Use in Child Development Studies

Adler’s theory, like Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis and B. F. Skinner’s radical
behaviorism, is a flexible and powerful tool for understanding and guiding human behavior. The first and foremost applications of individual psychology
have been in the areas of child rearing, education, and guidance.
Because the first six years of life are formative, the contact that children have
during this time with parents, teachers, siblings, and peers will influence
that child’s later decisions in the direction of social interest or private logic.
Adlerians recommend that parents and teachers be firm, fair, and, above all,
encouraging. One should tell children that they can overcome their disabilities
and praise every progress toward accomplishment and social interest.
One should avoid excessive punishments, for this will only convince children
that others are against them and that they must withdraw into private
logic.
After World War I, the new Social Democratic government of Austria gave
Adler the task of developing a system of youth guidance clinics throughout
the nation. Each child age six to fourteen was screened, then counseled, if
necessary. In the 1920’s, the rates of crime and mental disorders among
young people declined dramatically.