According to Adler, lifestyle is set by age in childhood by which age?

• A. By adolescence
• B. By birth
• C. By age 5
• D. By age 25

Answer: (C)

Adler’s idea is that a person’s lifestyle—the overall pattern they use to pursue goals, solve problems, and relate to others—is formed very early in life. By about age five, the child has already organized early experiences from family, environment, and social interactions into a relatively stable way of approaching life. That early pattern becomes the foundation that guides behavior for years to come, which is why the answer is by age five. Later experiences can refine or modify this pattern, but the core style of life is in place around age five.

Notes to see why the other options don’t fit: forming a lasting lifestyle too late would be adolescence or adulthood, which is after this foundational period; birth isn’t enough time for the child to develop and organize a coherent approach to life; waiting until age 25 ignores the early developmental window Adler emphasized.