ASSUMPTION COLLEGE

Theory Application Paper:

Individual Psychology
Theories of Personality Ms. Flair Pajarillaga
Nicole Andres
2/24/2012

Basing on the different personality theories discussed throughout the course, this paper aims to explain
a case subjects personality and a unique Filipino trait with particular emphasis on one theorist. This
paper will focus on Alfred Adlers Individual Psychology theory.
 Theory Application Paper: Individual Psychology 2012
Abstract

Marie is a female Filipino 20 year old fourth year college student born to a middle-class Catholic family
with two female siblings. Marie is the middle child and is currently an aunt to a months-old niece born
out of wedlock to her older sibling; Maries parents are married with their household having English as
their primary language used. Marie is currently set to graduate with a degree in Communication Arts
and is part of the deans list of her college. Weighing at 155 lbs, she is considered to be of normal weight
with her 51 height. With no known history of mental illness or depression in her family, Marie is prone
to bouts of mild depression and frustration due to stress. Her stressors include the following: balancing
academics (has finished 191 units plus thesis and is now currently finishing 15 units) with film shootings
(part of requirements for her course), additional paper works, relationship with peers and the transition
from school to work place; a strained relationship with her father on account of the financial and
emotional strains burdened on the family because of a new baby that the family is taking care of and an
erratic oldest daughter, college education of Marie (covers all expenses inclusive of travel fare and
miscellaneous fees plus thesis fees), basic education of the youngest sibling, and other necessary fees of
the household; a current intimate relationship with an opposite sex who is 20 years older than her and is
a renowned celebrity; spiritual dilemmas like blaming God for the burdens in her life and doubt about
her religion and its ways. She also experiences feelings of inferiority about her height and weight and
her capabilities as a whole; she feels she is not adequate as of yet. Her goal that has been consistent
over time is to have a career in the entertainment industry (celebrity).

Yet despite the constant stresses placed on her and her family by her family and other factors
aforementioned, Marie is an honor student, has four (4) standing job offers, is responsible, knows the
importance of delayed gratification, has strong self-control, consistent, and family-oriented. However,
she is also prone to mild depression and frustration which sometimes also has physical manifestations
and colonial mentality (a preference for other culture(s)). By using three years of observation and the
subjects own narrative, this paper will try to explain, justify, contrast, and contradict her personality
traits and will try to offer help through the different theories discussed in the course Theories of
Personality with particular focus on Alfred Adlers theory Individual Psychology.

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 Theory Application Paper: Individual Psychology 2012
Adlers basic premise on Individual Psychology is that the one dynamic force behind peoples
behavior is the striving for success or superiority. He reduced all motivation to a single drive the
striving for success or superiority (Ansbacher & Ansbacher, 1990); that we are goal-directed. Unlike
Freuds view that everything we do is connected to our past and repressed memories, Adler focuses on
a persons view of the future as a big factor in shaping that persons behavior. He also coined terms like
feelings of inferiority, striving for superiority, striving for success, inferiority and superiority complex,
and the impact of a familys constellation (birth order) in shaping of a persons behavior. Feelings of
inferiority, according to Adler, is normal and common because we are all born with weak bodies
because of that (and because we see adults who are much more capable than our weak, inferior
bodies), we develop feelings of inferiority which we use in order to strive for success. According to
Adler, that is the driving force behind peoples behavior: our constant endeavor for perfection.

As an infant, Marie was generally a baby with a difficult temperament -- easily distressed,
difficult to soothe, loud, and oftentimes crabby. Or, according to a model by Buss & Plomin, Marie is
what we would call a baby high in Emotionality. While temperament is not a measure of an infant or a
toddlers personality as a whole, it is indicative of a childs behavior style or a disposition towards
behavior that influences a persons adult personality traits. Of course, how temperament would affect a
persons personality depends on a number of factors such as genetic predisposition, parenting styles,
peers, etc. As we have seen, Marie has turned out to be a responsible young adult with a bright future
which contradicts recent studies that infants with difficult temperament early on will generally have a
less successful life than babies with easy temperaments precisely because of their disposition towards
behavior; a baby with a difficult temperament may approach things with a heightened emotionality or
too much sensitivity that it hinders him from doing things that may be beneficial for his success later on
in life. But in Maries situation, it contradicts that and also Eyesencks theory that personality is largely
determined by biological factors. Her temperament may have been innate and it still has an influence
over some of the decisions she makes, her outlook on things and situations, her relationships, etc. but
it did not dictate what type of adult she turned out to be, which contradicts the Biological approachs
idea that, since a large part of our personality is inherited, our future is already pre-destined.

