KAREN HORNEY

• Horney's theory is based on the idea that people are motivated by their needs, which can be either healthy or neurotic.
• Neurosis refers to an individual's tendency towards maladaptive behavior due to unresolved conflicts between their instinctual drives and social demands.
• Moving Toward Others - Individuals with this type of neurosis have low self-esteem and seek approval through submissiveness and compliance.
• Moving Away From Others - These individuals have high self-esteem but fear rejection and avoid close relationships.
• Moving Against Others - These individuals have high self-esteem but lack empathy and respect for others, leading them to dominate and exploit others.
• According to Horney, moving away from others is associated with overprotective parents who discourage independence and autonomy.
• Moving against others is linked to authoritarian parents who demand obedience and conformity.
• Horney believed that the development of personality disorders was influenced by early childhood experiences.
• Individuals with Moving Towards Others Neurosis tend to grow up feeling inferior and dependent on others for validation.
• Horney


  One of the first women in Germany admitted to medical school, where she specialized in psychiatry
• Horney died at age 65


  1952
• Horney's theories


  • Appropriate to normal development
  • Agreed with Freud that early childhood traumas are important
  • Placed far more emphasis on social factors
• Neuroses


  Not instincts but a person's attempt to find paths in the social world
• Criticisms to Freudian theory

  • Rigidity toward new ideas
  • Skewed view of human psychology
  • Overemphasis on biology and the pleasure principle
• Impact of culture


  feeling of isolation, needs for affection, overvalues love, neuroses, sees love and affection as solution to all problems
• Lack of genuine love


  Leads to neurotic needs and rigid behavioral patterns to gain a feeling of safety and love
• Basic Hostility


  The feeling that the world is against you and in return breeds basic anxiety
• Basic Anxiety


  Protection from basic anxiety (does not necessarily indicate neurosis) through submissiveness, power/prestige, withdrawal, or other approaches
• Normal people have the flexibility to use any or all of these approaches, but neurotics are compelled to rely rigidly on only one
• Compulsive Drives


  Neurotics are trapped in a vicious circle where their compulsive need to reduce basic anxiety leads to self-defeating behaviors, which then produce more basic anxiety
• Neurotic Needs


  • For affection and approval
  • For a power partner
  • To restrict one's life within narrow borders
  • To exploit others against
  • For social recognition or prestige
  • For personal admiration
  • For ambition and personal achievement
  • For self-sufficiency and independence
  • For perfection and unassailability
• Neurotic Trends


  • Moving Toward People
  • Moving Against People
  • Moving Away From People
• Neurotic Pride


  A false pride based not on reality but on a distorted and idealized view of self
• Self-Hatred


  • Merciless self-accusation
  • Self-contempt
  • Self-frustration
  • Self-torment or self-torture
  • Self-destructive actions and impulses
• Horney's theory has not generated much research, but it has provided an interesting way of looking at humanity
• As a scientific theory, Horney's theory rates low on its ability to be falsified, to organize knowledge, and to serve as a guide to action
• Horney's concept of humanity

  • High on free choice, optimism, unconscious influences, and social factors
  • Average on causality vs. teleology
  • Low on uniqueness
• Idealized Self-Image


  An extravaganty positive picture of themselves that exists only in their mind, resulting from lack of love and affection during childhood which blocked self-realization and stable sense of identity
• Horney recognized three aspects of the idealized self-image: the Neurotic Search for Glory, the Neurotic Claims, and the Neurotic Pride
• Their low self-esteem can lead to feelings of worthlessness and depression.
• These individuals are often attracted to dominant partners because they feel safe when someone else takes control.
• They may become passive or submissive as adults due to their need for approval.
• Authoritarian Parenting Style
• Overprotective Parenting Style
• She identified three types of parenting styles that could lead to personality disorders:
• Anxiety arises when there is conflict between our basic human needs (such as love, security, power) and societal expectations/demands.
• Individuals with an idealized self-image tend to be perfectionists who set unattainable goals for themselves.
• Neglectful Parenting Style
• Indulgent Parenting Style
• A parent who is overly strict and demanding, with high expectations but little warmth or emotional support.