Karen Horney Psychoanalytic Social Theory

• One example of a neurotic need is the need for admiration, where individuals constantly seek praise and admiration from others to maintain a sense of security.
• Psychoanalytic social theory is based on the idea that social and cultural conditions, especially childhood experiences, shape personality
• People who do not have their needs for love and affection satisfied during childhood develop basic hostility towards their parents and suffer from basic anxiety
• Karen Horney was born in Eilbek, Germany in 1885
• Horney was the only daughter of Berndt Danielsen, a sea captain, and Clothilda van Ronzelen Danielsen
• Horney's writings showed important differences with Freudian theory, emphasizing the role of culture in shaping personality differences between men and women
• Horney published "Neurosis and Human Growth" in 1950, expressing her own creative and independent thinking
• Horney criticized Freud's theories on feminine psychology and emphasized the importance of cultural influences in shaping personality
• Horney believed that culture, not anatomy, is the primary basis for both neurotic and normal personality development
• Horney believed that neurotic conflict often stems from childhood experiences, primarily due to lack of genuine warmth and affection
• Basic hostility refers to deep-seated feelings of anger, resentment, or hostility towards parents, leading to basic anxiety
• Basic anxiety is a feeling of being isolated and helpless in a potentially hostile world
• Horney identified four defenses against basic anxiety: affection, submissiveness, power, and withdrawal
• Neurotic individuals use protective devices to guard against rejection, hostility, and competitiveness from others
• Horney identified 10 categories of neurotic needs, such as the need for affection, power, recognition, and perfection
• Horney grouped the 10 neurotic needs into three general categories: moving towards people, moving against people, and moving away from people
• Moving towards people involves a neurotic need to protect oneself against feelings of helplessness
• Moving against people involves a strong need to exploit others and use them for personal benefit
• Moving away from people is a strategy to attain autonomy and separateness to solve the basic conflict of isolation
• Horney recognized two types of intrapsychic conflicts: idealized self-image and self-hatred
• Idealized self-image involves creating an extravagantly positive view of oneself to compensate for early negative influences
• Self-hatred can manifest in relentless demands on the self, self-accusation, self-contempt, self-frustration, self-torment, and self-destructive actions
• Horney believed that psychic differences between men and women are due to cultural and social expectations, not anatomy
• Horney critiqued Freud's concept of penis envy and emphasized that males and females are more alike than different
• Horney's focus on neurotic behavior has been criticized as excessive