Adler Notes - do not remember professor PDF

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Adler Notes I.

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Biological Sketch – Adler a. 1870-1937 b. Born 1870 in Vienna c. 1st person to break from Freud d. Jewish (though later converted to Christianity), middle-class family… similar background to Freud e. Sickly as a child + brushes w/ death.. f. .. led him to see death as something to be conquered/ overcome g. Doctors encouraged fresh air – played with neighborhood kids… led to his belief in importance of social relationships h. Interest in whole person caught Freud’s attention; invited to join “inner circle” i. But never really agreed with many of Freud’s ideas, left group and began his own: Society for Individual Psychology j. In his mid-40s called to war… led to development of idea of “social interest” k. Died in 1937 of a heart attack Points of Disagreement with Freud a. Fundamental human motivation: striving for success/overcoming inferiority b. Lesser role of the unconscious c. Teleological influences on personality Concepts and Principles of Individual Psychology a. Subjective Perceptions i. Fictions: expectations of what the future holds for us ii. Organ inferiorities: belief that we come into the world as weak, inferior physical beings, and this causes us to feel inferior … reflects belief that our feelings of inferiority (finish) b. Striving for success vs. striving for superiority i. Healthy – strive for success ii. Unhealthy – strive for superiority c. Style of life i. Interaction of heredity, environment, goal of success/superiority, social interest, and creative power ... “personality” ii. Adler believed developed by age 4 or 5 d. Unity of personality i. Organ dialect: Adler’s idea that people sometimes use their physical body to express self ii. Conscious and unconscious e. Social interest i. Striving for sense of community ii. According to Adler, innate, but must be developed iii. Development primarily facilitated by…. Mommy f. Creative Power i. Inner freedom that we each have to create our own individual style of life g. Final Goal

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i. We all have a purpose in life that we are continually striving toward throughout our lives ii. Healthy; final goal is the personal and collective success of humankind iii. Unhealthy; final goal is personal superiority over others Abnormal Development a. General description i. Main cause is an underdeveloped social interest b. Safeguarding tendencies i. Adler’s version of defensive strategy… ii. May be conscious or unconscious iii. Making excuses iv. Use of aggression v. Withdrawal c. Masculine protest i. “the neurotic and erroneous belief held by some men and women that men are superior to women” (Feist et al., 2013, p. G-8) ii. Believed it was culturally instilled, not biologically based Applications of Individual Psychology a. Family constellation/ birth order i. Believed that the order in which we are born into our family affects our personality ii. Not a magic fairy dust effect iii. Rather due to the situational influences on our experiences and thus personality Family Constellation/ birth order a. First Borns: i. When sibling born “dethroned”, so may have need for power/overachiever ii. All characteristics in large part determined by age and style of life at time of sibling’s birth iii. Conservative iv. Critical… “know-it-all” v. Organized vi. Tend to be anxious vii. Nurturing/caring viii. Some say more intelligent, though NOT Adler, and research support for this idea is inconclusive at best b. Second Born: i. Highest likelihood of being cooperative of all birth orders ii. Most develop healthy sense of competition and ambition, unless perceive siblings as resentful of them & hostile toward them… then develop unhealthy sense of competition c. Youngest: i. Due to pampering by parents and older siblings “…run a high risk of being problem children”

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ii. Baby of the family, often develops need to surpass others (can lead to healthy or unhealthy competition) iii. Can develop excessive dependence d. Only Child i. Socially mature, as often around more adults than children ii. May develop feelings of superiority and lack cooperation e. Middle Children: i. Depends on relationships with older and younger siblings; mix of characteristics Applications of Individual Psychology a. Early recollections i. Thought that first memory we can recall is indicative of our style of life… ii. Style of life determines (CAUSES) what we recall as our first memory, not more intuitive early memory causing current style of life b. Dreams i. Believed dreams another indicator of style of life ii. Self-deceptive; true meaning often disguised so difficult to interpret ourselves c. Therapy i. ***overarching goal to foster social interest in patient ii. Would examine family constellation, early recollections, social interest, creative power, dreams to determine style of life, goal of striving for success/superiority Image of human nature a. Determinism vs. free will i. Not complete control but have ability to take control – free will b. Pessimism vs. optimism i. Pretty optimistic c. Causality vs. teleology i. More teleological d. Unconscious vs. conscious i. A little more on the conscious side. Didn’t really focus on the unconscious e. Biological vs. social i. Social interest – strive for success f. Similarities vs. uniqueness i. Uniqueness – inferiority complex g....