Horney’s view of the person
- her theory was developed largely in an attempt to understand the neurotic personality, seeing as she worked with neurotic individuals
- assumption: people have an inherent drive and capacity to grow and realise their potential to the fullest
- people’s inherent drives are constructive, not destructive (Freud)
- optimistic view of humanity
- people are able to change and shape their personalities
- rejects determinism
- self-knowledge fosters growth and development
- the difference between normal and neurotic people is simply a matter of degree
Horney’s structure of the personality
Idealised self:
- the product of a feeling of inferiority
- feelings of inferiority causes anxiety
- in attempt to deal with anxiety, it unconsciously creates an idealised self that possesses unlimited potential
The actual self:
- represents people as they consciously act in daily life
- is often rejected because it doesn’t meet the demands of the ideal self
The real self:
- only emerges once the person has relinquished all the techniques developed for dealing with anxiety and resolving conflict
- a force that urges the individual in the direction of growth and self-fulfilment
- the personal center of ourselves
Horney’s dynamics of the personality
- the personality inherently strives toward constructive growth thanks to the the growth principle (replaces Freud’s id)
- all the energy is naturally channelled in such a way to ensure that the individual develops in accordance to their potential, unless its blocked by some anti-natural influence (parents and society)
- a person’s development can be facilitated or inhibited by their environment
2 crucial needs (both psychological and physiological)
- need for security
- need for satisfaction
- these two needs later link with ways of reacting or relating to others, constituting an interpersonal style
Child development:
- initially the child is dependent on their parents to fulfil these needs
One of two routes:
- parents genuinely care for their child, which creates an atmosphere for growth
- parent irresponsibility prevent the fulfilment of needs, and the child develops ‘basic hostility’ or ‘basic anxiety’ as the forerunners of neurosis
- basic hostility and basic anxiety are both repressed and unconscious
Horney’s dynamics of the personality: Basic hostility
- conflictual experience
- child is dependent on their environment to fulfil their basic needs
- but the environment is hostile, lacking warmth and love
- child develops a basic hostility in response to the perceived hostility of the environment
Horney’s dynamics of the personality: Basic anxiety
- the child feels helpless, unable to cope with their environment
- feeling lonely and helpless in a hostile world
Horney’s dynamics of the personality: Interpersonal styles
Movement towards others
- healthy development
- move towards people in a cooperative way
- when excessive and fixated, they seek affection and permanent support from those people
- usually found in individuals who have been brought up in another person’s shadpw
- submissive and compliant in nature
- hate criticism and rejection, and will do anything to win a person’s favour
Movement against others
- assertiveness and ability to differ from other people
- excessive and fixated form: do not accept their separateness and believe hostility should be met with hostility
- mistrust other’s intentions
- obsessed with power and achievement
- hostile and aggressive
- three expansionist styles:
1. The narcissistic type
2. The perfectionist type
3. Arrogant/vengeful type
Movement away from others
- avoid being dependent on others, but don’t wish to be hostile
- they disengage when the demand of their environment becomes too much
- describes as attached an aloof
- secretive about their personal lives
- prefer to be alone
- suppress feelings towards others, avoid relationships and enjoy solitude
- will fight for beliefs and to maintain their integrity
Horney’s Development of the personality
- agreed with Freud that childhood experiences shape a person’s personality
- rejected the psychosexual foundation of development, especially the Oedipus complex
- accepts the existence of conflict between a child and their parents, but believes its not sexual in origin or nature, but rather due to basic hostility or anxiety
- retaliated against Freud’s concept of penis envy by postulating the concept of womb envy she observed in many of her male patients
- men feel envy towards women because they cannot bear children
- womb envy is revealed in men’s absorption in the advancement of their careers, as well as in their efforts to ‘keep women in their place’
Horney’s view on Psychopathology
Neurotic syndrome:
- the individual suppresses any unacceptable features about themselves, which leads to the development of the ideal self
- their ideal self replaces their actual self, which causes a vicious cycle from which the individual cannot escape
- ideal self sets unrealistic standards that the individual cannot maintain, but they pretend they do for the sake of public image
- this discrepancy between the ideal self and the actual self causes basic hostility and anxiety
- Tyranny of should: a compulsive need that relentlessly drives neurotics to an idealised image of perfection
- they become estranged from others if they get fixated on an interpersonal style
- Move away from others: Psychotic
- They become estranged from their actual selves, but can become reacquainted through psychotherapy
Horney’s theory of Hypercompetativeness or neurotic competitiveness
- an indiscriminate need to compete and win at all costs as a means to improve one’s self-esteem
- they have low self-esteem, and they try to compensate by striving for superiority, at the expense of others
- hypercompetitive people are narcissistic (Hypercompetitive Attitude scale), sensation seeking, inflated self-esteem and an unrealistic conception of self-worth
- display characteristics of the moving against other people interpersonal style
Horney’s view on Optimal development
- the ideal self represents a goal they want to attain
- only a moderate difference between the ideal and the actual self
- they are not trapped in a vicious cycle or controlled by the tyranny of shoulds
- they are not alienated from their actual selves and do not need to defend themselves when in interactions with others, or develop a fixation on a certain interpersonal style
