The Historical Contributions of Personality Psychologist Alfred Adler - Research Paper Example

?Running head: Alfred Adler and His Contributions to the Field of Psychology Alfred Adler is among the individuals who significantly contributed to the development of Psychology field. Adler is well known for his theory of Individual Psychology. In addition, he addressed comprehensive ideas on several aspects of psychology. While most of his concepts are reflected in several researches, the field of psychology does not acknowledge his contributions. Few individuals, beside the proponents of Adlerian theory support his work. This paper is subdivided into three major sections namely; the introduction, the main body, and the conclusion. In the introduction part, a brief highlight is presented concerning Adler and the field of psychology in which emphasis in laid on his psychology theory. A thesis statement for the discussion is presented. Subsequently, the main body of the paper contains the major contributions that Adler made in psychology. First, the biographical information of Adler is offered. His place of birth, date of birth, childhood life and experiences, education, professional life, and death are covered. The Individual Psychology by Adler is advanced based on his multiple ideas. Thereafter, his ideas and concepts are traced in current research and his influence in the field of psychology demonstrated. Finally, the paper ends in conclusion, which captures and reinstates the thesis statement. It points out Adler’s contributions, criticisms, and position in the present world of psychology. Generally, the paper concludes that the work of Alfred Adler is very influential in the field of psychology through his contributions. I. Introduction Thesis: The historical contributions of personality psychologist, Alfred Adler, in the field of psychology. II. Biographical Background Alfred Adler’s biographical background information including his birth and early childhood experiences has been discussed. His education, professional career, and death have been studied (Singh, 2006). III. An Analysis of the Contributions Alfred Adler Made To the Field Of Psychology Adler is attributed for developing the theory of Individual Psychology (Watts, 2000; Weber, 2003; Stein, 2008). IV. Adler’s Ideas in Current Research Work Adler’s psychology has also been supported by some researchers in their works. The concepts supported include cooperation, motivation, community psychology, and learning style theory (Lafountain, 2009). V. The Influence of Alfred Adler The work of Adler influenced the field of psychology through enhancing the prevention, treatment, understanding, and interventions in mental disorders and psychotherapy (Overholser, 2010). VI. Conclusion Alfred Adler has been very influential in the field of psychology through his theory of Individual Psychology. Introduction The foundations of contemporary psychology is held in a practice comprehensively transpersonal in character just like it is demonstrated in the works of Alfred Adler, Roberto Assgioli, and Gustav Fechner among other psychologists. Alfred Adler is among psychologists who contributed towards addressing the aspects of the soul, which religion could not examine. However, Adler, who is the founder of Individual Psychology, is often attributed and acknowledged as an early contributor in the field of psychology, through his works in transpersonal psychology. Adler’s concept of “creative self” signifies modern understandings of transpersonal areas of human identity. In his conceptual works, Adler admitted that the transpersonal elements of human psyche referred to as ‘creative self’, is the unifying standard of human life providing the fundamental constituents of an individual’s personality. This paper discusses, evaluates and analyzes the historical contributions of personality psychologist, Alfred Adler, in the field of psychology. Biographical Background Alfred Adler was born in 1870 in a family of six children of which he was the second born among his siblings. Adler was born to a prosperous merchant known as Leopold. He was raised up as Jew during his childhood years. In his early years, Adler was weak and frail, and suffered from rickets. In his fifth year in life, Adler developed pneumonia, which almost robbed him his life. It was barely a year since his brother passed away. The bitter experiences he had as a child, more specifically issues related to health, made him settle for a career as a doctor (Singh, 2006). After settling in psychiatry, Freud invited Adler in 1902, to join in the formation of an organization, which came to be known as Vienna Psychoanalytical Society. This was the beginning of Adler working with Freud. In his early days in psychology, Adler did not regard himself as a psychoanalyst, though; the work of Freud significantly influenced him. Adler worked as a charter member of Vienna Psychoanalytic Society and later became its vice president before resigning in 1911 to form Society of Free Psychoanalysis, together with six other followers. He resigned from the Freudian circle because of the differences in opinion over neurosis explanation. Freud placed heavy emphasis on sex in his explanation, progressively augmenting their personal and theoretical differences (Patrick, 1932). Accordingly, Adler and his six followers from the Freudian circle established a branch of psychology, Individual Psychology. In this psychology, every individual is regarded as distinctive and indivisible because of the inimitable style of life, which offers unity to all behaviors. Increasingly, he became popular and took interest in child psychology of which he actively participated in child guidance clinic and public schools. He worked as a psychologist up to 1937 when he almost died of heart attack in Aberdeen, Scotland while on a lecture tour (Schultz & Schultz, 2008). An Analysis of the Contributions Alfred Adler Made to the Field of Psychology Theory or Ideas Alfred Adler Is Responsible For Adding To Psychology Theory of Individual Psychology After Adler had parted ways with Freud in 1911, he went ahead and established a different approach to psychology referred to as Individual Psychology. In his theory, Adler asserted that each person is holistic and indivisible human being embedded in a social context. As a result, Adler is considered a forerunner of holism in biopsychosocial psychology. The theory developed by Adler often has been put out of context and misrepresented