AdlerChapter 4

Early Influences Illnesses as a child

Poor student at first

Older, “perfect” brother

Domineering, socialist wife Interest in everyday problems and people

Freud

Organ InferiorityVersion 1

“Weak” Organs Compensation

try to improve weakness,

or emphasize other functions to make up for

weakness Overcompensation

Conversion of a biological weakness into a strength

Feelings of InferiorityVersion 2

Emphasis shifted from physical to subjective inferiorities

All people born “inferior” The desire to overcome inferiority is the

primary motivator in life

Masculine Protest

Inferiority Complex

Striving for SuperiorityVersion 3

Life Goal: seeking superiority or perfection Final version: striving for superior or perfect

society

Superiority Complex

Vaihinger’s “As If” Philosophy1. All experience of “reality” comes through our

senses

2. Humans have a natural tendency to give these sensations meaning, or fictions

Fictional Goals and Lifestyles

“As if” applied to lives of individuals: Because of past experiences, world views created Subjective reality more important than physical reality

Lifestyle: ways a person attempts to gain life goals

Creative Self

Free element of the personality that allows a person to choose between alternative fictional goals and lifestyles

Social Interest

Three major problems or goals in life: Occupational tasks: advance society

Societal tasks: cooperation/division of labor

Love/marriage tasks: procreation

Mistaken Lifestyles

Mistaken Lifestyle: any lifestyle not aimed at socially useful goals

Lifestyle types: Ruling-dominant type Getting-leaning type Avoiding type

Healthy lifestyle must be socially useful

Where do mistaken lifestyles come from? Physical inferiority

Spoiling/pampering

Neglecting

Safeguarding Strategies

Used by neurotics to save self-esteem Excuses

Symptoms created to explain short-comings Aggression

Deprecation Idealization: use of unrealistic standards to judge others Solicitude: giving advice to point where you believe others

cannot live w/o you Accusation: blame others for own short-comings Self-accusation: self-harm w/ the goal of gaining

attention

Safeguarding Strategies

Distancing Moving backward: revert to less complicated time to

escape social responsibilities Standing still: inability to move forward in life Hesitating: vacillating with problems, delaying, avoiding Constructing obstacles: creating minor barriers to

success Experiencing anxiety: amplification of all distancing

strategies Using the exclusion tendency: living within narrow limits

Goal of Therapy

Awareness of incorrect old lifestyles and creation of a more healthy lifestyle

Therapists avoids blame or criticism

Prevented from using neuroses to gain sympathy from therapist

Methods of Research

Birth Order Firstborn

Second born

Youngest

Only

Methods of Research

First Memories

Dream Analysis

Evaluating Adler’s Theory

Empirical Research Criticisms

Falsifiability Overly simplistic and optimistic

Contributions Social variables Influential

Horney (1885-1952)

Part 1

Early Influences

Mother: supportive, independent Father: very religious, believed women

source of evil Large family, felt unwanted Bouts w/ depression Unhappy marriage, sexual promiscuity

Influence of Freud

Trained in Freudian tradition However, she discover her clients had

different problems from the ones that Freud described

Developed her own personality theory to better explain what she saw Emphasis on culture rather than biology

What causes neuroses?

Social experiences Esp. important

Relationship between parent and child

Childhood

Two basic needs Satisfaction

Safety

If…

Need for safety satisfied

Healthy person

Need for safety not satisfied

Parental Indifference: THE "BASIC EVIL"

Neurotic person

ParentalIndifference

Basic Hostility

Basic Anxiety

Making a Neurotic Person

10 Neurotic Trends or Needs Affection/approval

Partner who will run one’s life

Live life in narrow limits

Power

Exploit others

10 Neurotic Trends or Needs Social recognition and prestige

Personal admiration

Ambition / personal achievement

Independence

Perfection

Adjustment Patterns

moving toward compliant type

moving against hostile type

moving away detached type

toward

away

against

What is mental health?

neurotic: overemphasizes one orientation

healthy: uses all 3 orientations

needs affection, approval, a partner compliant, manipulative, temper tantrums represses competition, rage, anger, hostility lives life within narrow borders "poor little me"; martyr; saint

Neurotic: MOVING TOWARD PEOPLE

Motto: "If I give in, I will not be hurt."

In healthy people, "moving toward" enables us to give and receive social support.

Healthy: MOVING TOWARD PEOPLE

needs control, dominance, recognition and power

hostile, exploitative, perfectionistic, need to be right, Machiavellian, but likeable facade

self-worth success and prestige chooses a partner to enhance prestige,

wealth, or power identifies with the ideal self

Neurotic: MOVING AGAINST PEOPLE

Motto: "If I have power, I shall not be hurt."

In healthy people, "moving against" enables us to be appropriately assertive

Notice that socially approved competition can be a "moving against" symptom

Healthy: MOVING AGAINST PEOPLE

need for privacy self-sufficient, detached, emotionally flat, lacks goals,

overly sensitive to coercion or advice belittles own potential vacillates between despised real self and ideal self attitude of "I don't care about anything"

Neurotic: MOVING AWAY FROM PEOPLE

Motto: "If I withdraw, nothing can hurt me."

In healthy people, "moving away" enables us to be self-reliant (when this is appropriate).

Healthy: MOVING AWAY FROM PEOPLE