Major theorist in the history of psychology - Essay Example

Personal Development Horney experienced her parents divorce in 1905 and she was sent to stay with her father. At that time, she was old enough to go into medical school against the advice of her family. At this time, women were not given university education in most universities. She went to University of Freiburg because it was one of the first in Germany to admit women (Boeree, 2006). While in medical school, she met Oscar Horney, which she later married. They had three children and Horney felt the harsh discipline that her husband gave her children was good because they were encouraged to become independent (Langenderfer, 1999).

Horney also lost her mother soon after she started medical school. All of these events caused great stress to her and she went into psychoanalysis. Adding to the stress, Horney's husband's business eventually collapsed and he developed meningitis and became a very disagreeable man. Horney's brother died years later from a pulmonary infection at the age of 40. This event thrust her deeper into depression so deeply in fact that she thought about suicide (Boeree, 2006). Horney eventually moved to the United States (New York) and began friendships with Harry Stack Sullivan and Erich Fromm, two men who would eventually become well known psychologists.

Historical Development Horney became deeply involved with psychology and particularly orthodox Freudianism. She did not see this as a viable theory especially when it came to female psycho-sexual development. She realized that here were many socio-cultural factors that were important to human development and not as sexual as Freudians would have people believe. Eventually, she would have to found her own organization, the Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis, because Freudians refused to accept her theories (Mazzarella, 1999).

Horney's first book, The Neurotic Personality of Our Time, written in 1937, was the first of several books that would explore her ideas of neurosis and how culture affected the individual who had the neurosis. Her next book, Self-Analysis (1942), would focus on her own experiences with depression and her recovery from it. Horney wrote other books, articles and lectures as well as becoming a prominent teacher in the field, until her death in 1952 (Langenderfer, 1999). Major Contributions to Psychology According to Boeree (2006) the major contribution that Horney brought to psychology was her study of neurosis.

At the time, Freudians felt that neurosis could be traced back to sexual need, but Horney brought a different view. She saw neurosis as part of everyday life and as something that people used to cope or control their life. In other words, this was what people did to attempt to live out their life. Horney saw that there were ten specific patterns of needs for neurosis. These ten patterns or neurotic needs are: 1. The need to be liked by other people and for affection and approval. 2. The need for a partner who will take care of the individual and in fact, someone who will take over their life. 3. The need to restrict oneself to live with narrow borders that will cause the individual to live quietly and without notice. 4. The need for power and control over others.

The feelings of omnipotence and to be dominant over those who are weaker. 5. The need to exploit other people and to take advantage of them. Neurotics have