Women In Psychology- Karen Horney - Essay Example

Women in Psychology-Karen Horney Background Born on September 16, 1885 near Hamburg Germany to Berndt Wackels Danielson and Clotilde, Karen Danielson grew up in a very strict religious family environment. A ship’s captain by profession, Karen’s father exercised similar principles in running his homestead. His authoritarian personality and inclination towards adhering to strict religious doctrines earned him the nickname "the bible thrower”, from his children. Karen’s mother Clotilde exuded more liberalistic views. She was Berndt’s second wife and the mother of his two children, Berndt and Karen. Besides her biological brother, Karen was the youngest of four other siblings from her father’s previous marriage. In her biography, Karen alludes to having a strained relationship with her father. She claimed that her father openly showed his favoritism towards her brother despite him showering her with gifts purchased during his ship voyages. Feeling deprived of her father’s affection, Karen’s attachment towards her mother grew stronger. As a result, it was only natural for her to move with her mother after her parent’s separation in 1904. In 1906, Karen enrolled in The University of Freiburg to study medicine, a decision supported by her liberal mother and opposed by her traditional, narrow-minded father. From a very tender age (9 years) Karen sought to grow her intellect staying clear of stereotypical attitudes about women’s innate predisposition to focus on their appearance. Her rebelliousness strengthened her resolve to pursue medicine as a profession, which was a male dominated field. It was while in school that she met her husband Oscar Horney whom she married in 1909, and together they had three daughters with the first born Brigitte born in 1910. Just like her father, Oscar was an authoritarian patriarch who ran the household in a strict manner. Karen approved of his parenting style believing it encouraged independence in her daughters as she hailed from a similar background. In 1911 her mother died, which significantly affected Karen arousing her interest in psychoanalysis. In 1920, she became a lecturer in Berlin at the Institute of Psychoanalysis. She faced major setbacks in 1923, which included her brother’s death and Oscar’s tragic meningitis diagnosis shortly after his business collapsed. In 1926, she left Oscar and in 1930 she moved to Brooklyn in US where she met intellectuals such as Harry S. Sullivan and Eric Fromm. In 1937, Karen published her book titled “The Neurotic Personality of our Time”. She led a productive life in the US where she finally died in 1952. Horney’s Psychoanalytic Social Theory The basic premise of Horney’s psychoanalytic theory inferred that cultural and social conditions or factors during childhood influence later personality. Karen concurred with Freud’s observations pertaining to his psychoanalytic model; however, she negated his biased interpretations laced with masculine, chauvinistic nuances. She was critical of Freudian theory’s rigidity towards embracing new ideas, negative outlook on feminine psychology, and overemphasis on the pleasure principle and biological perspective. According to Horney, ignoring culture’s impact on the development of an individual crippled progress geared towards understanding human development (Horney, 1937). She concluded that exaggerated needs for affection resulted from the highly competitive modern culture, which brews feelings of isolation and hostility among people. Finally, childhood experiences played a pivotal role in Horney’s psychoanalytic social theory. She was of the opinion that childhood traumas resulting from lack of genuine affection or love gave rise to neurotic conflict. She inferred that children exposed to environments characterized by unreciprocated, or unrequited affection develop rigid behavioral pattern as they feel threatened. As a result, later in their adult life, they are unable to form intimate relationships with the people they interact with on a daily basis (Horney 1950). In her first publication, “The Neurotic Personality of our Time”, Horney defined the term neurosis as: "Psychic disturbance brought by fears and defenses against these fears, and by attempts to find compromise solutions for conflicting tendencies" (Horney, 1937 p. 28-29) She theorized that neurosis developed due to an individual’s inability to cope with specific psychosocial environmental stressors. Individuals suffering from neurosis concurrently develop basic anxiety that results in either of the following outcomes; moving towards, against or away from people. In normal individuals (people with well-adjusted coping mechanisms), differentiating between what mode to use when relating to others is an easy task. Conversely, neurotics over rely on a single mode despite the situation; for example, a neurotic individual inclined to stay away from others will refrain from forming lasting relationships as they are always doubtful of people’s ulterior motives. In addition, Horney noted that individuals suffering from neurosis developed compulsive behaviors, which in turn generated intra-psychic conflict manifesting itself in the form of self-hatred or an idealized self-image. The characteristics of the latter constitute neurotic pride, claims and search for glory. On the other hand, defining features of self-hatred include alienation from self and self-contempt. She further added that neurosis existed within a cultural context whereby, culture predetermines the magnitude of neurotics’ fears. Fears diminish in cultures containing devices instituted to protect neurotics such as customs or rites. This view differed from Freud’s premise alluding to the importance of the ego in predetermining a neurotic’s concept of self (Horney, 1942). Using the three modes people use to relate to each other, Horney identified ten neurotic needs classifying them under either of the three categories. They include: Moving towards people 1. Need for acceptance and approval- neurotics are dependent on others’ acknowledgment as they feel their continued success hinges on receiving feedback from others. 