Individual Psychology: The History of Adler’s Theory and Current Cultural Issues

The lead article of this issue is “A Genealogy of Ideas in Adler’s Psychology” by Angioli and Kruger, in which the authors explore Individual Psychology’s development from a new perspective. Using genealogy as an approach for describing history based on the works of Nietzsche and Foucault, the authors describe the intricate social, political, and philosophical influences on Adler’s theory. The article brings forth Adler’s experiences and the various philosophers and scholars who helped shape many of the important constructs of Individual Psychology.

From the foregoing theoretical base, the following articles in this issue address the use of the theory in relation to couples therapy, pornography, the psychometric application of a lifestyle instrument in Lithuania, sports participation, and a popular film. Many of these articles have underlying cultural components.

Hendrix, Hunt, Luquet, and Carlson present a clinical piece, “Using the Imago Dialogue to Deepen Couples Therapy.” The authors argue that although the theory of Individual Psychology addresses the principle of equality in all relationships, it provides little direction on how a counselor or psychologist might develop this relationship of equality in therapy with couples. The authors propose that Imago Relationship Therapy can be used to foster equality through promoting skills with couples in the areas of connectedness, empathy, and what they refer to as “horizontal relationships.”

In the next article, Fall and Howard demonstrate true courage in addressing a very real social but toxic problem in our society related to the use of Internet pornography. In their article, “An Adlerian Perspective on Problematic Internet Pornography Use,” they alert the reader to literature on the detrimental impact on adults, couples, and youth of the increased use of pornography in our society. The authors include case studies and treatment strategies based on their therapeutic practice. They describe in detail the use of lifestyle assessment, psychological investigation, reorientation, and the ways that pornography may be employed as a safeguarding strategy to avoid life tasks.

Another construct that is difficult to investigate, especially from a quantitative approach, are themes in the lifestyle construct in Individual Psychology. Measurement of themes was achieved by the development and validation of Basic Adlerian Scales for Interpersonal Success–Adult Form (BASIS-A) Inventory. Initial studies were conducted in the United States, but during the last 10 years studies have been carried out in many other countries. Recently, Gaubė, Kern, and Stoltz conducted a study on the norming of this instrument with a Lithuanian population. Their study, “The Psychometric Properties of the BASIS-A^Lt: Lithuanian Version,” describes the norming of the instrument as well as a validation study using a variation of the Big Five instrument. One of the findings is that culture does appear to impact some of the scales on the BASIS-A Inventory.

Another study involving instrumentation through survey research examines one’s interest in sports from the perspective of Individual Psychology. In their article “Examining Early Influences of Sports and Outdoor Recreation on Individuals through the Lens of Adlerian Psychology,” Flood, Lawther, and Montandon examine how memories of participation in outdoor recreation and sports activities in childhood (ages 5 to 9) influence later adult decisions. Using qualitative and quantitative data, they conclude that participation in these activities appears to improve self-confidence for most people. They also found a differential effect between males and females, probably a result of a culture that provides more opportunities for boys than girls to participate in sports, thus supporting Adler’s “masculine protest.”

The idea of culture can also be found in Culbreth and Huber’s article. The authors themselves demonstrate the use of their creative selves by conducting an analysis of the popular Pixar film, Cars, from an Adlerian perspective. When the movie starts, the main protagonist, Lightning McQueen, according to the authors, “lives in enemy territory, with little empathy, and has a fictional system that supports a useless striving for superiority.” The main focus of the article’s analysis is the evolution of Lightning McQueen, who is self-centered and narcissistic at the beginning but evolves into a socially interested individual with...