As mentioned in the first paragraph, Marie felt feelings of inferiority common to all children
especially those who grew up in a family setting where the parents are successful. According to Adlers
basic premise, all motivations are reduced to only one drive which is to strive for superiority and that
feelings of inferiority are normal, are actually positive, and are used by people to strive for a higher

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 Theory Application Paper: Individual Psychology 2012
station as opposed to their perceived lower station in life. In Maries case, using Adlers approach, it is
assumed that she has felt feelings of inferiority as a child because, according to Adler, humans are born
with weak and inferior bodies which lead to feelings of inferiority (Adler, 1964). Those feelings of
inferiority were used by Marie as leverage in order to become more adept and capable than her current
level. For example, Marie has a natural talent in the written language, but whilst growing up and
encountering new peers that were more talented than her in the field of writing (i.e. peers who were
honor students) and as she received new knowledge about writing, she perceived her current level as
lower, even if others do not think that way, and developed feelings of inferiority. After learning some
were better than her and after assessing her own capabilities and weaknesses by comparing her old
writings with her current ones, she strove to write better and overcame those feelings of inferiority,
which also supports Adlers concept that, when measuring a persons personality, one should look at the
persons background as a whole; that the environment also plays a large role in molding a persons
personality. In this case, the educational system where Marie grew up in (which includes her peers and
instructors) and her family are all instrumental in fueling her goals and shaping her personality.

Until now, Marie experiences feelings of inferiority as she encounters more people and her
network of acquaintances widens and she still feels as if her current perceived level of capabilities is not
as ideal as she would like it to be. Therefore, Marie strives for perfection and personal superiority over
her perceived lower station in life by trying to improve and overcome her feelings of inferiority. In
Maries case, for example, her ideal self would be someone who is talented (acting, singing, writing,
maybe a bit of dancing), a charmer (charismatic and influential), beautiful inside and out, known and
loved by many, wealthy (in love, friends, money and a bit of power). According to Marie, all these
things seem attainable but would be very difficult to achieve partly because of opportunity (or a lack
thereof). In order to achieve these goals, she is willing to save enough money and go to classes and
workshops to learn more and improve her talents and her abilities and even her physique. This also
supports Carl Rogers theory that when the real self and the ideal self are closely related together, it
does not produce anxiety. So, Marie feels anxiety when dealing with difficult work or stresses of school
work and insecurities, but mostly these anxious feelings stem from feelings of inferiority the feeling of
not being good enough. But if Marie is consistent with her endeavor for perfection, she is at least
average in her feelings of anxiety. She is prone to bouts of mild depression, but this is also normal
especially for adolescents. (Newman & Newman, 2011)

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 Theory Application Paper: Individual Psychology 2012
According to Adlers theory, there are two types of endeavors for perfection: one, there is
striving for personal superiority and two, striving for success. When a person strives for the former
(which is striving for superiority with no regard for others but himself), it is an indication of an inferiority
complex, which occurs when a person is unable to compensate for feelings of inferiority. So when that
person strives for superiority, it is only for himself.

Some people create clever disguises for their personal striving and may consciously
or unconsciously hide their self-centeredness behind the cloak of social concern.
A college teacher, for example, may appear to have a great interest in his
students because he establishes a personal relationship with many of them.
By conspicuously displaying much sympathy and concern, he encourages vulnerable
students to talk to him about their personal problems. This teacher possesses a
Private intelligence that allows him to believe that he is the most accessible and
dedicated teacher in his college. To a casual observer, he may appear to be motivated
by social interest, but his actions are largely self-serving and motivated by over-
compensation for his exaggerated feelings of personal superiority. (Ansbacher, 2011, p. 72)

In Maries case, her affection for her family is one of the driving forces in her current success --
in the Filipino culture, being family oriented is not uncommon. In fact, it is a natural thing for Filipinos to
have a sense of family attachment. This trait that is unique to the Philippine culture also became a
driving force in Maries endeavor for superiority. As a child growing up (around the ages 6-7), Marie had
witnessed her more erratic and reckless older sister being punished for misbehaving; Marie took it upon
herself not to behave a certain way in order to avoid unnecessary punishment and tried to become an
achiever so she could bring her parents happiness and pride; she wanted above all else to make her
family proud. Therefore, it could be inferred that Marie strives for success rather than personal
superiority because she takes into consideration her radius of significant relationships. Apart from
striving to bring pride in their family, Marie also has charity works in mind and is an environmentalist
and is concerned for animal welfare. With her advocacy serving also as one of the driving forces in her
endeavor for achievements, there is little doubt that Marie is striving for success rather than striving for
personal superiority.

