Psychoanalytic and Neo-Psychoanalytic Theory
The Adlerian Theory, established by Alfred Adler is a goal oriented and cognitive social psychology which is founded on a humanist structure of man. There are a total of 6 tenets incorporated in this particular theory where three of them are common in today's psychological practice. The first of these three is striving for success or superiority which is seen as a major dynamic force behind one's behavior (Roudinesco, 2003). The second one is one's style of life which is generally molded by a person's creative power while the third of these common tenets is the birth order which also molds a person into what they are to become in future. A number of leaders in the course of history have been molded by Adlerian theory of personality and one such individual is Dr. Martin Luther King. It is rather interesting to learn that Dr. King actually at one point gave credit for the way Adler provides an explanation for the process that allows people to successfully move past a sense of dependence and inferiority to an heightened as well as healthy sense of self worth and personal distinction when opportunities are made available to them (Taylor, 2009).
Superiority Striving
The social interaction as well as lifestyle pertaining to Dr. Martin Luther King may have had a huge influence on his personality as he become one of the most well renowned African American figures as well as leaders in the history of America. King's choice of career was greatly motivated by the impact of inferiority of human development from his early childhood experiences (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2001). His perceived inferiority was actually what he felt for his fellow man or rather the attitude that he developed towards his fellow African Americans. Dr. King believed that all men are created equally and therefore deserve equal opportunities; he was himself subjected to personal abuse such as having to ride on the back of a segregated bus which had specific designations as to where African Americans were to seat and Caucasians were to seat. His house was also bombed because of what he believed in. It is thus such experiences that molded Dr. King into the man that he became.
Style of Life
Dr. King's leadership style as well as personality was greatly affected by early memories as he also sought social and racial justice in the civil rights movement. He was later to become a pastor as well as president of the Southern Christian Leadership conference where he acquired new tools that would enable him travel all over the nation addressing millions of individuals regarding injustices (Roudinesco, 2003). As an African American residing in the United States at the time, Dr. King felt or rather experienced first hand the abuse of being discriminated against for instance when his father at one time became angry and refused to purchase a pair of shoes for Dr. King because the clerk had asked them to sit in the seats reserved for ‘colored people'. This is perhaps one of the key reasons as to why he wanted equal rights for all African Americans.
Birth Order
As it has been observed in the course of history, a majority of leaders such as the current President of the United States Barack Obama and Bill Clinton happen to be first born. Dr. King was the first son and a second child of his parents. Being the first son of his parents enabled him to follow in his grandfather's and father's footsteps by not only becoming a pastor and a leader but also fighting for what was right (Taylor, 2009). Despite the fact that he was not actually the first born of his parents, he still exhibited all of the concepts that have been underlined in Adler's theory in birth order such as being conscientious, directive, organized, responsible, serious and rule-conscious (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2001). Generally, Dr. Martin Luther King had a huge desire to help and protect others particularly those of the racial minority group.