Chapter 3    Adler: Individual Psychology73
From toddlerhood on, Alfred was an outgoing and gregarious young boy. He was 
surrounded by family, friends, and acquaintances. Indeed, he had six siblings 
and many friends. Social networks and connections were always important and nec -
essary to Alfred. And yet, as is often true of large families, there was competition 
between these siblings for their parents’ attention, which was especially pronounced 
between Alfred and his older brother, Sigmund (Hoffman, 1994). His older brother 
was not only bigger and stronger but was also healthier and not as prone to illness as 
Alfred. For example, one of Alfred’s earliest recollections was “sitting on a bench, 
bandaged because of rickets, with my healthy elder brother sitting opposite me. He 
could run, jump, and move quite effortlessly, while for me movement of any sort 
was a strain and an effort” (Adler, 1947, p. 9). Another powerful experience that 
shaped Alfred’s life and career was the illness and then death of one of his younger 
brothers. But it was even worse: Alfred and his younger brother Rudolf slept in the 
same room  and one morning Alfred woke to find Rudolf dead in the bed next to him 
(Hoffman, 1994).
These early memories left a lasting and even lifelong impression on Alfred 
Adler, who would grow up to make them—early recollections, sense of inferiority, 
style of life, and social connection—the cornerstone of his version of psychoanalytic 
theory of personality. In Adler’s own words: “It is these psychological tendencies 
which even in my childhood had formed my style of life, to which I am also indebted 
for my insight into psychic manifestations.  . . . I decided at an early age to face and 
struggle with all of my difficult problems, so that I might be in a better position to 
solve them” (Adler, 1947, p. 11).
Overview of Individual Psychology
Alfred Adler was neither a terrorist nor a person driven mad by ambition. Indeed, 
his individual psychology  presents an optimistic view of people while resting heavily 
on the notion of social interest,  that is, a feeling of oneness with all humankind. In 
addition to Adler’s more optimistic look at people, several other differences made the 
relationship between Freud and Adler quite tenuous.
First, Freud reduced all motivation to sex and aggression, whereas Adler saw 
people as being motivated mostly by social influences and by their striving for supe -
riority or success; second, Freud assumed that people have little or no choice in 
shaping their personality, whereas Adler believed that people are largely respon -
sible for who they are; third, Freud’s assumption that present behavior is caused 
by past experiences was directly opposed to Adler’s notion that present behavior is 
shaped by people’s view of the future; and fourth, in contrast to Freud, who placed 
very heavy emphasis on unconscious components of behavior, Adler believed that 
 psychologically healthy people are usually aware of what they are doing and why they 
are doing it.
As we have seen, Adler was an original member of the small clique of phy -
sicians who met in Freud’s home on Wednesday evenings to discuss psychologi -
cal topics. However, when theoretical and personal differences between Adler and 
Freud emerged, Adler left the Freud circle and established an opposing theory, which 
became known as individual psychology.
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