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Alfred Adler
Alfred Adler was a doctor by education, and in the field of psychology he is known as the founder of the direction he called individual psychology. He was a contemporary of Freud, but on many issues he disagreed with classical psychoanalytic theory. In contrast to the biological determinism of psychoanalysis, Adler believed that social influences and the child's relationship with the environment are of great importance for the formation of personality characteristics.
In his teaching, he advocated the idea that FEELING OF LESS VALUE is the main motivator of behavior - it occurs in childhood, when a child in contact with the environment and exploring the world around him encounters difficulties and obstacles. The experience of one's own powerlessness and weakness, which is created through such contact, is a FEELING OF INFERIORITY. In the study of individual psychology, feeling inferior is considered a necessary element in personality dynamics. The ways in which it can be overcome can be healthy and pathological.
COMPENSATION is a way of compensating for a real or psychological deficiency and frees a person from feeling less valuable. For example a child who was below average in some area, through effort and improvement of knowledge, can become successful in adulthood. Through the compensation mechanism, a person establishes harmony with the environment in which he lives.
Through the mechanism of OVERCOMPENSATION, a person works similarly as in the case of compensation - he improves in overcoming the experience of inferiority, only in this case he tends to gain a feeling of superiority over others. When this mechanism becomes dominant in such a way that a person competes with others, that he has the feeling that he must be the best, this dynamic enters the domain of psychopathology, which can manifest itself through neurotic and psychotic symptoms.
In the book "On the Nervous Character", Adler states: "At the beginning of neurosis there is a threatening feeling of insecurity and inferiority which is forcibly demanded by a leading, safe and secure goal; then the concretization of the goal of supremacy, which makes life bearable. What we call the essence of neurosis consists of an increased consumption of available psychic resources. Among these, auxiliary constructions and patterns in thinking, acting and wanting stand out. It is clear that such a psyche, which is in a special tension due to the elevation of the personality, and independent of unequivocal neurotic symptoms, will appear striking due to the noticeable difficulties that arise when trying to adapt to the community, at the workplace, in love. The feeling of a weak point dominates the neurotic, so much so that he, without noticing, by the ultimate engagement of all his forces achieves a protective superstructure. At the same time, his sensitivity sharpens, he learns to pay attention to those connections that others overlook, he exaggerates his caution, at the beginning of each act or at the very beginning of some suffering he foresees all possible consequences, he tries to see further, to hear more, he becomes petty , insatiable, thrifty, tries to extend the boundaries of his influence and power as far and beyond time and space as possible - at the same time he loses spontaneity and peace of mind, which actually guarantee psychological health and energy.''
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