Deck 4: Overcoming Inferiority and Striving for Superiority: Alfred Adler

Question 1

All except one of the following characterized early admirers of Freud who changed their thinking about him. Which did NOT characterize them?

A) They objected to the emphasis on infantile sexuality.
B) They had new concepts to offer, different from Freud's.
C) They felt the unconscious should be given a lesser role than Freud assigned to it.
D) None wanted to emphasize parent-child relationships.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which of the following was questionable about Adler and those to whom the next several chapters are devoted?

A) Their ideas related to Freud's in some way.
B) All were concerned with early childhood experiences.
C) They all developed their own ideas.
D) They all were neo-Freudian.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Which of the following was true of Adler and his family?

A) His childhood was happy.
B) He was a robust child.
C) He converted to the Jewish religion.
D) He nearly died of pneumonia at age five.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which of the following was true of Adler and his family?

A) He was a self-proclaimed poor orator.
B) He was closer to his father than to his mother.
C) He narrowly escaped an epidemic of rickets.
D) He favorably impressed several professors.

Question 5

Beginning early in his life, all of the following was true of Adler, except one. Which was NOT true of Adler ?

A) He was a socialist.
B) He was a life-long communist.
C) He had a strong social conscience.
D) He recommended that students familiarize themselves with Freud's theory of dreams.

Question 6

Which of the following distinguished Adler, relative to the other theorists?

A) He spent some time in a seminary.
B) He was one of few who never had anything to do with Freud.
C) He married a U.S. citizen.
D) He opened health clinics.

Question 7

Which was true of Adler's orientation to children?

A) He was concerned about adult problems, not those of children.
B) He never worked with children or adolescents.
C) He was a constant advisor to child-guidance centers.
D) He felt uncomfortable around children due to his own childhood experiences and trauma.

Question 8

Which was true of Adler's orientation to people?

A) He was rather distant in interactions with people.
B) He saw the personality as a whole made up of distinctive parts.
C) He was very consistent: he did not change his mind.
D) He believed that striving for superiority was the major motive of people.

Question 9

Teleological, in regard to behavior, means

A) backward looking
B) performed with a purpose
C) fragmented
D) out of sync

Question 10

Adler worked against

A) socialism
B) people who tried to feel superior
C) war
D) attempts to form an international union of nations

Question 11

"Individual psychology" means

A) a conception of a unique human as a interconnected whole
B) the psychology of the individual rather than of the group
C) a psychology of the masses that concentrated on the disenfranchised
D) the vision of a new discipline that would emphasize environmental influences

Question 12

Which of the following is the best definition of social feeling?

A) feelings about social and institutional matters
B) efforts to develop feelings about social matters
C) the dominance of social considerations over individual concerns
D) concern for the community and the need to associate/cooperate with people

Question 13

Which of the following is the best definition of social interest?

A) feelings about social and institutional matters
B) efforts to develop social feeling
C) the dominance of social considerations over individual concerns
D) concern for the community and the need to associate/cooperate with people

Question 14

Which of the following was probably Adler's most important and enduring concept?

A) birth order
B) social interest
C) shock
D) teleological

Question 15

Which of the following are among the relatively recently proposed additions to Adler's three tasks that each person must address?

A) love
B) work
C) society
D) spirituality

Question 16

Which of the following is most clearly true to the concept "style of life"?

A) the direction taken by the individual in his or her ability to exercise free choice
B) the individual's unique movement toward self-created goals and ideals
C) the manner of behaving that characterized the individual relative to others
D) the socioeconomic level of the individual throughout most of his or her life

Question 17

Which of the following is most clearly true to the concept "law of movement"?

A) the direction taken by the individual in his or her ability to exercise free choice
B) the individual's unique movement toward self-created goals and ideals
C) the manner of behaving that characterized the individual relative to others
D) the socioeconomic level of the individual throughout most of his or her life

Question 18

Which of the following is an example of how language has been influenced by the personality theorists?

A) Adler's "social feeling" is a widely used phrase in Europe.
B) The "collective unconscious" is currently a popular phrase in Austria.
C) Adler's "masculine protest" is universally used.
D) Adler's "style of life" probably suggested the popular American phrase "life style."

