Alfred Adler was a pioneering psychoanalyst, now known as a neo-Freudian. He agreed with Freud that childhood is important, but he believed childhood social, not sexual, tensions are crucial for personality formation. Adler developed his theory of the inferiority complex, which states that people have a feeling that they are inferior to others in some way. For example, someone may feel inferior because he does not make good grades or a girl feels inferior because she is overweight compared to the popular girls at school. The inferiority complex can lead to achievement or extreme asocial behavior. The student with poor grades could try his absolute hardest and see his grades rise (achievement) or he could become obsessed with studying and detach himself from others (asocial behavior). The overweight girl could take it upon herself to eat healthy and exercise to lose weight (achievement) or she could become anorexic or bulimic (asocial behavior). Adler believed that there was a single motivation behind all our behavior and experience. We all strive to free ourselves from inferiority; we strive for perfection, both consciously and subconsciously. It is human nature to desire superiority over inferiority. The inferiority complex often evolves into the superiority complex, which can be unhealthy as well.
Adler’s childhood experiences greatly contributed to the formation of his inferiority complex theory. He struggled to overcome childhood illnesses and accidents; he could not walk until age four due to suffering from rickets and he also almost died at five from pneumonia. 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’s childhood experiences greatly contributed to the formation of his inferiority complex theory. He struggled to overcome childhood illnesses and accidents; he could not walk until age four due to suffering from rickets and he also almost died at five from pneumonia. 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.