The concept of LIFESTYLE was developed by American social professor Alfred Binet in 1900. In his book, The Case of Miss R, binet proposed the theory that humans established the rules for their lives by living up to them. He believed that human beings lived according to five values: Ego, Friendship, Need, Gratitude, and Progrativity. The idea behind LIFESTYLE was that each of these values could be considered as the basic attitude of a person towards others, which then influenced all other attitude and behavior in the individual.
LIFESTYLE was later used by University of Florence Knoll professors to study the effects of the environment on the attitude of the citizens of a certain town, which they dubbed as the LIFESTYLE experiment. The study focused groups of citizens in a community, each of whom were told that they would be given a certain power if they would help build a school in one area. These power gifts included cash, cigarettes, a property, and other tangible items. Once the groups were formed, the group’s chief decided the shape and form of the gift that they would receive. These gift choices were then compared to the data provided by four separate focus groups that were not part of the original set up.
In addition to these four groups of volunteers, a fifth-focused group was also added to the experiment. This third group comprised of members from the community who were either unrelated to the local project, who felt a special connection to it, or were unfamiliar with the environment. By examining how well these five individuals acted in response to the gifts that they received, researchers uncovered a number of interesting facts about LIFESTYLE. For example, individuals who held more stable lifestyles were the ones who received the most benefits. They also expressed greater levels of happiness and satisfaction than those who lived chaotic lives.
Based on this study, Alfred Adler hypothesized that people hold two major expectations when interacting with the lifestyle. One is the LIFESTYLE word; the second is how an individual may actually behave in response to the promise of the LIFESTYLE word. For example, when an individual receives cash as a reward for helping build a school, that person may expect money to arrive immediately. If this does not happen, that individual may begin to worry that he will not be able to meet his financial obligations. On the other hand, when this same individual receives a social media gift such as a free iPhone, he will likely feel somewhat disinterested in meeting with anyone regarding the project unless he is offered some type of free product or service.
The study examined four distinct areas of LIFESTYLE. Specifically, these were the motivational factor, the relationship between LIFESTYLE word and behavior, the attitude change and the impact on motivation and the experience. This research demonstrated that when an individual learns that he or she can have a valuable role in helping to build a new school, there is a strong motivational effect. Individuals who would not offer their time and energy in this way are more likely to avoid trying to build a new school, which may hinder his or her own attempts to become a productive member of society. In addition, individuals who learn that they can have the opportunity to help shape a social space also have a positive attitude regarding their own future.
According to Alfred Adler, the LIFESTYLE concept can be used to encourage individuals to become productive members of society. “If you’re self-employed, you’ll need a viable action plan for achieving your goals,” he said. “Alfred Adler’s book has changed the way I think about the way I look at my own situation and how I can change it.” “The Social Life of People Who Are Successful” discusses how to turn your current situation (or lack of situations) around to have the life you want. For those who have found themselves trapped in a cycle of poverty, self-employed problems or abusive relationships, this book can help to create a better lifestyle. This motivational book is a wonderful complement to “The Social Life of People Who Are Successful”, by Alfred Adler.
