Erikson identified eight stages, each of which represents a conflict or developmental task ( Table 11.2). In his theory, Erikson emphasized the social relationships that are important at each stage of personality development, in contrast to Freud’s emphasis on sex. As you learned when you studied lifespan development, Erikson later proposed a psychosocial theory of development, suggesting that an individual’s personality develops throughout the lifespan-a departure from Freud’s view that personality is fixed in early life. Erikson received his diploma from the Vienna Psychoanalytic Institute in 1933, and as Nazism spread across Europe, he fled the country and immigrated to the United States that same year. It was Anna Freud who encouraged Erikson to study psychoanalysis. Erik EriksonĪs an art school dropout with an uncertain future, young Erik Erikson met Freud’s daughter, Anna Freud, while he was tutoring the children of an American couple undergoing psychoanalysis in Vienna. View this summary of birth order theory to learn more. One of Adler’s major contributions to personality psychology was the idea that our birth order shapes our personality. Despite popular attention, research has not conclusively confirmed Adler’s hypotheses about birth order. The youngest children, according to Adler, may be spoiled, leaving the middle child with the opportunity to minimize the negative dynamics of the youngest and oldest children. He proposed that older siblings, who start out as the focus of their parents’ attention but must share that attention once a new child joins the family, compensate by becoming overachievers. That is not to say that Adler did not also believe in unconscious processes-he did-but he felt that conscious processes were more important. He also emphasized conscious rather than unconscious motivation, since he believed that the three fundamental social tasks are explicitly known and pursued. Rather than focus on sexual or aggressive motives for behavior as Freud did, Adler focused on social motives. With these ideas, Adler identified three fundamental social tasks that all of us must experience: occupational tasks (careers), societal tasks (friendship), and love tasks (finding an intimate partner for a long-term relationship). 255) with the main goal of psychology being “to recognize the equal rights and equality of others” (Adler, 1961, p. He said, “The happiness of mankind lies in working together, in living as if each individual had set himself the task of contributing to the common welfare” (Adler, 1964, p. Adler noted the inter-relatedness of humanity and the need to work together for the betterment of all. Freud believed that we are motivated by sexual and aggressive urges, but Adler (1930, 1961) believed that feelings of inferiority in childhood are what drive people to attempt to gain superiority and that this striving is the force behind all of our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.įigure 11.8 Alfred Adler proposed the concept of the inferiority complex.Īdler also believed in the importance of social connections, seeing childhood development emerging through social development rather than the sexual stages Freud outlined. Adler’s ideas about inferiority represent a major difference between his thinking and Freud’s. An inferiority complex refers to a person’s feelings that they lack worth and don’t measure up to the standards of others or of society.

Adler (1937, 1956) proposed the concept of the inferiority complex. He subsequently founded a school of psychology called individual psychology, which focuses on our drive to compensate for feelings of inferiority. Alfred AdlerĪlfred Adler, a colleague of Freud’s and the first president of the Vienna Psychoanalytical Society (Freud’s inner circle of colleagues), was the first major theorist to break away from Freud ( Figure 11.8). Four notable neo-Freudians include Alfred Adler, Erik Erikson, Carl Jung (pronounced “Yoong”), and Karen Horney (pronounced “HORN-eye”). These theorists, referred to as neo-Freudians, generally agreed with Freud that childhood experiences matter, but deemphasized sex, focusing more on the social environment and effects of culture on personality. Discuss the work of Karen Horney, including her revision of Freud’s “penis envy”įreud attracted many followers who modified his ideas to create new theories about personality.Discuss Jung’s ideas of the collective unconscious and archetypes.Discuss the core differences between Erikson’s and Freud’s views on personality.Discuss the concept of the inferiority complex.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

Alfred adler contribution to psychology