Review of The Lure of Superiority

Abstract

Reviews the book, The Lure of Superiority by Wayland F. Vaughn (1928). This book is a psychological study of inferiority and its possible compensations. The approach while not entirely psychoanalytic makes use of certain concepts similar to those used in psychoanalysis. Originally presented as a Ph.D. thesis at Harvard University this study has been rewritten for the lay reader. The author shows in a most engaging manner how men and women in the face of apparently insuperable obstacles succeed in impressing their names on the roll of immortals. Labor movements, feminists, the Jews, and a number of prominent individuals are studied in detail to make evident how handicapped groups and afflicted persons seek to work out their particular compensations. Individual chapters are devoted to psychological analyses of Schopenhauer and Lincoln. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)