Who was Karen Horney?
Perhaps the most important contribution Karen Horney made to psychodynamic thought was her disagreements with Freud's view of women. Horney was never a student of Freud, but did study his work and eventually taught psychoanalysis at both the Berlin and New York Psychoanalytic Institute. After her insistence that Freud's view of the inherent difference between males and females, she agreed to leave the institute and form her own school known as the American Institute for Psychoanalysis. In many ways, Horney was well ahead of her time and although she died before the feminist movement took hold, she was perhaps the theorist who changed the way psychology looked at gender differences. She countered Freud's concept of penis envy with what she called womb envy, or man's envy of woman's ability to bear children. She argued that men compensate for this inability by striving for achievement and success in other realms. She also disagreed with Freud's belief that males and females were born with inherent differences in their personality. Rather than citing biological differences, she argued for a societal and cultural explanation. In her view, men and women were equal outside of the cultural restrictions often placed on being female. These views, while not well accepted at the time, were used years after her death to help promote gender equality.
"Neurotic trends"
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, un-kept promises, hostile atmosphere, and so on and so on" (Horney, 1945).
1. The Neurotic Need for Affection and Approval
2. The Neurotic Need for a Partner Who Will Take Over One’s Life
3. The Neurotic Need to Restrict One’s Life Within Narrow Borders
4. The Neurotic Need for Power
5. The Neurotic Need to Exploit Others
6. The Neurotic Need for Prestige
7. The Neurotic Need for Personal Admiration
8. The Neurotic Need for Personal Achievement
9. The Neurotic Need for Self-Sufficiency and Independence
10. The Neurotic Need for Perfection and Unassailability
1. The Neurotic Need for Affection and Approval
2. The Neurotic Need for a Partner Who Will Take Over One’s Life
3. The Neurotic Need to Restrict One’s Life Within Narrow Borders
4. The Neurotic Need for Power
5. The Neurotic Need to Exploit Others
6. The Neurotic Need for Prestige
7. The Neurotic Need for Personal Admiration
8. The Neurotic Need for Personal Achievement
9. The Neurotic Need for Self-Sufficiency and Independence
10. The Neurotic Need for Perfection and Unassailability