Psyc in Literature: The Blog

Examples of Adler’s psychological theories applied to real-life situations and people include:

1. Lance Armstrong (No, I did not just include the biking reference to please Mr. Kurtz) battled with cancer and won in the 1990s. He then went on to win the Tour de France seven consecutive times from 1999 to 2005. Adler would have said that Armstrong was taking an obstacle in his past and using his inferiority complex for constructive means. Armstrong is a hero to many, and his hard work and ability to overcome may be due to his inferiority complex. (picture here)

2. The ever-famous Napoleon complex. Many historians think that Napoleon Bonaparte had an inferiority complex due to his height (or lack of it.) He used this to his advantage, however, and became a ruthless military leader. Again, Adler would have said that this is all part of the inferority complex.

3. Every time I walk into my H-block drama class I lose the game. (rules here) In the first few weeks of class, Ned Allen would walk in and lose the game each day. Now, even if I get to class before Ned does, I lose the game because I have been conditioned, according to Alfred Adler, to lose the game upon entering Mr. Fisher’s room. Other friends of mine say that certain words make them lose the game. One friend says that the word “damn” makes him lose. Another says that each time she thinks about beef or sees my screenname online, she loses the game.  Everyone around me seems to be conditioned, in one way or another, to lose via associations with other words or objects.

            P.S. Haha. You just lost the game.