his father that he would probably not live. Adler credited this experience for

encouraging him to later become a physician. Adler later studied medicine at the University of

Vienna and graduated in 1895. He specialized in neurology and psychiatry.

In 1902 Adler was invited by Sigmund Freud to join Freuds circle that met to discuss

new aspects of psychopathology. Adler left this group in 1911 after him and Freud had a

disagreement about Freuds theories regarding mental difficulties as related to sexual trauma

and his generalization that dreams were interpreted as sexual wish fulfillment. Adler left and

formed his own school of thought, taking eight colleagues in the group with him.

Adler wrote several books over the course of his lifetime. His most important

publication can probably be considered Understanding Human Nature. This was the first major

psychology book to sell in the United States. Hundreds of thousands of copies were sold and

the book still remains on the reading list of some American high schools today. Adler has been

praised for speaking and writing in a language that everyone can understand. Adler has been

quoted saying my psychology belongs to everyone.


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Adler contributed many services to his community. He served as a medical officer in

World War 1. After returning from this duty, he founded several child guidance clinics in

Vienna, which stimulated the developmental of similar clinics in other countries. Adler lectured

in several countries including the United States. He pioneered teaching through live

demonstrations. Adler was to speak before an audience in Aberdeen, Scotland in 1937. Before

he was scheduled to speak, he collapsed while walking in the street and died as a result of heart

failure.

Contributions to Psychology

Adler believed that individuals begin to form a life goal by the time that they are six

years of age. A life goal is one that unifies personality and motivates people to succeed. Adler

believed that people have the ability to make choices and changes. He did not believe that what

you are born with is as important as to what you choose to do with your abilities and

limitations. The main view of his therapy is that people can only be understood as to how they

interrelate to their environment. Adler stressed that behavior is purposeful, goal oriented, and

conscious. Adler referred to his view with the term of Individual Psychology. This term means

that personality can only be understood as a whole and as a part of the system. This therapy

focuses more on interpersonal relationships than on psychodynamics.

Inferiority as used by Adler does not necessarily mean you are below somebody else.

Rather he uses the term inferiority to demonstrate the move from a perceived lower position to

a perceived higher position. The concept is greatly related to how people view themselves

within their environment. Adler believed that inferiority could be the source of creativity and


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motivate people to succeed andstrive for mastery. An example of this in Adlers own life was

when the doctors told his father that he would not live. This incident motivated him to become

a physician himself. Another example is when his teacher did not believe that he was smart

enough to continue school. This incident motivated him to become one of the top students in

his class. Adlerian Therapy views inferiority as a tool to motivate people to mastery and to

enable the person to overcome obstacles. People move toward what is called the final goal in

order to overcome these feelings of inferiority. The final goal is a fictional creation of the

individual-an imagined ideal situation of perfection, completion, and overcoming (Edward &

Steins 1998).

Lifestyle is defined as an individuals core beliefs and assumptions through which the

person organizes his or her reality and finds meaning in life events (Corey 2005, p.97). Family

and relationships influence the development of this style of life. It governs the way in which

one moves toward their goals. Experiences in ones life can have an effect and lead to faulty

interpretations and influence present behavior. Adler believed that it was not the experience

itself that lead to faulty notions, but the persons perception of this experience on their life.

Once a person becomes aware of the patterns and continuity of their lives they are able to

modify faulty interpretations and make changes. A person can then create a new style of life.

Social interest and community feelings refer to individuals awareness of being part of

the human community and to individuals attitudes in dealing with the social world (Corey

2005, p. 98). Adler believed that as a child we are taught to find a place in society. A child will

acquire of sense of belonging and contributing. Adler believed that those who lack the feeling


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of belonging to a community and contributing become discouraged and end up on the useless

side of life. The useless side of life is characterized by self-adsorption, withdrawal from life

tasks, self-protection, or acts against ones fellow human beings (Corey 2005, p. 110).Adlerians

believe that many problems that one faces in his or her life are related to fear of not fitting in or

being accepted to the groups that they value. Adler taught that there are three universal life

tasks that one must master: build friendships, establish intimacy, and contribute to society.

Later Adlerian therapist added two additional life tasks, which include getting along with others

and developing spiritually. These life tasks are so fundamental to human living that

dysfunction in any one of them is often an indicator of a psychological disorder (Corey 2005, p.

99). Adler believed that the individual must be understood in their social context. The person

is a system in which the whole is greater than and different from the sum of its parts (Edwards

& Stein 1998).

Adler placed great emphasizes on birth order in the development of personality. Adler

himself was greatly affected by his own birth order. He was the second of six children. Adler

had been the youngest child at one point. A younger brother replaced Adlers position of the

youngest child. Adler who once had been pampered by his mother due to his age and his

illness received less of his mothers attention once his younger brother arrived. Adler also

experienced a strained relationship with his oldest brother due to competition. Adler identified

five psychological positions to birth order. The first position is the oldest child. This child is

typically spoiled and receives a lot of attention. The child is often characterized as being

dependable and a hard worker. When a new sibling arrives, this child may feel that they are no

longer special. The second position is the second of only two. This child is often the opposite


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of the first child. This child must share attention from the start and often achieves success in

areas where the oldest child has not. The third position is the middle child. This child often

feels cheated or treated unfairly, however in a conflicted family this child may become the

peacemaker. The fourth position is thy youngest child. This child is the baby of the family and

is most pampered. This child will often go his or her own way. The fifth position is the only

child. This child has some similar characteristics of the oldest child, however they may not learn

to share or cooperate with other children. This child interacts well with adults. This child also

may want to be the center of attention all the time and become upset when they feel that they

are not treated so. It is important to note that the individuals interpretation of the birth order

is more important than the actual order they are born. Adlerians believe that birth order is

important in socialization because one develops a style of interaction with others and forms a

perception of their self that affects relationships as the person moves into adulthood.

Adler conceived that psychological disturbances occurred with two conditions. The first

is an exaggerated inferiority feeling and the second is an insufficiently developed feeling of

community. Adler believed that people tend to mask feelings of inferiority rather than to

overcome them. He believed that people use safeguard devices in attempt to not see their

own failures and the depreciate others. Safeguard devices include symptoms, depreciation,

accusations, self-accusations, guilt, and various forms of distancing (Edwards & Steins 1998).


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References

Alfred Adler Institutes of San Francisco and Northwestern Washington: Distance

Training in Classical Adlerian Psychology (2006). Biographical Sketch of Alfred Adler.

www.ourwourld.compuserve.com/homepages/hstein/adler.htm.

Corey, G. (2005). Theory of Counseling Psychotherapy. United States: Thompson.

Edwards, M., & Stein, H. (1998).Classical Adlerian Theory and Practice. Psychoanalytic

Versions of the Human Condition: Philosophies of Life and their Impact on Practice.

New York: New York University Press.

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