Alfred Adler

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Alfred Adler
Vienna, 1870
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Individual Psychology Basic Concepts

• Social Embeddedness
• People have a strong need to belong.
• People cannot be understood apart from their
  community.
• Forces decision on Social Interest

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Individual Psychology Basic Concepts

• Human Motivation
• Behavior is purposeful
• Inferior to Superior striving

Feelings of Superiority
Independence, Competence, Self-control.
Feelings of being small, dependent subordinate
to others
Feelings of Inferiority
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Individual Psychology Basic Concepts

• Behavior is goal directed
• not determined by genes or environment
• Striving toward goals that give sense of
• belonging
• security
• self-esteem

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Individual Psychology Basic Concepts

• Life Tasks

(getting along)
(cooperative achievement)
Society
Work
Unavoidable
Sex
Involves Courage Risk-taking
(relating to the opposite gender)
(relating to the universe)
Religion
Self
(relating to identity)
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Individual Psychology Basic Concepts

• Life Style
• Basic life orientation
• Characteristic way of living
• Belief in self,other the world
• Formed before age 6-8
• Child observes evaluates how to belong gain
  significance
• Interpretations are not always accurate

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Individual Psychology Basic Concepts

• Maladjustment discouragement resulting from
• poor (useless) attempts at belonging
• poor social interest
• strong feelings of inferiority
• mistaken beliefs about self, others, and the world