According to Adler, people are motivated to move from __________ to __________.

• A. a felt minus; a felt plus
• B. from deficit to surplus
• C. from hope to despair
• D. from weakness to power

Answer: (A)

Adlerian motivation centers on moving from a felt minus to a felt plus. The felt minus is a subjective sense of inferiority or deficiency that people experience, often starting in childhood, and the felt plus is the emerging sense of competence, usefulness, and mastery that comes when they strive to overcome that deficit. This push from feeling incomplete toward feeling capable is how Adler described the drive behind behavior and personal growth. For example, someone who feels less capable in a skill might work hard to improve, eventually deriving a sense of proficiency and worth from their progress. The other phrasings don’t capture Adler’s emphasis on the subjective experience of inferiority and the compensatory move toward a sense of superiority or competence.