In going back to her childhood, Marie was pampered in terms of material necessities, comforts,
and attention but was never pampered overboard to the point that she was not able to assert

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 Theory Application Paper: Individual Psychology 2012
independence in any way. A pampered lifestyle, in Adlers terms, is not that the child is too loved. In
fact, pampered children feel as if they are not loved because parents treat them as If they cannot solve
problems on their own, making them feel inadequate and in turn, feel ashamed and incompetent of
their inadequacies. This theory is also in line with Eriksons Psychosocial theory in the toddlerhood
which is Autonomy versus Shame and doubt wherein if the child is not allowed to explore on his own or
is constantly turned down, the child will develop feelings of shame that he cannot do things on his own,
making him feel ashamed of his inadequacy which may haunt him in later years (It may also manifest in
poor self-confidence and assertiveness as an adolescent which may affect his making significant
relationship with peers which may also affect his adult life and, ultimately, the rest of his life if not
remedied) but if resolved successfully (parents were supportive and encouraging without being
neglectful) then the child will eventually overcome the psychosocial crisis and will be on his way to
becoming a more confident and assertive adult. Marie was able to explore her surroundings and got to
experience things which has boosted her confidence as a child which later helped in molding a more
assertive and confident adult personality. She is a leader and/or an officer of various organizations in the
campus and is usually nominated as leader of group works inside the classroom, knows when to say no
when she does not like something, and is opinionated. Of course, Marie was never neglected as a child.

Marie is the second child of three. Originally, she was supposed to be the last but her mother
became pregnant ten (10) years later, which resulted in a very upset current middle child. Now, close-
knit as the family is, Marie cannot seem to be as close and as loving to her younger sister like she is with
her new niece (born from her older sister) who, indirectly, is also a cause of much stress in Maries life.

I feel guilty but often times I just cant be as loving to my younger sister as I am to my niece. I
cant explain it. But sometimes there is a conscious effort on my part to try and be nice, sometimes its
better ignoring her just so I could stress for both of us. Marie

From the statement above, there is a seemingly unconscious, one-sided tension on Maries part
for her younger sibling. Approaching it from Adlers point of view, her unconscious thoughts are
suppressed (cannot be explained by Marie) because it is not helpful in any way in achieving superiority
or success. According to Adler, We cannot oppose consciousness to unconsciousness as if they were
antagonistic halves of an individuals existence. The conscious life becomes unconscious as soon as we
fail to understand itand as soon as we understand an unconscious tendency it has already become
conscious. (Adler, 1929/1964, p.163) Since Marie has been the youngest of two for a decade, she may

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have felt that the coming of a younger sister (when she had been the youngest and the most pampered
for 10 years) is unfair and even despicable. She may have felt dethroned from the position of the
youngest, much like Adler has experienced as a child. After some time, Marie may have consciously
reconciled with the fact that she was going to be an older sister, but because she hated that she now
has a younger sibling to take care of and to take her place as daughter with the most affection, she
pushed that conscious thought into her unconscious thoughts because it did not prove beneficial in
attaining superiority or success. In fact, negative thoughts especially about her own kin would have only
been useless at least and destructive at best. Now, Marie is the middle child, and true to Adlers birth
order theory, she oftentimes feels squeezed out and stuck in between because her older sibling is a
trouble-maker and her younger sister has most of the pampered affection of her parents. This may also
explain why she is an achiever, because she is unconsciously trying to get the attention and affection of
her parents that she once enjoyed even without working hard. However, since in Adlers theory,
unconscious thoughts are suppressed because they have no use in the persons endeavor for perfection,
this assumption is more in line with Freuds Psychoanalytic approach wherein unconscious thoughts are
suppressed because it does not fit with the standards of morality Marie lives in, but it comes out and
manifests itself anyway through unconscious action; in this case, Maries snobbery of her sister.
However, in Maries statement, she said that she makes conscious efforts to be nicer to her younger
sibling. If she has conscious efforts to resolve the negative feelings she has, then maybe Marie is aware
of why she has biased feelings towards her sister, but she tries to repress it because it is not morally
right and/or normal to bear grudges towards younger siblings.

