Feist−Feist: Theories of
Personality, Seventh
EditionII. Psychodynamic
Theories- Adler: Individual
Psychology
(^82) © The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2009
more ferocious, or endowed with keener senses. Social interest, therefore, is a ne-
cessity for perpetuating the human species.
Origins of Social Interest
Social interest is rooted as potentiality in everyone, but it must be developed before
it can contribute to a useful style of life. It originates from the mother-child rela-
tionship during the early months of infancy. Every person who has survived infancy
was kept alive by a mothering person who possessed some amount of social interest.
Thus, every person has had the seeds of social interest sown during those early
months.
Adler believed that marriage and parenthood is a task for two. However, the
two parents may influence a child’s social interest in somewhat different ways. The
mother’s job is to develop a bond that encourages the child’s mature social interest
and fosters a sense of cooperation. Ideally, she should have a genuine and deep-
rooted love for her child—a love that is centered on the child’s well-being, not on her
own needs or wants. This healthy love relationship develops from a true caring for
her child, her husband, and other people. If the mother has learned to give and re-
ceive love from others, she will have little difficulty broadening her child’s social in-
terest. But if she favors the child over the father, her child may become pampered
and spoiled. Conversely, if she favors her husband or society, the child will feel ne-
glected and unloved.
The father is a second important person in a child’s social environment. He
must demonstrate a caring attitude toward his wife as well as to other people. The
ideal father cooperates on an equal footing with the child’s mother in caring for the
child and treating the child as a human being. According to Adler’s (1956) standards,
a successful father avoids the dual errors of emotional detachment and paternal
76 Part II Psychodynamic Theories
Both mother and father can contribute powerfully to the developing social interest of their children.