Feist−Feist: Theories of
Personality, Seventh
EditionII. Psychodynamic
Theories- Adler: Individual
Psychology
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Companies, 2009Adler (1956) recognized four modes of safeguarding through withdrawal:
(1) moving backward, (2) standing still, (3) hesitating, and (3) constructing obstacles.
Moving backwardis the tendency to safeguard one’s fictional goal of superi-
ority by psychologically reverting to a more secure period of life. Moving backward
is similar to Freud’s concept of regression in that both involve attempts to return to
earlier, more comfortable phases of life. Whereas regression takes place uncon-
sciously and protects people against anxiety-filled experiences, moving backward
may sometimes be conscious and is directed at maintaining an inflated goal of supe-
riority. Moving backward is designed to elicit sympathy, the deleterious attitude of-
fered so generously to pampered children.
Psychological distance can also be created by standing still.This withdrawal
tendency is similar to moving backward but, in general, it is not as severe. People
who stand still simply do not move in any direction; thus, they avoid all responsibil-
ity by ensuring themselves against any threat of failure. They safeguard their fic-
tional aspirations because they never do anything to prove that they cannot accom-
plish their goals. A person who never applies to graduate school can never be denied
entrance; a child who shies away from other children will not be rejected by them.
By doing nothing, people safeguard their self-esteem and protect themselves against
failure.
Closely related to standing still is hesitating.Some people hesitate or vacillate
when faced with difficult problems. Their procrastinations eventually give them the
excuse “It’s too late now.” Adler believed that most compulsive behaviors are at-
tempts to waste time. Compulsive hand washing, retracing one’s steps, behaving in
an obsessive orderly manner, destroying work already begun, and leaving work un-
finished are examples of hesitation. Although hesitating may appear to other people
to be self-defeating, it allows neurotic individuals to preserve their inflated sense of
self-esteem.
The least severe of the withdrawal safeguarding tendencies is constructing
obstacles.Some people build a straw house to show that they can knock it down. By
overcoming the obstacle, they protect their self-esteem and their prestige. If they fail
to hurdle the barrier, they can always resort to an excuse.
In summary, safeguarding tendencies are found in nearly everyone, but when
they become overly rigid, they lead to self-defeating behaviors. Overly sensitive peo-
ple create safeguarding tendencies to buffer their fear of disgrace, to eliminate their
exaggerated inferiority feelings, and to attain self-esteem. However, safeguarding
tendencies are self-defeating because their built-in goals of self-interest and personal
superiority actually block them from securing authentic feelings of self-esteem.
Many people fail to realize that their self-esteem would be better safeguarded if they
gave up their self-interest and developed a genuine caring for other people. Adler’s
idea of safeguarding tendencies and Freud’s notion of defense mechanisms are com-
pared in Table 3.1.
Masculine Protest
In contrast to Freud, Adler (1930, 1956) believed that the psychic life of women is
essentially the same as that of men and that a male-dominated society is not natural
but rather an artificial product of historical development. According to Adler, cul-
tural and social practices—not anatomy—influence many men and women to
Chapter 3 Adler: Individual Psychology 83