CHAPTER 6

HORNEY: PSYCHOANALYTIC SOCIAL THEORY

Overview of Psychoanalytic Social Theory

Psychoanalytic Social Theory – was built on the assumption that social and cultural conditions,
especially childhood experiences, are largely responsible for shaping personality.

People who do not have their needs for love and affection satisfied during childhood develop basic
hostility toward their parents and, as a consequence, suffer from basic anxiety.

Basic Hostility – is an aggression which a child develops as a result of “basic evil”

Basic Evil – invariably the lack of genuine warmth and affection
Basic anxiety – a feeling of being helpless; abandoned, and endangered in a hostile world
- According to Horney, it arises from the infant’s helplessness and dependence on his or
her parents or from parental indifference.

Three fundamental styles of relating to others:

1. Moving toward people
2. Moving against people
3. Moving away from people

The idealized self-image is expressed:

1. Neurotic search for glory
2. Neurotic claims
3. Neurotic pride

Although Horney’s writings are concerned mostly with the neurotic personality, many of her ideas can
also be applied to normal individuals. This chapter looks at Horney’s basic theory of neurosis, compares
her ideas to those of Freud, examines her views on feminine psychology, and briefly discusses her ideas
on psychotherapy.

Bernard Paris (1994) wrote that “Horney’s insights were derived from her efforts to relieve her own pain,
as well as that of her patients. If her suffering had been less intense, her insights would have been less
profound”
Biography of Karen Horney

The biography of Karen Horney has several parallels with the life of Melanie Klein

Karen Danielsen Horney (Horn-eye)

- was born in Eilbek, a small town near Hamburg, Germany on September 15, 1885

- She was the only daughter of a sea captain and his 18-year-younger wife. Karen's only
sibling was a 4-year-old boy. The old sea captain was married and had four other
children before Horney was born.

- Karen felt great hostility toward her stern, devoutly religious father and regarded him as a
religious hypocrite.

- Karen was not a happy child. She resented the favored treatment given to her older
brother, and in addition, she worried about the bitterness and discord between her
parents.

- When Horney was 13, no German university admitted women as medical students. By
16, this changed. Horney entered the gymnasium, which led to a university and then
medical school, against her father's wishes. Karen, now on her own, would remain
independent for life.

- Horney's independence was superficial. Deep down, she craved merging with a great
man. This morbid dependency, which included idealization and fear of angry rejection,
haunted Horney in her relationships with men. (Horney's relationships with men were
ruined by her unhealthy dependence on men, which included idealizing them and being
afraid of their anger when they turned her down)

- In 1906, she entered the University of Freiburg, becoming one of the first women in
Germany to study medicine.

There she met Oskar Horney, Their relationship began as a friendship, but it eventually became a
romantic one.

- Oskar Horney – Their relationship began as a friendship, but it eventually became a

romantic one. They eventually got married in 1909, where they settled in Berlin.

- Karl Abraham – Karen began analysis with him and a man who later analyzed Melanie
Klein

By this time, Freudian psychoanalysis was becoming well established, and Karen Horney became
familiar with Freud’s writings

- By 1917, she had written her first paper on psychoanalysis, “The Technique of
Psychoanalytic Therapy” which reflected the orthodox Freudian view and gave little
indication of Horney’s subsequent independent thinking.
 - She received her MD degree in 1915 after 5 years of psychoanalysis; and, in her quest
for the right man, she had several love affairs

- In 1926, Karen and Oskar separated but did not officially divorce until 1938

The early years following her separation from Oskar were the most productive of Horney’s life

- Her papers now showed important differences with Freudian theory. She believed that
culture, not anatomy, was responsible for psychic differences between men and women.
When Freud reacted negatively to Horney’s position, she became even more outspoken
in her opposition.

- In 1932, Horney left Germany for a position as associate director of the newly established
Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute.

- Horney was a member of the New York Psychoanalytic Institute, she seldom agreed with
the established members.

