Adlerian Personality Theories

Adlerian Personality Theories

According to psychologists, the children’s birth order in a family impacts them as individuals and their siblings (Gonzales, 2022). Adler’s birth order theory stipulates that the order in which children are born affects their development of personality (Olson, Favero, & Hergenhahn, 2019). Adler attests that every child has a self-perceived place in their family concerning birth order. He adds that striving to be superior is the basis of a person’s personality. With this concept, Adler was convinced that people are motivated to fight for superiority when helpless and overpowering, which may result in feelings of inferiority (Olson, Favero, & Hergenhahn, 2019). This paper discusses Adler’s concept and how it applies to an aggressive 7-year-old case scenario.

According to Adler’s theory, a firstborn child experiences a lot of affection and is brought up through trial and error and instinct (Gonzales, 2022). Usually, the parents of the firstborn child see the child as a good example to the other siblings. Because of this, the firstborn is assigned more responsibilities and privileges than the other children. As Olson, Favero, & Hergenhahn (2019) write, firstborns are likely to closely identify with their parents and emulate their parents’ attitudes and beliefs. Due to this connection with parents, firstborns spend most of their time with adults and are characterized as high-achieving, structured, cautious, conscientious, reliable, power-seeking, and controlling because they yearn to be viewed as leaders.

Regarding middle siblings, including second-born and third-born children, there is more hard work in getting the parents’ attention because they are overly focused on the firstborns and the last-born children. The middle children become either rebellious or agreeable to capture the parents’ attention. Gonzales (2022) writes that friendly middle children can compromise, be diplomatic, and negotiate. In contrast, the rebellious ones try to get the parents’ attention through misbehaving, like causing trouble and throwing tantrums. Often, middle children become more self-reliant and independent than their siblings as they learn to deal with disappointments and be resilient (Adler, 2014). Some of them seek attention from relatives like grandparents and others from peers and friends for support and affection (Adler, 2014). As Adler explains in his theory, middle children who lack enough attention from their parents may grow up with an inferiority complex and the dire need to get other people’s attention in the social world.

This theory sees the youngest children as pampered and spoilt because after raising more than two children, the youngest child is given more freedom to be themselves without expectations (Gonzales, 2022). This explains why the youngest or last-born child is more likely to be carefree, fun-loving, friendly, and easygoing than their older siblings.

In this scenario, the 7-year-old child is likelier to be a middle child who receives very little or no attention from his parents. In reaction to that, his act of disappointment is to misbehave by disobeying his parents and throwing tantrums so that the parents may concentrate on him. Adler’s theory explains the characteristics of middle siblings. He even hits other siblings because he may be envious that other siblings, including the firstborn and the youngest, are given more defined roles and places in the family and are paid more attention to by their parents than he is. Adopting the two other children seems not to have improved the situation. Matter-of-factly, it may have worsened the feelings of the 7-year-old in the case scenario. Adopting two other children, especially the 4-year-old, means the care and attention are directed to her, and the older 10-year-old is seen as a role model to the 7-year-old. This power change is more likely to lead to feelings of inferiority complex in the 7-year-old child acting out because he may feel like he has no place in the family since all the places he wants are already occupied.

In conclusion, this theory is instrumental in explaining children’s personalities in birth order. As Adler perceives, it is more likely that the 7-year-old would be more aggressive, especially in seeking affection and attention from his social setting. He is more likely to experience feelings of inferiority complex, especially with the additional children into the family, because to him, this would mean his parents are not contented with him and thus are looking for other children. This redirects the parents’ attention to the new children as they try to make them feel at home, leaving the 7-year-old at the mercy of self-reliance and resilience.

References

Adler, A. (2014). Individual psychology. In An Introduction to Theories of Personality (pp. 83-105). Psychology Press.

Gonzales, M. (2022). Emotional Intelligence for Students, Parents, Teachers and School Leaders: A Handbook for the Whole School Community. Singapore: Springer Nature.

Olson, M.H., Favero, D., & Hergenhahn, B.H. (2019). An Introduction to Theories of Personality, 9^th Edition. Pearson Education (US).

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Complete a 2-3-page expository paper exploring the role of Adler’s Birth Order theory, relating it to a scenario. Then, you will discuss an Adlerian concept to show its presence in the given scenario.

Adlerian Personality Theories

Scenario: A seven-year-old male child has been brought to your office due to acting out in the home. The child is disobeying, having temper tantrums, and hitting his siblings. The family has recently adopted two female children who are 4 and 10 years old. Complete an essay addressing the following elements:

Summarize the scenario, focusing on the 7-year-old child.

Explain the child and the situation relating it to Adler’s concept of birth order.
Describe an Adlerian concept and discuss how it may impact the problem (e.g., inferiority complex, superiority complex, aggression, social interest).

NOTE:
Your assignment should be a 2-3-page expository essay, not including the title and reference pages, and should include the following elements:

Title page: Provide your name, assignment title, course and section number, and date.
Body: Answer all the questions in complete sentences and paragraphs.
Your responses should reflect professional writing standards, using proper tone and language. The writing and writing style should be correct and accurate and recall knowledge of skills and practice in the human service profession.
TEXTBOOK:
Olson, M. H., Favero, D., & Hergenhahn, B. H. (2019). An Introduction to Theories of Personality (9th ed.). Pearson Education (US). https://purdueuniversityglobal.vitalsource.com/books/9780134792927