BY: SARAH CHOO-YICK & TAMMY LEUNGBY: SARAH CHOO-YICK & TAMMY LEUNG

ALFRED ADLERALFRED ADLERAreas of DiscussionAreas of Discussion

• The Life and Times of Alfred Adler

• The Big Break- Individual Psychology

• Important Theories

• Did you know?

Alfred Adler Lecturing in Berlin

ALFRED ADLERALFRED ADLERBiographyBiography

• Born on February 7, 1870 in Penzing, Austria

• Second of six children; was raised in Vienna in the suburbs

• Age of 5 developed pneumonia; this life threatening experience motivated Adler to pursue medicine

• In 1895, received medical degree at University of Vienna; here he met a group of social students & his future wife, Raissa Timofeyewna Epstein, an intellect*

• Married in 1897 and had four children

Alfred Adler as a Student, age 15

Raissa Adler and the Children - Valentine, Alexandra, Nelly, & Kurt (About 1914) The Adlers' Country Home

• He became a physician and had an office across from a circus in a lower-class part of Vienna

• He later turned to psychiatry as it related to physical/mental disorders

• In 1902 he met Sigmund Freud and they formed the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society where Adler was the president

• This led Freud to claim Adler as a disciple*

• HE IS THE FOUNDER OF INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY

• He passed away May 28, 1937 in Aberdbeen, Scotland from a heart attack.

ALFRED ADLERALFRED ADLERBiography Cont’dBiography Cont’d

Alfred Adler With Raissa, Alexandra, and Colleagues Adler

ALFRED ADLERALFRED ADLERThe Big Break-Individual PsychologyThe Big Break-Individual Psychology

• Adler was influenced by the writings of Jan Smuts, a South African philosopher

• Smuts felt that in order to understand people, “we have to understand them more as unified wholes than a collection of bits and pieces, and we have to understand them in the context of their environment, both physical and social.”- Smuts

• This approach is called holism• Adler categorized the idea that we see

people as wholes as Individual Psychology*

• Individual Psychology- a school of thought stressing the influence of inferiority feelings on human behavior

• Adler is different from other psychologist because he prefers to talk about lifestyle*

Flyer for August, 1937 SeminarScheduled for the Williams Institute in Berkeley, California

Proposed Western Headquarters for Adler in the U.S.

Adler

ALFRED ADLERALFRED ADLERTheory of InferiorityTheory of Inferiority

• Need for self-esteem can be thought of as one of the social needs• A person’s sense of self-esteem depends on feedback from others• The need and anxiety it produces was emphasized by Adler*• Everyone feels inferior to a certain degree, this motivates us to get better• Common cause: parental neglect

5 types of inferiority:1. Physical2. Intellectual3. Psychological4. Social5. Economical

• 2 methods of coping with inferiority-> inferiority complex*, superiority complex*

• to deal with inferiority, people either overcompensate* by engaging in vocal behavior* , or become lazy, tentative, and helpless

• Overall the way people overcome inferiority provides the basis for their lifelong personality*

ALFRED ADLERALFRED ADLERTheory of Psychological TypesTheory of Psychological Types

• All humans have unique lifestyles• They include patterns of thinking, feeling, emotion, and behavior

The 4 types of lifestyle:*

Ruling Getting Avoiding Socially Useful

ALFRED ADLERTheory of Childhood Development

• Parenting and childhood development influences one’s personality

• Parental “overpampering”: a child becomes spoiled and may fail to find love

• Parental neglect: a child may lack confidence in their ability to complete tasks and attract love

ALFRED ADLER- Childhood DevelopementALFRED ADLER- Childhood Developement

ALFRED ADLERALFRED ADLERTheory of Sibling RivalryTheory of Sibling Rivalry

• Position in birth order could affect a child’s development

• First born:Case 1. May act out and

misbehave to gain attentionCase 2. Accept authority and

conservative values• Second born: competitive

need to catch up with the first born

• Youngest: fail to become independent while having a high self-esteem due to pampering

Alfred Adler's Older Brother Sigmund

(This table is a broad simplification of Adler's theory. )

POSITION FAMILY SITUATION CHILD'S CHARACTERISTICS

ONLY

Birth is a miracle. Parents have no previous experience. Retains 200% attention from both parents. May become rival of one parent. Can be over-protected and spoiled.

