TOP - ADLER - A SUMMARY

Alfred Adler was a pioneering psychotherapist and one of the early leaders in the field of psychology and psychoanalysis. Adler's theories focused on human motivation, personality development, and the importance of feelings of inferiority. Here are some of his key theories:

1. **Individual Psychology**: Adler's approach to psychology, known as individual psychology, emphasized the individual as a whole and the importance of social connections in shaping behavior and personality. This approach regards each individual as unique and indivisible.

2. **Striving for Superiority**: A central concept in Adler's theories is the idea of "striving for superiority" or perfection. According to Adler, every individual has feelings of inferiority as a child, due to their small size, weakness, and dependent status. To compensate for these feelings, people strive to achieve goals and to improve themselves and their world.

3. **Inferiority Complex**: Adler introduced the concept of the "inferiority complex" to describe individuals who have deep feelings of inadequacy and incompetence, due to either real or imagined deficiencies. Such individuals may overcompensate for their perceived weaknesses, leading to neurotic behaviors.

4. **Social Interest**: Adler stressed the importance of "social interest" or "community feeling" - an innate potential to live cooperatively with other people, and a deep feeling of identification with humanity. According to Adler, mental health is characterized by active engagement and concern for others, while mental disorders often involve excessive self-interest or self-centeredness.

5. **Birth Order**: Adler was one of the first theorists to use birth order and sibling relationships as a key factor in personality development. He suggested that the position of a child within the family constellation could significantly influence that child's personality and behavior. 

6. **Style of Life**: According to Adler, each individual develops a unique style of life, which is a product of his or her heredity, environment, and relationship with others. The style of life is established by the age of four or five, and it reflects the individual's unique way of striving for superiority.

7. **Fictional Finalism**: Adler introduced the concept of "fictional finalism" to describe the idea that people act as much from the 'as if' and their subjective perceptions of the world as they do from reality. These fictions are often unspoken, unconscious, and imagined goals that guide our behavior.

Adler's theories have had a broad impact on psychology, psychotherapy, and our understanding of human behavior and motivation. His emphasis on the importance of social factors and community in individual psychological development was ahead of its time and continues to be influential.