In contradiction also to the birth order theory, Marie is dependable and hardworking (does not
sleep until she finishes what needs to be finished i.e. paper works) and, as Adler describes the eldest
child, Marie does not feel that she is no longer unique because someone has already taken her former
position in the family. She also feels that way because her younger sibling tends to want the same
things and dress the same way as her.

Adler also suggested that the earliest memory you can recollect is linked to the kind of lifestyle a
person presently has and the final goal(s) that person is aiming to achieve. Maries earliest recollection is
that of playing with blocks beside her father and one of singing on a bed with a microphone. It could be
assumed that Maries recollection falls under one of Hollands (1973) vocational interest types: Artistic.

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 Theory Application Paper: Individual Psychology 2012
Based on Maries career choice (see Abstract), it could be assumed that Maries case coincides with
Adlers theory of the correlation between a persons earliest memory and his/her career choice.

Currently, Marie is in a months-old intimate relationship with a renowned male celebrity who is
20 years older than her. Despite its complications and the stresses it follows, Marie chooses to stay in
the relationship even though she claims she does not know why. She knows she is in a difficult situation
and that her happiness is superficial, but she cannot move away from him. Freudians may say that this
behavior atypical of a person who is uncommonly mature for her age may be using several defense
mechanisms simultaneously. Marie is not close to her father aside from their shared interests and goals.
According to the Psychoanalytic theory, female children are in love with their opposite sex parent which
is the father. However, because it is unthinkable in Maries society to be in love with her own father and
harbor any romantic/sexual feelings towards him, she represses those feelings and instead becomes
more and more attached to her mother (she is more close to her mother than her father, she considers
her mother to be her best friend) so she could identify with her. As she grew up, she meets a man who
is more or less the same as her fathers age and has more or less the same traits (smart, successful,
driven, ambitious, financially stable, good-looking) and displaces her repressed forbidden feelings of her
father towards her new lover and that she is using the Reaction Formation defense mechanism when
asked how her relationship with her father is (it is currently strained). It seems far-fetched for the
current times, but according the Freudians, that is what Marie may be unconsciously doing. However,
for Humanistic psychologists, they may approach this situation a little differently. The Humanistic
approach stresses the importance of ones own decisions. For Humanistic psychologists, Marie is staying
with her lover because it is her choice and her choice alone, no one elses. She is simply with him
because she wants to be with him, or that she feels love and security and comfort when she is with him.
Humanistic psychologists will stress that if Marie really wants to get out of that relationship, she can
always choose to do so; the fact that she has not done that despite the difficulties and the stresses the
relationship puts on her is a clear indicator that she does not want to get out of the relationship. She
thinks she does not know why because she wants to think that way, because she does not want to get
out. For Humanistic psychologists, it is always a choice.

One of the stresses the relationship puts on Marie is the age gap. Her partner feels better
because he experiences feelings of youth again. However it is different for Marie. Because of the wide
age gap between the two, she ultimately is the one who adjusts to the relationship. While she is more

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emotionally mature than most of her peers, she still experiences feelings and situations normal to her
age (like feeling giddy about their relationship, feelings of frustration over things her partner considers
petty) and is not always taken seriously because of the gap in their age. When those feelings normal
to a girl her age is not acted on and is constantly suppressed, it may create an inner turmoil or a
cognitive dissonance.

Another aspect of Maries personality is that, though her positive qualities have been
enumerated, exonerated, and explained, she is still prone to one negative trait that is apparent in most
Filipinos in our time colonial mentality.

In Maries household, though all are Filipinos with Spanish blood who can speak their native
tongue, all family members choose to speak English as their primary language. From the day Marie was
born, she was taught fluent English. It was only whilst growing up that she learned how to speak her
native tongue with the help of her parents, peers, and the school. Growing up, she was never fond of
Filipino movies or songs; Marie was always influenced by Western culture. During her secondary years,
she became attracted to the Japanese culture. Since then her way of clothing, her preferences for music,
movies, leisure, and men were influenced by Japan. This is an aspect of Maries personality that cannot
be explained fully by the different theories discussed throughout the course. It cannot be
Psychoanalytic, because she has never been to Japan before, nor had she ever had a Japanese relative;
no chances of repressed, unconscious memories. She was never conditioned to like Japan, it was her
choice. Yet the Humanistic approach also cannot explain this trait because it cannot elaborate on why
she chooses cultures other than her own. The trait approach also cannot explain it because this trait was
not stable, it did not develop as a child and there is no indication her preference for that culture will
remain extensively. The Biological approach also cannot explain it because, as mentioned before, she
has a Filipino family, they do not have Japanese blood which will make the explanation moot because
this preference is not innate.

