KAREN HORNEY: PSYCHOANALYTIC

View on Agree Disagree

SOCIAL THEORY Feminine
OVERVIEW OF PSYCHOANALYTIC SOCIAL THEORY
Psychology
INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOANALYTIC SOCIAL
THEORY Emphasis on Cultural Instinct
●​ HORNEY AND FREUD COMPARED Psychoanalysis influences theory
●​ THE IMPACT OF CULTURE
●​ THE IMPORTANCE OF CHILDHOOD Neuroses *Wilderness Instincts
BASIC HOSTILITY AND BASIC ANXIETY
COMPULSIVE DRIVES Concept of Optimistic Pessimistic
●​ NEUROTIC NEEDS
●​ NEUROTIC TRENDS
Humanity (amenable (stagnant
○​ MOVING TOWARDS PEOPLE to change) personality)
○​ MOVING AGAINST PEOPLE
○​ MOVING AWAY FROM PEOPLE
INTRAPSYCHIC CONFLICT *Wilderness - created by society and not by
●​ THE IDEALIZED SELF-IMAGE instincts or anatomy
○​ THE NEUROTIC SEARCH FOR
Impact of Culture
GLORY
○​ NEUROTIC CLAIMS Cultural Influences - primary bases for
○​ NEUROTIC PRIDE both neurotic and normal personality
●​ SELF-HATRED
development
FEMININE PSYCHOLOGY
PSYCHOTHERAPY -​ Modern Culture: based on
competition among individuals
OVERVIEW OF PSYCHOANALYTIC Isolation - feeling of being alone in a
SOCIAL THEORY potentially hostile world
Psychoanalytic Social Theory - built on -​ Result from the competitiveness and
the assumption that social and cultural basic hostility
conditions (especially childhood Intensified need for affection - cause
experiences) are largely responsible for people to overvalue love
shaping personality Concepts of Love:
-​ Have a distinctive Freudian flavor ●​ Genuine - healthy, growth-producing
-​ Culture: plays leading role in experience
shaping human personality either ●​ Desperate - fertile ground for
neurotic or healthy development of neuroses
Neurotics - strive pathologically to find love
INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOANALYTIC -​ Results in: low self-esteem,
SOCIAL THEORY increased hostility, basic anxiety,
Horney and Freud Compared more competitiveness, excessive
HORNEY FREUD need for love and affection
-​ Contribution of Western society in
Important Stage Early childhood are several respects:
important a.​ Imbued with cultural
teachings of kinship and
Personality Social Biological
Development Forces Forces humility

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 b.​ Society’s demands for -​ Feeling of being isolated, helpless,
success and achievement insignificant and endangered in a
are nearly endless world that is out to abuse, cheat,
c.​ Tells people that they are attack humiliate, betray and envy
free and can accomplish -​ “Basic anxiety and basic hostility are
anything through hardwork inextricably woven”
and perseverance -​ Hostile Impulses: principal source
Importance of Childhood Experiences of basic anxiety
Childhood - age from which vast majority of -​ Reactive Hostility: developed by
neurotic conflicts arise children who feel threatened by their
-​ Traumatic Events: parents which also creates
a.​ Sexual abuse additional hostility
b.​ Beatings -​ Not a neurosis but a nutritive soil out
c.​ Open rejection which a definite neurosis may
d.​ Pervasive neglect develop at any time
-​ These traumatic events may leave -​ Constant and unrelenting, needing
their impressions on a child’s future no particular stimulus
development; traced to lack of -​ Permeates all relationships with
genuine warmth and affection others and leads to unhealthy ways
Neurotic Needs - become powerful and the of trying to cope with people
child’s only means of gaining feelings of Protective Devices (PAWS):
safety -​ List of defenses to guard against
-​ Resulted from a difficult childhood rejection, hostility, competitiveness
Childhood Experiences - primarily of others and basic anxiety
responsible for personality development 1.​ Affection - does not always lead to
authentic love (e.g. self-effacing
BASIC HOSTILITY AND BASIC ANXIETY compliance, material goods or
Favorable conditions for a healthy sexual favors)
development: 2.​ Submissiveness - submit
●​ Warm and loving environment that is themselves either to people or
not overly permissive institutions (e.g. organizations and
●​ Feelings of safety and satisfaction religion)
and permit them to grow in 3.​ Power, prestige or possession
accordance with their real self a.​ Power - defense against the
Adverse influences that interfere with real or imagined hostility of
favorable conditions: others (e.g. domination)
●​ Parent’s inability or unwillingness to b.​ Prestige - protection against
love their child humiliation (e.g. humiliate
Basic Hostility - if parents do not satisfy others)
the child’s needs for safety and satisfaction c.​ Possession - buffer against
Basic Anxiety - repressed hostility that destitution and poverty (e.g.
leads to profound feelings of insecurity and tendency to deprive others)
a vague sense of apprehension

