Alfred Adler - Austrian Psychologist Biography & Theories

Alfred Adler born in Penzig, a suburb of Vienna, Austria in 1870 and raised in Vienna,  was the third child of a Jewish grain merchant and his wife. 

Adler pursued medical career at the University of Vienna Medical School due to childhood illnesses and the traumatic death of a younger sibling and qualified in 1895.

In 1897, Alfred married to Raissa Timofeyewna Epstein, an intellectual and social activist from Russia and later parented four children, two of whom became psychiatrists.

In 1899, he met Sigmund Freud and they formed the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society with Adler as president. This close association was short-lived as Adler became a vocal opponent to many of Freud's theories. Adler contended with Freud's belief in the dominance of the sex instinct as the root of neurosis, and whether ego drives were libidinal; he also attacked Freud's ideas over repression. Adler believed that feelings of helplessness during childhood can lead to an inferiority complex. 

In 1921, Adler was a pioneer in the field of child guidance, opening the first child guidance clinic in Vienna .

In 1927, Alfred became a visiting professor at Columbia University . 

In 1932, after most of his Austrian clinics were closed due to his Jewish heritage, Adler left Austria for a professorship at the Long Island College of Medicine. 

Adler was a pioneer in creating a holistic view of human psychology. He called his approach "individual psychology," where "individual" literally means "un-divided."

Adler viewed human development within the whole social context. He defined mental health as a feeling of human connectedness, and a willingness to develop oneself fully and contribute to the welfare of others. When these qualities are underdeveloped, an individual experiences feelings of inferiority, or an attitude of superiority which may antagonize others. 

The perception of superiority leads to self-centered behavior and the individual may become emotionally or materially exploitative of other people. 

When the feelings of connectedness and the willingness to contribute are stronger, a feeling of equality emerges, and the individual will become more public-minded, self-transcending, and behave more beneficially to others.

Adler found that there were two parenting styles that could cause problems in adulthood:

1. a) Pampering—overprotecting or spoiling a child. Child will be ill-equipped to deal with reality and may doubt own abilities.
2. b) Neglect—child is not protected from the world and is forced to face life's struggles alone. May grow up to fear the world, have a strong sense of mistrust for others, and have a difficult time forming intimate relationships.

Adler was the first to describe the importance of Birth Order as a contributing factor in psychological development.

A brief summary of birth order characteristics follow:

• The only child is likely to be pampered as parents are more likely to take special care of their only child. This child loves being the center of adult attention and may have difficulty sharing with their peers. If the parents are abusive, on the other hand, the only child will have to bear that abuse alone.

• The first child begins life with all the attention. However, when the second child arrives the first child may battle for his or her lost position. He or she might try acting like the baby, only to be rebuffed and told to grow up. Some become disobedient and rebellious, others sullen and withdrawn.

• The second child has the first child as a sort of "pace-setter," and tends to become quite competitive, trying to surpass the older child. Other "middle" children tend to be similar to the second child, although each may focus on a different "competitor."

• The youngest child is likely to be the most pampered in a family with more than one child. The youngest child may feel inferior, with everyone else older and better at everything. On the other hand, the youngest can also be motivated to be better than all of their siblings.

In Adler's book Understanding Human Nature, he writes:

  We cannot judge a human being except by using the concept of social feeling as a standard. Every individual within the body of human society must subscribe to the oneness of that society. We have to realize our duty to our fellow human beings. The degree to which social feeling has developed in any individual is the only universally valid criterion of human values.

In 1937 Alfred Adler died of  a heart attack during a lecture tour in Aberdeen, Scotland, was a shock to the academic community and a blow to the influence of his work. Fortunately, however, a number of his ideas were taken up by neo-Freudians.

Adler's influence continues in several schools dedicated to carrying on his work, such as The Adler School of Professional Psychology, which was founded as The Alfred Adler Institute of Chicago by Adler's protégé, Rudolf Dreikurs, and the Alfred Adler Institutes of San Francisco and Northwestern Washington, which is dedicated to Adler's original teachings and style of psychotherapy.

There are also a number of organizations promoting Adler's orientation towards mental and social wellbeing. These include the International Committee for Adlerian Summer Schools and Institutes (ICASSI) and the North American Society for Adlerian Psychology (NASAP).