Adlerian Character and Definitions of Trust - Assignment Example

Question 1: Adlerian Character 2 Definitions of Trust Definition 1 When examining Adler’s concept of trust, it is important to consider his theory in general. Adler feels that in order to be able to find somebody else trusting, the individual must feel that he or she has control over his or her life, with the ability to make choices for himself or herself. Without this capability, the person will demonstrate psychopathological behavior and not appear trustworthy as a result. People will strive the superiority, according to Adler, and one way of doing this is to find people that bring out the best in the individual. Definition 2 If a person therefore feels that another individual brings out the best in him or her, he or she will tend to trust that individual. Unity of personality is also very important when developing trust in another person. If an individual displays unity of personality, then other individuals will feel that they can trust that person. Development of personality and psychological health is also important when it comes to trust. A trustworthy individual should have a strong, well-developed personality and this will cause others to trust him or her. Furthermore, a trustworthy individual must also appear to have strong personality skills overall. Examples of Trust: First Example of Trust from Story: In the story, there were two trustworthy people presented that would fit Adler’s theory. I felt that Peter J. Boyer demonstrated very sound conversational and personality skills when dealing with a very touching subject. His questions were very thoughtful and demonstrated all of the aspects of Adler’s theory of trust. For example, he asked the following: “What would you find if you opened the door into a young life that had produced an unspeakable horror? Surely a domestic landscape of dysfunction, physical or mental abuse, neglect, a trail of psychic woundings. But what if you found a nurturing home, a comforting community and loving parents recognized for their special way with children, by all accounts an ideal American family? Perhaps nothing could be more frightening than that. Understanding what happened inside that family takes us on a journey to an apparently unremarkable past, a journey requiring testimony from witnesses who saw no signs of a killer in their midst, a journey that begins deep in these Oregon woods.” (Frontline Transcript, 2000) Boyle’s words demonstrate several things about him that place him in the category of trustworthy people within the realm of Adler’s theory. First, his care and concern are clearly emphasized in his wording. He uses several metaphors, like “opened the door” to keep the audience interested, and he grabs the imagination of the audience with several questions related to the “unspeakable horror.” His way of grasping the audience and making them think demonstrates that not only does he have a solid understanding of the concepts, he also has a strong personality and the ability to look at this tragedy with a very sound concept of what is needed. This makes him appear very trustworthy to the audience. Furthermore, he makes a very nice ending with his “journey” statement as he grabs the audience with his comments regarding taking a “journey” into the Oregon woods. Second Example of Trust from Story: Another character that appears trustworthy on the transcript is that of Kristen Krinkle. Because of the tragedy she suffered, she automatically captures the audience’s attention. Kristen demonstrates that she has a very solid personality according to Adler’s theory, and this is the first part of gaining the audience’s trust. Her tragedy naturally makes people feel that they can trust her, and as she admits the story behind what happened, her comments ring truer and truer. Her trustworthy presentation comes across strong because she has no reason to lie about the tragedy she is presenting, furthermore. It is obvious that she has nothing to gain from what she is relating to the audience. In fact, it must be quite a painful experience for her, but what she is probably hoping to offer is closure for both herself and the audience. Since the tragedy was horrible, Kristen perhaps hopes she can assist those who were involved or caught up in the case with a feeling of closure overall, and this also makes her appear trustworthy. The items she says about her story confirm this: “And finally, I was speaking to a member of the sheriff's department. "Is it true?" I said, "Are my parents dead?" And she said, "Yes, they are." And I turned the T.V. on, and there was my house, the helicopters flying all over the place, and yellow tape. Then of course, the phone started ringing as people started finding out.” (Frontline Transcript, 2000) Kristen presents the obvious horror of that evening for a young woman to come home and discover this tragedy had occurred. She emphasizes the terrible nature of the story and her willing to be upfront while admitting to the terrors again demonstrates her truthfulness according to Adlerian theory. Throughout the movie, she presents herself with clear and moving descriptions that match up with the facts, so she continues to demonstrate her trust. It becomes clear that the audience has no reason to doubt her, and every reason to both trust and sympathize with her. Question 2: Dynamics of inferiority Definitions of Inferiority Adler agreed with Freud that childhood is important in the development process. However, he believed that childhood social, not sexual, tensions were crucial for personality formation. Adler (who had proposed the still-popular idea of the inferiority complex) himself struggled to overcome childhood illnesses and accidents, and he believed that much of our behavior is driven by efforts to conquer childhood feelings of inferiority, feelings that trigger our strivings for superiority and power. Adler stated: “"We all wish to overcome difficulties. We all strive to reach a goal by the attainment of which we shall feel strong, superior, and complete" (Ansbacher & Ansbacher, 1956). Four Items The four items that Adler’s theory of inferiority focuses on are achievement, proof of value, achievement, and “holier than thou.” Definition 1: Achievement The achievement concepts refer to what he called “individual psychology;” individual because the accomplishments