Karen Horney

Karen Horney was a pioneering figure in psychoanalysis and psychology. Born on September 16, 1885, in Hamburg, Germany, she challenged many of the traditional Freudian views, particularly those regarding sexuality and the psychology of women. Horney was one of the first women to qualify as a psychoanalyst.

Life

Horney’s upbringing was marked by her perceptions of her parents’ favoritism toward her brother and her father’s authoritarian nature, which influenced her later theories on neurosis and personality. She studied medicine at the University of Freiburg, later moving to Berlin and marrying Oskar Horney in 1909. She graduated with an M.D. in 1913.

After experiencing depression in the early 1920s, she became a student of psychoanalysis. Her increasing disagreements with Freudian theory, especially on the concept of penis envy and her belief in the sociocultural factors behind neuroses, led to her departure from the Berlin Psychoanalytic Institute.

She moved to the United States in 1932, where she became the associate director of the Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis. Later, she moved to New York City, founded the American Institute for Psychoanalysis, and became a founding member of the Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis.

Theories

Horney’s theories focused on the social and cultural conditions that influence psychological development. She is known for her theory of neurotic needs, categorizing ten particular needs into three broad coping strategies of moving toward, against, or away from people. These strategies were developed in response to the basic anxiety that arises from interpersonal relationships, especially during childhood.

She also developed the concepts of the Real Self, the Despised Self, and the Ideal Self, which represented different aspects of the self and the ways in which neuroses could distort these self-images. The “Tyranny of the Shoulds” was a term she used to describe the oppressive power of the unattainable goals of the Ideal Self.

Horney proposed that cultural and environmental factors, rather than just instinctual drives, play a significant role in personality development and neuroses. This was a departure from Freud’s more biology-driven theories, making her an important figure in the development of humanistic psychology.

Contributions

Her work was groundbreaking in the field of feminist psychology; she challenged Freud’s theories of female psychology, arguing that any feelings of inferiority in women were not due to penis envy, but rather to the cultural and social injustices that women faced.

Horney’s books, including “The Neurotic Personality of Our Time” (1937), “New Ways in Psychoanalysis” (1939), “Self-Analysis” (1942), and “Neurosis and Human Growth” (1950), outlined her theories and ideas, making significant contributions to the field of psychology. Her theories emphasized the importance of childhood experiences and interpersonal relationships and were a precursor to later theories on the self and personality disorders.

Legacy

Karen Horney passed away on December 4, 1952, in New York City. Her legacy includes not only her challenges to orthodox Freudian theory but also her insightful explorations into self-theory and neurosis, which have influenced psychotherapy and the understanding of human psychological development. Her contributions remain influential in the fields of psychology, psychotherapy, and feminism.

Theory of neurotic needs

Karen Horney proposed a theory of neurosis that is centred around ten neurotic needs. These needs are ways in which people try to cope with anxiety and are separated into three categories:

Moving Toward People (Compliance)
- The need for affection and approval; pleasing others and being liked by them.
- The need for a partner; one whom they can love and who will solve all problems.
- The need for social recognition; prestige and limelight.
- The need for personal admiration; for both inner and outer qualities—to be valued.
Moving Against People (Aggression)
- The need for power; the ability to bend wills and achieve control over others.
- The need to exploit others; to get the better of them. To become manipulative, fostering the belief that people are there simply to be used.
Moving Away from People (Withdrawal)
- The need for personal achievement.
- The need for self-sufficiency and independence.
- The need for perfection.
- The need to restrict life practices to within narrow borders.

Horney believed that these strategies could interact in complex ways. For example, an individual might predominantly move against people, fighting for power and recognition, but under certain circumstances, they might also move toward people, seeking approval or affection to bolster their self-esteem. At other times, the same individual might move away from people, feeling that isolation is the best way to protect themselves from the anxiety of interactions.

