Adler’s Approach

The individual psychology of Alfred Adler illustrates the significance of social
variables in personality development and the uniqueness of the individual.
Adler proposed that an individual seeks to compensate for inborn feelings
of inferiority by striving for superiority. It is lifestyle that helps a person
achieve future goals, ideals, and superiority. Adler extended this theme of
perfection to society by using the concept of social interest to depict the human
tendency to create a productive society. He maintained that early childhood
experiences play a crucial role in the development of a person’s unique
lifestyle. An individual lacking in social interest develops a mistaken lifestyle
(for example, an inferiority complex). Physical inferiority, as well as spoiling
or pampering and neglecting children, contributes to the development of
faulty lifestyles. Adler examined dreams, birth order, and first memories to
trace the origins of lifestyle and goals. These data were used in psychotherapy
to help the patient create a new lifestyle oriented toward social interest.