Question 19

"The creative power of the individual" refers to

A) conceptions of self/world formed while developing styles of life for solving the three great problems of life
B) the power to overcome personal and societal problems with the help of teleological direction
C) he capacity to find solutions to other people's problems
D) the need to create works of art

Question 20

Prototype is to fictional finalism as

A) top is to bottom
B) out is to in
C) accepted is to rejected
D) author is to reader

Question 21

One's prototypical goal appears in

A) one's strategy for achievement
B) in everything one does
C) in everything but one's vocation
D) in relating to people with great power

Question 22

The individual's style of life is best seen in

A) reflections on the future
B) contemplations of the present
C) dreams
D) reactions to previously encountered situations

Question 23

Shock is

A) an extreme form of reaction; a person's automatic, unknowing exploitation of symptoms
B) experienced when a person's fiction runs head-on into reality
C) what occurs when consciousness and unconsciousness clash
D) experienced when two people in a close relationship develop different prototypes

Question 24

Neurosis (Adler) is

A) an extreme form of reaction to shock a person's automatic, unknowing exploitation of symptoms
B) experienced when a person's fiction runs head-on into reality
C) what occurs when consciousness and unconsciousness clash
D) experienced when two people in a close relationship develop different prototypes

Question 25

Neurosis (Adler) is

A) a state in which social interest is ill-developed
B) a reaction to compensation
C) is a rare phenomenon among women
D) is too rare to be a serious problem

Question 26

Inferiority refers to

A) how others feel relative to oneself
B) Adler's phrase for the consequences of an exaggerated form of inadequacy explained in part by deficient social interest
C) all those feelings that come from failed attempts at sexual fulfillment;
D) the persistent feeling that one does not measure up to one's own or societal standard

Question 27

Inferiority complex refers to

A) how others feel relative to oneself
B) the consequences of exaggerated inadequacy explained in part by deficient social interest
C) all those feelings that come from failed attempts at sexual fulfillment
D) the persistent feeling that one does not measure up to one's own or societal standards

Question 28

To compensate is to

A) seek revenge on those who have frustrated oneself
B) overcome weaknesses by striving to become superior in some way
C) to fight the natural disposition to superiority over others
D) to bend over backwards to do or become whatever weaknesses deny oneself

Question 29

To overcompensate is to

A) seek revenge on those who have frustrated oneself
B) overcome weaknesses by striving to become superior in some way
C) to fight the natural disposition of superiority over others
D) to bend over backwards to do or become whatever weaknesses deny oneself

Question 30

All of the following people are living examples of overcoming weaknesses, except one. Who is NOT an example of overcoming weaknesses?

A) James Earl Jones (Darth Vader)
B) Geraldo Rivera (TV host)
C) Carl Lewis (several Olympic gold medals)
D) John Stossell (ABC's 20/20)

Question 31

Which of the following is a characteristic of the neglected or over indulged child?

A) The over indulged child expects homage from others.
B) The neglected child compensates by finding problems "too easy."
C) The over indulged child compensates by becoming humble.
D) The neglected child grows up to be too trusting.

Question 32

Which of the following is the best definition of "striving for superiority"?

A) overcoming an organ defect that is particularly disfiguring
B) exaggerated, abnormal form of striving involving "overcompensation" for personal weakness
C) universal phenomenon that parallels physical growth; the goal of obtaining perfection
D) the faulty method of addressing one's inferiority by literally faking superiority

Question 33

Which of the following is the best definition of "superiority complex"?

A) overcoming an organ defect that is particularly disfiguring
B) exaggerated, abnormal form of striving involving "overcompensation" for personal weakness
C) universal phenomenon that parallels physical growth; the goal of obtaining perfection
D) the faulty method of addressing one's inferiority by literally faking superiority

Question 34

According to experts on self-esteem, upon what should raised self-esteem be based?

A) upon real accomplishments
B) upon praise regardless of accomplishments
C) upon displays of love
D) upon communications that the child is worthy regardless of its behavior

Question 35

Which of the following is true regarding self-esteem, contrary to popular belief? High self-esteem

A) causes only academic success
B) causes only interpersonal success
C) causes neither academic nor interpersonal success
D) causes both academic and interpersonal success

Question 36

Of family members, who is the most important in the child's development, according to Adler?

