Adler etc.: May 2011

Monday, May 16, 2011

Courage

The courageous person can look at a situation, a task, or an event in terms of possible actions and solutions rather than potential threats and dangers. Therefore, he can move without hesitation, persist without slackening, and proceed without withdrawing. (Dinkmeyer & Dreikurs, 2000, p. 32)

For Adler, courage meant the degree to which individuals are focused on the tasks which confront them, and are active in solving their problems (Ansbacher & Ansbacher, 1956). To possess this orientation is to have “ …the ability and willingness to accept anything that may come without feeling defeated and without giving up in despair…maintaining one's value and self-respect seem to be the outstanding features of a courageous person” (Dinkmeyer & Dreikurs, 2000, p. 33-34).

Adler believed that an encouraging manner must be a constant in a helping relationship (Ansbacher & Ansbacher, 1956), recognizing that failures of courage are in fact also failures of social interest and thus at the heart of neuroses. While Adler spoke primarily of therapeutic relationships, Dinkmeyer and Dreikurs (2000) dealt at length with the similar importance of encouragement in education.

Make a Connection

Consider the characteristics of encouragement and of praise as you see them. Is there a difference? Consult a text on child psychology for additional background if you are interested.

References

Ansbacher, H. L., & Ansbacher, R. R. (Eds.). (1956). The individual psychology of Alfred Adler. New York: HarperPerennial.

Dinkmeyer, D. C., & Dreikurs, R. (2000). Encouraging children to learn. Philadelphia: Brunner-Routledge.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Function of memory

The functions of memory are dominated by the necessity of adaptation.

Without memories it would be impossible to exercise any precaution for the future. We may deduce that all recollections have an unconscious purpose within themselves. They are not fortuitous phenomena, but speak clearly the language of encouragement and warning. There are no indifferent or nonsensical recollections. We remember those events whose recollection is important for a specific psychic tendency [attitude], because these recollections further an important underlying movement. We forget likewise all those events which detract from the fulfillment of a plan. Every memory is dominated by the goal idea which directs the personality-as-a-whole. (Adler, as cited in Ansbacher, 1947, p. 197-198)

Perhaps one of the most intriguing propositions of individual psychology is the role it assigns to memory. Adler’s leap of intuition was in conceptualizing memory as a tool used actively in the service of the individual’s goal, rather than as a passive recorder of data (Mosak & Maniacci, 1999). A simple and familiar example is that of a child who, not yet being comfortable with school, misplaces his or her books (Ansbacher & Ansbacher, 1956).

Note that it is not as simple a matter as only a portion of our experiences being committed to memory. Rather, as Dreikurs (1989) stated, all experiences are recorded, even if we are not always aware of them. We can choose to recall them or not to recall them to serve our real intentions, which are not known to us.

Further, Adler did not believe that recollections are necessarily faithful records of actual facts (Ansbacher & Ansbacher, 1956). Instead, what is recalled or omitted from the recollection is in line with the individual’s private logic, which says “it must have happened that way, because that’s the way I/they/the world is.” As a result, what details are chosen for inclusion or omission serve as windows into the life-style of the individual.

Make a Connection

1. If remembering is a projective activity, are there implications for such situations as eye-witness courtroom testimony?

2. Adlerian therapists often prompt early recollections in order to gain insight into the client’s private logic. In what ways would this be similar to and different from the issue of false memory syndrome (Gardner, 2004)?

References

Ansbacher, H. L. (1947). Adler’s place today in the psychology of memory. Journal of Personality, 15(3), 197-207. doi:10.1111/1467-6494.ep8932029

Ansbacher, H. L., & Ansbacher, R. R. (Eds.). (1956). The individual psychology of Alfred Adler. New York: HarperPerennial.

Gardner, R. A. (2004). The relationship between the Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) and the False Memory Syndrome (FMS). American Journal of Family Therapy, 32(2), 79-99. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Mosak, H. H., & Maniacci, M. (1999). A primer of Adlerian psychology : The analytic-behavioral-cognitive psychology of Alfred Adler. New York: Routledge.

Private logic

Private logic, a term…adapted from Adler's "private intelligence," describes the fictional line of reasoning proceeding from private meaning, that is, meaning premised upon the person's private and unique valuation of self, others, and the world, and what life requires of him or her. (Griffith and Powers, as cited in Manaster, 2009, p. 5-6)

Private logic diverges from common sense…the degree of divergence, the discrepancy between private logic and common sense, what Adler called the iron logic of social living, is an indicator or measure of mental health. (Manaster, 2009, p. 5)

The socially embedded nature of individual psychology is evident in the above statements. When we act, we do so in accordance with our private logic, which is largely unknown to us but nonetheless determines our behavior.

