Karen Horney: Psychoanalytic social theory

Question 1

What are the key areas in which Horney differed from Freud? (3)

Answer 1

-Horney believed male and females are similar and equal whereas Freud believed genders were different and men were superior
-believed primary motive is sociocultural influence whereas Freud said it was biological instinct
-neurosis from sociocultural stressors and Freud said neurosis from unconscious conflict

Question 2

Personality is the primary result of what according to Horney?

Answer 2

-social and cultural factors

Question 3

Which branch of psychology is Horney within?

Answer 3

-psychoanalytics

Question 4

What does neuroses come from? (2)

Answer 4

-deficient love, especially in childhood (social)
-competitive societal systems (cultural)

Question 5

Why is the competitive society according to Horney bad? Does it ever end? (2)

Answer 5

-prevailing values of competition, aggression and success clash with prosocial ideals
-no, we strive for never-ending goals, we are never happy enough

Question 6

Does Horney believe that Western society is sick? Does Horney believe everyone is neurotic? (2)

Answer 6

-yes
-yes, to some degree everyone is

Question 7

Describe the ‘human condition’ or the theory behind how a child develops and gets neurosis. (6)

Answer 7

1. Born with potential for healthy development
2. Healthy development requires love; need of satisfaction and need of safety
3. Unmet needs result in basic hostility which is repressed
4. Repressed basic hostility produces basic anxiety
5. Basic hostility and basic anxiety form a vicious circle
6. Defensive strategies are used to counter basic anxiety

Question 8

How do we feel satisfaction as children?

Answer 8

-through affection, (satisfied emotionally)

Question 9

How do we feel safety as children?

Answer 9

-from discipline (boundaries)

Question 10

What’s a big difference between Freud and Horney’s view of how humans are born?

Answer 10

-Freud says you are born out of control with just an id and Horney says you’re born healthy

Question 11

What is basic anxiety?

Answer 11

-feelings of isolation and helplessness in a hostile world

Question 12

What is the basic evil?

Answer 12

-a lack of genuine warmth and affection, not enough warm love

Question 13

Who is the basic hostility towards and what happens as a result? (2)

Answer 13

-towards our parents
-since we require parents to survive, we repress it

Question 14

What is the “nutritive soil out of which a definite neurosis may develop at any time?

Answer 14

-basic anxiety and basic hostility

Question 15

What are the good defense strategies called and the bad?

Answer 15

-good are called adaptive and the bad are called neurotic

Question 16

Why does everyone use one of these defenses?

Answer 16

-because everyone has basic anxiety

Question 17

What does a normal person experience when they’re out in the normal world? (as compared to neurotic)

Answer 17

-can experience moderate distress, but are mostly aware of their anxiety and are adaptive

Question 18

What does a neurotic person experience when they’re out in the world?

Answer 18

-significant distress, mostly unaware of anxiety and inflexible

Question 19

What are the three basic defences (trends)? (3)

Answer 19

-moving toward people
-moving against people
-moving away from people

Question 20

Describe the diagram which shows the summary of Horney’s theory of personality.

Answer 20

-basic hostility which is at the top results from childhood feelings of rejection or neglect by parents or from a defence against basic anxiety and this goes and is influenced by basic anxiety
-basic anxiety which results from parental threats or from a defence against hostility and this goes to defences against anxiety
-defences against anxiety goes to either normal defences or *neurotic** trend

Question 21

Describe the three version of normal defences (toward, against and away) (3)

Answer 21

Toward: friendly, loving personality
Against: assertive, resilient
Away: autonomous, serene personality

Question 22

Describe the three version of neurotic trends (toward, against and away) (3)

Answer 22

Toward: compliant personality
Against: aggressive and competitive personality
Away: detached personality

Question 23

What did Karen Horney mean by “love in our civilization is so rarely a genuine affection”?

Answer 23

-true love is rare, and relationships are often driven by insecurity or need, leading to mistreatment and betrayal.

Question 24

What does Horney’s idea of the intrapsychic conflicts arise from? What do they become? (2)

Answer 24

-interpersonal conflicts
-beliefs about the self

Question 25

What are the two intrapsychic conflicts? (2)

Answer 25

-idealized self -self hatred

Question 26

Describe the conflict that occurs for the idealized self and what the purpose of is. What eventually happens? (2)

Answer 26

-In response to the **basic anxiety** that arises from not feeling **secure or loved**, people **create an idealized image of themselves** -lose touch with real self

Question 27

What is the real self?

Answer 27

-the true core of one's being

Question 28

What are Horney's neurotic search for glory, neurotic pride, and claims? What do they stem from (4)

Answer 28

**Neurotic search for glory**: Unrealistic pursuit of success **Neurotic pride**: Superficial self-esteem based on validation **Claims**: Demands for recognition from others. -All stem from idealized self

Question 29

Describe the self-hatred intrapsychic conflicts.

Answer 29

-the real self is hated because it falls far short of the idealized self

Question 30

What did Horney say about psychological gender differences?

Answer 30

-critiqued Freud and said lots of women do have inferiority thinking but it is not because of penis envy rather the male-dominated and misogynstic society that women internalize

Question 31

What did Horney say about the oedipus complex?

Answer 31

-she says that it exists but is not universal (unlike Freud) and that normal people don't go through it but rather arises from neurotic needs for affection and aggression.

Question 32

What did Horney say about penis envy? (2)

Answer 32

-says there is penis envy and that it is women want to be able to pee like boys and men do -says women want the power and position that men have

Question 33

What did Horney say about masculinity vs femininity?

Answer 33

-that these concepts are made up, scientific differences exist, but they only will be clear if we forget the differences and study it neutrally.

Question 34

What does Horney say is the structure of personality?

Answer 34

-real self perception

Question 35

What does Horney say causes development? (2)

Answer 35

-early social factors -cultural systems and expectations

Question 36

What does Horney say is the cause of a disorder? (2)

Answer 36

-basic hostility and anxiety from unmet needs -competitive society

Question 37

Determinism vs. Free choice for Horney?

Answer 37

-slightly more free choice than deterministic

Question 38

Pessimistic or optimistic for Horney?

Answer 38

-slightly more optimistic than pessimistic

Question 39

Past or future for Horney?

Answer 39

-both, childhood conflicts are important but the real self is pushing you to a better future

Question 40

Conscious or unconscious for Horney?

Answer 40

-unconscious

Question 41

Does Horney believe more biological or social influences?

Answer 41

-social

Question 42

Consistent or variable in their behaviour according to Horney?

Answer 42

-consistent

Question 43

Does Horney believe people are more similar or unique?

Answer 43

-similar

Question 44

How good of a scientific theory is Horney's? (6)

Answer 44

**Generate research**: little research **Allow falsifiability**: (difficult to test) low **Organize Knowledge**: High for neurotics/low for people who are normal **Guide practical action**: moderately practical **Maintain internal consistency**: high, her terms were precise and consistent in how she used them **Maintain parsimony**: (simplicity) high

Question 45

Why do the intrapsychic conflicts arise according to Horney?

Answer 45

-They emerge as **internal mechanisms** for dealing with **basic anxiety and hostility**