Karen Horney: Psychoanalytic social theory Flashcards
What are the key areas in which Horney differed from Freud? (3)
-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
Personality is the primary result of what according to Horney?
-social and cultural factors
Which branch of psychology is Horney within?
-psychoanalytics
What does neuroses come from? (2)
-deficient love, especially in childhood (social)
-competitive societal systems (cultural)
Why is the competitive society according to Horney bad? Does it ever end? (2)
-prevailing values of competition, aggression and success clash with prosocial ideals
-no, we strive for never-ending goals, we are never happy enough
Does Horney believe that Western society is sick? Does Horney believe everyone is neurotic? (2)
-yes
-yes, to some degree everyone is
Describe the ‘human condition’ or the theory behind how a child develops and gets neurosis. (6)
- Born with potential for healthy development
- Healthy development requires love; need of satisfaction and need of safety
- Unmet needs result in basic hostility which is repressed
- Repressed basic hostility produces basic anxiety
- Basic hostility and basic anxiety form a vicious circle
- Defensive strategies are used to counter basic anxiety
How do we feel satisfaction as children?
-through affection, (satisfied emotionally)
How do we feel safety as children?
-from discipline (boundaries)
What’s a big difference between Freud and Horney’s view of how humans are born?
-Freud says you are born out of control with just an id and Horney says you’re born healthy
What is basic anxiety?
-feelings of isolation and helplessness in a hostile world
What is the basic evil?
-a lack of genuine warmth and affection, not enough warm love
Who is the basic hostility towards and what happens as a result? (2)
-towards our parents
-since we require parents to survive, we repress it
What is the “nutritive soil out of which a definite neurosis may develop at any time?
-basic anxiety and basic hostility
What are the good defense strategies called and the bad?
-good are called adaptive and the bad are called neurotic
Why does everyone use one of these defenses?
-because everyone has basic anxiety
What does a normal person experience when they’re out in the normal world? (as compared to neurotic)
-can experience moderate distress, but are mostly aware of their anxiety and are adaptive
What does a neurotic person experience when they’re out in the world?
-significant distress, mostly unaware of anxiety and inflexible