Adler’s theory of inferiority compensation is one of the core theories in the field of individual psychology. Each stage of the development of Adler’s inferiority compensation also reflects different characteristics, and when he perfected his theory, he absorbed and borrowed the research results of other scholars, roughly forming three more obvious stages.
In the first stage, Adler extended sex to the biology of the whole organism in his paper “A Study of Organ Defects and Psychological Compensation” [1]. He believed that the individual was a complete organism, so at that time he thought that compensation was only compensation given to defective organs.
In the second phase, Adler realized that inferiority was no longer limited to the body, but also existed in his own psychological and social disorders [38]. At this point, compensation is directed to the individual’s real or imagined state of life.
In the third stage, he integrates the individual with society, emphasizing that inferiority is a reflection of the individual’s lack of social value. In this regard, compensation is aimed at a social life, emphasizing the value of the individual’s contribution to society. Strive for the happiness of society to make up for the lack of personal social value [39].
Therefore, since the eighties of the last century, although inferiority has long become a hot spot in the field of personality, scholars have begun to pay attention to the problems related to inferiority and mental health, but as an important factor affecting personality, the compensation of its evolution has not been paid attention to. Domestic research on inferiority compensation is mainly limited to educators’ speculative summary of their own experience, and many reference suggestions for compensation are put forward from the perspective of overview, but there is a lack of empirical research.
In this study, the framework of our work research is rough as follows: Discussion and Definition of the construct → Expert views → ltem generation → ltems reduction (EFA) → ltems confirmation (CFA) → Reliability and Validity [40, 41].
We developed and validated the ICS for measuring the way to compensate for self-inferiority among middle and high school students. Contained two sub-scale and ten dimensions. The final version of the 41-item ICS contains two subscales – self-compensation, and others-compensation. Our results indicate that the ICS has acceptable validity and reliability for tracking and evaluating ways to compensate for self-inferiority.
First of all, to clarify the specific elements of inferiority compensation among middle and high school students, this study carried out an open scale survey, combed and analyzed the existing relevant studies, and constructed the theoretical structure of inferiority compensation by integrating the discussions on Adler’s inferiority and transcendence theory in previous literature.
At the same time, after repeated discussions with experts, professors, and graduate students of psychology in relevant research fields, the initial scale items were repeatedly screened by eliminating those questions of ambiguity. Therefore, the scale had good content validity. Secondly, the applicability of the questions was investigated through item analysis and related methods, and after the inappropriate problems were eliminated, there came the next round of analysis. Again, through exploratory factor analysis to get the final items, including the two sub-scale self-compensation and others-compensation.
This proves our previous assumption; Adler’s theory of inferiority compensation can exist in a cross-cultural context in ways of others-compensation.
Then, in the part of confirmatory factor analysis, based on the investigation results of each fitting index, χ2 / df, RMSEA, CFI, and IFI were all within the standard value range [37, 42], indicating that the scale has good model fitting. At the same time, the combined reliability value was greater than 0.6, which indicated that the reliability results of the items were within the acceptable range of indicators, and denoted that the items of the two sub-scale explained the dimensions well. Furthermore, convergence validity test results were all greater than 0.4, demonstrating that the facets of the two dimensions also had good explanatory power [43]. Finally, the correlations between the total scores of the sub-scale and the general scale, and the dimension scores were tested. As a result, the values were within the standard range, which further proved that the structural validity of the total scale was good. Finally, the Cronbach’s coefficient test showed that the reliability of the sub-scale and the general scale was good.
In summary, the theoretical structure of the Inferiority Compensation Scale for high school students is reasonable and has good reliability and validity. It can be used as a reliable measurement tool for follow-up studies of high school students’ inferiority compensation.
