Alfred Adler Michelle Billy

Alfred Adler’s life Born on February 7, 1870 in the suburbs of Vienna He didn’t walk until he was four because he had rickets Rickets is when the bones are very weak and start to soften because of a lack of vitamin D, calcium and phosphate When he was five, he almost died of pneumonia All of these situations made him want to become a doctor

Alfred Adler’s life continued 1895– graduated from the University of Vienna with a medical degree First he was an ophthalmologist then a general doctor Later he was a doctor in a children’s hospital for the Austrian Army 1926– became a lecturer for the Long Island College of medicine Moved to the U.S. and became an psychiatrist 1937– died of a heart attack while giving a lecture

Interesting facts about Adler Because he was failing math, his math teacher talked to his dad and told him that he should be removed from school Adler worked harder and became the top of his class in math Adler was the first feminist theorist Wrote about women in his theory books He learned to speak English on his own he wanted to teach Americans about his theory

Alfred Adler’s Individual Psychology Theory Believed that everyone’s success was determined by their personal motivation and will to succeed Believed that each person was unique and that all of the other theories were not made for everyone Parts to his theory: Goal Orientation Unity of personality Self-Determination and Uniqueness Social Context The Feeling of Community

Goal Orientation Everyone determines their own success by their goals Their goals are not always conscious We make goals without knowing that we made them We make goals to make everything we do worth while and feel accomplished

Unity of Personality Thoughts feelings, emotions and behaviors can be understood through a person’s life style The reasoning behind these are different for everyone because everyone is uniquely different Each of these things can be linked together

Social context Three important life task: Occupation Love Relationships with others Larger systems that we are apart of: Family Community All of humanity Our planet The way we respond to the first system is related to our views on life

Community of feelings We have set narratives in order to cope with being in the world Someone without these narratives is considered self-absorbed We use these narratives because we think there is a benefit If we don’t think there will be a benefit, the narratives won’t be used

Alfred Adler’s Dream Theory Dreams are problem solving devices The more dreams someone has, the more problems they are likely to have The opposite is also true It is important to learn from your dreams Dreams are an open pathway to your thoughts, emotions and actions Situations that occur in real life are made easier in dreams

Life applications The child is encouraged to overcome their bad feelings Both parents and teacher can help their child/ student by sending them positive encouragement/ messages The child is encouraged to correct assumptions, attitudes, behaviors, and feelings about themselves and the world that have been mistaken Teachers and parents should model what they want to see from the child

Bibliography "Alfred Adler." Psychology History. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 May 2013. "Alfred Adler: Theory and Application." Practical Psychology, Inspiring Change. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 May 2013. "Dream Moods: Dream Theories: Alfred Adler." Dream Moods: Dream Theories: Alfred Adler. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 May 2013. "Lowdoorway." Lowdoorway. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 May 2013.