Twelve Hypothesis of Adlerian Psychology

Twelve Hypothesis of Adlerian Psychology

 

1.      Behind all activity of human kind is the need to belong.

 

We’re always moving from a perceived felt minus to a perceived felt plus.

 

We elicit all response to maintain self perception.

 

We’re constantly moving in the direction of our fictive goal, always looking for that perfection that we perceive will give us that sense of belonging.

 

2.      We use heredity and environment upon which to base our perceptions.

 

From these perceptions we create our own unique and fictive goal.

 

This goal receives it’s direction from the individual’s self ideal.

 

This striving toward our insatiable goal becomes our personality.

 

3.      This goal, this prime motivator, is only dimly understood.

 

The unknown part of the goal is what Adler refers to as the unconscious:  an adjective rather than a noun.

 

Without conscious realization, these unique and unconscious perceptions form our personality early on in life.

 

These perceptions operate on a continuum unconsciously serving as reference and direction for all behaviour.

 

4.      The insatiable fictive goal becomes the final cause.

 

Based on our creative perception of what gives us a significant place, a sense of belonging.  This goal acts to organize the whole being into unity.

 

With insecurity threatening our survival, we are constantly searching, striving, for a way to that insatiable fictive goal, our self ideal, our perception of belonging.

 

Our behaviour becomes predictable.  Know the goal, know the person.

 

 

5.      All motivation and behaviour is seen as a means to an end.

The goal is always in view.

 

This ‘means to an end’ is our lifestyle.

 

This ‘style of life’ becomes firmly established and predictably goal directed by age 5 or 6.

 

 

6.      The unity of the individual is a basic assumption with each action being the whole puzzle.

 

All parts of us are unified therefore, and are all seen as aspects of the whole puzzle.

 

7.      Apparent inconsistencies are seen to be consistently so.

         

They are seen as different vehicles or different means to the same end.

 

We give meaning to our own life.

 

We have the choice of what we do with what we have.

 

The creative power of our biased apperception is always with us, unconsciously directing us toward that perspective place of significance:  that fictive goal of security.

 

8.      All perceptions of ourselves and the world around us are biased by the creation of our own unique goal and influence our every behaviour.

         

The world is unique to all of us.

 

All perception is biased according to our own unique viewpoint:  our own lifestyle and our own self ideal.

 

Life is the way we see it from our own experiences with all our emotions being unconsciously directed by the fictive goal of security and significance.

 

9.      We are striving beings in a social world and must be considered within the content of this social whole.

         

          We are fully related.

         

          The group is the field in which we move and only as a part of the group can we reach our goal.

 

10.    All behaviour is interpersonal.

         

          All values are socially interpreted.

 

11.    Social Interest is an innate capacity which needs to be developed.

         

          Social Interest is a necessary part of survival.

 

          Social interest gives us the understanding that we are a part of the whole.

 

12.    All behaviour is affected by our belief about self and the world around us:  maladjustment being characterized by the underdeveloped social interest.

         

          With maladjustment comes self interest, life’s problems become self oriented and self glory becomes more important than socially useful striving.

 

 

 

As human beings we are constantly striving for perfection, completion, a sense of belonging and acceptance. We all have our own perception of how to attain this.  We create our own subjective, unique and fictive goal.  The constant striving for this insatiable goal (because it’s an ideal It can never be reached) becomes our personality.

 

 

Life for us is only as we see significance, belonging, and security from our own unique and subjective viewpoint.