Adler's Theory of Personality
Adler's theory of personality contended that individuals are whole beings.
Therefore, their personality is formed based on several key concepts,
including:
interest: a sense of community and one's attitude toward other.
Masculine protest: a desire to be "a real man," superior and perfect.
Lifestyle: a pattern of responses to situations.
Goal-directed and purposeful behavior: all behaviors are a result
of.
our goals.
Feelings of inferiority: relying totally on others in early life causes
us to feel inferior.
Striving for superiority: an attempt to overcome feelings of
inferiority.
Fictional finalism: ideals with no basis in reality, thus cannot be
tested or confirmed (i.e., "honesty is the best policy")
Family constellation: one's family makeup and position within the
family.
Birth order: the order in which we are born affects our familial
relationships, interactions, and feelings of inferiority
Adler suggested that there Social were four personality types based on a
person's lifestyle:
The socially useful type
The ruling type
The getting or learning type
The avoiding type
Inferiority Complex
One of the main contributors to Adler's personality theory was the idea that
all people develop feelings of inferiority early in life, resulting in an inferiority
complex. From childhood, people work toward overcoming this inferiority by
"striving for superiority."
Adler believed that this drive was the motivating force behind human
behaviors, emotions, and thoughts. An example of Adler's theory would be a
child who feels inferior, then misbehaves in an attempt to get their parent to
pay more attention to them. Later in life, feeling inferior may cause some
individuals to focus on collaboration and contributions to society while others
will try to exert power over others.