A) siblings
B) grandparents
C) mother
D) father

Question 37

Of family members, who is second most important in the child's development, according to Adler?

A) siblings
B) grandparents
C) mother
D) father

Question 38

Birth order refers to

A) the orderliness of the birth process in a family
B) the degree to which particular children's reactions to the birth of a sibling is orderly
C) the importance of the birth of a new child to the order of the household
D) the child's birth position relative to other siblings

Question 39

Adler thought that the only child was

A) the center of attention
B) dethroned from the central position
C) actively struggling to surpass others
D) the most pampered

Question 40

Since Adler's original conception of birth order, research has shown

A) differences, in so far as they exist, are between first/only and later borns
B) his original conception was amazingly accurate
C) differences, in so far as they exist, are between first and only borns
D) there has been no support for Adler's original conception

Question 41

Research by Zajonc and a review by Falbo, indicate all of the following, except one. Which is NOT indicated by their work?

A) First borns are more likely to end up in the U.S. senate.
B) Last borns are the most intelligent.
C) Later borns added to the family dilute the intellectual atmosphere.
D) First borns are more likely to actually succeed.

Question 42

All of the following support Sulloway's and others; conception of birth order, except one. Which does NOT support it?

A) First borns are higher on "separate knowing."
B) Later born students are more likely to be arrested.
C) Researchers showed that biological birth order and rearing order are different.
D) In the context of family, later borns are lower in achievement and higher in rebelliousness, etc.

Question 43

According to Freese, Powell, and Steelman, what was wrong with Sulloway's sample upon which he based his conclusions?

A) It was too large.
B) It was composed of long-dead public figures.
C) It was composed of ordinary people.
D) It was composed of lower socioeconomic people.

Question 44

All except one of the following were true of Frankenstein. Which was untrue?

A) He had a pampered childhood.
B) His monster began life with human qualities.
C) His adopted sister became his plaything.
D) His monster was actually created by another scientist, but Frankenstein brought it to life.

Question 45

According to Huber and colleagues (1989), Frankenstein was

A) overwhelmed by compensatory striving for god-like superiority
B) a humble man who was sucked into evil by the influence of an overbearing fellow student
C) a grateful adult who only wanted to get away from his troubled childhood
D) an idiot savant who could do only one thing well, create life

Question 46

According to Huber and colleagues (1989), Frankenstein labored under the delusion that he was a superior human being. What came as a shock to him?

A) rejection by his adopted sister
B) the imperfection of his creature's face
C) rejection by the townspeople
D) the inattention, implying a lack of respect for his genius, shown by people at his university

Question 47

Which is the most accurate regarding Frankenstein's monster?

A) He never developed the ability to speak.
B) He showed no emotional response to others.
C) There was no evidence of social feeling in him.
D) He read and was affected by Paradise Lost.

Question 48

To what did Huber and colleagues (1989) attribute Frankenstein's remorse at the beginning of his work on the second creation?

A) genuine guilt
B) a sudden realization that if there was a second monster, there would be a third, and so forth until he was consumed by making monsters
C) an attempt to appear more sensitive and thoughtful than others
D) a gallant effort to warn others of his monumental error

Question 49

How did the monster react to abandonment by Frankenstein?

A) He fell into a state of despair and retired to the forest forever.
B) He left to live with a blind priest.
C) He exclaimed, "if I cannot inspire love, I will cause fear."
D) He began for the first time to talk his master into making him a mate.

Question 50

What happened to Frankenstein and his monster at the end of Mary Shelley's book?

A) They finally reconciled and the monster lived out his life in an abandoned hovel on the Frankenstein property.
B) Frankenstein submitted the monster to an operation and corrected his facial deformities.
C) The monster was shot by villagers as he attempted to leap across a yawning canyon and Frankenstein lived a normal life thereafter.
D) The pursued each other to the ends of the earth leaving death and destruction in their wake.

Question 51

What is the critical point to be made about early recollections?

