The Inferiority Complex By Alfred Adler

In the early 20th-century, interest in the field of child development emerged. Researchers and theorists studied the ways in which children grew, learned, and, in some instances, were shaped by societal influences (Weiland, 1993). The study of child development enables us to appreciate and understand the social, emotional, physical, educational, and cognitive growth that children go through from birth to early adulthood. Grand theories attempt to organize and arrange concepts and aspects of development using a step approach. Such as that of Erik Erikson’s theory, the Psychosocial Identity Development theory, in which he addresses the development of personal, emotional, and social progression in an individual through stages (Pretorius et al., 2015). Erikson’s model for the approach of development involves the focus of overcoming conflicts that individuals encounter over the span of their childhood that influence their ego identity, or the conscious sense of self that develops and constantly changes due to new experiences and information that is acquired through daily interactions with others and events. In Erikson’s theory, he believed that each person experienced a conflict that served as a defining moment in their development that essentially shaped who they would become later on in life; he believed that unresolved problems of adult life echoed unresolved conflicts of one’s childhood (Berger, 2011).

If the Adlerian therapy is summarized, it can be added here that the therapy is more of a growth plan. One of the main facts that is stressed by the theory is that human beings are in control of their own nature and that there should be a positive view towards the nature. Views that an individual has towards his nature leads him in having a good or bad faith. Being a child, a certain kind of lifestyle is adopted by an individual and this kind of lifestyle goes on in a consistent manner throughout his life (Carlson, Watts, and Maniacci, 2006, p. 45).

If this stage is successful the child have the virtue of purpose. The fourth stage is industry vs. inferiority which happens in elementary school from the age 6 until puberty. During this stage, the child’s teacher and peers become the source of self-esteem. Children in this stage feel like they need to fit in and gain approval of those around them. They feel confident and gain a sense of pride when they are praised for their accomplishments. If this stage is successful they will gain the virtue of competence. If they feel they can’t do what is asked of them, are rejected by their peers, or their parents/teachers treat them insensitively, they will learn inferiority. Stage five is ego-identity vs. role-confusions which occurs during adolescence. Teenagers being to wonder who they are. This leads to them going through phases and rebelling to search for where they fit in and belong. They explore themselves, others, and roles. If they are unable to establish who they are, they’ll experience role-confusion and suffer an identity crisis. Success in this stage will lead to the virtue of fidelity, but failure means they feel they have no place in society. Stage six is intimacy vs. isolation, this

The Adlerian Theory focuses on how the person’s perception of the past and his or her interpretation of early events have a continuing influence. Alder believed "that biological and physiological factors provided probabilities for future growth but that, "the self", with creative power as part of its inner nature, is the important intervening variable” (Selgiman & Reichenberg, 2010, p. 63). Behavior is purposeful and goal-directed when using Adlerian theory. Adler’s theory focuses on inferiority feelings, which he sees as a normal condition for all people and as a source of all human striving. Inferiority can be the wellspring of creativity. Alder believes this is what motivates us to strive for mastery, superiority, and completion. From an Adlerian perspective, human behavior is not determined solely by heredity and the environment. Instead, we have the capacity to interpret, influence, and create events. Alder asserts that what we were born with is not as important as what we choose to do with the abilities and limitations we possess.

To begin conceptualizing Antwone’s feelings through an Adlerian lens, a counselor might try to spot inferiority feelings within the client. These feelings are always present and ultimately act as a motivating force behind an individual’s outward behavior. One could argue that Antwone’s inferiorities stem from the abuse he suffered at such a young age, which halted the average development most humans encounter. In order for an individual to overcome these inferiorities, they begin to act in compensative behaviors. Since Antwone’s traumas began in infancy, he never had any kind of stable environment and the one in which he was finally placed (the Tate’s) caused him to quickly feel inferior. Antwone may have ultimately developed an inferiority complex because he was never able to compensate his inferiority feelings as an infant. The inferiority complex that Antwone developed has prevented him from being able to cope with the demands of life –enabling him to use violence as a way to forget.

