Chapter 3 Adler: Individual Psychology 79Subjective Perceptions
Adler’s second tenet is: People’s subjective perceptions shape their behavior and
personality.
People strive for superiority or success to compensate for feelings of inferior-
ity, but the manner in which they strive is not shaped by reality but by their subjec-
tive perceptions of reality, that is, by their fictions, or expectations of the future.
Fictionalism
Our most important fiction is the goal of superiority or success, a goal we created
early in life and may not clearly understand. This subjective, fictional final goal
guides our style of life, gives unity to our personality. Adler’s ideas on fictionalism
originated with Hans Vaihinger’s book The Philosophy of “As If” (1911/1925).
Vaihinger believed that fictions are ideas that have no real existence, yet they
influence people as if they really existed. One example of a fiction might be: “Men
are superior to women.” Although this notion is a fiction, many people, both men
and women, act as if it were a reality. A second example might be: “Humans have
a free will that enables them to make choices.” Again, many people act as if they
and others have a free will and are thus responsible for their choices. No one can
prove that free will exists, yet this fiction guides the lives of most of us. People
are motivated not by what is true but by their subjective perceptions of what is
true. A third example of a fiction might be a belief in an omnipotent God who
rewards good and punishes evil. Such a belief guides the daily lives of millions of
people and helps shape many of their actions. Whether true or false, fictions have
a powerful influence on people’s lives.
Adler’s emphasis on fictions is consistent with his strongly held teleological
view of motivation. Teleology is an explanation of behavior in terms of its final
purpose or aim. It is opposed to causality, which considers behavior as springing
from a specific cause. Teleology is usually concerned with future goals or ends,
whereas causality ordinarily deals with past experiences that produce some present
effect. Freud’s view of motivation was basically causal; he believed that people
are driven by past events that activate present behavior. In contrast, Adler adopted
a teleological view, one in which people are motivated by present perceptions of
the future. As fictions, these perceptions need not be conscious or understood.
Nevertheless, they bestow a purpose on all of people’s actions and are responsible
for a consistent pattern that runs throughout their life.
Physical Inferiorities
Because people begin life small, weak, and inferior, they develop a fiction or belief
system about how to overcome these physical deficiencies and become big, strong,
and superior. But even after they attain size, strength, and superiority, they may
act as if they are still small, weak, and inferior.
Adler (1929/1969) insisted that the whole human race is “blessed” with organ
inferiorities. These physical handicaps have little or no importance by themselves
but become meaningful when they stimulate subjective feelings of inferiority,