THEORIES OF PERSONALITY NOTES ordinarily aware of what they are doing and why Guilt results when the
why Guilt results when the ego acts contrary to the
Source: Feist & Feist, 7th Ed
What Is Personality?
- It originated from the word persona, referring to a
theatrical mask worn by Roman actors in Greek
dramas.
- Personality is a pattern of relatively
permanent traits and unique characteristics that
give both
consistency and individuality to a person’s
behavior.
- A theory of personality is an organized attempt
to describe and explain how personalities
develop and why personalities differ. (Plotnik,
2009)
- Traits contribute to individual differences in
behavior, consistency of behavior over time, and
stability of behavior across situations.
- Characteristics are unique qualities of
an individual that include such attributes as
temperature, physique, and intelligence.
A useful theory:
(1) generates research
(2) is falsifiable
(3) organizes data
(4) guides action
(5) is internally consistent
(6) is parsimonious
Dimensions for Concept of Humanity
b(1e)hdaevtioerrsmdinetiesrmmvinse.dfrbeyefc
ohrcoeisceov-eAr rwehpicehopthl e’ys have no
control, or can people choose to be what they wish
to be?
(2) pessimism vs. optimism - Are people
doomed to live miserable, conflicted, and troubled
lives, or can they change and grow into
psychologically healthy, happy, fully functioning
human beings?
(3) causality vs. teleology - Briefly, causality
holds that behavior is a function of past
experiences, whereas teleology is an explanation
of behavior in terms of future goals or purposes.
(4) conscious vs. unconscious - Are people
they are doing it, or do unconscious forces
impinge on them and drive them to act without
awareness of these underlying forces?
(5) biological vs. social — nature-nurture issue
(6) uniqueness vs. similarities — Is the
salient feature of people their individuality, or
their
common characteristics?
SIGMUND FREUD: Psychoanalysis
Hysteria - a disorder typically characterized by
paralysis or improper functioning of certain parts of
the body. (Jean Martin-Charcot)
Catharsis — the process of removing hysterical
symptoms through “talking them out” (Josef
Breuer)
Free Association Technique & Hypnosis –
pInritnecrpipraelttahteioranpoefuDticreteacmhsni
—quFeres uds’esdgbreyaFteresut dwork
Phylogenetic Endowment — a portion of our
unconscious originates from the experiences of
our early ancestors that have been passed on to
us through hundreds generations of repetition
Provinces of the Mind
(1) Id — serves the “pleasure principle”. It has
no contact with the reality, it strives constantly
to reduce tension by satisfying basic desires.
(2)
TheEgoonly— governed
region in theby the “reality
mind principle”.
in contact with
reality. It
reconciles the blind, irrational claims of the id.
(3) Superego — guided by the “moralistic
principle”. Basically unrealistic in its demands for
perfection because it has no contact with reality.
- It has two subsystems:
(a) conscience — results from
experiences with punishments for
improper behavior and tells us what we
‘should not do’
(b) ego-ideal — develops from experiences
with rewards for proper behavior and tells
us what we ‘should do’
moral standards of the superego. A function of feeling
conscience.
involving a possible danger.
Feelings of inferiority arise when the
ego is unable to meet the superego’s
standards of perfection. A function of ego-
ideal.

Dynamics of Personality
(1)Drive
- an internal stimulus that operates as a constant
motivational force
Sex Drive or Eros
- erogenous zones: genitals, mouth, and anus
Forms/Manifestations:
(a1) primary narcissism — libido exclusively
invested on their own ego, a universal condition
(a2) secondary narcissism — Not universal, but a
moderate degree of self-love is common to
nearly every one. Here narcissistic libido is
transformed into object libido
(b) love — develops when people invest their
libido on an object or person other than
themselves
(c) sadism — is the need for sexual pleasure
by inflicting pain or humiliation on another
person. Considered sexual perversion
extreme.
(d) masochism — is the need for sexual
pleasure by suffering pain and humiliation
inflicted by themselves or by others.
(2)Aggression
- the aim of the destructive drive is to return
the organism to an inorganic state, which is
death

