NEO-FREUDIANS: Karen Horney (Lecture Series-4)

1 NEO-FREUDIANS: Karen Horney (Lecture Series-4) B.A. IInd (Honors) (Paper-IVth : Systems in Psychology) By Dr. Masaud Ansari Department of Psychology, A.P.S.M. College, Barauni L. N. M. University, Darbhanga 14TH AUGUST 2020 2 Neo-Freudian’s view Freud’s writings were controversial, but they soon attracted followers, mostly young, ambitious physicians who formed an inner circle around their strong minded leader. These pioneering psychoanalysts, whom we often call neo- Freudians, accepted Freud’s basic ideas: the personality structures of id, ego, and superego; the importance of the unconscious; the shaping of personality in childhood; and the dynamics of anxiety and the defense mechanisms. But they broke off from Freud in two important ways. First, they placed more emphasis on the conscious mind’s role in interpreting experience and in coping with the environment. And second, they doubted that sex and aggression were all - consuming motivations. Instead, they tended to emphasize loftier motives and social interactions. 3 Neo-Freudian Neo-Freudian referring to modifications, extensions, or revisions of Freud’s original psychoanalytic theory, most commonly to those that emphasize social, cultural and interpersonal elements rather than innate biological instincts such as sexuality and aggressio. Major theorists described as neo-Freudian are 1. Alfred Adler (1870-1937) 2. Karen Horney (1885-1952) 3. Erich Fromm (1900-1980) 4. Harry Stack-Sullivan (1892-1943) 5. Erik Homburger Erikson (1902 –1994) 4 Neo-Freudian’s major Disagreements with Freud 1. Socio-cultural factors determine conflicts, not instincts. 2. Infantile sexuality is of little importance compared to socio-cultural factors. Conflicts can be or are predominantly non-sexual. 3. Societal factors cause anxiety, not a defense. 4. Dream have no latent content: could be metaphorical expressions of the patient’s real concern or reflect struggles to achieve self-awareness and responsibility. 5. Oedipal complex has no sexual component, is due to interpersonal/social factors. 6. Techniques of treatment: normally emphasize ‘here and now’, de-emphasis on past, gaining insight etc. 5 Neo-Freudian’s views 1. The social and cultural, rather than biological factors are basic to the understanding of the human nature. 2. The Oedipus complex, the formation of superego and alleged inferiorities are cultural though there may be a biological foundation for oral and anal stage, it can be modified by cultural factors. 3. Emphasis is placed on ‘interpersonal relationship’ in the formation of character and the production of anxiety. 4. It is not the sexual behaviour that determines character but the character determines the sexual behaviour. 6 Contribution of neo-Freudians There are five major contributors of neo-Freudian period of psychology: 1. Alfred Adler 2. Karen Horney 3. Erich Fromm 4. Harry Stack-Sullivan 5. Erik Homburger Erikson Here we will discuss only one i.e. Karen Horney’s contribution while rest of the psychologists will be discussed later… 7 2. Karen Horney’s Life (1885-1952) An early feminist, Karen Horney was trained as a Freudian psychoanalyst in Berlin. She described her work as an extension of Freud’s system rather than an effort to supplant it.1939, p. 9). Horney was born in Hamburg, Germany. Her father was a devout, morose ship’s captain many years older than her mother. Her mother made it clear to Karen that she wished her husband dead; she had married him out of fear of remaining a spinster. Her mother rejected Karen in favor of the first-born brother, whom Karen envied simply for being a boy, and her father belittled her appearance and intelligence. As a result, she felt inferior, worthless, and hostile (Sayers, 1991). “Why is everything beautiful on earth given to me,” she wrote in her diary at age 16, “only not the highest thing, not love! I have a heart so needing love” (Horney, 1980, p. 30). 8 Conti... This lack of parental love fostered what Horney later called “basic anxiety” and provides another instance of the impact of personal experience on a theorist’s views. A biographer wrote, “In all her psychoanalytic writings, Karen Horney was struggling to make sense of herself and to obtain relief from her own difficulties” (Paris, 1994, p. xxii). As an adolescent Horney developed emotional crushes as part of her search for the love and acceptance she lacked at home. She began a newsletter she called a “virginal organ for super- virgins” and took to walking streets known to be frequented by prostitutes. In her diary she wrote, “In my imagination there is no spot on me that has not been kissed by a burning mouth. In my imagination there is no depravity I have not tasted, to the dregs” (Horney, 1980, p. 64). Ignoring the opposition from her father, Horney entered medical school at the University of Berlin and in 1913 received her degree. She married, gave birth to three Daughters and became increasingly depressed. After several affairs, she divorced her husband to continue her restless quest for acceptance the rest of her life. 9 Conti… Sensitive