Theories of Personality: Horney, Erikson, Fromm, Maslow, and Rogers

Comprehensive review flashcards covering Psychoanalytic Social Theory (Horney), Post-Freudian Theory (Erikson), Humanistic Psychoanalysis (Fromm), Holistic-Dynamic Theory (Maslow), and Person-Centered Theory (Rogers).

On what primary assumption is Karen Horney's Psychoanalytic Social Theory built?

Social and cultural conditions, especially childhood experiences, are largely responsible for shaping personality.

According to Karen Horney, what two guiding principles rule human behavior instead of the pleasure principle alone?

Safety and satisfaction.

What is the key distinction between basic hostility and basic anxiety in Horney's theory?

Basic hostility is the child's repressed anger toward parents who fail to satisfy needs for safety and satisfaction; basic anxiety is the child's resulting feeling of being isolated and helpless in a potentially hostile world.

What are the four general ways individuals protect themselves against feelings of isolation according to Karen Horney?

Affection, submissiveness, power (alongside prestige and possession), and withdrawal.

Based on Horney's model of defenses against anxiety, how do normal defenses differ from neurotic defenses when moving relative to people?

Normal defenses involve spontaneous movement toward, against, or away from people, whereas neurotic defenses involve compulsive movement toward (compliant), against (aggressive), or away from people (detached).

How does Horney define the neurotic trend of 'moving toward people' (the compliant personality)?

A compulsive strategy to protect oneself against feelings of helplessness by desperately striving for the affection and approval of others or seeking a powerful partner to assume responsibility.

What are the three main elements of Horney's neurotic search for glory?

The need for perfection (the tyranny of the should), neurotic ambition, and the drive toward a vindictive triumph.

How did Horney explain feminine psychology and women's 'masculine protest'?

She asserted that psychological differences between men and women stem from cultural and social expectations rather than anatomy, viewing the masculine protest not as penis envy, but as a desire to attain the qualities and privileges that culture reserves for men.

What psychometric instrument was developed by Frederick Coolidge and colleagues to operationalize Horney's three neurotic trends?

The Horney-Coolidge Tridimensional Inventory (HCTI).

What are the three interrelated aspects of the ego identified by Erik Erikson?

The body ego (experiences of one's physical self), the ego ideal (the image of oneself compared with an established ideal), and the ego with identity (the image of oneself in the social roles one plays).

What is the epigenetic principle in Erikson's developmental framework?

A biological principle borrowed from embryology stating that the ego develops in a step-by-step fashion according to a predetermined ground plan, with each part having its time of special ascendancy until a functioning whole is formed.

How does Erik Erikson define the term 'pseudospecies'?

An illusion perpetuated by a particular society that it has been specially chosen to represent the human species, viewing other groups as inferior or less human.

In Erikson's epigenetic matrix of psychosocial development, what crisis, basic strength, and core pathology occur during Stage V (Adolescence)?

The psychosocial crisis is identity vs. confusion (or identity confusion), the basic strength is fidelity, and the core pathology is role repudiation.

What are the psychosocial crisis, basic strength, and core pathology of infancy according to Erikson?

The crisis is basic trust vs. basic mistrust, the basic strength is hope, and the core pathology is withdrawal.

What are the psychosocial crisis, basic strength, and core pathology of early childhood according to Erikson?

The crisis is autonomy vs. shame and doubt, the basic strength is will, and the core pathology is compulsion.

What are the psychosocial crisis, basic strength, and core pathology of the play age according to Erikson?

The crisis is initiative vs. guilt, the basic strength is purpose, and the core pathology is inhibition.

What are the psychosocial crisis, basic strength, and core pathology of school age according to Erikson?

The crisis is industry vs. inferiority, the basic strength is competence, and the core pathology is inertia.

What two forms of role repudiation can manifest during adolescence according to Erikson?

Diffidence (an extreme lack of self-confidence expressed as shyness or hesitancy) and defiance (rebellion against authority by adopting socially unacceptable beliefs).

What are the psychosocial crisis, basic strength, and core pathology of young adulthood according to Erikson?

The crisis is intimacy vs. isolation, the basic strength is love, and the core pathology is exclusivity.

What are the psychosocial crisis, basic strength, and core pathology of adulthood according to Erikson?

The crisis is generativity vs. stagnation (self-absorption), the basic strength is care, and the core pathology is rejectivity.

What are the psychosocial crisis, basic strength, and core pathology of old age according to Erikson?

The crisis is integrity vs. despair, the basic strength is wisdom, and the core pathology is disdain.

Why did Erich Fromm characterize human beings as the 'freaks of the universe'?

Because humans have lost their automatic animal instincts while acquiring an expanded brain capacity that permits self-awareness, reason, imagination, and planning, leaving them isolated from nature.

According to Fromm's structural foundation of human existence, what two divergent syndromes can result from satisfying existential needs and escaping basic anxiety?

The Syndrome of Growth (biophilia, love of others, positive freedom) or the Syndrome of Decay (necrophilia, malignant narcissism, incestuous symbiosis).

What are the three fundamental existential dichotomies identified by Erich Fromm?

1. Life vs. death; 2. Complete self-realization vs. brief life span; 3. Ultimate aloneness vs. need for union.

What are the five distinct existential human needs identified by Erich Fromm?

