Alfred Alder was a German psychiatrist and philosopher. He lived between 1870 and 1937. In his overall work, Alder stressed the importance of understanding people based on their social contexts. He developed a theory of individual personality during the beginning of the twentieth century. He was influenced by Sigmund Feud’s theory of stages of personality development and the works of other theorists. Despite the fact that Freud influenced his work on individual personality, Alder rejected most of Freud’s views on the factors that influence an individual’s behaviors. Freud emphasized on the primacy of innate factors and the social environment in shaping an individual’s behaviors. On the other hand, Adler emphasized that every individual has the power to shape his or her own behaviors (Williams & Ettinger, 2004). The present paper discusses Adler’s contribution to the personality theory developed by Freud. In addition, the paper examines the how Alder’s perspectives have influenced life in the contemporary world. Lastly, the paper evaluates some cultural implications of Alder’s perspective on individual’s personality.

Contribution to the Theory of Personality

Adler developed his personality theory during the same period when Feud developed his theory about the stages of human development. Freud argued that an individual’s personality develops during childhood. Freud proposed that an individual’s sexual drive shifts to different areas of the body during childhood development. Freud came up with five stages through which the sexual drive shifts, namely, the oral stage, the anal stage, the phallic stage, the latency stage and the genital stage. In the view of Freud, sexual drive is the source of tension in a human being, whereas pressure emanates from its discharge (Williams & Ettinger, 2004). Freud argued that, during human development, the ‘id’ must be controlled in order to conform to social values and norms. As a result, a conflict emerges between an individual’s desires and the social values and norms. The extent to which the conflict is solved as individual passes through the five stages of growth determines his or her personality. In addition, Freud stated that an individual’s personality is also shaped by the extent to which the conflict between the id, the ego and the superego are balanced. However, Adler rejected the view held by Freud. Adler believed that an individual’s personality cannot be divided into segments (Eckstein & Kaufman, 2012). He believed that an individual’s personality is an organized whole, and it is a complete unity. He rejected the claim by Freud that there exists an internal conflict between id, ego and superego. Adler claimed that an individual’s personality moves only in one direction it focuses only on a “single fictional goal” (Eckstein & Kaufman, 2012).

Adler developed his perspective of personality based on his life experiences. He believed that all human beings are born with physical weaknesses. Children have feelings of inferiority when interacting with older people. Consequently, individuals spend most of the time during childhood trying to overcome the feeling of inferiority. To describe the feelings of inferiority, Adler coined the term “inferiority complex” (Taylor, 2009). According to Alder, children try to overcome the feelings either through striving for superiority or striving for success. Alder noted that the striving for superiority is mentally unhealthy. In the view of Adler, individuals who remain psychologically healthy strive for success in order to suppress inferiority. On the other hand, the striving for superiority often encounters limitations from the social environment and thus, it leads to non-reproductive personality achievement or flawed traits (Taylor, 2009).

Although the drive to strive for superiority and success is innate, the individual’s personality is shaped by the immediate social environment. According to Adler, an individual’s personality is shaped by his or her motivation. In Adler’s view, an individual’s motivation emanates from his or her expectations of the future. According to Adler, people are not motivated by their past experiences. Motivation drives an individual’s quest for superiority or success. Adler regarded the expectations as ‘fictions’ because they are based on an individual’s subjective perceptions of the future reality (Taylor, 2009).

Unlike Freud, Adler believed that an individual’s personality must be consistent since childhood. Adler believed that, during childhood, every individual develops his own unique personality. The person’s character that is developed informs his future fundamental behaviors. Once a solid character develops during the childhood, it remains consistent and is directed towards the achievement of a particular goal in the future. Adler acknowledged that there are cases where an individual may show behaviors that are inconsistent with the fundamental character that is developed during childhood. In such cases, Adler explained that the inconsistent behaviors are as a result of “an unconscious attempt to confuse other people” (Taylor, 2009).

Unlike Freud who emphasized on the importance of psychological, social and physical factors, Adler emphasized on the primacy of social interest. Adler coined the term ‘social interest’ to mean an individual’s interest to be part of a given social community. According to Adler, social interest is an important aspect of human development since it drives parents to take care for their children (Feist & Feist, 2002). Despite rejecting the theory developed by Freud, Adler supported Freud’s view that social interest moderates the effects of an individual’s genetic predisposition on behavior. In the view of Adler, an individual’s psychological health is determined by the extent to which the social interest intervenes to moderate the innate predispositions (Feist & Feist, 2002).

Adler argued that every individual develops a unique style of life by the age of five, based on social interest, social concept and goals. Individuals who are psychologically healthy develop style of life that is flexible and complex. In addition, they express social interest through action. Therefore, in his contribution to the theory of personality, Adler accepted the view held by Freud, that an individual’s personality is shaped by innate and external factors. However, unlike Freud, who believed that an individual has little or no control over the influence from the innate and the external factors, Adler believed that individuals have ‘creative power’ to control their behaviors (Feist & Feist, 2002). According to Adler, the creative power enables individuals to develop their own unique personalities.

Applicability in Today’s Life

Although Adler developed his theory of personality more than a century ago, his perspectives are still applicable today. For instance, the concept of social interest is applicable in many communities. During the growth, children learn to conform to the values and norms upheld in the community. Parents and other community members teach children to suppress undesirable behaviors and to conform to certain forms of behaviors that are considered acceptable. Since individuals fear rejection by other community members, they strive to conform to the interests of the community. Consequently, individuals in the current societies suppress their innate predispositions in order to conform to the norms and values of their immediate communities. As a result, individuals in the modern societies have learned to give consideration to the welfare of others, above their own interests (Adler, 2006). They sacrifice their own interests in order to engage in acts that are not detrimental to other community members. For instance, people in the modern world learn that, despite the economic benefits expected, they should not engage in economic activities that may have a detrimental impact to the future generations, such as overfishing and deforestations.

Cultural implications

There are several cultural implications of Alder’s work. In his development of the theory, Alder noted that the mother plays a unique role in shaping the behavior of a child. At the same time, Adler noted that there are cases where the father, a caretaker or other members of the community may play a significant role in the society. According to Alder, the mother plays the role of teaching a child the norms and values that are accepted in the community (Eckstein & Kaufman, 2012). As well, the mother teaches a girl child how to become a good mother in the future. At the same time, the father has a role to teach the boy child how to behave as a father and a husband in the future.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Alder accepted the argument by Freud that the human personality is shaped by innate and external factor. However, he rejected Freud’s suggestion that human personality changes during different developmental stages and that it can be divided into various segments. Alder developed his own perspective of personality based on personal experiences. He argued that an individual’s personality is shaped by social interest, goals and social concept. The concept of social interest in his theory is applicable in the present social structure, where people learn to consider the welfare of others, above their own interests. The theory of personality developed by Adler assigns the mother and the father unique roles to play in shaping the behaviors of their children.

References

Adler, A. (2006). The concept of social interest. Journal of Individual psychology, 24, 131-149

Eckstein, D. &Kaufman, J. A. (2012). The Role of Birth Order in Personality: An Enduring

Intellectual Legacy of Alfred Adler. Journal of Individual Psychology 68(1), 60

Feist, J., & Feist, G. (2002). Theories of personality. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Taylor, E. (2009). The Mystery of Personality: A History of Psychodynamic Theories. San

Francisco, CA: Springer

Williams, J. E. G., & Ettinger, R. H. (2004). Understanding psychology. Redding, CA: Horizon

Textbook Publishing.

CLICK BUTTON TO ORDER NOW