Adlerian

[ ad-leer-ee-uhn ]

adjective

1. of or relating to Alfred Adler or his doctrines, especially in respect to the belief that behavior is determined by compensation for feelings of inferiority.

Adlerian

/ ædˈlɪərɪən /

adjective

1. of or relating to Alfred Adler or his ideas

Word History and Origins

Origin of Adlerian¹

First recorded in 1930–35; Adler + -ian

Example Sentences

An overview of Adlerian birth-order characteristics developed by Henry T. Stein of the Alfred Adler Institutes of San Francisco & Northwestern Washington puts it this way: “There is always someone ahead. Is more competitive, wants to overtake older child. May become a rebel or try to outdo everyone. Competition can deteriorate into rivalry.”

From Washington Post

Each of these two cases can be explained with equal ease in Freudian and in Adlerian terms.

From Time

It is based on the Adlerian philosophy and is guided by Raymond Corsini’s Four R’s: Responsibility, Respectfulness, Resourcefulness and Responsiveness.

From Washington Times

In his final book, “The Road to Unity in Psychoanalytic Theory,” Dr. Rangell proposed what some in the historically factious psychoanalytical world considered quixotic: a reconciliation of all the branches — Adlerian, Sullivanian, Kleinian, Kohutian, Reichian, et al. — under one Freudian roof.

From New York Times

"Inferiority complex," a much abused term, is Adlerian.

From Time Magazine Archive