Module 4 1B Flashcards
Women’s Voices in Psychodynamic Theory: Karen Horney
- Karen Horney: Challenged Freud’s views on women, patriarchy, and sexuality.
- Rejection by Freud: Considered herself Freudian, but Freud rejected her ideas.
- Maternal Support: Emphasized early maternal care over Freud’s sexual focus.
- Language: Accessible, familiar, and connected to modern therapy.
- CBT Link: Focus on self-talk and its impact, similar to CBT.
- Distinct Psychoanalysis: Shares similarities with other theories but unique in approach.
Focused on social influences, not instincts.
Emphasized childhood experiences in shaping personality.
Optimistic view: personality shaped by culture, not biology.
Feminine Psychology: first quote
“Horney saw both common ground and difference between men and women, shared by many.”
* Social Aspect: second quote
“She emphasized how society shapes us, inside and out.”
* Competition & Social Norms:
“We compete for belonging, molded by societal norms.”
* Danger in the World:
“The world feels perilous, fueling our need for safety.”
* Safety:
“Like Erikson, Horney stressed safety as the foundation of trust and growth.”
Optimistic, the natural good for people is self-realization, but childhood experiences can block that movement
Feminine Psychology
Gender differences: Cultural, not anatomical.
Oedipus/Penis Envy: Rejected as biological.
Masculine Protest: Women desire masculine traits, not anatomy.
Karen Horney: Key Points
Born in 1885, Hamburg, Germany:
Father was devoutly religious; mother was much younger and not accepted by his first children.
Youngest sibling, felt favored siblings were preferred.
Education & Career:
Entered Freiberg medical school at 21, despite father’s objections.
One of the first women in Germany to study medicine.
Married Oskar Horney, had three children, and earned her medical degree in 1913.
Psychoanalysis:
Trained at the Berlin Psychoanalytic Institute.
Became a practicing analyst and later moved to the U.S. after a divorce.
Institutes:
Directed Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis and later founded her own institute due to differences with Freud.
- Personal Conflict:
“Horney’s life was marked by conflict, with her mother’s rejection and her father’s disapproval.” - Siblings & Treatment:
“She felt unequal to her siblings, shaping her views on relationships.” - Divorce Impact:
“Her parents’ divorce affected her ability to live independently.” - Chicago & Writing:
“In Chicago, she saw U.S. struggles as different from Europe’s, inspiring her own psychoanalytic approach.”
Healthy Development:
People are born with the potential for growth, needing favorable conditions to thrive, such as:
Warm, loving environment
Balanced, not overly permissive environment.
Basic Hostility:
Repressed rage when parents fail to meet needs for safety and satisfaction.
Basic Anxiety:
Feeling alone and isolated, disconnected from the world. Caused by unmet childhood needs for affection.
Connection Between Hostility & Anxiety:
Basic anxiety and hostility are intertwined, with the pathway moving both ways.
Defense Mechanisms Against Anxiety:
Affection: Seeking love through compliance.
Submissiveness: Seeking affection via submission.
Power/Prestige/Possession: Defense against hostility or poverty.
Withdrawal: Detachment to avoid hurt.
Compulsion: Neurotics rely on these defenses excessively.
- Childhood Impact:
“Horney linked behaviors to childhood, seeing potential for growth despite conflict.” - Favorable Conditions:
“Safety and satisfaction in life are essential for growth, like MK and Adler.” - Basic Hostility:
“Unmet needs lead to hostility in interactions.” - Repressed Experiences:
“Unmet needs, not sexuality, cause repressed early experiences.” - Anxiety & Rage:
“Anxiety comes from feeling unsafe; rage from neglect.”
Defense Mechanisms:
“Submissive and withdrawal behaviors evolved into ‘neurotic needs.’”
See slide
Cultural Impact:
Horney focused on social and cultural influences over genetics in personality development.
Western Society:
Competition leads to hostility and isolation, fueling neurotic needs.
Contradictory Values:
Society values kinship and humility, but rewards aggression and superiority.
Endless success demands cause constant goal-chasing.
Freedom vs. Restrictions:
Society promotes freedom, but actual freedom is limited by genetics, social position, and competition, leading to psychological conflicts.
- Working in the USA:
“Horney worked with clients in the U.S., believing culture played a major role in shaping us.” - Culture vs. Genetics:
“While not ignoring genetics, Horney emphasized culture and society over biological or evolutionary factors.” - Internal Anguish:
“Hyper-competitiveness can breed hostility and anxiety, leading to isolation and unresolved childhood hostility in adulthood.” - Neurotic Needs:
“We develop neurotic needs to defend ourselves, creating a challenging, cyclical pattern—similar to CBT’s vicious cycle.” - Cultural Pressures:
“Social pressures (e.g., money, success) drive us to focus on neurotic needs, despite diminishing returns.” - Barriers & Basic Anxiety:
“Cultural factors like gender or ethnicity can create barriers, leading to anxiety and hostility when we feel unsuccessful.”
Childhood Trauma:
Horney believed childhood traumas, especially a lack of warmth and affection, were key to psychological conflicts.
Neurotic Needs:
A lack of love leads to the development of neurotic needs, which become the child’s way of feeling safe.
Personality Formation:
Not just single traumas, but the totality of childhood experiences shapes personality.