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 4.​ Withdrawal - developing 2.​ Powerful partner - attach
independence from others (e.g. themselves to a powerful partner
emotional detachment) due to lack of self- confidence (e.g.
Compulsion - salient characteristic of all overvaluation of love and dread of
neurotic device being alone or deserted)
Secondary Adjustment Techniques 3.​ Restrict one’s life within narrow
(EBBRACE): borders - strive to remain
1.​ Externalization - projection; inconspicuous, take second place
blaming others and to be content with very little (e.g.
2.​ Blindspot - in denial; conversion not leaving the comfort zone,
disorder degrading one’s abilities and making
3.​ Rationalization - finding reasons demands of others)
4.​ Arbitrary Righteousness - black 4.​ Power - usually combined with
and white concept prestige and possession (e.g. control
5.​ Cynicism - pessimistic view others and avoid feelings of
6.​ Compartmentalization - stress and weakness and stupidity)
problems are evident at all times a.​ Power and Affection: two
7.​ Elusiveness - set aside the logic; greatest neurotic needs
choosing not to talk about a certain 5.​ Exploit others - evaluate others on
subject the basis of how they can be used of
Psychosomatic - seen physiologically being exploited but they also fear of
caused by a psychological factor being exploited by others
6.​ Social recognition or prestige -
COMPULSIVE DRIVES trying to be first, to be important or to
Normal Individuals - use a variety of attract the attention of themselves
defensive maneuvers 7.​ Personal admiration - need to be
Neurotic Individuals - repeat the same admired for what they are rather
strategy in an essentially unproductive than what they possess (e.g.
manner continually fed self-esteem by
-​ Cannot change this neurotic others)
behavior by free will 8.​ Ambition and personal
achievement - strong drive to be the
Neurotic Needs - characterize neurotics in best (e.g. defeat others to confirm
their attempt to combat basic anxiety; more their superiority)
specific but describe the same four 9.​ Self-sufficiency and
protective devices independence - moving away from
1.​ Affection and approval - others to prove that they can get
indiscriminately please others (e.g. along without others (e.g. playboy
live up to the expectations of others, who cannot be tied down by any
dread self-assertion and woman)
uncomfortable with the hostility of 10.​Perfection and unassailability -
others) striving relentlessly for perfection,
dread making mistakes and having

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 personal flaws, and desperately
Free to choose their actions
attempt to hide their weakness from
others Mild conflict Se
Neurotic Trends - 3 general categories
relating to a person’s basic attitude towards Basic Conflict - essentially non-productive
self and others or neurotic
1.​ Moving toward people - the
compliant personality INTRAPSYCHIC CONFLICTS - originate
-​ Neurotic need to protect from interpersonal experiences that become
oneself against feelings of a part of a person’s belief system
helplessness 1.​ Idealized Self Image - attempt to
-​ Employ the first 3 neurotic solve conflicts by painting a god-like
needs picture of oneself
-​ Morbid dependency: -​ Extravagantly positive view
concept anticipated by of themselves that exist only
codependency in their personal belief
-​ Philosophy of life: loving, -​ Self Realization - if one is
generous, unselfish, humble given an environment of
and sensitive discipline and warmth that
2.​ Moving against people - the will manifest to feelings of
aggressive personality security and self confidence
-​ Motivated by a strong need -​ Stable Sense of Identity -
to exploit others and use can be solved by creating an
them to their own benefit idealized self image
-​ Employ 5 neurotic needs (i.e. -​ Views from Neurotic
numbers (4-8) Trends:
-​ Basic Motivation: power, ○​ Compliant - good
prestige and personal and saintly
ambition ○​ Aggressive - strong,
3.​ Moving away from people - the heroic and
detached personality omnipotent
-​ Needs for privacy, value ○​ Detached -
independence and self-sufficient and
self-sufficiency independent
-​ Compulsively driven to move a.​ Neurotic Search for Glory -
away from people comprehensive drive towards
Differences between Normal and actualizing the ideal self
Neurotic Individuals: -​ Incorporate goals,
Normal self-concept and relations
with others into their aspects
Conscious of their strategies of life
Multiple trends 3 Elements:

