HORNEY 1.0

psychoanalytic social theory

-was built on the assumption that social and cultural conditions, especially childhood experiences, are largely responsible for shaping personality

-Karen Horney

Basic hostility and basic anxiety

People who do not have their needs for love and affection satisfied during childhood develop______ toward their parents and, as a consequence, suffer from_______

intrapsychic conflict

may take the form of either an idealized self-image or selfhatred

neurotic conflict

can stem from almost any developmental stage, but childhood is the age from which the vast majority of problems arise

basic hostility

If parents do not satisfy the child’s needs for safety and satisfaction, the child develops feelings of______ toward the parents

basic anxiety

a feeling of being isolated and helpless in a world conceived as potentially hostile

affection

a strategy that does not always lead to authentic love

submissiveness

second protective device

Power

is a defense against the real or imagined hostility of others and takes the form of a tendency to dominate others

prestige

is a protection against humiliation and is expressed as a tendency to humiliate others

possession

acts as a buffer against destitution and poverty and manifests itself as a tendency to deprive others

withdrawal

The fourth protective mechanism

neurotic needs

Original 10 defenses against basic anxiety

The neurotic need for affection and approval

-neurotics attempt indiscriminately to please others

-They try to live up to the expectations of others, tend to dread self-assertion, and are quite uncomfortable with the hostility of others as well as the hostile feelings within themselves

The neurotic need for a powerful partner

-Lacking self-confidence, neurotics try to attach themselves to a powerful partner

-This need includes an overvaluation of love and a dread of being alone or deserted

The neurotic need to restrict one’s life within narrow borders

-Neurotics frequently strive to remain inconspicuous, to take second place, and to be content with very little

-They downgrade their own abilities and dread making demands on others

The neurotic need for power

usually combined with the needs for prestige and possession and manifests itself as the need to control others and to avoid feelings of weakness or stupidity

The neurotic need to exploit others

Neurotics frequently evaluate others on the basis of how they can be used or exploited, but at the same time, they fear being exploited by others

The neurotic need for social recognition or prestige

Some people combat basic anxiety by trying to be first, to be important, or to attract attention to themselves

The neurotic need for personal admiration

Neurotics have a need to be admired for what they are rather than for what they possess

The neurotic need for ambition and personal achievement

Neurotics often have a strong drive to be the best—the best salesperson, the best bowler, the best lover

The neurotic need for self-sufficiency and independence

Many neurotics have a strong need to move away from people, thereby proving that they can get along without others

The neurotic need for perfection and unassailability

-By striving relentlessly for perfection, neurotics receive “proof” of their selfesteem and personal superiority

-They dread making mistakes and having personal flaws, and they desperately attempt to hide their weaknesses from others

neurotic trends

Horney’s term for the three basic attitudes toward self and others—moving toward people, moving against people, and moving away from people

basic conflict

used because very young children are driven in all three directions—toward, against, and away from people

moving toward people

-does not mean moving toward them in the spirit of genuine love

-Rather, it refers to a neurotic need to protect oneself against feelings of helplessness

morbid dependency

a concept that anticipated the term “codependency”

moving against people

One of Horney’s neurotic trends in which neurotics protect themselves against the hostility of others by adopting an aggressive strategy

moving away from people

One of Horney’s neurotic trends in which

neurotics protect themselves against feelings of isolation by adopting a

detached attitude

idealized self-image

is an attempt to solve conflicts by painting a godlike picture of oneself

Self-hatred

is an interrelated yet equally irrational and powerful tendency to despise one’s real self

neurotic search for glory

Horney’s concept for the comprehensive drive toward actualizing the ideal self

need for perfection

refers to the drive to mold the whole personality into the idealized self

tyranny of the should

-They try to achieve perfection by erecting a complex set of “shoulds” and “should nots”

-Horney (1950) referred to this drive as the

neurotic ambition

the compulsive drive toward superiority