to Adler’s observation that physical unattractiveness caused inferiority feelings, she concluded that by studying medicine and engaging in promiscuous sexual behavior, she was acting more like a man than like a woman. This helped her feel superior, but she never stopped her search for love. From 1914 to 1918, Horney took orthodox psychoanalytic training at the Berlin Psychoanalytic Institute. Later she became a faculty member there and began a private practice. She wrote journal articles about problems of the female personality, outlining her disagreement with certain Freudian concepts. In 1932 she went to the United States as associate director of the Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis. She also taught at the New York Psychoanalytic Institute and continued to see patients. Her growing disaffection with Freudian theory soon led her to break with this group. She founded the American Institute of Psychoanalysis and remained its head until her death. 10 Horney’s contribution to personality theory Karen Horney disputed Freud’s v iew that personality depends on unchanging biological forces. She denied the preeminence of sexual factors, challenged the validity of the Oedipal theory, and discarded the concepts of libido and the three-part structure of personality. However, she did accept unconscious motivation and the existence of emotional, non-rational motives. She focused on: i. Basic anxiety ii. Basic evil iii. Basic hostility iv. Neurotic needs v. The idealized Self-image 11 i. Basic anxiety Basic anxiety is the fundamental concept in Horney’s system. She defined it as “the feeling a child has of being isolated and helpless in a potentially hostile world” (Horney, 1945, p. 41). This definition characterized her own childhood feelings. Basic anxiety results from parental actions such as dominance, lack of protection and love, and erratic behavior. Anything that disrupts a secure relationship between child and parents can produce basic anxiety. Horney shared with Freud a belief that personality develops in the early childhood years, but she insisted that personality continues to change throughout life. Whereas Freud detailed psychosexual stages of development, Horney focused on how the growing child is treated by parents and caregivers. She denied universal developmental phases, such as an oral or anal stage. She suggested that if a child developed tendencies toward an oral or anal personality, these tendencies were a result of parental behaviors. Nothing in a child’s development was universal; everything depended on social, cultural, and environmental factors. 12 ii. Basic evil Basic evil take place as following mal-behavior occur: 1. Domination, 2. Indifference, 3. Erratic behaviour, 4. Lack of respect for the child’s individual needs, 5. Lack of real guidance and reliable warmth, 6. Disparaging attitudes, 7. Too much admiration or the absence of it, 8. Parental disagreements, 9. Too much or too little responsibility, 10. Overprotection, 11. Isolation, 12. Injustice, 13. Discrimination, 14. Unkept promises, and 15. hostile atmosphere. 13 iii. Basic hostility The basic evil experienced by the child naturally provoked resentment, or basic hostility. It produces a dilemma or conflict for the child, because expressing the hostility would risk punishment and would jeopardize his or her receipt of parental love. Children try to deal with hostility by repressing it. Regardless of cause, the repression exacerbates the conflicts, leading to a vicious cycle: the anxiety produces an excessive need for affection. When these needs are not met, the child feels rejected and the anxiety as well as hostility intensify. the insecure and anxious child develops various strategies to cope with its feelings of isolation and helplessness: 1. Hostile 2. Submissive 3. Develop an unrealistic, idealized picture of itself 4. Bribe others into loving it 5. Use threats toforce people tolike it 6. Seek toobtain power over others 7. Highly competitive attitude, winning is far more important than the achievement Any one of these strategies may become a more or less permanent fixture in the personality. 14 iv. Neurotic Needs A particular strategy may assume the character of a drive or need in the personality dynamics. Needs are neurotic because they are irrational solutions to the problem. Horney presented a list of 10 needs that are acquired as a consequence of trying tofind solutions for the problem of disturbed human relationships while all these need are unrealistic. 1. Affection and approval 2. Partner: who will take over one’s life 3. Restrict one’s life within narrow borders 4. Power and prestige 5. Exploit others 6. Personal admiration 7. Ambition for personal achievement 8. Self-sufficiency and independence 9. Perfection, and 10. Unassailability 15 Solutions to neurotic Needs Every individual has these conflicts while the normal person can resolve these conflicts by integrating the three orientations, the neurotic person because of greater basic anxiety utilize irrational and artificial solutions.

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