to imply the study of individual away from the social context (Overholser, 2010). Following the early conceptions, Adler emphasized social rootedness in which he implied understanding individuals within a social perspective. This early conception places Adler as a founder in social psychology. The theory of Individual Psychology developed by Adler was the earliest psychological system to be developed in the history of psychology under the contemporary social-science direction. Following his works, it is evident that Adler had insight into the area of social psychology. Notwithstanding, the present authors in psychology do not capture the role that Adler played in the foundation of social psychology (Overholser, 2010). In discussing the biological groundwork in evolution, several psychologists refer to the process of evolution and link their explanations to the Darwin’s theory. Some psychologists for instance, have argued that cooperation is a means of survival. However, Adler is not mentioned in such works. Adler had earlier conceived his theory and made links with Darwin. In explaining social evolution, Adler advanced his problem from biological perspective emphasizing the significance of communal living. Adler refers to the understanding of an individual to belong in human community as social interest, which is not only a feeling but also an approach towards life (Lafountain, 2009). In addition, Adler argued that every individual required three undertakings in life, which needed cooperative movement, to survive in the world. Adler presented that individuals needed occupation task for survival. People always need a way of meeting their physical needs to survive. In his theory, Adler applied the term ‘occupation task’ to include daily living abilities, work, and education. Human beings are not self-sufficient and therefore need cooperation with each other for their daily survival (Teslak, 2010). Subsequently, Adler posited that the next life task is social task, which entails civility, respect, and kindness. Further, he asserted that individuals needed a more advanced level of associating in love. Love task involved family, reproduction, and sex. Adler therefore, presented that the three tasks namely; occupation task, social task, and life task were essential in propagation the continuity of species (Teslak, 2010). In his task entailing intimate relations, he handles a broad range of psychological topics, including development of children and adolescents, parenting, and family therapy. The original works of Adler and his like minded counterparts form the basis of several systematic theories. In contrast, most of these works do not formally acknowledge the theoretical position of Adler on these issues (Weber, 2003). In emphasizing the necessity of examining people in their social context, Adler stated that children learn to interact in their families. In family settings, children often endeavor to conquer inferiority, seeking importance, and superiority via purposive and interactive behaviors. He emphasized the significance of family environment and family gathering in which the family gathering included psychological birth order of every child within the family. Through psychological birth order, the child can perceive and evaluate the world, other individuals, and him or herself. Besides, the child can form convictions of what is required of as well as what is open to him or her (Lafountain, 2009). Adler started child guidance clinics across Vienna in 1920s to meet the needs of counseling children during difficulties, such as school problems. He is considered as the first modern theorist to emphasize family dynamics. Through family constellations, Adler perceived that it was easier to understand individuals. Individuals were the main focus of Adler in his treatment. As a result, Adler thought like a family therapist and worked with individuals. In his child guidance clinics, Adler provided family therapy demonstrations and observed parents, teachers, and members of the family. Marriage and family clinics were later established from the framework of child guidance clinics by Adler (Sommers-Flanagan & Sommers-Flanagan, 2012). Adler also contributed towards the development of the theory of motivation, which he initially began as organ inferiority. In addressing the theory of motivation, Adler used several terms to imply the notion of motivation. He for instance used terms such as goal, striving, feeling, need, and urge. Starting from organ inferiority, Adler advanced to significance in which he emphasized determination for power and superiority as the fundamental human motivation. He argued that humans struggle to belong, and contribute towards human wellbeing (Lafountain, 2009). Adler focused on holism and interaction linking people and the social environment, laying ground work for multicultural approaches in psychology. Today, culture, and its relations to elements, such as cognition, intelligence, assessment, families, and personality theory, is regarded by psychologists. The psychology of Adler had the utmost promise for tackling the cultural problems because of the emphasis it placed on the significance of world perceptions, social interest, and equality as well as socio-cultural systems and cooperation (Richardson & Manaster, 1997). In advancing the concept of masculine protest, Adler immensely contributed to the issue of equality between sexes. He argued that culture gave the intuition that men were better than women. Children trained to consider opposite sex counterparts as equal partners have an opportunity of devising creative and independent solutions to adult life issues. He therefore contributed to the area of cognition through promoting creativity and problem-solving in children (Stone, 2007). Adler shaped the foundations of Individual Psychology with the concept that everything can be different and any individual can change his or her core personality. This perception advanced by Adler, forms the fundamental nature of depth psychotherapy that deals with redefining people’s perception (Watts, 2000). Adler’s philosophy of life is perfectly coherent with psychotherapy by integrating the theory of human development with optimal functioning vision. Adler presented the roadmap of psychotherapy (Stein, 2008). Does current research support these ideas? Adler’s theory of psychology is broadly used in several research ideas but rarely acknowledged, except by psychologists who support the Adlerian