Compensation (psychology) facts for kids

In psychology, compensation is a way people deal with things they aren't very good at. Instead of focusing on their weaknesses, they try to be really good at something else. Sometimes, they don't even realize they are doing it!

Compensation can help hide problems, whether they are real or just imagined. It can also hide feelings of being less capable than others. But it doesn't actually fix the original problem.

• Positive compensation can help a person overcome difficulties and become stronger.
• Negative compensation doesn't help. It can even make problems worse.

There are two main types of negative compensation:

• Overcompensation: This is when someone tries too hard to be better than others. They might want a lot of power or control. This can lead to them thinking too highly of themselves, or sometimes even too lowly.
• Undercompensation: This is when someone always asks for help. They might lack courage and be afraid of life's challenges.

A good example of overcompensation that doesn't work well can be seen in people going through a "mid-life crisis." As people get older, they might not have the same energy. This can make it harder for them to keep up their usual ways of dealing with problems, including their compensatory actions.

Who First Talked About Compensation?

Alfred Adler was a famous doctor who started a field of study called individual psychology. He used the word "compensation" when talking about feelings of not being good enough, or "inferiority feelings."

In his book Study of Organ Inferiority and Its Physical Compensation (1907), he wrote about this idea. He said that if a person feels weak or not as good at something, they will often try to make up for it in another area.

Adler learned about this from his own life. Even though he was shy, he pushed himself to give many lectures. This was his own way of compensating.

Adler also applied this idea of compensation to how people train their minds.

How Compensation Shows Up in Culture

Some people act very proud or self-important. This is sometimes called being "narcissistic." According to compensation theory, these people might be hiding feelings of low self-worth. They might do this by:

• Talking about themselves in a very grand way.
• Trying to spend time with people who are highly admired.

Children who act narcissistic might try to make up for feeling jealous or angry. They might do this by imagining they have:

• Great power
• Amazing beauty
• Lots of money

Christopher Lasch, an American historian, wrote a book called The Culture of Narcissism (1979). He suggested that society in North America during the 1970s had become very narcissistic. He believed that this kind of society often:

• Loves to buy and use many things.
• Is afraid of needing help, getting old, and dying.

Because of this, such a society is very interested in fame.

Buying things can be a form of compensation. For example, people might use goods to show their relationships with others.

• Parents might buy things to make up for difficult times they lived through, like poverty or abuse.
• Parents might also buy things to make up for problems they caused for their children, like a divorce.

See also

In Spanish: Compensación (psicología) para niños