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<EM>A Primer of Adlerian Psychology offers an accessible, yet very learned, introduction to Adlerian Psychology. Also known as Individual Psychology, the approach stresses the unity of the individual, the subjective choices he or she makes and the goals the individual works towards he or she moves through life. Therapists can apply this theory in a variety of settings with populations of all ages, making it a highly practical and valuable approach. Written by two scholars with extensive knowledge and experience in this school of thought, this book covers the basic tenets of Individual Psychology geared toward those students and clinicians who are yet unfamiliar with Adler's work.
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A PRIMER OF ADLERIAN PSYCHOLOGY
A PRIMER OF ADLERIAN PSYCHOLOGY The Analytic-BehavioralCogn itive Psychology of Alfred Adler
Harold H. Mosak Michael P. Maniacci
Published by Brunner-Routledge 29 West 35th Street New York, NY 10001 Published in Great Britain Brunner-Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane London EC4P 4EE A PRIMER OF ADLERIAN PSYCHOLOGY: The Analytic-Behavioral-Cognitive Psychology of Alfred Adler Copyright © 1999 Taylor & Francis. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the publisher. 4
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Cover design by Marja Walker. Cover photo courtesy of Sanford J. Greenburger Associates Edited by Hilary Ward and Mark Eggerts A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the British Library. The paper in this publication meets the requirements of the ANSI Standard Z39.48-1984 (Permanence of Paper).
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Mosak, Harold H. A primer of Adlerian pyschology: the analytic-behavioral-cognitive pyschology of Alfred Adler/Harold H. Mosak, Michael P. Maniacci. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-58391-003-4 (pbk.: alk. paper) 1. Adlerian psychology. 2. Adler, Alfred, 1870-1937. 1. Maniacci, Michael. II. Title. BFI75.5.A33M68 1999 150.19'53--dc21 99-25738 CIP ISBN 1-58391-003-4 (paper)
Dedication Harold H. Mosak: To Ada, a class act ... Michael P. Maniacci: To the two women of my life, Laurie and Emily ...
CONTENTS
Preface Alfred Adler and Adlerian Psychology: An Overview
IX 1
Basic Assumptions and Philosophy of Individual Psychology
12
The Development of the Life Style
30
The Style of Life
46
Typology
63
Inferiorities, Inferiority Feelings, and Inferiority Complexes
78
The Tasks of Life
96
Psychopathology
112
Understanding a Person
131
Encouraging Growth
146
A Critique of the Theory of Individual Psychology
162
References Index
176 191
VII
PREFACE All men by nature desire to know.
Aristotle (circa 350
BC)
BELIEVING is what we humans do best.
Michael S. Gazzaniga (1985)
Who am I? Where do I come from? What is all of this about? Questions like these have been on the minds and in the hearts of humanity for what seems to be an eternity. Aristotle (350 BcIl941), in The Metaphysics, posed just such questions and attempted to lay the foundation for those answers in philosophy and logic well over 2000 years ago. He was the founder of a school that trained some of the greatest minds of ancient Greece, he himself having graduated from Plato's Academy several years earlier. In The Metaphysics, Aristotle attempts to explore how to understand "being," that