Role of Inferiority

According to Adler, all people develop a feeling of inferiority. First of all,
they are born children in an adult world and realize that they have smaller
and weaker bodies, less knowledge, and virtually no privileges. Then people
start to compare themselves and realize that there are other people their
own age who are better athletes, better scholars, more popular, more artistically
talented, wealthier, more socially privileged, more physically attractive,
or simply luckier. If one allows the perception of one’s own self-worth to be
influenced by such subjective comparisons, then one’s self-esteem will be
lowered by an inferiority complex.
Adler believed that because one’s style of life is largely determined early
in life, certain childhood conditions make individuals more vulnerable to
feelings of inferiority. For example, children born into poverty or into ethnic
groups subjected to prejudice may develop a heightened sense of inferiority.
Those children with real disabilities (learning or physical disabilities,
for example) would also be more susceptible to devaluing their own worth,
especially when others are excessively critical or mocking.