2. Need for powerful partners- neurotics lack the ability to succeed on their own; therefore, they rely on domineering partners capable of solving their problems and making decisions affecting their lives. Moving against people 3. Need for simplicity- neurotics crave simplicity resulting in over-reliance on rules, or routines to establish boundaries guaranteed to lessen complexity. Therefore, they shy away from unexpected stressful situations and confrontations that require complex reasoning to mitigate. The restrictions they set in their lives allow them to sail through life unnoticeable as they avoid creating disturbances. 4. Need for power- neurotics flourish in environments they can control; therefore, in order to gain control, they establish their dominance over others. Power enables neurotics to influence others in order to advance their personal agenda. 5. Need to exploit others- neurotics establish their dominance over others through manipulation. 6. Need for recognition- neurotics excel in the limelight. They are preoccupied with their appearance and popularity; therefore, they align their personal interest with those of others. 7. Need for personal admiration- neurotics fear being unimportant to others as they work towards them admiring their inner qualities. Moving away from people 8. Need for achievement- neurotics work towards fulfilling their personal goals. Personal accomplishment satiates their personal ambition and earn the respect of those around them. 9. Need for self-sufficiency- neurotics direct their efforts towards achieving independence. They tend to refuse help from others viewing it as a sign of weakness. They prefer having everyone’s attention focused solely on them. 10. Need for perfection- neurotics fear failure or defeat. They have unrealistic expectations whereby, they assume that all plans unfold in a predetermined manner free from external interferences. They feel at ease when they are in charge of every situation. Horney identified three personalities specific to neurotics, which included compliant, aggressive and detached. Individuals with a compliant personality (move towards people) exude feelings of helplessness as they are constantly looking for approval and affection from others. On the contrary, individuals with an aggressive personality constantly fight against hostility from people around them resorting to manipulation and struggling for power and control, which in turn exploits others and ruins relationships. Finally, individuals with a detached personality exude feelings of isolation as they are independent and self-sufficient (Horney, 1937). Advantages and limitations of Horney’s theory Horney helped to dispel the masculine, chauvinistic biases advanced by Freud contributing to feminist psychology. She proved that cultural issues were responsible for basic anxiety. This contravened Freud’s premise that sex (male vs. female) contributed to psychological differences whereby, women were psychologically stunted. Masculine protest was a notion that inferred that women had “penis envy”, which compounded their neurotic desires to become like men (Horney, 1945). In addition, her theory provided a psychotherapeutic approach that proved more feasible compared to the others whereby, the focus of therapy was on changing one or all of the neurotic trends. Horney advocated for therapists to help patients grow towards self-realization (Goodwin, 2008). A major limitation of Horney’s work is that there is minimal research on its application to normal personalities. In addition, Horney also fails to define clearly what self-realization means. Finally, her theory of humanity presents a deterministic view and fails to account for free choice, which is central to human functioning (Goodwin, 2008). Conclusion In conclusion, Horney’s theory aimed at refining Freudian theory by emphasizing on the role of culture and other social influences. She seeks to reinstate the importance of psychosocial factors in predisposing behavior, which negates Freud’s overemphasis on biological factors. Her concept of neurosis mirrors people’s social interactions, which is a pivotal part of human existence. Horney concluded that neurotics border on the extreme end because they set unrealistic expectations for themselves. It is only natural to seek help from others and co-operate with towards the fulfilment of common goals. References Goodwin, C. J. (2008). A History of Modern Psychology. New Jersey: Wiley. Horney, K. (1950). Neurosis and Human Growth: The Struggle toward Self-Realization. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, Inc. Horney, K. (1945). Our Inner Conflicts: A Constructive Theory of Neurosis. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, Inc. Horney, K. (1942). Self-Analysis. New York: W.W Norton and Company, Inc. Horney, K. (1937). The Neurotic Personality of Our Time. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, Inc. . Read More