Adler’s Individual Psychology: The Original Positive Psychology

Abstract

In addressing foundational perspectives, proponents of the current positive psychology movement typically identify Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, and Gordon Allport as precursors and ancestors. This article demonstrates that the Individual Psychology of Alfred Adler preceded the aforementioned ancestors of positive psychology and could be viewed as the original positive psychology. Following a brief overview of key ideas from Adler’s Individual Psychology, the authors specifically address two foundational tenets of Adler’s theory that particularly resonate with those from positive psychology and then address more broadly the remarkable common ground between Adler’s mature theoretical ideas and the positive psychology movement.