- Her book New Ways in Psychology, Horney called for abandoning the instinct theory
and placing more emphasis on ego and social influences.

- the Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis (AAP), wherein it also

quickly suffered internal strife

- Despite this rift, the association continued, but under a new name—the Karen Horney
Psychoanalytic Institute. In 1952, Horney established the Karen Horney Clinic.

- In 1950, Horney published her most important work, Neurosis and Human Growth. This
book sets forth theories that were no longer merely a reaction to Freud but rather were an
expression of her own creative and independent thinking

- Horney died of cancer on December 4, 1952. She was 65 years old.

Introduction to Psychoanalytic Social Theory

 She constructed a revisionist theory that reflected her own personal experiences—clinical and
otherwise.

 Horney wrote mostly about neuroses and neurotic personalities, but her works suggest healthy
development.

 Early childhood experiences, especially culture, shape neurotic or healthy personalities.

 Horney agreed with Freud that early childhood traumas are important, but she insisted that social
forces are more important in personality development.

 Horney and Freud Compared

 - Horney criticized Freud’s theories on several accounts:

a. First - she cautioned that strict adherence to orthodox psychoanalysis would

lead to stagnation in both theoretical thought and therapeutic practice

b. Second - Horney objected to Freud’s ideas on feminine psychology

c. Third - she stressed the view that psychoanalysis should move beyond instinct

theory and emphasize the importance of cultural influences in shaping

personality. “Man is ruled not by the pleasure principle alone but by two

guiding principles: safety and satisfaction”

- She claimed that neuroses are not the result of instincts but rather of the persons
“attempt to find paths through a wilderness full of unknown dangers” This
wilderness is created by society and not by instincts or anatomy

- Freud’s explanation resulted in pessimistic concept of humanity while hers is an

optimistic one

 The Impact of Culture

- emphasized cultural influences as the primary bases for both neurotic and normal
personality development
- “Everyone is a real or potential competitor of everyone else”
- Competitiveness and hostility lead to feelings of isolation. These feelings of being alone
in a potentially hostile world lead to intensified needs for affection, which causes people

to overvalue love.

- Western society contributes to this vicious circle in several aspects:

a. First – People in this society are taught to be kind to their family and humble. But
these teachings go against another common way of thinking, which is
aggressiveness and the drive to win or be better.
b. Second - society’s demands for success and achievement are nearly endless,
so that even when people achieve their material ambitions, additional goals are
continually being placed before them
c. Third - Western society tells people that they are free, that they can accomplish
anything through hard work and perseverance. In reality, however, the freedom
of most people is greatly restricted by genetics, social position, and the
competitiveness of others.
 - All of these contradictions are caused by cultural factors and not by biological ones. They
cause inner conflicts that threaten the mental health of normal people and are almost
impossible to overcome for neurotics.

The Importance of Childhood Experiences

- Horney believed that neurotic conflict can stem from almost any developmental stage, but
childhood is the age from which the vast majority of problems arise
- Horney insisted that these painful events are almost always caused by a lack of real
affection and warmth.
- Horney (1939) said a traumatic childhood causes neurotic needs. These needs are
powerful since they're the child's only source of safety.
- Even though later experiences can have a big impact, especially on normal people, most
of a person's personality comes from what they did as a child. People who stick to the
same patterns of behavior do so because they see new events in a way that fits with the
patterns they already have.
Basic Hostility and Basic Anxiety

Everyone has the potential to grow and develop in a healthy way, but that, like other living things, people
need good environment to grow. These conditions must include a warm, loving, but not too permissive
environment. And in doing so,
- feelings of safety and satisfaction will permit them to grow in accordance with their real
self.
- If parents doesn’t satisfy the child’s needs, the child develops feelings of basic hostility
- However, they seldom express this hostility as rage; instead they repress their hostility
towards their parents and have no awareness of it
- Repressed hostility then leads to profound feelings of insecurity called basic anxiety