Rigid behavior patterns form as people interpret new experiences through the lens of their established patterns.
- Neuroses:
“Psychological challenges stem from early experiences, setting the stage for how we face future challenges.”- Lack of Affection:
“Without genuine warmth, we live defensively, focusing on neurotic needs.” - Defensive Mechanisms:
“Patients use defensive mechanisms to feel safe, interpreting new experiences through rigid, defensive patterns.”
- Lack of Affection:
See slide
3 Modes of Relating:
Moving Toward People:
Aimed at protecting against helplessness by seeking closeness and approval from others.
Moving Against People:
Aimed at protecting against hostility by adopting an aggressive or domineering strategy.
Moving Away from People:
Aimed at protecting against isolation by adopting a detached, distant attitude.
See diagram
Horney’s Approach to Psychotherapy
Goal:
Help patients move toward self-realization by understanding the gap between their idealized self-image and their real self.
Focus:
Address how feelings of self-hatred, basic anxiety, and hostility from childhood shape current neurotic needs and trends.
Techniques:
Uses techniques like dream analysis and free association to uncover insights about the ideal vs. real self.
Similar to Freudian or other psychodynamic therapies, but with a unique focus on these dynamics.
- Therapist Approach:
“Horney’s views were similar to Carl Jung and Adler.” - Talk Therapy:
“She used Freudian techniques like dream analysis (focused on idealized self-images) and free association (to bypass defenses and uncover these self-images).” - Self-Hatred:
“The gap between our idealized self and reality leads to self-hatred, fueling basic anxiety.”
Idealized Self-Image:
A defense mechanism to cope with feelings of inadequacy.
Creates a gap between the real self and an unrealistic, glorified self-image.
The idealized self leads to self-loathing because it’s impossible to meet those expectations.
Self-destruction occurs in the pursuit of an unattainable ideal.
Horney & Feminine Psychology:
Womb Envy:
Men envy women’s ability to give birth, leading to feelings of inferiority.
Horney argued men’s tendency to see women as inferior stems from this “womb envy.”
Oedipal Conflict:
Horney initially agreed with Freud but thought men and women experience envy (not just one-sided).
Rejected the idea of a universal Oedipal conflict; linked it to neurotic needs for love.
Rejection of Penis Envy:
Disagreed with Freud’s concept of penis envy.
Argued if penis envy were universal, boys should have “womb envy.”
Masculine Traits & Social
Forces:
The desire to be a man often reflects a wish for culturally valued qualities (strength, independence, etc.).
Emphasized social influences over biological ones in shaping personality.
Masculine Protest (Adler):
Women may show “masculine protest” to gain traits that society associates with masculinity (e.g., success, sexual freedom).
Horney’s Theory & Gender Similarities:
Hyde (2005) Meta-Analysis:
Tested the gender similarities hypothesis.
Found that males and females are more alike than different, with small or non-existent gender differences in many areas.
Research on Neuroticism:
Robinson et al. (2007):
Investigated benefits of neuroticism.
Suggests neurotic sensitivity to threat can help identify and avoid problems, leading to better outcomes.
“Successful” neurotics adapt by slowing down and thinking carefully in response to threats.
Turiano et al. (2013):
Found that high neuroticism + conscientiousness linked to lower inflammation.
Neurotic Needs (10 categories):
Affection/Approval – Seek to please others, fear self-assertion.
Powerful Partner – Attach to powerful people, fear being alone.
Narrow Life – Limit their demands, play second fiddle.
Power – Desire to control others, avoid feelings of weakness.
Exploit Others – See others as tools for their benefit, fear exploitation.
Social Recognition – Strive for attention, importance, and prestige.
Admiration – Need to be admired for who they are, not what they possess.
Ambition/Achievement – Compete to be the best and confirm superiority.
Self-sufficiency/Independence – Avoid relying on others, value autonomy.
Perfection – Strive for flawlessness to protect self-esteem, fear mistakes.
Neurotic Search for Glory:
Perfection: Constant striving for an unattainable ideal (“tyranny of the should”).
Neurotic Ambition: Over-the-top drive to be superior in everything (e.g., academic, career).
Vindictive Triumph: Desire to defeat others and feel superior, often through humiliation.
Neurotic Claims & Pride:
Neurotic Claims: Unrealistic belief that one deserves special treatment.
Neurotic Pride: Inflated self-importance, demanding validation to support the idealized self.
Therapy
Neurotic Trends: Toward, against, or away from others.
Goal: Self-realization, abandon idealized self.
Techniques: Dream interpretation, free association.
Research
HCTI: Measures neurotic trends, links to disorders.
Aggression: Inauthenticity leads to more aggression.
Horney’s View: Neurotic traits can protect but cause conflict if extreme.
Benefits:
Threat detection: Neurotics spot problems and feel better by avoiding them.
Adaptability: Reacting carefully to errors reduces stress.
Healthy Neuroticism: Neurotic vigilance + conscientiousness = better health behaviors.
Studies: High neuroticism + conscientiousness linked to lower inflammation and better health.
Critique of Horney:
Limited Focus: Focuses too much on neuroticism, lacks healthy personality models.
Inconsistent: Terms used inconsistently across her work.
Concept of Humanity:
Free Will vs. Determinism: Neurotics are compulsive, but people can change.
Social Factors: Gender differences shaped by culture, not biology.
