Alfred Adler, born Feb. 7 in the suburbs of Vienna, was a Jewish medical doctor and psychologist who is credited for being the founder of individual psychology. Among his other notable contributions to psychology are his theories of personality development, the idea of a “self-perfecting” drive within human beings and the notion that a patient must be treated as a “whole person.” He also proposed an idea that humans create a fictional story about themselves in childhood that will guide their decisions and ultimately determine who they become in life.
Adler felt that humans start in a state of inferiority and strive for a state of superiority. From this theory, he coined the term “inferiority complex.” It is clear to see how Adler’s own life experiences helped him to reach this theory. As a young child, Adler was sickly. He was unable to walk until the age of 4 due to rickets, and at the age of 5 came down with pneumonia. He was diagnosed as unlikely to survive. He recovered and determined at this point (at the age of 5) that he wanted to become a doctor to help others suffering from disease. However, he started to fail math in school and a teacher suggested that he drop out of school altogether and become apprentice to a cobbler. His father stepped in and told him how little he thought of the teacher’s judgment and encouraged him to prove the teacher wrong. This gave Adler the motivation he needed and he was soon at the top of his class in math.
Alder went on to achieve his medical degree in 1895 from the University of Vienna. In1897, he married an intellectual social activist from Russia named Raissa Timofeyewna Epstein. They had four children together, and two of them became psychiatrists.
After reading one of Sigmund Freud’s books on dream interpretation in 1902, he gained interest in Freud’s theories and work. He received an invitation to join Freud’s weekly discussion group on psychopathology. After being a part of this group for a few years and learning more about Freud’s insistence of reducing all humans to aggressive, egocentric beings, in which all psychological problems stem from sexual factors, he began to oppose his theories. Adler split with Freud’s group in 1911 and formed his own.
Then in 1912, he introduced The Society for Individual Psychology. He focused on the individual in relation to their community (family, co-workers, society, etc.). He stated that an individuals level of functionality and fulfillment in a group was an indicator of their mental health.
During WWI, Adler worked as a physician for the Austrian Army. He started out working on the Russian front and later moved to a children’s hospital.
In 1926, Adler traveled to the United States to lecture. This led him to a position at the Long Island College of Medicine. And, on May 28, 1937, Alfred Adler died of a heart attack while visiting Scotland to do a series of lectures at the Aberdeen University.
References:
NNDB. (2011). Alfred Adler. Retrieved on Oct.14, 2011. From: http://www.nndb.com/people/256/000097962/ .
Fisher, Molly. (2001). Alfred Adler. Retrieved on Oct. 14, 2011. From: http://www.muskingum.edu/~psych/psycweb/history/adler.htm.