Relatedness, transcendence, rootedness, sense of identity, and a frame of orientation.

What are the four essential components of authentic love according to Fromm?

Care, responsibility, respect, and knowledge.

What are Fromm's three primary mechanisms of escape used to alleviate basic anxiety?

Authoritarianism (masochism or sadism), destructiveness, and automaton conformity.

How does Fromm define positive freedom?

The spontaneous and full expression of both rational and emotional potentialities through active love and productive work, uniting with others without sacrificing personal independence.

What motto and central mechanism define Fromm's marketing character orientation?

The motto is 'I am as you desire me,' where the individual views the self as a commodity whose worth depends on external exchange value.

What three conditions make up Fromm's 'Syndrome of Decay'?

Necrophilia (love of death and destruction), malignant narcissism (devaluation of the non-self), and incestuous symbiosis (extreme, identity-eroding dependence on a mothering figure or surrogate).

In Fromm and Maccoby's anthropological study of a Mexican village, which character orientation was completely absent?

The marketing character orientation, confirming that it depends on impersonal, commodified capitalist economic systems.

What five core axioms of human motivation are identified in Abraham Maslow's holistic-dynamic theory?

1. Holistic approach; 2. Complex motivation; 3. Continual striving; 4. Universal motivation; 5. Hierarchical structure (order of prepotency).

What are the five tiers of Maslow's conative hierarchy of needs in ascending order of prepotency?

Physiological needs, safety needs, love and belongingness needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization needs.

What four distinct dimensions of human needs did Maslow describe in his complete taxonomy?

Conative needs, aesthetic needs, cognitive needs, and neurotic needs.

What estimated average adult satisfaction percentages did Maslow propose across the five conative need tiers?

Physiological ($85\%$), Safety ($70\%$), Love/Belongingness ($50\%$), Esteem ($40\%$), and Self-Actualization ($10\%$).

How does Maslow differentiate between coping behavior and expressive behavior?

Coping behavior is conscious, effortful, learned, environment-driven, and motivated by deficit needs; expressive behavior is unconscious, effortless, spontaneous, unlearned, and unmotivated.

What four strict criteria did Maslow establish for classifying an individual as self-actualizing?

1. Absence of neurosis, psychosis, or organic psychopathology; 2. Complete satisfaction of lower-tier deficiency needs; 3. Active adoption and integration of B-values; 4. Full realization and exploitation of one's talents and potentials.

What is metapathology according to Abraham Maslow?

An existential illness characterized by cynicism, alienation, despair, and loss of meaning that results from the deprivation or frustration of Being-values (B-values).

What is the Jonah Complex?

The subconscious fear of one's own greatness, destiny, or peak potentials, often stemming from the inability to tolerate intense peak emotions and fear of arrogance (hubris).

What did Maslow mean by the concept of 'desacralization'?

A defense mechanism that strips human life, science, and experience of awe, wonder, and reverence, reducing them to cold, emotionless, mechanical parts.

What is Taoistic Science as proposed by Maslow?

A holistic, non-interfering, passive, and receptive scientific approach that prioritizes fascination, empathy, and awe over clinical prediction and control.

What assessment instrument was developed by Everett Shostrom to measure self-actualization?

The Personal Orientation Inventory (POI).

What are the two dual evolutionary postulates in Carl Rogers' Person-Centered Theory?

The formative tendency (the universal inclination for all matter to evolve from simpler to more complex forms) and the actualizing tendency (the innate motive to maintain and enhance the total organism).

What are the three self-subsystems that constitute personality structure in Rogers' theory?

The self-concept (aspects perceived in awareness), the ideal self (the attributes one aspires to possess), and the organismic self (the complete physical and psychological entity, including experiences outside awareness).

According to Carl Rogers' developmental diagram, what occurs if external conditions of worth create incongruence and psychological defenses fail?

Defenses collapse and the individual enters a state of critical failure called disorganization (acute emotional shock or psychotic breakdown).

What are the three levels of awareness identified by Carl Rogers?

1. Experiences that are ignored or denied; 2. Experiences that are accurately symbolized in awareness; 3. Experiences that are perceived in a distorted form to match an existing self-concept.

What two primary defensive mechanisms protect the self-concept from incongruence in Rogers' theory?

Distortion (misinterpreting experience so it fits the self-concept) and denial (blocking threatening experiences from entering conscious awareness).

What three therapeutic conditions did Rogers specify as necessary and sufficient for constructive personality change?

Counselor congruence (authenticity/genuineness), unconditional positive regard, and empathetic listening (with the client perceiving these conditions to some degree).

In Carl Rogers' Seven Stages of Therapeutic Change, what occurs at Stage 5?

Clients begin to express feelings in the present and initiate an internal locus of evaluation.

What did Carl Rogers identify as the profile characteristics of 'the person of tomorrow' (the fully functioning person)?

Adaptable, open to experience, trust in the organismic self, existential living in the present moment, harmonious relations, integrated wholeness, and a basic trust of human nature.

What was the primary conclusion of the Chicago Studies conducted by Carl Rogers?

Clients receiving client-centered therapy showed significant, lasting improvements in self-concept and congruence compared to control groups, though they did not necessarily attain the ideal level of fully functioning individuals.