Chapter 6: Karen Horney Flashcards
Born and Death
Born: in the small town of Eibek, near Hamburg, Germany on September 15, 1885
Death: (Cancet) December 4, 1952 at 65 years old.
Family
- Only daughter of Berndt (Wackels) Denielsen, a sea captain.
- Clothilda van Ronzelen Denielsen, wife nearly 18 years younger than Berndt.
- Horney was the youngest child of the second wife
Education
- 1906, University of Freiburg, one of the first women in Germany to study medicine
- 1909, no MD but specialized in Psychiatry
- 1915, received MD degree after 5 years of psychoanalysis
Achievements
- 1917, first paper “The Technique of Psychoanalytic Therapy”
- 1952, establishment of Karen Horney Clinic
- 1950, publication of her most important work, Neurosis and Human Growth.
Marriage and Love life
- 1906, met Oskar Horney in the University of Freiberg
- 1909, couple got married then settled in Berlin
- Has three daughters in 5 years
- Karen and Horney separated but only got divorced in 1938
- renewed acquaintances with Erich Fromm
- Erich Fromm and Karen Horney then became friends to lovers over 10 years
- 1943, Fromm X Horney ends
Career
- 13 yrs old, decided to become a physician
- 1932, left Germany to become an associate director in the Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute
- Moved to Chicago and taught Social Research at the new school
- became a member of the Zodiac group while in New York
- 1941, resigned from the institute and formed a rival org named the Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis (AAP)
- 1943, org change its name to the Karen Horney Psychoanalytic Insitute
Psychoanalytic Social Theory
- made by Karen Horney
- social and cultural conditions, especially childhood experiences, shape the personality
- lack of love and affection creates basic hostility which create basic anxiety
Combating Basic Anxiety/Three Fundamental Styles of Relating to Others
Three Fundamental Styles of Relating to Others
- moving towards people (compliant;attaching to them)
- moving against people (aggressive;rivalry or dominating)
- moving away from people (detached;isolation)
Normal people = switch from all three
Neurotics = compelled to only follow one
Due to the Neurotics’s compulsive behavior, two possible intrapsychic conflicts may form:
Idealized self-image or Self-hatred
Idealized Self-Image:
- Neurotic search for glory
- Neurotic claims
- Neurotic pride
Self-hatred
- expressed as either self-contempt or alienation from self.
- Relentless demands on self
- Merciless self-accusation
- Self-frustration
- Self-torment/torture
- Self-destructive actions and impulses
Impact of Culture
- modern culture is based on competition
- “everyone is a real or potential competitor of everyone else”
- Competitiveness and basic hostility are the spawn of isolation.
- Feelings of isolation intensify the need for affection
Basic Hostility
With the lack of love and security Basic Hostility towards their parents is inevitable and it is repressed.
Basic Anxiety
A feeling of being isolated and helpless in a world full of hostility.
This is not a neurosis as it is natural. However, it can spawn a neurosis.
Managing Basic Anxiety/Protective devices
- Affection (physical or material showing of love)
- Submissiveness (submission to a person, group, or belief)
- Power (dominate), Prestige (humiliate), Possession (deprive)
- Withdrawal (detach)
Compulsive Drives
Normal people = switch from all three fundamental styles of relating to others
Neurotics = compelled to only follow one
Neurotic Needs
Attempts or needs that are formed because of basic anxiety:
1. Need for affection and approval.
2. Need for a powerful partner.
3. Need to restrict one’s life within narrow borders.
4. Need for power.
5. Need to exploit others.
6. Need for social recognition or prestige.
7. Need for personal admiration.
8. Need for ambition and personal achievement.
9. Need for self-sufficiency and independence.
10. Need for perfection and unassailability.