Likes being the center of adult attention. Often has difficulty sharing with peers. Prefers adult company and uses adult language.

OLDEST

Dethroned by next child. Has to learn to share. Parent expectations are usually very high. Often given responsibility and expected to set an example.

May become authoritarian or strict. Feels power is his right. Can become helpful if encouraged. May turn to the father after birth of the next child.

SECOND He has a pacemaker. There is

always someone ahead.

Is more competitive, wants to overtake older child. May become a rebel or try to outdo everyone. Competition can deteriorate into rivalry.

MIDDLE Is "sandwiched" in. May feel

squeezed out of a position of privilege and significance.

May be even-tempered, "take it or leave it" attitude. May have trouble finding a place or become a fighter of injustice.

YOUNGEST Has many mothers and

fathers. Older children try to educate him. Never dethroned.

Wants to be bigger than the others. May have huge plans that never work out. Can stay the "baby." Frequently spoiled.

ALFRED ADLERALFRED ADLERSibling Rivalry- Birth Order ChartSibling Rivalry- Birth Order Chart

• Concept that we are drawn towards our goals, our purposes and our ideals

• Teleology acknowledges life is hard, uncertain, but always has room for change*

• In relation to teleology is Fictional Finalism• Hans Vaihinger, a philosopher, studied Fictions (partial truths)*• Finalism refers to teleology of it*• Fiction lies in the future and yet influences our behavior today• Adler notes: in the center of each of our lifestyles, there sits one of these

fictions

“We behave as if the end of the world would be here tomorrow, as if we were sure what good and bad are all about, as if everything we see is as we see it”- Adler

ALFRED ADLERALFRED ADLERTheory of Teleology and Fictional FinalismTheory of Teleology and Fictional Finalism

Adler

1870 Birth of Alfred Adler on February 7th

1888 Adler begins study at the University of Vienna Medical School and receives medical degree in 1895

1897 Adler marries Raissa Timofeivna Epstein

1898 Adler sets up private practice in Vienna

1902 Sigmund Freud invites Adler to join the fledgling Vienna Psychoanalytic Society

1904 Adler publishes his most important article to date, The Physician as EducatorAdler converts from Judaism to Protestanism

1905 Publication of A Study of Organ Inferiority

1911 Adler is expelled from the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society Adler forms his own group called Society for Individual Psychology

1912 Publication of The Neurotic Constitution

1916 Adler is drafted as a military physician for World War I

1918 Adler is discharged from military service, begins emphasizing social feeling in his writings

1922 Publication of The Practice and Theory of Individual PsychologyAdler begins a consulting team in child guidance

1927 Publication of Understanding Human NatureAdler's first lecture-tour of the United States

1932 Adler becomes a professor at the Long Island College of Medicine

1933 Publication of Social Interest: A Challenge to Mankind

1934 Austria is taken over by its fascists, and Adler's psycho-educational movement is suppressed

1935 Austria is annexed by Hitler's Nazi GermanyRaissa relocates to New York City and resumes living full-time with AdlerAdler becomes mentor to the young Abraham Maslow

1937 Death of Alfred Adler on May 28th, Aberdeen, Scotland

ALFRED ADLER ALFRED ADLER TimelineTimeline

"The striving for personal power is a disastrous delusion and poisons man's "The striving for personal power is a disastrous delusion and poisons man's living together. Whoever desires the human community must renounce the living together. Whoever desires the human community must renounce the

striving for power over others.“ – Alfred Adlerstriving for power over others.“ – Alfred Adler

ALFRED ADLERALFRED ADLERBibliographyBibliography

Psychology by Peter Gray

Human Society by Fred Jarman and Helmut Manzl

Psychology: An Introduction by Josh R. Gerow

The Marshall Cavendish Encyclopedia of Personal Relationships

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Adler

http://brainmeta.com/personality/adler.php

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/hstein/homepage.htm