For example, a student may believe that he should get A’s in all of his classes, and that if he doesn’t he is a failure. This is his private logic. To avoid being a failure he takes only classes that offer the prospect of easy A’s, and he is anxious about his school experience to the point where his performance is significantly diminished. A common sense perspective, however, might reasonably be that one’s performance will vary among classes for a variety of factors, and that even if one does not score 100%, a good effort will produce valuable results.

Dreikurs (1989) described the manner in which our private logic evolves as a result of our understanding of our earliest experiences. He also stated that once developed, private logic is persistent and can only change when the individual achieves true self knowledge.

Make a Connection

Oberst and Stewart (2003) described biased apperception, whereby individuals pay attention to information that tends to support their beliefs while ignoring information that does not. What implications does biased apperception have for the development of self knowledge? How might biased apperceptions be overcome?

References

Dreikurs, R. (1989). Fundamentals of Adlerian psychology. Chicago: Adler School of Professional Psychology.

Manaster, G. J. (2009). Private logic and the logic of social living. Journal of Individual Psychology, 65(1), 4-12. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Oberst, U. E., & Stewart, A. E. (2003). Adlerian psychotherapy: An advanced approach to individual psychology. New York: Routledge.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

What is individual psychology?

Individual psychology is a rich body of ideas, but its fundamental tenet is that all the psychological processes of a person are organized into a unified, consistent whole, which in turn is operative in striving toward a unique self-ideal (Ansbacher & Ansbacher, 1956). The former term in the above describes the person’s life-style, while the latter term refers to the fictional goal – so named because it is idealized rather than realistic.

Individual psychology thus stands in clear contrast to models that describe behavior in terms of competing levels of consciousness and incompatible drives within the individual, for example, the psychology of Freud: “For Freud, all human conflicts are intra-personal, caused by opposing conflicts within the personality structure…[f]or Adler, all problems and conflicts are inter-personal…Adler emphasizes the significance of the attitude toward others.” (Dreikurs, 1989, p. 3)

In fact, Adler wrote at length about the importance of one’s attitude toward others, terming it social interest. For Adler, when a person whose life-style lacks in social interest encounters external problems that require social interest for their solution, the result is one of the difficulties commonly termed neuroses, psychoses, etc. (Adler, 1982). Significantly, when this happens, both the life-style and the goal remain unchanged. As Adler stated, “…the failure shows the same style as the individual. As I mentioned before, the life-style persists.” (Adler, 1982, p. 5) Similarly, Dreikurs (1989) stated that two seemingly inconsistent behaviors merely represent alternative ways of reaching the same goal, as for example, a child may choose either obedience or defiance as a means of gaining attention.

Make a Connection

The use of the word individual in individual psychology is a confusing translation. As Dreikurs (1989) stated, the word rendered in English as individual actually has the literal meaning of indivisible, or undivided. Thus a term more faithful to Adler’s meaning would have been something like indivisible psychology.

References

Adler, A. (1982). The fundamental views of individual psychology. Individual Psychology: The Journal of Adlerian Theory, Research & Practice, 38(1), 3-6. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Ansbacher, H. L., & Ansbacher, R. R. (Eds.). (1956). The individual psychology of Alfred Adler. New York: HarperPerennial.

Dreikurs, R. (1989). Fundamentals of Adlerian psychology. Chicago: Adler School of Professional Psychology.

Ten central assertions of individual psychology

Ansbacher and Ansbacher (1956) described a dozen basic propositions of individual psychology that are still widely quoted and accepted (Silverman & Corsini, 1984). They are condensed and summarized as follows.

1. The basic human dynamic is a striving from a felt minus position to a felt plus position.

2. This striving is directed by a self-created goal, or self-ideal. The goal is idealized and therefore is fictional.

3. The goal is dimly understood and thus mostly unknown; the unknown part represents the “unconscious”.

4. The goal is the final cause of behavior, and is central to understanding the individual.

5. All the psychological processes of an individual form a consistent, goal-oriented unity, which is the individual’s life-style.

6. All apparent psychological constructs and factors, such as drives, intrapsychic conflicts, biology, and history, establish propensities only. They are applied by the individual in accordance with the life-style.

7. The life-style includes the individual’s opinions of himself, others, and the world, which influence every psychological process.

8. Individuals can only be understood in their social contexts. Problems and values are socially based.

9. Social interest, which is the individual’s positive attitude toward others, is an innate human ability but must be developed in order for effective social adjustment.

10. Maladjustment results from a lack of social interest, feelings of inferiority, and socially useless goals. The result is one of the difficulties commonly termed neuroses, psychoses, etc.

Make a Connection

Do these assertions seem to accurately describe the human condition? Do you take issue or find any of them to be inadequate?

References

Ansbacher, H. L., & Ansbacher, R. R. (Eds.). (1956). The individual psychology of Alfred Adler. New York: HarperPerennial.

Silverman, N. N., & Corsini, R. J. (1984). Is it true what they say about Adler's individual psychology?. Teaching of Psychology, 11(3), 188-189. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.