In the end, though the theory was very limited in scope, Individual Psychology provided an
alternative insight into a persons personality and how it came to be. Maries case also supports one of
Adlers tenets that personality is unified and self-consistent. As we have seen, Maries personality has
been consistent over time, though of course, growth and some changes have been possible. But

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Reaction

Not a whole lot was explained by the chosen theory not much that I would have
preferred. It only covered some key points in the subjects life albeit those key points explain a lot. The
application of the theory was more difficult than I had anticipated, but it was rather interesting doing it
because I was able to apply the things Ive learned inside the confines of the room into an actual person;
in an actual situation. The theory actually gave me a little less than I would have liked, but all in all I am
satisfied with my chosen theory because it is my most favored theory out of the theories discussed. It it
very limited in scope, but it is very interesting and there were a lot of concepts that I found useful not
only for this case but also in my case and, through observation, that of others. It would have been a
better paper had I chosen Eriksons theory, which covers such a wide range of age and is very applicable
even in todays time, or if I had a reference of the book that was written by Adler himself:
Understanding Human Nature, but it was not available in the library because it is too old. I would have
had more credible resource for my paper had I gotten hold of that book especially since Psychology
books today do not really cover a lot about Adlers theory save for the basics, but I had to make do with
what I had. The theory was very helpful in explaining some of the possible root causes of the subjects
behavior and in addressing some problems in the subjects case, but it does not offer a wide variety of
help because, again, of the scope of the theory it does not really cover much unlike Erikson (in terms
of age range) or Freud (in terms of content). Also, I have found it true that Neo-Freudians way of
measuring a persons personality is through narratives. It does not depend on just observation or family
background but it has particular emphasis on a persons own narrative how he/she relates her life and
her story. In this case, I have asked the subjects participation in trying to uncover aspects of her
personality because, using Adlers theory, I could not base this paper on most of my observations I had
to get a lot of material from her own telling. I have noticed that if I focus on Adler, he could not offer
much help in Also, some of Adlers key concepts like the birth order concept do not predict how people
will score on personality measures (Jefferson, Herbst, & McCrae, 1998; Parker, 1998), and effects found
in one study fails to be replicated in another (Michalski & Shackelford, 2002). However, it is interesting
to note that some of his key concepts, even about birth order, are applicable to the subjects case.
Furthermore, while doing the case study, it was apparent that Adlers theory is suitable to the subjects
personality because Adlers theory is goal-oriented much like the subjects personality.

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 Theory Application Paper: Individual Psychology 2012
References:

Adler, A. (1956). The individual psychology of Alfred Adler: A systematic presentation in selections from
his writings) (Individual Psychology) Retrieved from on: http://highered.mcgraw-
hill.com/sites/dl/free/0073382701/600511/feist7_sample_ch03.pdf

Burger, J. (2011). Personality: An Introduction (Cengage Learning Asia Pte. Ltd) Philippine Edition

Carlson, W., Miller, H., Heth, C. D., Donahoe, J., Martin, G.W. (2010) Psychology, the Science of Behavior,
Pearson Intl Edition, 7th Ed

Ciccarelli, J., Saundra, K., White, R. (2010) Psychology, 2nd Edition

Goleman, D., (1996) Emotional Intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ

Liebert, R.M., Spiegler, M.D., (1987) Personality: Strategies and Issues, 5th edition

Newman, B. M. & Newman, P.R. (2011) Development through life: A psychosocial approach
(Toddlerhood and Early Adolescence). Retrieved from on
http://books.google.com.ph/books?id=oTY_7osGmqUC&pg=PA387&hl=tl&source=gbs_toc_r&c
ad=4#v=onepage&q&f=false January 20, 2011

Schlater, Gilbert, Wegner (2009) Psychology

http://changingminds.org/explanations/theories/cognitive_dissonance.html

http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/adler.html

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