Feist−Feist: Theories of
Personality, Seventh
EditionII. Psychodynamic
Theories- Adler: Individual
Psychology
(^88) © The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2009
Excuses
The most common of the safeguarding tendencies are excuses,which are typically
expressed in the “Yes, but” or “If only” format. In the “Yes, but” excuse, people first
state what they claim they would like to do—something that sounds good to others—
then they follow with an excuse. A woman might say, “Yes, I would like to go to col-
lege, butmy children demand too much of my attention.” An executive explains,
“Yes, I agree with your proposal, butcompany policy will not allow it.”
The “If only” statement is the same excuse phrased in a different way. “If only
my husband were more supportive, I would have advanced faster in my profession.”
“If onlyI did not have this physical deficiency, I could compete successfully for a
job.” These excuses protect a weak—but artificially inflated—sense of self-worth
and deceive people into believing that they are more superior than they really are
(Adler, 1956).
Aggression
Another common safeguarding tendency is aggression.Adler (1956) held that some
people use aggression to safeguard their exaggerated superiority complex, that is, to
protect their fragile self-esteem. Safeguarding through aggression may take the form
of depreciation, accusation, or self-accusation.
Depreciationis the tendency to undervalue other people’s achievements and
to overvalue one’s own. This safeguarding tendency is evident in such aggressive be-
haviors as criticism and gossip. “The only reason Kenneth got the job I applied for
is because he is an African American.” “If you look closely, you’ll notice that Jill
works hardest at avoiding work.” The intention behind each act of depreciation is to
belittle another so that the person, by comparison, will be placed in a favorable light.
Accusation,the second form of an aggressive safeguarding device, is the ten-
dency to blame others for one’s failures and to seek revenge, thereby safeguarding
one’s own tenuous self-esteem. “I wanted to be an artist, but my parents forced me
to go to medical school. Now I have a job that makes me miserable.” Adler (1956)
believed that there is an element of aggressive accusation in all unhealthy lifestyles.
Unhealthy people invariably act to cause the people around them to suffer more than
they do.
The third form of neurotic aggression, self-accusation,is marked by self-
torture and guilt. Some people use self-torture, including masochism, depression,
and suicide, as means of hurting people who are close to them. Guilt is often
aggressive, self-accusatory behavior. “I feel distressed because I wasn’t nicer to my
grandmother while she was still living. Now, it’s too late.”
Self-accusation is the converse of depreciation, although both are aimed to-
ward gaining personal superiority. With depreciation, people who feel inferior de-
value others to make themselves look good. With self-accusation, people devalue
themselves in order to inflict suffering on others while protecting their own magni-
fied feelings of self-esteem (Adler, 1956).
Withdrawal
Personality development can be halted when people run away from difficulties. Adler
referred to this tendency as withdrawal,or safeguarding through distance. Some
people unconsciously escape life’s problems by setting up a distance between them-
selves and those problems.
82 Part II Psychodynamic Theories