Alfred Adler
Amongst the most iconic names in the world of psychiatrics, is Alfred Adler. Born in Vienna, Austria in February of 1870, he became known as the grandfather of Humanistic Psychology and his name is now synonymous with the concept of individual psychology. Working with other prominent names in the field, including Sigmund Freud, he was part of a large psychoanalytic movement based in Vienna. By taking a more humanistic approach to his theories of the development of one’s personality and mindset, Adler was a pioneer in his time, focusing more on human health rather than the popular concept of pathology.
Adler joined a discussion group headed by Freud in 1907, and began writing papers having to do with a new outlook on human behavior. With some of Adler’s earliest memories being of death and illnesses in the family, many of his studies were centered around health, and the causes for various ailments. His concept of organ inferiority, for example, illustrates reasoning that is very different from Freud’s methods. He argues that it is one’s culture and environment that causes a sort of tension within the individual; and the tension can escalate to a level at which that person’s organ is unable to cope, therefore causing the organ to operate at a more infantile level. Disease, ultimately, “is the result of organ inferiority and external demands” (Oberst & Stewart, 2003, p. 5). Adler’s philosophies gave way to his theory of individual psychology. Like Freud, he states that psychological phenomena is influenced by childhood experiences-- however, he rejects the assumption that humans are victims of their past, as this provides too simple of an explanation.
The theory of individual psychology suggests that one’s behavior stems from their own subconscious version of their ideal self, as they are striving to achieve that goal. Their success and motivation, however, is affected by their environment and surroundings. Adler’s theory is made up of several concepts, including holism, fictionalism, finality, life-style, and private intelligence. With his holistic view on personality, Adler argues that a person is born with a sense of creativity that spurs their beliefs, feelings, and behavior, allowing them to control their own circumstances rather than simply being a victim of past events. Individuals act as a whole based on their desire to achieve their ideal self, also referred to as the fictionate goal. “This unifying principle can be seen as the individual’s unique way of responding to situations” (Oberst & Stewart, 2003, p. 13). Based on this reasoning, the fictionate goal plays a fundamental role in one’s personality and serves to distinguish one individual from another. The idea of fictionalism pertains to the conscious and subconscious ideas that a person possesses. Although these ideas may not always have any correlation to reality, they aid that person in coping with real-life situations and are used to determine how that person will perceive themselves, other people, and their surroundings. Fictionalism is also used as a sort of personality crutch when a person feels that they are falling short of their fictionate goal. “…It is a compensation for feelings of inferiority and serves to produce positive feelings in a situation that is perceived as negative” (Oberst & Stewart, 2003, p. 15). Adler also acknowledges the importance of maintaining a teleological, or final, approach to one’s behavior, which is also known as finality of the fictionate goal. Instead of questioning the cause of one’s actions, he examines what the act was committed for, as well as where that act is supposed to lead. According to Adler’s theory, understanding one’s life style is the key to understanding that person as a whole. In this sense, a life style is not one’s way of living, but rather how the various parts of their personality work together. It is more of a term of identity, synonymous with “character and personality, or simply the ‘I’, expressing the wholeness of personality…” (Oberst & Stewart, 2003, p. 19). All elements of this theory are then justified by an individual’s private intelligence, which one creates in order to rationalize a self-serving lifestyle dedicated to become their ideal self.
One application of Adler’s theory is when girls make the transition from childhood to adulthood. Many girls grow up as tomboys, liking the same things little boys commonly enjoy and even wanting to dress as boys themselves. “If a girl is stimulated to imitate boys by her environment or her education it will increase her difficulties later…” (Adler & Mairet, 1929, p. 68). These girls are more likely to have a strong need to overcompensate for this lack of knowledge with masculine behavior, which can potentially include heavy drinking and promiscuity. Eating disorders are another example of how an inferiority complex can lead to destructive behavior (Belangee, 2006, p. 5). An anorexic can display fictionalism by believing that starving themselves will make them more attractive and closer to achieving their ideal self, or fictionate goal. This behavior is then rationalized by that person’s private intelligence, which was created when they were younger and affected by their surroundings and interactions with other people.
Adler’s theory of individual psychology is a complex yet rational approach to exploring human behavior. Unlike the common assumptions that one’s personality consists of several separate entities, he argues that humans behave and function as a complete being. The reasoning of one’s behavior and beliefs are therefore traceable, making it possible to determine the inner workings of their mentality-- how they perceive things, how they react to such perceptions, and how it sets them apart as an individual