Chapter 3    Adler: Individual Psychology77
daughter Vali, who had disappeared somewhere in Moscow, Adler felt chest pains 
while on a speaking tour in the Netherlands. Ignoring the doctor’s advice to rest, 
he continued on to Aberdeen, Scotland, where on May 28, 1937, he died of a heart 
attack. Freud, who was 14 years older than Adler, had outlived his longtime adver -
sary. On hearing of Adler’s death, Freud (as quoted in E. Jones, 1957) sarcastically 
remarked, “For a Jew boy out of a Viennese suburb a death in Aberdeen is an unheard-
of career in itself and a proof of how far he had got on. The world really rewarded him 
richly for his service in having contradicted psychoanalysis” (p. 208).
Introduction to Adlerian Theory
Although Alfred Adler has had a profound effect on such later theorists as Harry 
Stack Sullivan, Karen Horney, Julian Rotter, Abraham H. Maslow, Carl Rogers, 
Albert Ellis, Rollo May, and others (Mosak & Maniacci, 1999), his name is less well 
known than that of either Freud or Carl Jung. At least three reasons account for this. 
First, Adler did not establish a tightly run organization to perpetuate his theories. 
Second, he was not a particularly gifted writer, and most of his books were compiled 
by a series of editors using Adler’s scattered lectures. Third, many of his views were 
incorporated into the works of such later theorists as Maslow, Rogers, and Ellis and 
thus are no longer associated with Adler’s name.
Although his writings revealed great insights into the depth and com -
plexities of human personality, Adler evolved a basically simple and parsimoni -
ous theory. To Adler, people are born with weak, inferior bodies—a condition  
that leads to feelings  of inferiority and a consequent dependence on other people. 
Therefore, a feeling of unity with others (social interest) is inherent in people and 
the ultimate standard for psychological health. More specifically, the main tenets of 
Adlerian theory can be stated in outline form. The following is adapted from a list 
that represents the final statement of individual psychology (Adler, 1964).
 1. The one dynamic force behind people’s behavior is the striving for success or 
superiority.
 2. People’s subjective perceptions  shape their behavior and personality.
 3. Personality is unified and self-consistent.
 4. The value of all human activity must be seen from the viewpoint of social interest.
 5. The self-consistent personality structure develops into a person’s style of life.
 6. Style of life is molded by people’s creative power.
Striving for Success or Superiority
The first tenet of Adlerian theory is: The one dynamic force behind people’s behavior is 
the striving for success or superiority.
Adler reduced all motivation to a single drive—the striving for success or superi -
ority. Adler’s own childhood was marked by physical deficiencies and strong feelings 
of competitiveness with his older brother. Individual psychology holds that everyone 
begins life with physical deficiencies that activate feelings of inferiority—feelings that 
motivate a person to strive for either superiority or  success. Psychologically unhealthy 
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