were relativistic to the person. (Cloninger, 1996). Inferiority, to Adler, meant the ability to overcome feelings of worthlessness. When Adler mentions achievement he is not referring to what we typically think of within the common realm if the definition; it is not feelings of achievement over others that all people want, but something more along the lines of self-improvement, or becoming the best that somebody can be. Example An example of one striving toward superiority could be the individual that constantly reads self-improvement type books and attends self-improvement seminars. This type of individually could be viewed as actively attempting to better his or her psychological health. Definition 2: Proof of Value Proof of value refers to the general “completeness” of that individual; i.e., whether the person is consistent with goals and actions and can prove one’s value to others. Individuals trying to obtain this feel that they must prove themselves over and over again in order to obtain success. Example: An example of this occurs when an individual in a working environment consistently attempts to turn in “the best piece of work” to out due every other piece of work that person has done before. This can be exhausting. Definition 3: Achievement The third concept, achievement again focus on Adler’s concepts that individuals strive to be the best that they can. Individuals should be obtaining achievement in the healthiest ways possible in order to become the best people they can possibly be. This is very important for the healthy development of either an adult or a child. If individuals are not obtaining healthy achievements on their personalities, the overall outcome of their personalities may be a very negative item overall. This is not the best for the individual, as Adler states, individuals generally strive to be their best. However, this does not mean people may become mistaken about what they need and therefore get off track with negative influences. Therefore, the hope here is that the person will be able to find positive ways in order to make achievement status better. Example An example of an individual attempting to find achievement and become a better individual could be an example of an individual trying to overcome a serious personality issue, such as anger. If an individual with an anger problem attends anger management courses in order to assist and develop the part of that personality, that individual would be involved in healthy personality development. Definition 4: Holier Than Thou Adler’s last concept is that of “holier than thou.” This is a very important concept overall. The person that I ‘holier than thou’ never believes that he or she can be wrong, and therefore always strives to be right and perfect in the eyes of others. Of course, this is totally impossible to do because all human beings are flawed, and none of us can obtain ultimate perfection. Example: One of my friends stands out as a perfect example. He never admits he is wrong, even when he makes a mistake, and always blames his mistakes on others. He definitely has a “holier than thou” attitude. Question 3: Cognitive Distortions 4 Definitions and Examples Cognitive distortions can also be considered logical fallacies; they are basically one in the same. Four examples of cognitive distortions are: Definition 1 Polarized Thinking. This means that the individual only thinks in terms of absolutes, like “always” or “never.” Aspects of human behavior are generally not absolute. This can also be a false dilemma or an “either or” situation. Example of Definition 1 For example, one could state: “Either we get married or we do not talk to each other anymore.” This comment is a false dilemma and demonstrates two extremes in thought; either the full relationship of marriage or no communication whatsoever. Obviously, there are other options in between, such as fiancées, girlfriend/boyfriend relationships, or even just a friendship. Definition 2 Overgeneralization. This occurs when an individual takes an isolated case and actually makes a large generalization based on that case; this is often also called a hasty generalization. Example of Definition 2 For example, one might state: “Since Michael Jackson died of a possible drug overdose, all pop singers must do drugs.” Obviously, just because one man may have died of a drug overdose, it does not mean all pop singers do drugs. Definition 3 Magnification. A mental filler occurs when an individual focuses on a negative or upsetting item of something while ignoring the rest about the issue. This is a type of misleading vividness. Example of Definition 3 For example, an individual may notice a piece of fuzz on an article of clothing and thus assume that the entire piece of clothing is unacceptable work. This is not necessarily true, obviously. Definition 4 With Real life Example Arbitrary Inference. This means to continue to shoot down good experiences for ad hoc reasons. Example of Definition 4 An example of this could be when a person states: “Just because I had a good time last night doesn’t mean I’ll ever have a good time again.” This individual is obviously shooting down a positive experience with an overall negative concept. Question 4: Jealousy Definition 1 Jealousy can be defined as an emotional behavioral response to what one views as a relationship threat. It usually comes when one suspects that one partner may have or desires to have some kind of sexual activity with a third party. Example A woman feels physically threatened by her husband’s friendship with a gorgeous woman she does not know. Definition 2 Jealousy can also arise from the desire to obtain what one does not have. Example If my neighbor has a better television set than me, I may be very jealous, and I may wish to obtain that TV set. WORKS CITED "Adler, Alfred," Microsoftc Encartac Online Encyclopedia 2000 http://encarta.msn.com c 1997-2000 Microsoft Corporation. Ansbacher, H., & Ansbacher, R. (Eds.). (1956). The individual psychology of Alfred Adler: A systematic presentation in selections from his writings. New York: Basic Books, Inc. Cloninger, S. C. (1996). Theories of personality: Understanding persons. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc. Frontline Transcript. (2000). Retrieved July 31, 2009, from: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/kinkel/etc/script.html Read More