Differentiate the striving for superiority and the striving for success in Alfred Adler's theory of personality.

What will be an ideal response?

A. Originally, Alfred Adler spoke of the striving for superiority as the final goal for all people, but after he placed emphasis on social interest, he made a distinction between striving for superiority and striving for success.

B. In Alfred Adler's final theory, the striving for superiority was seen as an attempt to gain personal superiority over other people. As such, it is pathological and devoid of a high level of social interest. For example, a person may give money to a street beggar to convey a message of superiority over the beggar.

C. After Alfred Adler began to see the importance of social interest, he talked about striving for success, which he defined as success for all humanity. The striving for success is thus motivated by a high level of social interest and not by personal gain. A person who strives for success may give money to a street beggar out of interest in the beggar as part of humanity. A person with high social interest would genuinely care about the beggar and may extend that care beyond merely giving money.