Compensation (psychology)
Encyclopedia
In psychology
, compensation is a strategy whereby one covers up, consciously
or unconsciously, weaknesses, frustration
s, desires, feelings of inadequacy or incompetence in one life area through the gratification or (drive towards) excellence in another area. Compensation can cover up either real or imagined deficiencies and personal or physical inferiority. The compensation strategy, however does not truly address the source of this inferiority. Positive compensations may help one to overcome one’s difficulties. On the other hand, negative compensations do not, which results in a reinforced feeling of inferiority.
There are two kinds of negative compensation:
Overcompensation, characterized by a superiority goal, leads to striving for power, dominance, self-esteem and self-devaluation.
Undercompensation, which includes a demand for help, leads to a lack of courage and a fear for life.
A well-known example of failing overcompensation, is observed in people going through a midlife-crisis. Approaching midlife many people (especially men) lack the energy to maintain their psychological defenses, including their compensatory acts.
, founder of the school of individual psychology
, introduced the term compensation in relation to inferiority feelings.
In his book Study of Organ Inferiority and Its Physical Compensation (1907) he describes this relationship: If one feels inferior (weak) he / she (usually) tries to compensate for it somewhere else.
Adler's motivation to investigate this was from personal experience. He was shy and yet he pushed himself to profess in lecture-rooms.
Adler also "transferred" this idea of compensation to psychic training.
Narcissistic children try to compensate for their jealousy and anger by:
(see studies of Melanie Klein
)
Christopher Lasch
, an American historian and social critic wrote in his book The Culture of Narcissism
(1979) that North American society in the 1970’s was narcissistic (had narcisstic colour). The narcissistic society:
Therefore it is "fascinated" with fame (by Lash).
Consumption has been put forward as a means of compensation (see study by Allison J. Pugh: From compensation to ‘childhood wonder’). Examples:
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, compensation is a strategy whereby one covers up, consciously
Consciousness
Consciousness is a term that refers to the relationship between the mind and the world with which it interacts. It has been defined as: subjectivity, awareness, the ability to experience or to feel, wakefulness, having a sense of selfhood, and the executive control system of the mind...
or unconsciously, weaknesses, frustration
Frustration
This article concerns the field of psychology. The term frustration does, however, also concern physics. In this context, the term is treated in a different article, geometric frustration....
s, desires, feelings of inadequacy or incompetence in one life area through the gratification or (drive towards) excellence in another area. Compensation can cover up either real or imagined deficiencies and personal or physical inferiority. The compensation strategy, however does not truly address the source of this inferiority. Positive compensations may help one to overcome one’s difficulties. On the other hand, negative compensations do not, which results in a reinforced feeling of inferiority.
There are two kinds of negative compensation:
Overcompensation, characterized by a superiority goal, leads to striving for power, dominance, self-esteem and self-devaluation.
Undercompensation, which includes a demand for help, leads to a lack of courage and a fear for life.
A well-known example of failing overcompensation, is observed in people going through a midlife-crisis. Approaching midlife many people (especially men) lack the energy to maintain their psychological defenses, including their compensatory acts.
Origin
Alfred AdlerAlfred Adler
Alfred Adler was an Austrian medical doctor, psychotherapist, and founder of the school of individual psychology. In collaboration with Sigmund Freud and a small group of Freud's colleagues, Adler was among the co-founders of the psychoanalytic movement as a core member of the Vienna...
, founder of the school of individual psychology
Individual psychology
Individual psychology is a term used specifically to refer to the psychological method or science founded by the Viennese psychiatrist Alfred Adler...
, introduced the term compensation in relation to inferiority feelings.
In his book Study of Organ Inferiority and Its Physical Compensation (1907) he describes this relationship: If one feels inferior (weak) he / she (usually) tries to compensate for it somewhere else.
Adler's motivation to investigate this was from personal experience. He was shy and yet he pushed himself to profess in lecture-rooms.
Adler also "transferred" this idea of compensation to psychic training.
Cultural implications
Narcissistic people, by compensation theory, mute the feelings of low self-esteem by:- talking "highly"
- contacting "highly admired" persons
Narcissistic children try to compensate for their jealousy and anger by:
- fantasizing about power
- beauty
- richness
(see studies of Melanie Klein
Melanie Klein
Melanie Reizes Klein was an Austrian-born British psychoanalyst who devised novel therapeutic techniques for children that had an impact on child psychology and contemporary psychoanalysis...
)
Christopher Lasch
Christopher Lasch
Christopher Lasch was a well-known American historian, moralist, and social critic....
, an American historian and social critic wrote in his book The Culture of Narcissism
The Culture of Narcissism
The Culture of Narcissism: American Life in an Age of Diminishing Expectations is a 1979 book by the cultural historian Christopher Lasch exploring the roots and ramifications of the normalizing of pathological narcissism in 20th century American culture using psychological, cultural, artistic and...
(1979) that North American society in the 1970’s was narcissistic (had narcisstic colour). The narcissistic society:
- worships consumption
- fears dependency, aging, and death.
Therefore it is "fascinated" with fame (by Lash).
Consumption has been put forward as a means of compensation (see study by Allison J. Pugh: From compensation to ‘childhood wonder’). Examples:
- use of goods to convey human relationships.
- parents make up for "bad" conditions (poverty, abuse ...) they lived in
- parents make up for "bad" conditions (divorce, ...) they caused to children