Basic Hostility – is an aggression which a child develops as a result of “basic evil”

Basic Evil – invariably the lack of genuine warmth and affection
Basic anxiety – a feeling of being helpless; abandoned, and endangered in a hostile world

- Horney contended that “it does not matter whether anxiety or hostility has been the
primary factor” (p. 74). The important point is that their reciprocal influence may intensify
a neurosis without a person’s experiencing any additional outside conflict .
- So in general ang belief sa neurotic person sa ubang tawo is kalaban niya

- Four general ways that people protect themselves against feeling of being alone in
a potentially hostile world:
a. Affection - some people may try to purchase love with self-effacing compliance,
material goods, or sexual favors
They will need some more affection. They can’t survive without the affection of
others even if there is a toxic relationship. They need that affection even if nay
kapalit
b. Submissiveness – neurotics who submit to another person often do so in order
to gain affection
Helpless so they need to follow. Or be dominated by another person
c. Power, prestige and possession - is a defense against the real or imagined
hostility of others and takes the form of a tendency to dominate others

d. Withdrawal - by developing an independence from others or by becoming

emotionally detached from them. By psychologically withdrawing, neurotics feel
that they cannot be hurt by other people
Compulsive Drives

- Neurotics do not enjoy misery and suffering. They cannot change their behavior by free
will but must continually and compulsively protect themselves against basic anxiety
- Neurotics frequently are trapped in a vicious circle in which their compulsive need to
reduce basic anxiety leads to a variety of self-defeating behaviors; these behaviors
then produce more basic anxiety, and the circle continues
- Neurotic individuals have the same problems that affect normal people, except neurotics
experience them to a greater degree

 Neurotic Needs
- For each item except number 8, a “True” response parallels one of Horney’s neurotic
needs. For number 8, a “False” answer is consistent with the neurotic need for self-
centeredness

 10 Categories of Neurotic needs

1. The neurotic need for affection and approval
2. The neurotic need for a powerful partner
3. The neurotic need to restrict one’s life within narrow borders
4. The neurotic need for power
5. The neurotic need to exploit others
6. The neurotic need for social recognition or prestige
7. The neurotic need for personal admiration
8. The neurotic need for ambition and personal achievement
9. The neurotic need for self-sufficiency and independence
10. The neurotic need for perfection and unassailability

 True or False
1. T F It’s very important to me to please other people.
2. T F When I feel distressed, I seek out an emotionally strong person to tell my troubles to. 3.
T F I prefer routine more than change.
4. T F I enjoy being in a powerful leadership position.
5. T F I believe in and follow the advice: “Do unto others before they can do unto me.”
6. T F I enjoy being the life of the party.
7. T F It’s very important to me to be recognized for my accomplishments.
 8. T F I enjoy seeing the achievements of my friends.
9. T F I usually end relationships when they begin to get too close.
10. T F It’s very difficult for me to overlook my own mistakes and personal flaws.

- These are needs nga nabuo because of basic anxiety

 Neurotic Trends

- New version of horney, her first version was affection, submissiveness, power,

withdrawal then she expanded it into ten needs tas contract it to three groups

- As her theory evolved, Horney begin to see that the list off 10 neurotic needs could be

grouped into three general categories, each relating to a person’s basic attitude toward

self and others

1. Moving toward people

- In their attempt to protect themselves against feelings of helplessness, compliant people

employ either or both of the first two neurotic needs; that is, they strive for

- These neurotic needs cause individuals to see affection, acceptance from others or they

seek a powerful partner.