A) Recollections say more about the person in the present than the person as a child.
B) Recollections are the best known way to get at the person's childhood.
C) Recollections provide valuable data regarding child rearing practices.
D) Measures of early recollection are more valid and reliable that other personality measures.

Question 52

In Adler's brand of determinism

A) the present determines the past
B) the past determines the present
C) the past determines the future
D) the present has little determining force

Question 53

What did the text author remember about cutting his arm during an elementary school recess?

A) the blood
B) basking in all the attention
C) the pain
D) the fear

Question 54

Sanitioso, Kunda, and Fong (1990) informed some subjects that it would be better to be introverted and others that it would be better to be extraverted. They found

A) "extraverted" subjects performed better in the experiment
B) "introverted" subjects performed better in the experiment
C) "extraverts" performed better than "introverts" only in the incentives condition
D) subjects whose current conception of themselves was extraverted retrieved extraverted memories more quickly

Question 55

Which of the following was true of early recollections case studies presented by Adler?

A) One case involved a man who wished to be President of the United States.
B) A woman recalled, "at age forty, I was knitting stockings while I watched my mother work around the house."
C) A man recalled, "at about age six, I fell out of the automobile as it was backing out of the driveway."
D) One case involved a woman who competed with her sister for "best horsewoman."

Question 56

Which of the following was true of early recollections case studies presented by Adler?

A) One case involved a man who wished to be President of the United States.
B) One person recalled, "at age four, my mother was knitting stockings while I watched workers building a house."
C) One person recalled "at about age six, I fell out of the automobile as it was backing out of the driveway."
D) One case involved a woman who competed with her brother for "best baseball catcher."

Question 57

Which of the following is a quote from Alder's interpretation of one of his early recollection case histories?

A) "This man really is not interested in being President. He is just compensating for a missing arm."
B) She says she is knitting stockings, but in fact, she is trying to weave a style of life."
C) "He reports that he couldn't keep up with his big brother, but really he desires always to be ahead of his brother."
D) "She believes she must be careful or her sister will win, and she will be 'left in the dirt.'"

Question 58

All of the following, except one, are research results or comments pertaining to early recollections (ERs). Which is NOT one of those research results?

A) Using ERs, Burnell and Solomon (1964) predicted outcomes of Air Force recruit training.
B) Hafner, Fakouri, and Labrentz (1982) found that more alcoholics than non-alcoholics remembered being externally controlled.
C) Hyer, Woods, and Boudewyns (1989) reported that Vietnam veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder showed low social interest on Ers.
D) Of the 30 studies on ER reviewed by Watkins (1992), few produced statistically significant result.

Question 59

When Ashby et al. (2002) related social interest (SI) to locus of control, the found

A) the higher the internal control the higher the SI
B) the higher the external control the higher the SI
C) the higher the external control by powerful others, the lower the SI
D) there was on relationship between the two variables

Question 60

Christopher et al. (2002) related social interest (SI) to peak experiences (PE). They found

A) SI was negatively related to PE
B) SI was unrelated related to PE
C) SI was positively related to PE
D) SI was ambiguously related to PE: results were mixed

Question 61

Kal (1972) rank ordered beliefs of Adlerian therapists from most frequently mentioned to least frequently mentioned. Which of the following was ranked first?

A) belief in use of early recollections
B) belief in the social nature of humans
C) belief in the holistic approach
D) belief in the active role of the therapist

Question 62

Kal (1972) rank ordered beliefs of Adlerian therapists from most frequently mentioned to least frequently mentioned. Which of the following was ranked second?

A) soft determinism
B) belief in the social nature of humans
C) belief in the holistic approach
D) belief in the active role of the therapist

Question 63

To Adler, a brief therapy approach was

A) a matter of shortening the length of sessions so that clients would not have to be in an emotionally charged atmosphere for long
B) techniques to solve clients problems in a specifiable and small number of sessions
C) a means of shortening the total relationship between the therapist and patient, regardless of the number of sessions
D) a ridiculous idea that was not in the best interest of the client

Question 64

Carlson's (1989) case of Jim, who wished to stop smoking, was used to illustrate

A) the researcher's new measure of social interest
B) the superiority of the ER method over psychoanalytic free association
C) the use of Adler's omni-associationist method
D) Adlerian brief therapy

Question 65

All except one of the following were true of the case of Jim (Carlson, 1989). Which was untrue of the case of Jim?