Insights and limitations
It is a common phenomenon that an inferiority complex is prevailing among high school students, and in view of the general social phenomenon of only emphasizing test scores, people tend to pay little attention to the student’s mental health. Some data showed that about 1 / 5 high school students have different degrees of psychological disorders, such as repeated moodiness, lack of self-confidence, study difficulty, test anxiety, lack of concentration, large fluctuations in grades, and difficulty in coping with setbacks, which are one of the factors leading to students’ inferiority. Studies have shown that there is no significant difference between high school students’ sense of inferiority and senior high school students’ sense of inferiority [22, 27, 43]. In particular, it is difficult for high school students to avoid the comparison of academic performance, family background, and others in schools. If they find that others have what they want but do not possess, they will easily have mixed complex emotional experiences, such as inferiority, hostility, and resentment. But Maria and Cristiano also pointed out that part of the reason why a person can succeed is to compare with others to find their own shortcomings, which can encourage them to change themselves [20]. Hence, for example, in the performance ranking, students are inevitably compared with their classmates around them at school. How do they view this matter? If the comparison has already happened, and how would they deal with it, so it is necessary to pay attention to the psychological process of students, guide them to reasonably compare everything around them, and correctly view the results.
Education recommendations
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(1)
Pay attention to students’ inferiority complex, develop students’ consciousness of inferiority compensation, and improve students’ ability to adjust emotions when facing setbacks or failures. Teachers need to do their utmost to guide students to control their current negative emotions, and embrace life with positive optimism and smiles, so that students can have good self-regulation ability in the middle school stage, and can face and confront setbacks or failures with a positive and optimistic attitude. For example, educators should understand the pain that the students are experiencing at the moment, at the bottom of their hearts, and express understanding and sympathy for students. Such kind of empathy experience and accompany usually can give students great comfort and strength and it is a critical step for cheering students up to overcome their self-abasement, to guide students to well control the expression of emotions.
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(2)
Strengthen the publicity of the positive role of inferiority. In the eyes of students, inferiority is generally a word that tends to be negative. Inferiority can make people feel faceless and unpopular, which also explains the phenomenon mentioned at the beginning that students are very evasive about the topic of inferiority. Yet, Adler said, in life, we more or less have different degrees of self-abasement, whether males or females, from the city or rural, and so on. Thus, to guide students to face up to their inferiority and strive to surpass themselves, teachers need to correct students’ inferiority bias in their learning and life. If self-abased students can often actively suggest themselves, and unaffectedly make friends with their self-abasement, then when students have reasonable beliefs, they can also face and solve problems at ease when encountering similar setbacks.
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(3)
Attach importance to the environment around students to compensate for students’ inferiority. The effects of others-compensation and self-compensation are equally important. Whether it comes from the success of schoolmates, relatives, friends, or others, teachers need to strengthen the guidance of students’ jealousy and convert it into the driving force of students to complete self-improvement. If the success of others is regarded as an excellent example of power rather than regarded as a threat by students, it will have a multiplier effect on encouraging a student to improve their self-confidence to confront others who seem like or is really better than them. However, without the proper guidance of students’ psychological control in the face of others’ success, it is likely to lead to students’ serious jealousy, from month to month, and even lead to more serious inferiority. Certainly, in learning life, educators also should guide students not too much to show off their success in order to avoid making other students jealous. If the educator’s guidance is inappropriate, for example, when the individual is compared with the excellent, it is often the result that the self-inferiority will increase; When compared with losers, a weakening of inferiority is felt; This effect is especially pronounced if the object of comparison is similar to itself but cannot be surpassed [44].
In summary, the practical significance of compensation theory lies in: First of all, teachers should actively guide students to establish correct and appropriate compensation goals, on this basis, to carry out frustration education and life education for students, cultivating students’ awareness of compensation, and teaching them to face up to their own shortcomings with appropriate methods; secondly, on the hand of students, they should correctly treat their own shortcomings and the advantages of others, on this basis, to establish the correct life values to exceed the present themselves; finally, society should also give students more care, encouragement, support and help so that they can get compensation in society, so as to improve their self-confidence.