- People with these needs often described as need or clingy as they seek out approval and

love

2. Moving Against People

- These neurotic needs result in hostility and a need to control other people. They seldom

admit their mistakes and need to appear perfect, powerful and superior. These

individuals are often described as difficult, domineering, and unkind

If people are aggressive to me, then I will be aggressive too. They have the strong need

to exploit others.
 3. Moving Away From People

- These neurotic needs create hostility and antisocial behavior. They insist on privacy,

independence, and self-sufficiency. Their greatest need is to need other people. These

individuals are often described as cold, indifferent, and aloof

These need become neurotic when people try to satisfy them by compulsively putting

emotional distance between themselves and other people. Most effective however if

ipadayon sya nga habit then wala nay mabilin nga tawo sa imoha. Sad ☹

People can use each of the neurotic trends to solve basic conflict, Horney used the term basic conflict

because very young children are driven in all three directions—toward, against, and away from people.

Some children move toward people by behaving in a compliant manner as a protection against feelings of

helplessness; other children move against people with acts of aggression in order to circumvent the

hostility of others; and still other children move away from people by adopting a detached manner, thus

alleviating feelings of isolation

Intrapsychic Conflicts

The neurotic trends flow from basic anxiety, which in turn, stems from a child’s relationships with other

people. Intrapsychic processes originate from interpersonal experiences; but as they become part of a

person’s belief system, they develop a life of their own—an existence separate from the interpersonal

conflicts that gave them life.

Now, sa compulsive drives or neurotic trends focus kaayo ka sa outside, to meet the desires sa external

world. And when you’re too focused on the outside, u have the tendency to be disconnected with your

own self. You don’t know kung kinsa jud imong true self, and tendency kay mag karoon kag idealized

self-image

2 intrapsychic conflicts:
Idealized self-image

– is an attempt to solve conflicts by painting a godlike picture of oneself

Horney believed that human beings, if given an environment of discipline and warmth, will develop

feelings of security and self-confidence and a tendency to move toward self-realization. Unfortunately,

early negative influences often impede people’s natural tendency toward self-realization, a situation that

leaves them with feelings of isolation and inferiority. They have a growing sense of alienation of

themselves. Due to this feeling, people need desperately to acquire a stable sense of identity and this

dilemma can only be solved by creating an idealized self-image.

As the idealized self-image becomes solidified, neurotics begin to believe in the reality of that

image. They lose touch with their real self and use the idealized self as the standard for self-evaluation.

Rather than growing toward self-realization, they move toward actualizing their idealized self

 Three aspects of idealized image:

1. The Neurotic search for glory

- As neurotics come to believe in the reality of their idealized self, they begin to

incorporate it into all aspects of their lives—their goals, their self-concept, and their

relations with others.

- Compliant people see themselves as good and saintly

- Aggressive people build an idealized image of themselves as strong, heroic, and

omnipotent

- Detached neurotics paint their self-portraits as wise, self-sufficient, and independent

Three other elements:

 The need for perfection

 - refers to the drive to mold the whole personality into the idealized self

- Tyranny of the should- need for perfection

Neurotics are not content to merely make a few alterations; nothing short of complete perfection is

acceptable. Referred this drive as the Tyranny of the should - They try to achieve perfection by erecting

a complex set of “shoulds” and “should nots.”. Neurotics unconsciously tell themselves: “Forget about the

disgraceful creature you actually are; this is how you should be”

 Neurotic Ambition

- the compulsive drive toward superiority

Neurotics have an exaggerated need to excel in everything, they ordinarily channel their energies into

those activities that are most likely to bring success. For example, while still in school, a girl may direct

her neurotic ambition toward being the best student in school. Later, she may be driven to excel in

business or to raise the very best show dogs.

 The drive toward a vindicative triumph

- the most destructive element of all. The need for a vindictive triumph may be

disguised as a drive for achievement or success

- “it’s chief aim is to put others to shame or defeat them through one’s very success; or

to attain the power . . . to inflict suffering on them—mostly of a humiliating kind ”

- It is not enough to just win, neurotics needs to drive the point and humiliate their

enemy to the ground.

 2. Neurotic Claims

- Neurotics build a fantasy world—a world that is out of sync with the real world.