A) Jim was given Kern's life style scale.
B) After he learned of his real father at age 9, Jim was a "hellraiser."
C) Becoming a "hell raiser" may have been a response to feelings of inferiority.
D) Jim was told that he would have to work on his self-efficacy and his ability to memorize suggestions made by his therapist.

Question 66

All except one of the following were true of the case of Jim (Carlson, 1989). Which was NOT true of the case of Jim?

A) The estimated cost of Jim's smoking was $15,000.
B) Jim was afraid of risky pursuits.
C) As a child, Jim was pushed off a stump, breaking his arm.
D) Kidding from friends about his smoking caused Jim to hide in the bathroom.

Question 67

All except one of the following were true of the case of Jim (Carlson, 1989). Which was NOT true of the case of Jim?

A) The therapist made dietary suggestions to Jim.
B) Fruits and vegetables were recommended to Jim as a way to maintain proper PH balance.
C) Jim was told to increase his caffeine intake to compensate for the loss of the high he previously got from cigarettes.
D) Jim was advised to do deep breathing exercises.

Question 68

All except one of the following were true of the case of Jim (Carlson, 1989). Which was NOT true of the case of Jim?

A) Jim's efforts at increasing self-efficacy were unrelated to striving for superiority.
B) Jim was advised to take vitamins because cigarette smoking leaves a person vitamin depleted.
C) It was suggested that Jim avoid situations in which he usually smoked.
D) After brief training, Jim needed only to check back with the therapist on a few occasions to assess progress.

Question 69

How many session did it take Dinkmeyer and Sherman (1989) to help a disturbed family become more functional?

A) 10
B) 20
C) 30
D) 40

Question 70

Even several years ago, research showed what about Adler's birth notions?

A) His notions have held up remarkably well over the years.
B) Contradictory findings are more the rule than the exception.
C) Results are highly qualified: Jordon and colleagues (1982) showed that first born males were the most indifferent to the interpersonal consequences of achievement.
D) Toni Falbo was quoted by a writer, "Birth order really explains a lot."

Question 71

According to an article by Herrera, Zajonc, et al. (2003)

A) Zajonc has revolutionized the study of intelligence
B) people believe Adler's view of birth order
C) people do not believe Adler's view of birth order
D) Zajonc had it right about position in the family, but not family size

Question 72

What is the main complaint that researchers and therapists have about early recollection measures?

A) Clients don't like the lengthy instructions.
B) Clients often seriously distort their recollections to make themselves look good.
C) Measures are open-ended, abstract, and difficult to quantify.
D) Reliability of early recollections is good, but not validity.

Question 73

According to evolutionary theory's alternative to birth order theory

A) position in the family is unrelated to anything except innate intelligence
B) the last born has most of the advantages
C) the number of siblings is unimportant
D) the first born competes for resources with helpless, needy later borns

Question 74

Which was most true of Adler?

A) He was recognized in his time, but had little influence later.
B) He was known for his in-depth, detailed assessments of childhood traumas.
C) He believed that questions of morality were beyond the arena of appropriate inquiry for psychologists.
D) He was a model of the responsible, humanitarian professional.

Question 75

Some of Adler's patients were

A) mental giants
B) acrobats
C) Nazis
D) movie stars

Question 76

Adler attracted

A) wealthy patients
B) Austrian nationalists
C) socially conscious radicals

Question 77

Adler become

A) quite wealthy
B) rejecting of communism
C) an entrepreneur
D) an accomplished violinist

Question 78

Adler was an early advocate of

A) environmentalism
B) internationalism
C) women's rights
D) long term therapy

Question 79

All except one of the following are notable contributions of Adler. Which is NOT a notable contribution?

A) He invented the technique of word association.
B) He anticipated Rogers' and Maslow's holistic approach.
C) His emphasis on the present is mimicked today.
D) He was a pioneer in developing brief therapy techniques.

Question 80

Adler hated communism because

A) it had succeeded too well
B) communists had borrowed his ideas without credit
C) they were threatening to overrun Austria
D) they had incarcerated his daughter Vail