Talk:Inferiority complex

What the inferiority and superiority complex really is

Feelings of inferiority

Adler said “To be human is to feel inferior”. Everyone from the moment of birth experiences feelings of inferiority. Adler defines feelings of inferiority as more than just feeling inferior to another person or a group, but any feeling of inadequacy, inability, or insecurity the person may experience.

Superiority

Just as inferiority is more than feeling inferior to other, superiority is more than just feeling superior to others, but encompasses wide range of both good and bad feelings and states. Superiority may mean dominance over others but may also mean mastery of a task, such as learn to read.

Striving towards superiority

When a person has feelings of inferiority or negative feelings, they naturally envision a state of superiority or a positive state. This positive state is the final solution to the problem. Any action the person takes is, from their perspective, a movement from a negative to a positive.

For example, a person is thirsty (negative state), they drink water (the action) and are no longer thirsty (positive state).

Inferiority complex

An inferiority complex is a pathological state caused by intense feelings of inferiority. The feelings of inferiority can be exaggerated for many reasons. The path to superiority may be blocked. A thirsty person may have no access to water, such as a desert situation. The person with an inferiority complex will avoid any action in which there is a chance of failure. The person will avoid new situations and remain only in familiar situations. In extreme cases the person may become a shut in. In this restricted environment, the person acts normally. It is only when faced with a threat of failure that the feelings of inferiority reemerge and defensive behaviors appear. A person suffering from an inferiority complex is still striving towards superiority in the form of safety, or control.

Superiority Complex

In the case of the superiority complex, the person also has a intense feeling of inferiority, but the person hides it, and instead takes on the image of a person with high self esteem. The person is often overly confident in his abilities, and will become defensive when confronted with tasks they unable to do. They always have an excuse ready to save their self esteem when defeated, blame the other person of cheating, or call for a redo. Their striving for superiority takes the form of appearing to be the best, of appearing perfect. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 162.58.82.136 (talk) 17:41, 27 August 2013 (UTC)

Can Someone PLEASE change that photo!!??

Hello Users, If your going to claim that the man is "overcompensating" for being only 5 feet 3 inches tall, PLEASE put up a photo of his WHOLE body.

I believe that the term originally preferred by was "inferiority feeling". This should be put either here in the wikipedia article on Alfred Adler. A. Carl 11:21, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Inferiority feelings are common to everyone. To have an inferiority complex, these feeling must be exaggerated, or extreme in nature. It's a pathological condition. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 162.58.82.135 (talk) 12:35, 27 August 2013 (UTC)

The "immigration" section

This section just seems a little bit weird. Should not it belong to the socio-economic causes? I agree that it should be treated separately but perhaps it could be improved in any way ?

Stub

Going to make this article a stub it's to short. Whispering 04:00, 24 November 2005 (UTC) sdasdfs

Big Bird has a complex?

Big Bird is a fictional character and cannot have an inferiority complex. In fact, the entire "famous people" line seems to be vandalism. I'm going to remove it. If there is any truth to this please cite your sources and revert my changes.

HarrisX 19:04, 26 November 2005 (UTC)

Just because Big Bird is a fictional character, doesn't mean that (s)he doesn't have a personality. This website seems to count fictional characters in with the real ones: http://www.mypersonality.info/personality-types/entp/

Randolf+slayer , 1:53, 11 February 2009 (GMT)

Abnormal feeling

Intro says, "An inferiority complex ... is a feeling that one is inferior to others in some way. .... Unlike a normal feeling of inferiority ...". This is inconsistent. Shouldn't the first sentence specify that the feeling must be abnormal? Nurg 08:42, 14 October 2006 (UTC)

The first sentence does. The word "complex" implies that abnormality. 67.42.14.57 21:39, 3 December 2007 (UTC)

Causes and Treatment?

How info on how the complex is developed and/or treated? ESachs 23:48, 16 February 2007 (UTC) Social problems — Preceding unsigned comment added by 182.186.101.41 (talk) 15:48, 8 May 2016 (UTC)

Causes

Cite them or remove them. StardustDragon 14:14, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Origin of the phrase?

Did Adler coin the phrase? If so, please say so. --1000Faces (talk) 16:21, 11 June 2010 (UTC)

The phrase which Adler actually used was "Gemeinschaftsgefuhle" which translates as "inferiority feeling"  - however, this phrase got mis-translated in the translations of Adler into English. Personally, I think this article would be improved if it pointed this information out. Vorbee (talk) 18:58, 19 October 2017 (UTC)

unconscious or subconscious?

Paragraph 1: "It is often unconscious, and is thought to drive afflicted individuals to overcompensate..." —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.228.219.48 (talk) 06:03, 11 December 2010 (UTC)

Current lead sentence needs work

Current: An inferiority complex, in the fields of psychology and psychoanalysis, is a feeling that one is inferior to others in some way. Describing an inferiority complex as simply a "feeling" is too fuzzy. We need a description that clearly distinguishes a complex from normal feelings of inferiority. Jojalozzo 19:33, 15 July 2011 (UTC)

Another issue is that the first citation in the article is just a quotation directly from the Wikipedia page, so the first citation doesn't really cite any source at all -- aside from itself. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:9:5700:1266:601B:D092:E58F:5E8B (talk) 11:36, 15 February 2015 (UTC)

What if you actually are inferior to others?

76.120.17.197 (talk) 15:18, 14 May 2013 (UTC)

Hi 76.120.17.197! This problem arises when you compare yourself to others in order to get a feeling of self-worth. However, this feeling should come from within - "I am who I am and I am okay". If this is your basic feeling about yourself, you won't have an inferiority complex, even if you don't achieve as well as others do. Lova Falk talk 11:09, 29 May 2013 (UTC)

Potential discrimination issue under "Causes"

People of color and women are prone to inferiority complex.

Are inferiority complexes only prevalant in other races and women? Will change it in a week if no-one has any objections against the change.

Little green buddha (talk) 09:25, 3 October 2013 (UTC)