Believing that something is wrong with the outside world

- they proclaim that they are special and therefore entitled to be treated in accordance

with their idealized view of themselves.

- Delulu momintz

Because these demands are very much in accord with their idealized self-image, they fail to see that their

claims of special privilege are unreasonable. Neurotic claims grow out of normal needs and wishes, but

they are quite different. When normal wishes are not fulfilled, people become understandably frustrated;

but when neurotic claims are not met, neurotics become indignant, bewildered, and unable to

comprehend why others have not granted their claims.

Example: people are waiting in line for tickets for a popular movie. Most people near the end of the line

might wish to be up front, and some of them may even try some ploy to get a better position.

Nevertheless, these people know that they don’t really deserve to cut ahead of others. Neurotic people,

on the other hand, truly believe that they are entitled to be near the front of the line, and they feel no guilt

or remorse in moving ahead of others.

3. Neurotic Pride

- a false pride based not on a realistic view of the true self but on a spurious image of

the idealized self.

- Neurotic pride, on the other hand, is based on an idealized image of self and is

usually loudly proclaimed in order to protect and support a glorified view of one’s self
Neurotics imagine themselves to be glorious, wonderful, and perfect, so when others fail to treat them

with special consideration, their neurotic pride is hurt. To prevent the hurt, they avoid people who refuse

to yield to their neurotic claims, and instead, they try to become associated with socially prominent and

prestigious institutions and acquisitions.

Self-Hatred
People with a neurotic search for glory can never be happy with themselves because when they realize
that their real self does not match the insatiable demands of their idealized self, they will begin to hate
and despise themselves.

- An interrelated yet equally irrational and powerful tendency to despise one’s real self

Horney recognized six major ways in which people express self-hatred:

1. Relentless Demands on the Self
- Demands that don’t stop even when they measure of success. It drives the people to
push toward perfection because they believe they should be perfect
- Tyranny of the should, the need for perfection

Example: some people make demands on themselves that don’t stop even when they achieve measure
of success

2. Merciless self-accusation
- Constantly berate of oneself
- Self-accusation may take a variety of forms—from obviously grandiose expressions

Example: “If people only knew me, they would realize that I’m pretending to be knowledgeable,
competent, and sincere. I’m really a fraud, but no one knows it but me.” /
Taking responsibility for natural disasters, to scrupulously questioning the virtue of their own motivations

3. Self-contempt
 - Might be expressed as belittling, disparaging, doubting, discrediting, and ridiculing
oneself

Example: A young man may say to himself, “You conceited idiot! What makes you think you can get a
date with the best-looking woman in town?” /
“Bugo man ka nganong ga expect paman ka makasulod kas kana nga university?”

4. Self-frustration
- involves postponing or forgoing pleasurable activities in order to achieve reasonable
goals
- stems from self-hatred and is designed to actualize an inflated self-image. Neurotics
are frequently shackled by taboos against enjoyment

Example: “I don’t deserve a new car”, “Dili nako deserve mukaon ug ice cream kay bagsak ko sa chem”,
“dili sako mupalit ani nga phone case kay wa koy pulos this week di nako deserve”

5. Self-torment or self-torture
- Some people attain masochistic satisfaction by anguishing over a decision,
exaggerating the pain of a headache, cutting themselves with a knife, starting a fight
that they are sure to lose, or inviting physical abuse .

Because they hate themselves so much, they will allow another people to torture or torment them

6. Self-destructive actions and impulses

- May be either physical or psychological, conscious or unconscious, acute or chronic,
carried out in action or enacted only in the imagination

Example: Overeating, abusing alcohol and other drugs, working too hard, driving recklessly, and suicide
are common expressions of physical self-destruction. Neurotics may also attack themselves
psychologically, for example, quitting a job just when it begins to be fulfilling, breaking off a healthy
relationship in favor of a neurotic one, or engaging in promiscuous sexual activities