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Alfred Adler

Alfred Adler

Austrian psychiatrist (1870–1937) who founded Individual Psychology, emphasizing inferiority feelings, the striving for superiority, and social interest as the foundations of human motivation.

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Alfred Adler (1870–1937)

Alfred Adler was an Austrian psychiatrist and the founder of Individual Psychology. Along with Freud and Jung, he is considered one of the three great figures of depth psychology, though he broke with Freud's instinct-driven model to develop his own approach.

Core concepts:

  • Inferiority Feeling: All humans experience feelings of smallness and powerlessness in childhood, which become the primary motivating force in life
  • Striving for Superiority: The drive to overcome inferiority and move toward mastery, completion, and meaning — a healthy drive when directed constructively
  • Inferiority Complex / Superiority Complex: Distorted responses when the striving for superiority is misdirected
  • Gemeinschaftsgefühl (Social Interest / Community Feeling): The sense of belonging to and contributing to society, which Adler viewed as the core measure of psychological health
  • Birth Order: Adler proposed that one's position among siblings shapes personality and coping style
  • Lifestyle (Lebensstil): Each person develops a unique pattern of goals, beliefs, and behaviors shaped by early experiences

    • Adler's influence has seen a modern revival through the bestselling book *The Courage to Be Disliked*, which brought his ideas about courage, freedom from others' approval, and contribution to a new global audience.

    *Mindy's note: Adler's message that all problems are, at root, relationship problems — and that courage is the key — continues to resonate deeply.*

    💡 Real-Life Example

    Adler famously said, 'All problems are interpersonal relationship problems.' Someone who feels driven to achieve to prove their worth may be expressing an unresolved inferiority feeling in Adler's framework.

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