Course: Theories of Personality PB 3 223 Course Facilitator: Alvin G.

Sumawang, Phdc 1

Northern Luzon Adventist College

Artacho, Sison, Pangasinan

B.S. Psychology Program

Theories of Personality PB 3 223

MODULE 4: Week 4: Learning Packet Readings 1-7

Alfred Adler: Individual Psychology

About this module

How this module is structured:
Course Protocol: Read and subscribe to the directives stated in this module. Study the
materials uploaded to the LMS and other platforms as suggested by your course
facilitator. Matters of clarification on course-related issues can be communicated with
your course facilitator via Facebook, messenger, email, mobile phone, and other modes
of communication preferred by the student.
Overview of the Module: Alfred Adler fashioned an image of human nature that did not
portray people as victims of instincts, biological forces, or childhood experiences. He
called his approach individual psychology because it focused on the uniqueness of each
person and denied the universality of biological motives and goals ascribed to us by
Sigmund Freud.
Test Yourself: Short tests or activities which you can complete in your own time and at
your own pace, to check or extend your understanding of particular topics. It is highly
recommended that you complete these when suggested, and if you find them difficult or
still don’t understand particular concepts afterwards, re-read the topic covered and try
again. Mastering the essential core concepts covered is a necessity.
Activity: Activities which take place, either as an individual task or as a group activity
with fellow students on your course. For some of the activities, you will receive feedback
from your course facilitator; and these therefore become an important way for you to
check and extend your understanding of the topics covered.

I. INTRODUCTION
In Adler ’ s view, each of us is primarily a social being. Our personalities are
shaped by our unique social environments and interactions, not by attempts to satisfy
biological needs. Unlike Freud, who saw sex as being of primary importance in shaping
our personalities, Adler minimized the role of sex. To Adler, the conscious, not the
unconscious, was at the core of personality. Rather than being driven by forces we
cannot see and control, we are actively involved in creating our unique selves and
directing our own futures. With Adler and Freud, we see two vastly different theories
created by two men, only 14 years apart in age, who were brought up in the same city in
the same era and educated as physicians at the same university. As with Freud, certain
aspects of Adler ’ s childhood seemed to have influenced his way of looking at human

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Course: Theories of Personality PB 3 223 Course Facilitator: Alvin G. Sumawang, Phdc 2

nature.

LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this module you should be able to:
1. Discuss the difference between inferiority feelings and the inferiority
complex. How does each develop?
2. Explain how does the superiority complex differ from the idea of striving
for superiority? How did Adler define superiority?
3. Describe the concept of fictional finalism and explain how it relates to the
notion of striving for superiority.
4. Discuss Adler’s four basic styles of life.
5. Describe the personality characteristics proposed by Adler that may
develop in first-born, second-born, and youngest children as a result of
their order of birth within the family.
6. Summarize the research findings on the personalities of first-born and
only-born children. Do the results support Adler’s predictions.
7. Discuss the ways in which Adler’s image of human nature differs from
Freud’s.
8. Discuss the contributions of Adler’s system within psychology today.

II. INTEGRATION OF FAITH AND LEARNING/VALUES

Adler’s view of human nature is more optimistic and less deterministic than that of
Freud. His more positive view of human nature, emphasizing choice and the possibility
of change, is somewhat consistent with the biblical view, which also emphasizes the
need to choose (see Deut. 30:19; Joshua 24:15).
However, Adler’s view of human nature may be too optimistic or positive, paying
insufficient attention to the darker side of human nature that is fallen and sinful (Jer.
17:9; Rom 3:23).

III. TOPIC/ SUGGESTED READINGS

Timing

Time Commitment for this Module

Reading Materials Approximately (10 minutes)
Video Materials N/A
Activities See page 7
Reflection/Feedback See page 7

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Course: Theories of Personality PB 3 223 Course Facilitator: Alvin G. Sumawang, Phdc 3

Pretest (not applicable in this module)

Test your knowledge/understanding of the topic before you start (this will help you
where to focus your efforts). Check the web link below for the online quiz/ survey/
exercise.

Learning Packet Reading 1

4.1 Inferiority Feelings: The Source of All Human Striving (Carla Arriesgado)
Adler believed that inferiority feelings are a constant motivating force in all
behavior.“To be a human being means to feel oneself inferior,” Adler wrote.
Because this condition is common to all of us, then, it is not a sign of weakness or
abnormality.
Adler proposed that inferiority feelings are the source of all human striving.
Individual growth results from compensation, from our attempts to overcome our real
or imagined inferiorities. Throughout our lives, we are driven by the need to overcome
this sense of inferiority and to strive for increasingly higher levels of development.
Read and Understand the following concepts:
A. The inferiority complex
B. Causes of inferiority complexes
1. Organic inferiority
2. Spoiling
3. Neglecting
C. The superiority complex

Learning Packet Reading 2

4.2 Striving for Superioirty, or Perfection (Carla Arriesgado)
Inferiority feelings are the source of motivation and striving, but to what end? Are
we motivated simply to be rid of inferiority feelings? Adler believed that we work for
something more; however, his view of our ultimate goal in life changed over the years.
Adler described his notion of striving for superiority as the fundamental fact of life
Superiority is the ultimate goal toward which we strive. He did not mean superiority in
the usual sense of the word, nor did the concept relate to the superiority complex.
Striving for superiority is not an attempt to be better than everyone else, nor is it an
arrogant or domineering tendency or an inflated opinion of our abilities and
accomplishments.
What Adler meant was a drive for perfection. The word perfection is derived from a
Latin word meaning to complete or to finish. Thus, Adler suggested that we strive for
superiority in an effort to perfect ourselves, to make ourselves complete or whole.
Read and understand the following concepts:

