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Alfred Adler's Individual Psychology emphasizes that humans are motivated by social connectedness and a desire for superiority, with feelings of inferiority driving personal goals. Key principles include the importance of social interest, lifestyle, and the impact of family dynamics, particularly birth order, on personality development. Adlerian psychotherapy aims to help individuals overcome feelings of inferiority and achieve a healthier self-perception.

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17 views21 pages

Aqsa

Alfred Adler's Individual Psychology emphasizes that humans are motivated by social connectedness and a desire for superiority, with feelings of inferiority driving personal goals. Key principles include the importance of social interest, lifestyle, and the impact of family dynamics, particularly birth order, on personality development. Adlerian psychotherapy aims to help individuals overcome feelings of inferiority and achieve a healthier self-perception.

Uploaded by

aqsawani1104
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Alfred Alder: Theory of

Individual Psychology

Presented By

Aqsa Farooq (22050015)


&
Suhaib Lateef (22050020)
Alfred Adler’s Individual Psychology posits that humans are primarily motivated by
social connectedness and a striving for superiority or success. He believed that feelings
of inferiority drive individuals to achieve personal goals.

Early interaction with family members, peers, and adults helps to determine the role
of inferiority and superiority in life.

Adler believed that birth order had a significant and predictable impact on a child’s
personality, and their feeling of inferiority.

 All human behavior is goal-orientated and motivated by striving for superiority.


Individuals differ in their goals and how they try to achieve them.

A natural and healthy reaction to inferiority is compensation: efforts to overcome


real or imagined inferiority by developing one’s own abilities.

If people cannot compensate for normal feelings of inferiority, they develop an
inferiority complex.

The overarching goal of Adlerian psychotherapy is to help the patient overcome


feelings of inferiority.
Key Principles of Adler’s Individual Psychology

1. Striving for Superiority


Main Drive: People are primarily motivated by a desire to overcome feelings of
inferiority (often stemming from childhood).
Superiority vs. Inferiority Complex:
• Superiority complex: Overcompensation for deep feelings of inferiority.
• Inferiority complex: A debilitating sense of inadequacy that hampers growth.

2. Social Interest

 Definition: An innate potential to relate to others with empathy and cooperation.


 Adler believed mental health is closely tied to an individual’s ability to contribute to
society and form meaningful social bonds
3. Lifestyle
Not about luxury or habits—it refers to a person’s unique way of dealing with life’s
tasks (friendship, love, work).
Formed early in life, largely based on the individual's interpretation of life
experiences.
4. Holism
Adler emphasized viewing people as integrated wholes, not as a collection of parts
(mind vs. body, thoughts vs. emotions).
5. Fictional Finalism
 People are motivated by future goals, not just past experiences.
 These goals may be unconscious and based on idealistic or imagined “final” states
(e.g., “If I am perfect, I’ll be loved”).
6. Family Constellation and Birth Order
 Adler explored how one’s position in the family (oldest, middle, youngest, only
child) can influence personality.
 While not deterministic, birth order shapes how individuals relate to others
and perceive their roles.
7. Creative Self
 The individual is not just shaped by environment and heredity but also creates
and shapes their own personality through conscious choices.

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