There are two kinds of negative compensation: A well-known example of failing overcompensation is observed in people going through a midlife-crisis.
Approaching midlife, many people lack the energy to maintain their psychological defenses, including their compensatory acts.
Alfred Adler, founder of the school of individual psychology, introduced the term compensation in relation to inferiority feelings.
[1]: 5 Such compensation could be positive or negative in its effects: a classic case of a favorable over-compensation for stuttering was the development of Demosthenes as an outstanding orator.
[citation needed] Adler also "transferred" this idea of compensation to psychic training.