psychology. The psychology of Adler elicits more criticism than support in today’s research. His critics challenge the scientific nature of the theory in which certain researchers argue that Adler’s theory is more of common sense observations. Presently, conventional psychology is inclined experimentally; therefore, the ideas of a theory should be measurable and be manipulated. Physical or behavioral variables are mainly applied in experimental orientations. As for Adler, he used basic conceptions, which are neither physical nor behavioral variables (Boeree, 2006). Nevertheless, Adler’s psychology has also been supported by some researchers in their works. According to Lafountain (2009), present researchers including Sussman and Garber (2004), have supported Adler’s concepts that survival is accomplished through evolution. The theory of Adler presented cooperation in form of communal living from a biological stand point. Unfortunately, these researchers do not acknowledge the contributions of Adler. Lafountain (2009) goes ahead to point out that Sherman and Dinkmeyer (1987) supported Adlerian concept and acknowledged that the majority of systematic theories find their framework in the psychology of Adler. In addition, supporters of learning style theory advance their concepts beyond experimental inclinations. In learning style theory, it is asserted that materials can be presented in various ways with research in the area corroborating the concept, that presenting learning materials in various ways improves the learning ability of different individuals. Comparatively, Adler developed his psychology theory based on the same concepts propagated by proponents of learning style theory. Adler argued that children used sense organs differently in perceiving the world. Training the child on using the most frequent sense organ he or she uses enhances various learning abilities in children. Further, King and Shelley (2008) support Adler’s notion drawing some parallels between Adler’s theory and the present community psychology concept. Psychology of Adler presents a robust historical foundation to community psychology area. However, researchers in community psychology do not consider Adler to have helped developed the field. In community psychology, community is a fundamental concept. Similarly, Adler used the concept of community feeling to establish the depth psychology system. The effective aspect of community is integrated into psychodynamics thus, the unconscious. The Influence of Alfred Adler Adler was important in the development of the breadth of psychology field. This is demonstrated when he differed with Freud on his opinions and interpretation and established a different field in Individual Psychology. Adler is credited for emphasizing the significance of perceiving individuals holistically without isolating the psyche into various elements. Adler founded the concepts of social interest, cooperation, inferiority feelings, and working for improved wellbeing of the society (Overholser, 2010). Adler’s work influenced psychology field such that his model is perfectly suited for enhancing the prevention of mental disorders by practicing appropriate parenting practices as well as early intervention measures by teachers. In developmental issues, Adler’s influence is significant in improving the understanding and treatment of most clients. His works are of relevance in guiding psychological treatments for adults and children with neurotic illnesses (Overholser, 2010). Adler influenced psychology perspectives in social-cognitive, cognitive, and humanistic. Lafountain (2009) states that Adler directly influenced several renowned theorists, including Carl Rodgers, Julian Rotter, Abraham Maslow, Albert Ellis, and Rollo May among others. The psychology of Adler was very comprehensive and covered several areas in psychology, such as social psychology, cognition, culture, motivation, child and adolescent development, family systems and studies, holism, intelligence, evolution, personality, and creativity. Adler significantly influenced post-Freudian psychoanalysis. His influence is demonstrated in the work of ego psychologists who emphasizes more on rational conscious process than on unconscious process. These concepts follow the foundations of Adler’s work. Adler emphasized the social forces in personality, and this is later reflected in the works of Karen Horney. Abraham Maslow was influenced by Adler’s creative power to shape an individual’s style of life (Schultz & Schultz, 2008). Elsewhere, Kemp (2000) presents that Adler had substantial influence on character education and selective influence on pastoral counseling movement. In addition, his work had insignificant influence on psychology of religion as well as minimal influence on psychology-theology integration. Conclusion Adler was instrumental in the historical development of psychology field. He is widely acknowledged as the founder of Individual Psychology. In developing his theory of psychology, Adler comprehensively addressed a broad range of ideas. However, his work was based on observations and not experimentally oriented basis like conventional theory of psychology. As a result, several researchers have disputed Adler’s theory but went ahead and applied his ideas in various areas in psychology without acknowledging his contributions. While only few researchers openly support Adler’s position in their works, the model of Adler in psychology is widely in place and has helped develop the field abundantly. The influence of Adler is conspicuous in the works of several theorists, such as Abraham Maslow who ideas parallel those of creative power advanced by Adler. Even in the absence of acknowledging the contributions of Adler in the field of Psychology, several theories conceived by Adler are increasingly reflected in present-day systematic theories. The majority of theoretical foundations in modern psychology date back to the concepts and constructs of Alfred Adler. Adler’s work therefore, has helped stimulate the development of a broad range of psychological theories, interventions, and ideas. References Boeree, C. G. (2006 ). Alfred Adler. Retrieved from http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/adler.html Kemp, H. V. (2000). Wholeness, Holiness, and the Care of Souls: The Adler-Jahn Debate in Historical Perspective. Journal of Individual Psychology, 56(3), 243-256. King, R. A., & Shelley, C. A. (2008). 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