Re: Deficiency and Growth Motivation

Robert

The following two examples might help clarifiy the differences between deficiency and growth motivation.

Example of Deficiency Motivation

(Excerpted from the BOL interview w/ Gil Levin.)

A man in his mid 40's was referred to me after completing an out-patient alcohol treatment program. He was very frustrated with his career as a criminal investigator, experienced very little intimacy with his wife, and had no friends. Although he conducted extremely thorough investigations that resulted in convictions, sentences rarely included jail time.

His cold and isolated childhood left him very bitter: an unhappy mother; a remote father; and a hell-raising older brother whom he hated, but who was the center of the parents' attention and frequently got away with illegal behavior. By contrast, he was a compliant child who didn't make any trouble, and was ignored.

The felt neglect of his father and lack of love from his mother were at the roots of his inferiority feelings. His life style was catching many "bad guys" and seeing that they were locked up. Since many were not, he was perpetually frustrated. He also viewed his parents and brother as unpunished criminals. His unconscious goal was to secure compensation and revenge for his miserable childhood. Revenge was not working out to his satisfaction, but he did look forward to the compensation of a comfortable retirement, a symbol of what he felt entitled to.

Example of Growth Motivation

A woman who had felt the pain of rejection as a child because of her parents'preference of her prettier and brighter older sister, eventually, through depth psychotherapy, overcame her feelings of inferiority (not as pretty and not as smart). She came to realize that her sense of value could come from her ability to empathize with and help the underdog, instead of wishing that she could outdo her sister in her parents' eyes. As her inferiority feelings diminished, and her feeling of community increased, she began to experience the motivational pull of "seeking justice" (one of the higher values described by Abraham Maslow). She developed a keen sensitivity to the injustice experienced by others, and helped them legally as an attorney. She was no longer driven by a desire to compensate for her childhood distress (deficiency motivation) by pursuing an endless series of "proofs" of her superiority to her sister. Her new direction became a constantly expanding commitment of improving her ability to benefit the lives of other people (growth motivation).

The "effortlessness" that you refer to is a frequent symptom of growth motivation. However, not all tasks, or stages of development can yield this experience. Becoming a skilled Adlerian diagnostician, for example, usually requires many years of struggling to understand the style of life, fictional final goal, inferiority feelings, private logic, and antithetical scheme of apperception of hundreds of cases, under the guidance of an experienced mentor. One has to study the theory deeper and deeper, often experiencing the frustration of not being able to understand what appears to come so effortlessly from one's mentor. Eventually, after you have really mastered the theory, digested the hundreds of case examples, and overcome the limits of your own style of life in a study-analysis, you discover the marvelous feeling of "effortlessness" in uncovering the hidden dynamics of each new case.

For more information about deficiency motivation, growth motivation, and higher values, read The Farther Reaches of Human Nature, by Abraham Maslow.

Dr. Stein

Replies:

Self-acceptance and growth, by Paul Esterman, 11/11/98 Re: Self-Acceptance and Growth, by Henry Stein, 11/13/98

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