Alfred Adler was born in 1870 in Austria and developed his own theory on Individual Psychology in 1912. Adler’s theory is closely related to Humanistic Psychology. Influenced by Freud, Smuts and Vaihinger, Adler based his theory on the client’s ability to live as a fully functioning adult in society. Adler’s holistic theory views each person as unified. Adler discussed birth order personality traits. Adler’s theory also discussed the roles therapists should take and the techniques that should be used in Individual Psychology therapy sessions.

A Child Called “It” is a powerful book written by Dave Pelzer about his childhood and the hardships he encountered with his family, peers, and community. Middle childhood can be a life altering point in a young child’s life, which many theorist have studied over the years. This paper will review a few of those theorist thoughts, and how their theories apply to young David’s childhood. The theorist work that will be covered will be Bronfenbrenner and his ecological systems model, Piaget’s theory of development, and lastly Kohlberg’s theory of moral reasoning. It is important to understand what was going through David’s mind as he dealt with this trauma and how he was able to survive it.

This essay will demonstrate my understanding of developments which occur at each stage of an individual's life cycle. I will relate these developments to two relevant psychological theories and discuss how an individual's needs must be met to enable them to develop.

Adlerian theory, also known as individual psychology, was developed by Alfred Adler in the twentieth century (Hess, Magnuson, & Beeler, 2012). He had been conceptualizing and finalizing his theory until about 1931 (Dunn, 1971). This was approximately around the same time Freud was working and becoming popular (Dunn, 1971). Adler is known as the father of the humanistic movement and created his theory in resistance to psychoanalysis and Freudian thinking (Dunn, 1971). Individual psychology asserts that the “whole is greater than the sum of its parts” (Dunn, 1971). More specifically, people cannot be understood without understanding them in a social context (Dunn, 1971; Hess, Magnuson, & Beeler, 2012). Further, behavior cannot be understood in fragments, but needs to be understood in context of the whole person (who is understood within their social

Personality and its development from an Adlerian perspective derives from both nature and nurture. Every individual is responsible for their actions and has the power to be

Adler saw that what is learned in the family, is central to one’s later self-image, relationships, work, marital choices, parenting, moral behavior, and how one pursues one’s goals. Adler felt that there were three basic childhood

Creating goals and striving to obtain those goals, Adler believed that human beings were social creatures by nature. Having healthy values that affect what goals individuals strive for, is what Adler thought was good mental health. Believing inferiority complexes affected self-esteem, it was the belief of Adler that an adverse effect would present in an individual's health and mental state. Dynamics of compensation and power go well beyond sexuality, and gender and politics are far more important than the libido. Adler was a socialist and a realist who emphasized the role of empathy in individuals.

In fact, this theory proposes that, “to live is to feel inferior” (Mosak 1995). However, when the individual begins to act inferior rather than feel inferior, the individual is engaging in “discouragement” or the inferiority complex (Mosak 1995). “To oversimplify, the inferiority feeling is universal and ‘normal’; the inferiority complex reflects the discouragement of a limited segment of our society and is usually ‘abnormal’” (Mosak 1995). This theory views the healthy and “ideal” individual as one who engages in life experiences with confidence and optimism. “There is a sense of belonging and contributing, the ‘courage to be imperfect,’ and the serene knowledge that one can be acceptable to others, although imperfect” (Mosak 1995).

In 1902, Alfred Adler was invited by Freud to become his group to discuss new ideas in psychology after seeing him publicly defend some of his own ideas. Adler was an active member as well as vocal using this group as a forum to develop and debate his emerging ideas of the human condition (Fall, Holden, & Marquis, 2004). Five years later, he developed his first theoretical work entitled, Organic Inferiority and Its Psychical Compensation. In the following years, Adler became the president of the International Psycho-analytic Society and began to openly disagree with Freud’s perspectives of

Hence, his theory developed overtime and changed in resonance to how Adler solved his internal and internal conflicts. In his early years, Adler focused more on how hunger for power and superiority motivated growth and striving for perfection. Later in his life, he shifter his focus toward social interest. Because of these changes some consider Adler’s theory inconsistent or even scientifically unreliable.