KAREN HORNEY - PSYCHOANALYTIC SOCIAL THEORY

Flashcards based on Karen Horney's Psychoanalytic Social Theory

When and where was Karen Horney born?

1885 in Blankenese, Germany

What were Karen Horney's feelings towards her father?

She felt great hostility toward her stern, devoutly religious father and regarded him as a religious hypocrite.

When and where did Horney leave Germany for?

1932, as associate director of the newly Established Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute

According to Horney, what is largely responsible for shaping personality?

Social and cultural conditions.

What are the three ways people combat basic anxiety according to Horney?

Moving towards people, moving against people, moving away from people.

What do children need to experience for healthy development, according to Horney?

Genuine love and healthy discipline.

When does basic hostility arise in children according to Horney?

When parents do not satisfy a child’s needs for safety and satisfaction.

What leads to feelings of insecurity and apprehension, or basic anxiety?

Repressed hostility.

What are the four general ways that people protect themselves against feeling alone in a hostile world?

Affection, Submissiveness, Withdrawal, Striving for power, prestige or possession.

In the context of personality, what are Neurotics?

A person who has an abnormal personality development.

Define Hostility

Cynical and suspicious attitudes, anger, bitterness, and varying levels of aggression and opposition.

What is the neurotic need for affection and approval?

The desires to be liked, to please other people, and meet the expectations of others.

Which neurotic need makes people suffer an extreme fear of being abandoned?

The neurotic need for a partner who will take over one’s life.

What is the neurotic need to restrict one's life within narrow borders?

Individuals with this need prefer to remain inconspicuous and unnoticed; they are undemanding and content with little.

What is the neurotic need for power?

Individuals with this need seek power for its own sake; they usually praise strength, despise weakness, and will exploit or dominate other people.

What is the neurotic need to exploit others?

Individuals view others in terms of what can be gained through association with them.

What is the neurotic need for prestige?

Individuals with a need for prestige value themselves in terms of public recognition and acclaim.

What is the neurotic need for personal admiration?

Individuals are narcissistic and have an exaggerated self-perception.

What is the neurotic need for personal achievement?

People push themselves to achieve greater and greater things as a result of basic insecurity.

What is the neurotic need for self-sufficiency and independence?

Individuals exhibit a loner mentality, distancing themselves from others in order to avoid being tied down or dependent upon other people.

What is the neurotic need for perfection and unassailability?

By striving relentlessly for perfection, neurotics receive proof of their self-esteem and personal superiority.

What are the three neurotic trends?

Moving toward people (compliant), moving against people (aggressive), moving away from people (detached).

What does moving toward people (the compliant type) mean?

It refers to a neurotic need to protect oneself against feelings of helplessness; they desperately seek a powerful partner who will take responsibility for their lives.

What does moving against people (the aggressive type) mean?

These people move against others by appearing tough or ruthless. They are motivated by a strong need to exploit others and to use them for their own benefit.

What does moving away from people (the detached type) mean?

This strategy is an expression of needs for privacy, independence and self-sufficiency; they build a world of their own, valuing freedom and self-sufficiency.

What is an idealized self-image?

An extravagantly positive view of themselves that exists only in their personal belief system.

What are the three aspects of the idealized image?

Need for perfection, neurotic ambition, and drive toward a vindictive triumph.

What are neurotic claims?

Believing that something is wrong with the outside world, they proclaim that they are special and therefore entitled to be treated in accordance with their idealized view of themselves.

What is neurotic pride?

Neurotics imagine themselves to be glorious, wonderful and perfect, so when others fail to treat them with special consideration, their neurotic pride is hurt.

What are the six major ways in which people express self-hatred?

Relentless demands on the self, merciless self-accusation, self-contempt, self-frustration, self-torment, and self-destructive actions and impulses.

What did Horney insist regarding feminine psychology?

That basic anxiety is at the core of men’s need to subjugate women and women’s wish to humiliate men.

What is the goal of psychotherapy according to Horney?

Help patients gradually grow in the direction of self-realization.