Chapter 3    Adler: Individual Psychology83
Social interest  is Adler’s somewhat misleading translation of his original 
 German term, Gemeinschaftsgefühl.  A better translation might be “social feeling” or 
“community feeling,” but Gemeinschaftsgef ühl actually has a meaning that is not fully 
expressed by any English word or phrase. Roughly, it means a feeling of oneness with 
all humanity; it implies membership in the social community of all people. A person 
with well-developed Gemeinschaftsgef ühl strives not for personal superiority but for 
perfection for all people in an ideal community. Social interest can be defined as an 
attitude of relatedness with humanity in general as well as an empathy for each mem -
ber of the human community. It manifests itself as cooperation with others for social 
advancement rather than for personal gain (Adler, 1964).
Social interest is the natural condition of the human species and the adhesive 
that binds society together (Adler, 1927). The natural inferiority of individuals neces -
sitates their joining together to form a society. Without protection and nourishment 
from a father or mother, a baby would perish. Without protection from the family or 
clan, our ancestors would have been destroyed by animals that were stronger, more 
ferocious, or endowed with keener senses. Social interest, therefore, is a necessity for 
perpetuating the human species.
Origins of Social Interest
Social interest is rooted as potentiality in everyone, but it must be developed before 
it can contribute to a useful style of life. It originates from the mother–child relation -
ship during the early months of infancy. Every person who has survived infancy was 
kept alive by a mothering person who possessed some amount of social interest. Thus, 
every person has had the seeds of social interest sown during those early months.
Both mother and father can contribute powerfully to the developing social interest of their children. 
Purestock/SuperStock
fei75766_ch03_072-106.indd 83  02/06/20  11:03 AMFinal PDF to printer