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 1.​ Need for Perfection a.​ Relentless demands on the
- mold the whole self - exemplified by the
personality into the tyranny of the shoulds
idealized self -​ E.g. make demands
e.g. Tyranny of the on themselves that
Should (complex set don’t stop even when
of shoulds and should they achieve the
nots) measure of success
2.​ Neurotic Ambition - b.​ Merciless self accusation -
compulsive drive constantly berate themselves
towards superiority -​ E.g. “If people only
-​ E.g. Being the knew me, they would
best student in realize that I’m
school pretending to be
3.​ Drive toward somebody else. I’m
Vindictive Triumph - really a fraud.”
most destructive; c.​ Self-contempt - grandiose
drive for achievement expressions or scrupulously
or success but with questioning
the desire to take -​ E.g. Ridiculing
revenge oneself
-​ E.g. Increase d.​ Self-frustration - stems from
their feelings self-hatred and is designed
of grandeur to actualize an able goals;
b.​ Neurotic claims - build a shackled by taboos against
world that is out of sync with enjoyment
the real world -​ E.g. “I don’t deserve a
-​ Proclaim that they are new car.”
special and entitled to e.​ Self-torment - self torture;
be treated according inflict harm or suffering on
to their idealized view themselves
of self -​ E.g. cutting with knife
-​ E.g. narcissism f.​ Self-destructive actions &
c.​ Neurotic pride - false pride impulses - attack
based on spurious image of themselves physically or
the idealized self psychologically
-​ E.g. being glorious, -​ E.g overeating,
wonderful and perfect abusing alcohol and
2.​ Self-hatred - equally irrational and drugs, suicide,
powerful tendency to despise one’s working too hard.
real self
FEMININE PSYCHOLOGY - according to
Horney, psychic differences between men

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and women are not the result of anatomy a.​ Give up idealized self-image
but rather of cultural and social expectations b.​ Relinquish neurotic search
for glory
c.​ Change self-hatred to
Oedipus complex - Horney insisted it was
acceptance of real self
due to environmental conditions and not to
Therapist task: convince that their
biology
present solutions are perpetuating
Penis Envy - Horney contended that there rather than alleviating the core
is no anatomical reason why girls should be neurosis
envious of the penis than boys should Three neurotic trends:
desire a breast or a womb a.​ Love
b.​ Mastery
Masculine Protest - pathological belief that c.​ Freedom
men are superior to women Techniques:
a.​ Dream Interpretation - saw
Janet Shibley Hyde - prominent
dreams as attempts to solve
contemporary feminist psychological
conflicts, but the solutions
scientist
can be either or healthy
-​ Analyzed meta-analyses (statistical b.​ Free Association - patients
methods of systematically combining are asked to say everything
data from many studies) of gender that comes to mind
differences to test the opposite regardless of how trivial or
prediction embarrassing it may seem
-​ Strongest Stereotypes on male
and female:
a.​ Math and verbal ability
b.​ Aggression
c.​ Self-esteem
d.​ Perceptiveness

File drawer problem - when differences do

not reach statistical significance, the study
is typically not published

PSYCHOTHERAPY
Neuroses - grow out of basic conflict that
usually begins in childhood
Horneyian Therapy - help partient
gradually grow in the direction of
self-realization
Aim: