wellspring of creativity. They motivate us to strive for mastery, success (supe- riority), and completion. We are driven to overcome our sense of inferiority and to strive for increasingly higher levels of development (Schultz & Schultz, 2005). Indeed, at around 6 years of age our fi ctional vision of ourselves as per- fect or complete begins to form into a life goal. The life goal unifi es the person- ality and becomes the source of human motivation; every striving and every effort to overcome inferiority is now in line with this goal.
From the Adlerian perspective, human behavior is not determined solely by heredity and environment. Instead, we have the capacity to interpret, infl u- ence, and create events. Adler asserted that genetics and heredity are not as im- portant as what we choose to do with the abilities and limitations we possess.
Although Adlerians reject the deterministic stance of Freud, they do not go to the other extreme and maintain that individuals can become whatever they want to be. Adlerians recognize that biological and environmental conditions limit our capacity to choose and to create.
Adlerians put the focus on reeducating individuals and reshaping society.
Adler was the forerunner of a subjective approach to psychology that focuses on internal determinants of behavior such as values, beliefs, attitudes, goals, interests, and the individual perception of reality. He was a pioneer of an ap- proach that is holistic, social, goal oriented, systemic, and humanistic. Adler was also the fi rst systemic therapist, in that he maintained that it is essential to understand people within the systems in which they live.
their socially embedded contexts of family, culture, school, and work. We are social, creative, decision-making beings who act with purpose and cannot be fully known outside the contexts that have meaning in our lives (Sherman &
Dinkmeyer, 1987).
The human personality becomes unifi ed through development of a life goal. An individual’s thoughts, feelings, beliefs, convictions, attitudes, charac- ter, and actions are expressions of his or her uniqueness, and all refl ect a plan of life that allows for movement toward a self-selected life goal. An implication of this holistic view of personality is that the client is an integral part of a social system. There is more emphasis on interpersonal relationships than on the in- dividual’s internal psychodynamics.
BEHAVIOR AS PURPOSEFUL AND GOAL ORIENTED Individual Psychology as- sumes that all human behavior has a purpose. Humans set goals for them- selves, and behavior becomes unifi ed in the context of these goals. The con- cept of the purposeful nature of behavior is perhaps the cornerstone of Adler’s theory. Adler replaced deterministic explanations with teleological (purposive, goal-oriented) ones. A basic assumption of Individual Psychology is that we can only think, feel, and act in relation to our perception of our goal. Therefore, we can be fully understood only in light of knowing the purposes and goals toward which we are striving. Adlerians are interested in the future, without minimiz- ing the importance of past infl uences. They assume that decisions are based on the person’s experiences, on the present situation, and on the direction in which the person is moving. They look for continuity by paying attention to themes running through a person’s life.
Adler was infl uenced by the philosopher Hans Vaihinger (1965), who noted that people often live by fi ctions (or views of how the world should be). Many Adlerians use the term fi ctional fi nalism to refer to an imagined central goal that guides a person’s behavior. It should be noted, however, that Adler ceased using this term and replaced it with “guiding self-ideal” and “goal of perfec- tion” to account for our striving toward superiority or perfection (Watts &
Holden, 1994). Very early in life, we begin to envision what we might be like if we were successful, complete, whole, or perfect. Applied to human motivation, a guiding self-ideal might be expressed in this way: “Only when I am perfect can I be secure” or “Only when I am important can I be accepted.” The guiding self-ideal represents an individual’s image of a goal of perfection, for which he or she strives in any given situation. Because of our subjective fi nal goal, we have the creative power to choose what we will accept as truth, how we will behave, and how we will interpret events.
STRIVING FOR SIGNIFICANCE AND SUPERIORITY Adler stressed that striv- ing for perfection and coping with inferiority by seeking mastery are in- nate (Ansbacher & Ansbacher, 1979). To understand human behavior, it is essential to grasp the ideas of basic inferiority and compensation. From our earliest years, we recognize that we are helpless in many ways, which is characterized by feelings of inferiority. This inferiority is not a negative fac- tor in life. According to Adler, the moment we experience inferiority we are
pulled by the striving for superiority. He maintained that the goal of suc- cess pulls people forward toward mastery and enables them to overcome obstacles. The goal of superiority contributes to the development of human community. However, it is important to note that “superiority,” as used by Adler, does not necessarily mean being superior to others. Rather, it means moving from a perceived lower (or minus) position to a perceived higher (or plus) position. People cope with feelings of helplessness by striving for com- petence, mastery, and perfection. They can seek to change a weakness into a strength, for example, or strive to excel in one area to compensate for defects in other areas. The unique ways in which people develop a style of striving for competence is what constitutes individuality or lifestyle. The manner in which Adler reacted to his childhood and adolescent experiences is a living example of this aspect of his theory.
LIFESTYLE An individual’s core beliefs and assumptions guide each person’s movement through life and organize his or her reality, giving meaning to life events. Adler called this life movement the individual’s “lifestyle.” Synonyms for this term include “plan of life,” “style of life,” “strategy for living,” and
“road map of life.” Lifestyle includes the connecting themes and rules of inter- action that unify all our actions. Lifestyle is often described as our perceptions regarding self, others, and the world. It includes an individual’s characteristic way of thinking, acting, feeling, living, and striving toward long-term goals (Mosak & Maniacci, 2008).
Adler saw us as actors, creators, and artists. In striving for goals that have meaning to us, we develop a unique style of life (Ansbacher, 1974). This con- cept accounts for why all of our behaviors fi t together to provide consistency to our actions. Understanding one’s lifestyle is somewhat like understanding the style of a composer: “We can begin wherever we choose: every expression will lead us in the same direction—toward the one motive, the one melody, around which the personality is built” (Adler, as cited in Ansbacher & Ansbacher, 1964, p. 332). People are viewed as adopting a proactive, rather than a reactive, ap- proach to their social environment. Although events in the environment infl u- ence the development of personality, such events are not the causes of what people become.
In striving for the goal of superiority, Adlerians believe we each develop a unique facet of our personality, or our own style of life. Everything we do is infl uenced by this unique lifestyle. Experiences within the family and relation- ships between siblings contribute to development of this self-consistent way of perceiving, thinking, feeling, and behaving. Although our unique style is created primarily during the fi rst 6 years of life, subsequent events may have a profound effect on the development of our personality. Experiences in them- selves are not the decisive factors; rather, it is our interpretation of these events that shape personality. Faulty interpretations may lead to mistaken notions in our private logic, which will signifi cantly infl uence present behavior. Once we become aware of the patterns and continuity of our lives, we are in a position to modify those faulty assumptions and make basic changes. We can reframe childhood experiences and consciously create a new style of life.