Karen Horney: An Overview
Karen Horney was a German psychoanalyst. Having first-hand experience with depression in her childhood, Horney dedicated her time and work into school. Horney would enter medical school at the beginning of the twentieth century, and she would eventually develop a theory of neurosis that is still prominent today. Horney was considered a Neo-Freudian, someone who believed in the basic foundation of Freud's principles, but she disagreed on some parts as well. For example, Horney rejected Freud's views on female psychology. Karen Horney made significant contributions in the areas of humanism, self-psychology, psychoanalysis, and feminine psychology. Her opposition to Freud's theories about women generated more interest in the psychology of women. Horney also believed that people were able to act as their own therapists, emphasizing the personal role each person has in their own mental health and encouraging self-analysis and self-help.
Horney vs. Freud: A Diagram
Horney was a Neo-Freudian, and therefore she believed in many of Freud's basic concepts, however her ideas differed from Freud's as well. She believed childhood social, not sexual as Freud believed, experiences were crucial to the formation personality. Also, Horney countered Freud's assumption that women had a weaker superego and that they suffered from "penis envy."
Neurotic Trends
Karen Horney believed that neurosis resulted from basic anxiety caused by interpersonal relationships. Her theory proposes that strategies used to cope with anxiety can be overused, causing them to take on the appearance of needs. According to Horney, basic anxiety (and therefore neurosis) could result from a variety of things including, " . . . direct or indirect domination, indifference, erratic behavior, lack of respect for the child's individual needs, lack of real guidance, disparaging attitudes, too much admiration or the absence of it, lack of reliable warmth, having to take sides in parental disagreements, too much or too little responsibility, over-protection, isolation from other children, injustice, discrimination, unkept promises, hostile atmosphere, and so on and so on.”
These 10 neurotic needs can be classified into three broad categories:
1. Needs that move you towards others. These neurotic needs cause individuals to seek affirmation and acceptance from others and are often described as needy or clingy as they seek out approval and love.
2. Needs that move you away from others. These neurotic needs create hostility and antisocial behavior. These individuals are often described as cold, indifferent, and detached.
3. Needs that move you against others. These neurotic needs result in hostility and a need to control other people. These individuals are often described as difficult, dominant, and unkind.
The neurotic needs come to existence because of a person’s intensive and compulsive pursuit of their satisfaction as the only way to resolve basic anxiety. Satisfying these needs will not help us feel safe and secure but will aid only in desire to escape the discomfort caused by our anxiety. We pursue gratification of these needs solely to cope with anxiety, we tend to focus on only one need and compulsively seek its satisfaction in all situations. Aggressive personalities find their satisfaction in having their superiority affirmed through others by excelling and receiving recognition. Satisfaction with detached personalities comes from being self-sufficient and obtaining an emotional distance from everyone around them. Compliant personalities seek their satisfaction from the affection and approval they receive from the people around them. Compliant personality people tend to achieve a goal through the manipulation of others and the present themselves as helpless; they tend to hide their desire for control and exploitation.
These 10 neurotic needs can be classified into three broad categories:
1. Needs that move you towards others. These neurotic needs cause individuals to seek affirmation and acceptance from others and are often described as needy or clingy as they seek out approval and love.
2. Needs that move you away from others. These neurotic needs create hostility and antisocial behavior. These individuals are often described as cold, indifferent, and detached.
3. Needs that move you against others. These neurotic needs result in hostility and a need to control other people. These individuals are often described as difficult, dominant, and unkind.
The neurotic needs come to existence because of a person’s intensive and compulsive pursuit of their satisfaction as the only way to resolve basic anxiety. Satisfying these needs will not help us feel safe and secure but will aid only in desire to escape the discomfort caused by our anxiety. We pursue gratification of these needs solely to cope with anxiety, we tend to focus on only one need and compulsively seek its satisfaction in all situations. Aggressive personalities find their satisfaction in having their superiority affirmed through others by excelling and receiving recognition. Satisfaction with detached personalities comes from being self-sufficient and obtaining an emotional distance from everyone around them. Compliant personalities seek their satisfaction from the affection and approval they receive from the people around them. Compliant personality people tend to achieve a goal through the manipulation of others and the present themselves as helpless; they tend to hide their desire for control and exploitation.