Presenter

FIZA
SHAFIQUE
 Table of content

Birth order

Theory of Alfred Adler

Application of Alfred Adler’s

theory
 Influenced by…..

A psychological movement based on a holistic view

of an individual.
 Unlike Freud, Adler believed the social and
community aspects of a person's life were just as
important as internal thoughts and emotions.
 Adler's desire to understand how social factors
influence personality extended to child development.
 His birth order theory described how the family
environment shaped a child's thoughts and
behaviors.
The Family's Role in Birth Order Personality Traits

Biological:
Children inherit many traits and features from their parents.
These include intelligence, courage, and physical features.

Social:
By interacting with others in an individual's social circle,
children learn behaviors and thought patterns from their
experiences.

Cultural:
A child growing up within a culture consciously or unconsciously
adopts traits consistent with the culture's beliefs and norms.
Physical Environment:
An individual's surroundings often impact the
development of personality. For example, the
personalities of those growing up in a rural area are
often very different from those living in an urban
environment.
Situational:
As a child grows, they face different situations,
which help them adapt and change aspects of their
personality. This could be meeting new friends,
experiencing a trauma, or, welcoming a new sibling.
Birth order

First born

Second born

middle born

Last born

Only child
 First Child

Since the firstborn child is used to being an only

child until the little brother or sister comes along, he
or she may exhibit some of the characteristics of an
only child. Also, the firstborn may have these birth
order personality traits:
 
 Characteristics

May have difficulty

Feels must have when the second
Achiever and leader superiority over child is born, such as
other children feeling unloved or
neglected

Can be controlling Uses good (or bad)

Bossy or
and focused on being behavior to regain
authoritarian
correct parents' attention

Can be protective or
Strives to please
Reliable helpful towards
others
others
 Second Child

The second child and middle children began their

lives, sharing the attention of their parents with the
firstborn. By having an older sibling as a role model,
the second child often tries to catch up with them.
Adler believes the second child is most likely to be
better adjusted in life. A second child could be:
 
 Characteristics

More competitive

divided attention of parents

A people pleaser

A peacemaker

Developing abilities the first child doesn't exhibit to gain attention

Rebellious

Independent
 Middle Child

  "middle child syndrome

 become frustrated or resentful.
 Not only do they lose their "youngest child" status,
but they also have to share their attention with older
and younger siblings.
 Middle children of bigger families often aren't as
competitive as single middle children, since their
parents' attention is spread thinner.
 Middle children in bigger families are more prone to
using cooperation to get what they want.
 Characteristics

Can feel life is unfair

Can be even-tempered

May feel unloved or left out

Adaptable

Impatient

Outgoing and rambunctious

Learns to deal with both older and younger siblings

Treating younger siblings rougher

Feel "squeezed" in the family environment

 Youngest Child

The last born child cannot be dethroned by a

younger sibling. The "baby" of the family tends to get
more attention from parents, since the older siblings
are developing and becoming more independent.
Traits of the youngest child:
 Characteristics

Charming and
outgoing

Can become
"speedier" in
development to Attention seeker
catch up to other
siblings

May not be taken Can behave like

seriously the only child

Expects others to Feels inferior- like

make decisions and everyone is bigger
take responsibility or more capable
 Only Children

 These children tend to get much more attention

from adults than a child with siblings.

 This means many of their early interactions involve

individuals significantly older than them.

 These interactions can make them feel like "tiny

adults," and they can seem more mature than peers
with siblings.
 Characteristics

Confidence
Mature for their age
Sensitive
Uses adult language
Self-centered
Pampered and often spoiled
Enjoys being the center of attention
Feels unfairly treated when not getting their own way
May refuse to cooperate with others
Desire to be more like adults, so may not relate well with
peers
Can be manipulative to get their way
Facts about birth order
 Application of Adlerian Psychology

Unity of the Individual:

 Thinking, feeling, emotion, and behavior can only
be understood as subordinated to the individual's
style of life, or consistent pattern of dealing with life.

 The individual is not internally divided or the

battleground of conflicting forces.

 Each aspect of the personality points in the same

direction.
 Goal Orientation

There is one central personality dynamic derived from the growth

and forward movement of life itself.
 It is a future-oriented striving toward a goal of significance,
superiority, or success.
In mental health, it is a realistic goal of socially useful significance
or superiority over general difficulties.
In mental disorders, it is an unrealistic goal of exaggerated
significance or superiority over others.
The early childhood feeling of inferiority, for which one aims to
compensate, leads to the creation of a fictional final goal which
subjectively seems to promise future security and success.
The depth of the inferiority feeling usually determines the height
of the goal which then becomes the "final cause" of behavior
patterns.
 Self-Determination and Uniqueness

A person's fictional goal may be influenced by

hereditary and cultural factors, but it ultimately
springs from the creative power of the individual,
and is consequently unique.

 Usually, individuals are not fully aware of their goal.


Through the analysis of birth order, repeated coping
patterns, and earliest memories, the psychotherapist
infers the goal as a working hypothesis. 
 Social Context

As an indivisible whole, a system, the human being is

also a part of larger wholes or systems -- the family,
the community, all of humanity, our planet, and the
cosmos.
 In these contexts, we meet the three important life
tasks: occupation, love and sex, and our relationship
with other people -- all social challenges.
 Our way of responding to our first social system, the
family constellation, may become the prototype of
our world view and attitude toward life.
 The Feeling of Community

Each human being has the capacity for learning to

live in harmony with society.

This is an innate potential for social connectedness

which has to be consciously developed.

is rooted in a deep sense of belonging and

embeddedness within the stream of social evolution.
 Mental Health

A feeling of human connectedness and a willingness to

develop oneself fully and contribute to the welfare of others
are the main criteria of mental health.
When these qualities are underdeveloped, feelings of
inferiority may haunt an individual, or an attitude of
superiority may antagonize others.
Consequently, the unconscious fictional goal will be self-
centered and emotionally or materially exploitive of other
people.
 When the feeling of connectedness and the willingness to
contribute are stronger, a feeling of equality emerges, and the
individual's goal will be self-transcending and beneficial to
others.
Adlerian’s Therapies

Adlerian
individual
psychotherapy

couple brief
therapy therapy

family
therapy
 Used to treat…..

It can be particularly helpful

for people experiencing:

Other
mental
anxiety conduct health
disorder disorder condition
or
situation.