The following questions, answers, and comments about Classical Adlerian philosophy, theory, and practice have been excerpted from discussion forums, newsgroups, and e-mail correspondence. The text has been edited minimally for clarity and readability. All of this material is protected by copyright and may not be reproduced without the expressed consent of Dr. Stein at htstein@att.net.
| 55. More on Birth Order | 59. Quotes About Self-Esteem | 65. Striving and Compensation | 66. Psychobiographies |
Question from Newsgroup: I am doing an article on sibling relationships and whether or not birth order affects personality. More specifically, for example, if the first child is an ace in school or if they tend to be a trouble maker, how does that affect the younger siblings? Also, how are their relationships played out over the course of their lives? Are they the most important relationships they've got, relying on each other for support and guidance; or do friendships rank higher? How do sibling relationships change in regard to gender?Dr. Stein: From an Adlerian point of view, birth order is only one of five major influences on personality development. The other four are: physical constitution and appearance; formative education (parenting attitudes); social/economic situation; and gender roles. Any factor may be most influential in a particular case. For a graphic illustration of these factors, see The Style of Life Tree at http://go.ourworld.nu/hstein/tree.htm .
The contrast in character traits between siblings, is usually related to the degree of competition within a family. As each child seeks a place of significance, they may choose an "unoccupied" slot if it seems to promise the result they want. Adler predicted that the differences in siblings' personalities would gradually diminish as families became more cooperative and less competitive.
Once a style of life (repetitive pattern of behaving) is adopted in childhood, it is unconsciously repeated throughout life unless a therapeutic intervention provides insight. Significant people (friends, spouse...) may be chosen to facilitate an "acting out" of the familiar roles. The "antagonists" may be "shadows" of siblings or parents.
Sibling relationships may or may not be the most important later in life. Family members may stay most important in an adult's life in order to facilitate avoiding close, cooperative relationships with spouses. If parents have pampered a child, it is improbable that anyone else, later on, would be willing to do the same without exacting some reciprocation.
After a style of life and fictional final goal are established, anyone who seems to feeds the specific yearning for security and significance might become most significant. It could be a parent, sibling, friend, spouse, children, or even strangers.
Gender can become an issue between siblings, depending on the value given (and perceived) in that family to one gender.
Question From E-mail: I'm trying to remember a quote from Adler that had something to do with not letting others crush your self-esteem. I know that's really vague, but maybe you would know what he's referring to.Dr. Stein: Here are two excerpts from Adler's writings that may be of some interest to you.
"Every accomplishment that is not in the framework of being commonly beneficial diminishes the feeling of self-worth in the individual, imbues him with a feeling of his own inferiority, and puts him in conflict with the continuous social demands and connections of life. He will always experience everyone's opposition as well as all the problems and penalties that necessarily arise from harming the logic of human social relationships. He will find that his life will not become easier, as he might have presumed, but more difficult. He will not experience being a part of the whole, but will live as if in enemy territory. The value of one's own life, worthwhile accomplishments, can only be found by benefitting the community. ""Nature provides the individual with strengths, abilities, drives, desires, and the possibilities for development. He is bound to nature to the extent that he uses it to fulfill his life tasks. How he makes use of it, how he allows it to flourish or decline, in particular, however, what direction he gives it, is revealed in the broadest sense in his outlook on life. This philosophy of life, how he relates to life, is the individual's own creative achievement for which in his self-esteem he finds either his reward or punishment."
Question From E-mail: Could you clarify the concept of "striving for superiority?" Is compensation always negative?"Dr. Stein: Adler expressed the concept of human striving with many different nuances throughout his writings. The "striving for significance" or "striving for completion" suggest the general forms. "Striving for superiority" over other people represents a mistaken compensatory striving to relieve a haunting feeling of inferiority. The result is often only an illusion, but the movement is repeated somewhat compulsively as the individual alternates between both poles. Kurt Adler suggested that the "striving for superiority" over one's past achievement was a more productive direction.
Compensation, and even over-compensation do not have to lead in a negative direction. The degree of an individual's feeling of community colors the direction of the compensation.
If, in psychotherapy, one is able to dissolve an inferiority feeling as well as the compensatory goal, it is possible to achieve a level of meta-motivation (motivated by higher values) that is no longer compensatory.
Question From E-mail: I have read a paper which offers an interpretation of the actions of Lee Harvey Oswald from an Adlerian perspective (by Ansbacher, Ansbacher, Shiverick and Shiverick). I have not however, encountered any other such studies utilizing Individual Psychology.Dr. Stein: Heinz Ansbacher did a study of Marilyn Monroe in the magazine Psychology Today, several years ago. A graduate student wrote a dissertation on "An Adlerian Interpretation of Ann Richards," who was the governor of Texas. Alfred Adler commented on the dancer Nijinsky, in an issue of the Journal Individual Psychology. On different web sites, comments on the life of Albert Einstein and Brian Wilson have been posted.
To gain an idea of how Adler thought about cases, read The Case of Mrs. A and The Case of Mrs R.
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