PSY 505 Lecture 4: 4. Individual Psychology
17 May 2016
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Document Summary
Individual psychology: alfred adler"s theory of personality; called this because it focused on the uniqueness of each person and denied the universality of biological motives and goals. Inferiority feelings: the normal condition of all people; the source of all human striving; always present as a motivating force. Compensation: a motivation to overcome inferiority, to strive for higher levels of development; from where individual growth results. Adler believed that inferiority feelings were part of human life, that our desire to compensate for these inferiorities was what led us to strive for growth. Inferiority complex: a condition that develops when a person is unable to compensate for normal inferiority feelings. People with this complex have a poor opinion of themselves and feel helpless and unable to cope with the demands of life. Superiority complex: a condition that develops when a person overcompensates for normal inferiority feelings. Involves an exaggerated opinion of one"s abilities and accomplishments.