In a neurotic context, these needs and strategies can become compulsive and self-defeating. For instance, the neurotic pursuit of a partner for security (moving toward) might lead to relationships that undermine the individual’s independence and self-worth. This could then trigger a shift to aggression (moving against) as a way to reclaim power, or withdrawal (moving away) as a way to escape the perceived threat of dependency.

“In part the actual distortions come in because the neurotic sees others in the light of the needs engendered by the pride system. These needs may be directed toward others or affect his attitudes toward them indirectly. His need for admiration turns them into an admiring audience.[…] His need to be right makes them faulty and fallible. His need for triumph divides them into followers and scheming adversaries. […] His need to minimize himself turns them into giants.” — Karen Horney

Horney’s view was that these needs and strategies can become intertwined in a self-perpetuating cycle of neurosis, where the behaviors intended to manage anxiety only serve to reinforce it. The key to breaking this cycle is self-awareness and the development of a healthy self-concept that allows for flexibility and a more authentic expression of one’s needs.

Three Versions of the Self

Karen Horney’s “Three Versions of the Self” are part of her psychoanalytic social theory, which postulates that individual psychology is shaped by social relationships and cultural conditions, particularly those experienced during childhood. Here’s a summary of each concept:

Real Self: The “Real Self” is the core of a person’s being, containing the potential for growth, self-realization, and health. It encompasses a person’s true interests, talents, and sense of what is genuinely satisfying. It is the authentic self, the inner force that drives an individual towards self-fulfillment and actualization.
Actual Self: The “Actual Self” is the self that is conscious, the person one is at any given time. This self is a reflection of one’s actual behaviors, thoughts, and feelings. It is the self that is engaged with the reality of life, dealing with challenges, and interacting with the world on a day-to-day basis.
Ideal Self: The “Ideal Self” is the self that one wishes to be, often formed in response to the perceived inadequacies of the actual self and as a way to cope with basic anxiety. It represents an amalgamation of one’s ambitions and the standards one aspires to meet. However, when these standards are too strict or unrealistic, the ideal self can become a source of further dissatisfaction and anxiety, because it represents an unattainable goal.

The tension between these three selves can lead to inner conflicts. According to Horney, the healthier the individual, the closer the actual self is to the real self, and the less the ideal self is glorified at the expense of the real self. On the other hand, neuroses develop when people experience a significant discrepancy between the actual and ideal self, and when they lose touch with their real self. The result can be a life filled with anxiety and driven by compulsive behavior aimed at resolving the discord between the idealized image of who they should be and the reality of who they are.

Tyranny of the Shoulds

The “Tyranny of the Shoulds” is a concept that Karen Horney developed to describe an unhealthy focus on what one believes they should be, rather than on what they actually are. It’s a psychological condition where a person is dominated by an endless list of “shoulds,” a set of rigid rules and unattainable standards that dictate how they ought to think, feel, and behave.

In relation to Horney’s “Three Versions of the Self,” the “Tyranny of the Shoulds” is particularly relevant to the dynamics between the Actual Self and the Ideal Self. When individuals are caught in the “Tyranny of the Shoulds,” they are essentially enslaved by their Ideal Self; they strive to live up to an impossible standard, which is often out of sync with their Real Self. This can lead to significant internal conflict, self-criticism, and anxiety because the Ideal Self is, by its nature, a construct that is often impossible to achieve.

Horney believed that the “shoulds” are rooted in the neurotic needs that people develop as a way to deal with basic anxiety. For example, a person may feel they should always be perfect, powerful, or loved. When these “shoulds” become the primary drivers of behavior, they can overshadow the Real Self’s needs and potential, leading to a life that feels unauthentic and unfulfilled. The individual may become overly critical of themselves for failing to meet these “shoulds,” which can perpetuate a cycle of self-dissatisfaction and neurosis.

The path to wellness, in Horney’s view, involves recognizing the tyranny of these “shoulds,” understanding their origin in one’s neurotic needs, and gradually shifting towards living in accordance with the Real Self. This means fostering an environment where the Actual Self can align more closely with the Real Self, allowing for a more authentic, fulfilling life.