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Course: Theories of Personality PB 3 223 Course Facilitator: Alvin G. Sumawang, Phdc 4

*Fictional finalism

Learning Packet Reading 3

4.3 The Style of Life (Babes Bulatao)
Adler stated that the ultimate goal for each of us is superiority or perfection, but we
try to attain that goal in many different ways. Each of us expresses the striving
differently. We develop a unique pattern of characteristics, behaviors, and habits, which
Adler called a distinctive character, or style of life.
Read and understand the following concepts:
A. The creative power of the self
B. Four basic styles of life

Learning Packet Reading 4

4.4 Social Interest (Babes Bulatao)
Adler believed that getting along with others is the first task we encounter in life.
Our level of ability to get along with other people becomes part of our style of life, and
therefore influences how well or poorly we will deal with all of life’s problems. He
described this as the concept of social interest, which is the individual’s innate potential
to cooperate with other people in order to achieve personal and societal goals. Adler’s
term for this concept in the original German, Gemeinschaftsgefuhl, is best translated as
“community feeling.” However, social interest has become the accepted term in English.
Read and understand the following concepts:
A. The role of the mother in developing social interest
B. The role of Adler’s life experiences in developing social interest

Learning Packet Reading 5 (Ma Luisa Laureta)

4.5 Birth Order
One of Adler’s most enduring contributions is the idea that order of birth is a
major social influence in childhood, one from which we create our style of life. Even
though siblings have the same parents and live in the same house, they do not have
identical social environments. Being older or younger than one’s siblings and being
exposed to differing parental attitudes create different childhood conditions that help
determine different kinds of personalities.
Read and understand the following concepts:
A. The first-born child
1. Dethronement
2. Characteristics of first-borns

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Course: Theories of Personality PB 3 223 Course Facilitator: Alvin G. Sumawang, Phdc 5

B. The second-born child

1. Characteristics of second-borns
C. The youngest child
D. The only child

Learning Packet Reading 6

4.6 Questions About Human Nature (Kathlyn Emocling)
Adler’s system provides a hopeful, flattering image of human nature that is the
antithesis of Freud’s dreary, pessimistic view. Certainly it is more satisfying to our sense
of self-worth to consider ourselves capable of consciously shaping our own individual
development and destiny rather than being dominated by instinctual forces and
childhood experiences over which we have no control.

Learning Packet Reading 7

4.7 Assessment in Adler’s Theory (Kathlyn Emocling)
Freud, Adler developed his theory by analyzing his patients; that is, by evaluating
their verbalizations and behavior during therapy sessions. Adler’s approach was more
relaxed and informal than Freud’s. Whereas Freud’s patients lay on a couch while he
sat behind them, Adler and his patients sat in comfortable chairs facing each other. The
sessions were more like chats between friends than the more formal relationships main-
tained by Freud.
Read and understand the following concepts:
A. Early recollections
B. Adler’s strange early memory
C. Dream analysis
D. Measures of social interest

Learning Packet Reading 7

4.7 Research and Reflections on Adler’s Theory (Shaira Padua)
Adler’s primary research method was the case study. Unfortunately, little of Adler’s
data survived. He did not publish case histories except for two fragments: one written by
a patient, the other written by a patient’s physician. Adler did not know the patients
involved, but he analyzed their personalities by examining their writings.
Read and understand the following concepts:
A. Dreams
B. Inferiority feelings
C. The nature of early recollections

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Course: Theories of Personality PB 3 223 Course Facilitator: Alvin G. Sumawang, Phdc 6

1. The neglect in childhood

2. Pampering in childhood
D. Social interest
E. Birth order
1. First-born children
2. Second-born children
3. Last-born children
4. Only children
F. Birth-order effects: a matther of belief?
G. Criticisms
H. Later recognition and influence

Suggested Readings and Weblinks

1. Ciccarelli, S. K. & White, J. N. (2018). Psychology. (5th ed). New York, Pearson
Education. Limited.
2. Coon, D., & Mitterer, J. O. (2014). Psychology: A journey. (5th ed). Belmont, CA:
Wadsworth. Cengage Learning.
3. Feist, J., Feist, G. J., & Roberts, T. A. (2018). Theories of personality. (9th ed). New
York, NY: McGraw Hill.
4. Feist, G. J. & Rosenberg, E. L. (2019). Psychology: Perspectives & connections.
4th ed). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
5. Feldman, R. S. (2011). Understanding psychology. (10th ed). McGraw- Hill
Companies, Inc.
6. Grison, S., Heatherton, T. F., & Gazzaniga, M. S. (2017). Psychology in your life.
(2nd ed). New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
7. Lilienfeld, S. O., Lynn, S. J., Namy, L. L., & Woolf, N. J. (2015). Psychology: From
inquiry to understanding. (3rd ed). Essex, England: Pearson Education
Limited.
8. Richards, G. (2010). Putting psychology in its place: Critical historical
perspectives. (3rd ed). London: Routledge.
9. Schultz, D. P. & Schultz, S. E. (2017). Theories of personality. (11th ed). Boston,
MA: Cengage Learning.
10. Wade, C., Tavris, C., & Garry, M. (2015). Invitation to psychology. (6th ed). New
York, NY: Pearson Education Limited.
11. Weiten, W. (2017). Psychology: Themes and variations. (10th ed). Boston, MA:
Cengage Learning.

Post-test (not applicable)

IV. ACTIVITIES (check your LMS)

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Course: Theories of Personality PB 3 223 Course Facilitator: Alvin G. Sumawang, Phdc 7

V. ASSESSMENT (check your LMS)

VI. FEEDBACK (check your LMS)