Duquesne University Duquesne Scholarship Collection Electronic Theses and Dissertations Summer 2011 Karen Horney's Three Character Styles [Neurotic Styles] as Responses to Early Maternal Deprivation and Unmanageable Rage: Three Illustrative Case Studies Diana Cuello Follow this and additional works at: https://dsc.duq.edu/etd Recommended Citation Cuello, D. (2011). Karen Horney's Three Character Styles [Neurotic Styles] as Responses to Early Maternal Deprivation and Unmanageable Rage: Three Illustrative Case Studies (Doctoral dissertation, Duquesne University). Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/446 This Immediate Access is brought to you for free and open access by Duquesne Scholarship Collection. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Duquesne Scholarship Collection. For more information, please contact [email protected]. KAREN HORNEY'S THREE CHARACTER STYLES [NEUROTIC STYLES] AS RESPONSES TO EARLY MATERNAL DEPRIVATION AND UNMANAGEABLE RAGE: THREE ILLUSTRATIVE CASE STUDIES A Dissertation Submitted to the McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts Duquesne University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Diana Cuello August 2011 Copyright by Diana Cuello 2011 KAREN HORNEY'S THREE CHARACTER STYLES [NEUROTIC STYLES] AS RESPONSES TO EARLY MATERNAL DEPRIVATION AND UNMANAGEABLE RAGE: THREE ILLUSTRATIVE CASE STUDIES By Diana Cuello Approved May 4th 2011 ________________________________ ________________________________ Roger Brooke, Ph.D., ABPP Daniel Burston, Ph.D Professor Associate Professor (Committee Chair) (Committee Member) ________________________________ ________________________________ Jessie Goicoechea, Ph.D. Assistant Professor (Committee Member) ________________________________ ________________________________ Christopher M. Duncan, Ph.D. Daniel Burston, Ph.D Dean, McAnulty College and Graduate Chair, Psychology Department School of Liberal Arts Associate Professor iii ABSTRACT KAREN HORNEY'S THREE CHARACTER STYLES [NEUROTIC STYLES] AS RESPONSES TO EARLY MATERNAL DEPRIVATION AND UNMANAGEABLE RAGE: THREE ILLUSTRATIVE CASE STUDIES By Diana Cuello May 2011 Dissertation supervised by Roger Brooke, Ph.D., ABPP Three of my patients presented with stories of maternal abandonment as well as struggles with rage. One struggled with a vengeful rage, which highlighted deep feelings of injustice. Characterologically he moved against people. A second showed a connection between rage and frightening dissociative episodes that left her struggling with passive fantasies of death and desertion. Characterologically she moved towards people. A third patient made use of rage as a way to stay away from people. She used intimidation as a way to characterologically move away from people, and preferred to remain alone. Although each of these clients struggled with rage tied to maternal empathic failures, they differed significantly in their character style and overall adaptation in adult life. Their iv styles of coping with anger corresponded to the neurotic solutions described by Karen Horney (1945) moving against people, moving towards people, and moving away from people. Within the maternal bond, these individuals experienced rage as unacceptable and treatment allowed some of their experiences a voice. This study aimed to reflect on the psychodynamic treatment of rage in each Horneyean character style. This project presents three case studies exemplifying Horney‘s theory, and contextualizing the function and meaning of rage in instances of perceived or actual maternal abandonment. Examining these cases through a Horneyean lens shows how her work anticipated contemporary psychoanalytic psychodiagnostics (i.e. The Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual), and how valuable her work remains to theory and treatment today. v DEDICATION To my life partner. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENT My most profound gratitude goes to my dissertation director Dr. Roger Brooke, whose guidance and support allowed me to complete not only this project, but also an enormous step in my training as a clinician. I would also like to thank the rest of my committee Dr. Jessie Goicoechea and Dr. Dan Burston, whose suggestions and thoughts have strengthened this dissertation and helped me to improve it into a piece I can be proud of. I would like to thank my dear friend and colleague Dr. Kristen Hennessy, who infallibly believed this dissertation was possible particularly at moments when my hope waned. I would also like to thank my dear friend Dr. Daniel Warner, who held my hand through some of the darkest moments of this piece. I extend my appreciation to many others. To my friends who listened endlessly to my joys and struggles through this training program and the writing of this project. To my chosen family for simply existing. And to my patients, I extend my deepest gratitude. Without them neither my training nor this dissertation could have possibly blossomed. Thank You. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………...iv Dedication………………………………………………………………………………...vi Acknowledgement……………………………………………………………………….vii Chapter 1: Introduction: Aims and Rationale ............................................................. 1 Guiding Research Questions ..................................................................................... 1 Developmental Maternal Significance for Characterological Integration .............. 3 Maternal Deprivation .............................................................................................. 7 Rage ...................................................................................................................... 10 Defensive Neurotic Survival .................................................................................... 14 Implications for Treatment..................................................................................... 15 Karen Horney .......................................................................................................... 16 Table 1: Horney’s Character Styles ....................................................................... 17 Guiding Thoughts .................................................................................................... 18 Chapter 2- Research Methodology ............................................................................. 20 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 20 Case Study Research ............................................................................................... 20 Method ..................................................................................................................... 23 Subject Selection .................................................................................................... 23 Data Collection ..................................................................................................... 24 Data Analysis ........................................................................................................ 25 Table 2: Neurotic Needs, Shoulds and Claims of the Self-Effacing, Expansive, and Withdrawing Personality Styles ............................................................................. 26 Table 3: Thematic Categories ................................................................................ 28 Hermeneutics, the Researcher’s Pre-understanding, and the Question of Validity .................................................................................................................................. 30 Summary .................................................................................................................. 31 Chapter 3-Karen Horney’s Theory of Psychopathology ........................................... 32 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 32 Historical Context .................................................................................................... 32 Horney’s Theory of Neurotic Conflicts ................................................................... 34 Development of Neurosis ......................................................................................... 35 Cultural Context .................................................................................................... 36 Basic Anxiety ........................................................................................................... 38 Alienation from the Real Self ................................................................................. 40 viii The Pride System ..................................................................................................... 44 Idealized image and Neurotic Pride ....................................................................... 46 Self-hatred ............................................................................................................. 48 Neurotic Shoulds, Needs and Claims ..................................................................... 52 Assessment of Severity in Horney’s Theory ........................................................... 58 Horney’s Neurotic Solutions ................................................................................... 60 Rage.......................................................................................................................... 61 Function of Therapy