Personality Theory

Chapter 5:The Neo-Freudians:

Alfred Adler

The Trouble with Psychoanalysis. . .

Some very critical objections: Freud’s insistence on the significance

of the sexual motive Freud’s failure to see the importance

of family and culture in personality development

A biological emphasis: human behaviour to be understood in physical terms

A second set of objections The role of the ego

Freud: all ego activity derives from the id Psychoanalytic rebels (the neo-

Freudians) insist on an autonomous ego Two consequences

emphasis on the relations of ego to society

diminished importance of the unconscious

A third set of objections The neo-Freudians are critical of the

pessimism of psychoanalysis. Man’s nature is not necessarily evil. Human growth and cooperative living are

possible.

The Neo-Freudian trailblazer, Alfred Adler Born in 1870 in Vienna, the 2nd of 6

children Adler had many obstacles to conquer:

A sickly child who suffered from rickets A poor student in school, especially in

math He gained eventual success and

admission to medicine at the University of Vienna

Married a Russian emigré, Raissa Epstein, who was a dedicated socialist

Graduated in 1895 Adler specialized in ophthalmology,

then general medicine, before turning to psychiatry

After graduation, Adler came to Freud’s attention and was invited to join the fledgling Wednesday Society A few years later, though elected to the

presidency of the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society, he and Freud are at loggerheads.

Refusal to accept Freudian fundamentals Resigned and formed his own society

Served in World War I

Psychiatric practice, founding child guidance clinics, development of theory

Immigrated to the United States in 1934

A prolific writer and lecturer Individual Psychology becomes widely

known. Death in Aberdeen, Scotland in 1937

Emphases in Individual Psychology A practical theory for the

understanding of human problems The importance of courage and

common sense A psychology of the conscious ego

Recognizes self-deceit A person-society theory: the

relation of individual to society is central

A feeling of inferiority is characteristic of all humans. An innate striving for superiority

Each person develops a unique approach to living and striving, the style of life.

Behaviour stems from past causes and is directed toward future goals.

The family is a social group. The importance of:

Parent behaviour and childrearing The child’s situation in the family

The order of birth

Expressions of personality: dreams, earliest memories, symptoms

Major Concepts of Individual Psychology

Organ inferiority and compensation The body’s innate compensation for

organ inferiority A model for the psychological concept

of inferiority and compensation to overcome it

The principle of a feeling of inferiority, the fundamental motive in personality

Overcoming inferiority: the striving for superiority The idea of masculine protest

Striving to overcome inferiority is channeled by: The body, activity level, intelligence Childhood experience: what we learn

in the family

The style of life: each person’s unique form of striving Develops early Difficult to change

Fictional Finalism Humans construct their own realities

– ‘fictions’ – by which they live. Some are realistic, some not.

Belief in an afterlife guides a person’s existence.

So does belief in male dominance. Women may be oppressed by it. It makes males insufferable.

Social Interest Adler, a socialist as well as psychiatrist,

worked for human betterment. Social interest is ‘the true and inevitable

compensation’ for inferiority. It is an inborn human attribute. It can be fostered or thwarted by

experiences in childhood.

The Creative Self This is Adler’s formulation of the ego.

It’s the source of the style of life, creating it.

Three Variables of Personality Development

The family constellation The roles occupied by members of the

family The relationship between parents

and children is important Damage done by:

Pampering Neglect or rejection

The situation into which each child is born Birth order and the special situations

of: The oldest child Middle children The youngest child Only children

Expressions of Personality We may see the style of life

expressed in: Dreams

in which we struggle with problems in life we don’t know how to solve

Earliest memories which reflect the time when personality

was being formed Neurotic symptoms

Which reveal a mistaken style of life or show misguided purposes.

Research The research of Adler and those who

followed him (‘Adlerians’) was clinical Remember the problems of the clinical

method Psychologists began to study Adlerian

hypotheses in the 1920s. Prominent among them was birth order. Early studies were not well done and

were inconclusive.

In the late 1950s, social psychologist Stanley Schachter studied the psychology of affiliation experimentally. Experimental participants made anxious

by the prospect of a frightening experimental procedure must wait a few minutes – either alone or with others.

High anxiety makes them want to be with others.

Critical to Adler’s hypothesis: It is firstborns who want to be with others.

Firstborns have learned from early experience with parents to be dependent on others for emotional support.

Laterborns are largely indifferent to being with others.

Other birth-order findings Firstborns make poorer fighter pilots. Firstborns are more likely to seek

psychotherapy and remain longer. Laterborns are more independent and

rebellious.

Many birth-order findings don’t replicate. Why?

Needed: better dependent measures like Schachter’s

Judith Harris: birth-order effects are seen within the family but not in behaviour outside. She proposes context-specific learning.

Birth-order effects on intelligence have been well studied with conflicting results.

Promising research: Zajonc’s confluence model

Laterborn children show an IQ advantage early in development, but later on, the advantage goes to firstborn children.

Why? Laterborns benefit from from intellectual

stimulation and exposure to firstborn model. Later, firstborns benefit from tutoring laterborn

children.

Adler in Perspective

To us, Adler’s outstanding contribution was his insightful analysis of family and childrearing.

He taught later generations of psychiatrists and psychologists about a conscious ego, and about purposive striving.

Some Contrasts Between Adler and Freud

Patient faces therapistPsychoanalytic patient lies on couch

Post WWI: social interestPost WWI: the death instinct

Neurosis a ‘trick’ of the individual to escape duty

Neurosis inherent in civilized human condition

Feelings of inferiority and the ‘masculine protest’

‘Penis envy’ in women

The family situation and the child’s situation in the family, parent-child and sibling relationships

Family sexuality: the Oedipus Complex and its feminine counterpart

Sexuality, love, and marriage involve social interest and require the preparation of two equals.

Importance of libido

Teleological orientationCausal orientation

Philosophical optimismPhilosophical pessimism

AdlerFreud

Take-Home Messages

Troubles with psychoanalysis Sexuality Role of the ego Pessimism

Alfred Adler: personal history A sickly child, dedicated psychiatrist,

insightful theorist

Theoretical emphases: A practical theory of the ego Striving to overcome inferiority An individual style of life The social psychology of the family How personality is expressed

Theoretical concepts: Organ inferiority and compensation Feelings of inferiority The style of life Fictional finalism Social interest The creative self

3 variables of personality development: Family constellation Parent-child relations

The disasters of pampering and rejection The child’s situation in the family

It’s where you’re born in the family that counts birth order

Expressions of personality Dreams, earliest memories, symptoms

Research, good and bad The good:

Schachter’s studies of affiliation when afraid Are firstborns more conservative?

Laterborns more rebellious? Judith Rich Harris on context-specific

learning The bad:

Intelligence? How about Zajonc?

Adler in perspective The role of the family in personality

development A conscious ego and the importance

of ego functions The goal-directedness of behaviour Adler versus Freud