-(-3t h) Ae nc ex ni et et yr of the Freudian dynamic

theory
- a felt, affective, unpleasant state accompanied
by a physical sensation
- it is ego-preserving and self-regulating
(a) neurotic anxiety — defined as an
apprehension about an unknown danger. It
results from the dependence of the ego to the id.
(b) moral anxiety — stems from the
conflict between the ego and superego
o.
(c) realistic anxiety — It is closely related to fear.
It is defined as an unpleasant, nonspecific
 making up excuses and incorrect explanations
(10) Denial — is refusing to recognize some anxiety-provoking event or piece of information
Defense Mechanisms that is clear to others
- It helps the ego to avoid dealing directly with
sexual and aggressive impulses and to defend Stapes of Development
itself against the anxiety that accompanies For Freud, the first 4 or 5 years of life, or the
them infantile stage, are the most crucial for personality
(1) Repression — It is the most basic of the information. It is divided into three stages:
defense mechanisms. When the ego is 1 Oral Phase (early infancy, first 18 months of life)
threatened - Pleasure-seeking activities include sucking,
by undesirable id impulses, it forces threatening chewing, and biting.
feelings into the unconscious. - If fixated at this stage, because oral wishes were
(2) Reaction Formation — repressed impulse gratified too much or too little, oral gratification
becomes conscious by adopting a disguise that is continues in adulthood.
directly opposite to its original form 2 Anal Phase (late a#ulthoo#, 1$ to 3 years)
(3) Displacement — unacceptable urges are - Infant’s pleasure seeking is centered on the anus
redirected onto a variety of people or objects so and its function of elimination.
that the original impulse is disguised or concealed - Fixation at this stage results to retention or
(4)Fixation — when the prospect of taking the elimination.
next psychological stage becomes too anxiety - Anal retentive — may take the form of being very
provoking, the ego may resort to the strategy of neat, stingy, or behaviourally rigid
remaining at the present, more comfortable - Anal expulsive — may take the form of being
psychological stage. This is held universally and generous, messy, or very loose or carefree
demands a more or less permanent expenditure of - Anal triad: or#erliness, stinginess, and o&stinacy
psychic energy. 3 Phallic Stage (early chil#hoo#, 3-6 years)
(5) Regression — a reversion in which - Infant’s pleasure-seeking is centered on the
during times of stress and anxiety of a genitals.
developmental stage, the libido reverts back to - &edipus complex occurs at this stage: a
an earlier stage. Infantile and rigid in nature just process in which a child competes with the parent
like fixation, but is usually temporary. of the same sex for the affections and pleasures of
(6)Projection — seeing in others unacceptable the parent of the opposite sex. (Electra complex
feelings or tendencies that actually resides in
one’s own unconscious. The ego may reduce the f-oCr af esmt r a ltei o) n anxiety may arise, the fear of
anxiety losing the penis, or penis envy for females
4 Latency Stage (6 to pu&erty)
boybjaetcttr,ibuustuinagllythaenuonthwear npterds - A time when the child represses sexual thoughts
oimnp. Aulsevtoeraenvaerxietetyrnoafl it is called and engages in nonsexual activities, such as
paranoia. developing social and intellectual skills.
(7)Introjection - a defense mechanism - dormant psychosexual development
whereby people incorporate positive qualities of 5 Genital Stage
another person into their own ego. People - puberty signals the reawakening of sexual
introject characteristics that they see as valuable impulses
and that will permit them to feel better about
themselves. Dream Analysis
(8) Sublimation — is the repression of the - to transform the manifest content of dreams to
genital
aim of Eros by substituting a cultural or social aim.
(9) Rationalization — involves covering up the
true reasons for actions, thoughts, or feelings by
the more important latent content
- the “royal road” to the knowledge of
the unconscious
- Manifest content of a dream refers to the
surface meaning or the conscious description
given by the dreamer
- Latent content refers to the unconscious
material
- For Freud, all dreams are wish fulfilments
- Dreams can work their way to consciousness
in two ways:
(1) Condensation refers to the fact that
the manifest dream content is not as
extensive
as the latent level, indicating that the
unconscious material has been abbreviated or
condensed before appearing on the manifest
level
(2) Displacement means that the dream is
replaced by some other idea remotely related to it
Freudian slips (parapraxes)

Criti(ue of Freud*s Psychoanalysis

- His theory of personality was strongly oriented
towards men, he lacked a complete
understanding of the feminine psyche.
- an area of criticism on Freud centers around
his status as a scientist

ABFRED ADBER: Individual Psychology

- Individual psychology rests heavily on the notion

of social
with interest, that is, a feeling of oneness
all humankind.
- People are motivated mostly by social
influences and by their striving for superiority or
success.
- People are largely responsible for who they are
- Present behavior is shaped by the people’s
view of the future.
- an opposing theory to psychoanalysis

Striving for success or superiority

- 1st tenet: The one dynamic force behind
people's behavior is the striving for success or
superiority
- He reduced all motivation to this single drive.
- Everyone begins with a life of physical
deficiencies that activate feelings of
inferiority.
- The striving force serves as a compensation
for feelings of inferiority.
- People, by their nature, possess an innate
tendency toward completion or wholeness.
Masculine protest — implied will to power or a
domination of others. This term was used after
Adler rejected aggression as the single
motivational force.
Strivinp for superiority — limited to those people
who strive personal superiority over others
Strivinp for success — describes actions of
people who are motivated by highly developed
social interest.
- Each individual is guided by a final poal
regardless of the motivation for striving. It is
fictional and has no objective existence, a
product of creative power.
Creative Power — it refers to the people’s ability
to freely shape their behavior and create their own
personality.
Inferiority Complex — exaggerated feelings of
personal inferiority
Subjective Perceptions
- 2nd tenet: People's subjective
perceptions shape their behavior and
personality.
Fictionalism. Striving superiority is shaped by
people’s perceptions of reality that is by their
f-icFtiicotniosn, aolrisemxpise ctoantisoinssteonft
twheithfuthtuerete. leology.
Unity and Self-Consistency of Personality
- 3rd tenet: Personality is unified and
self- consistent.
- Each person is unique and indivisible.
Organ Dialect - The whole person strives in a
self- consistent fashion toward a single goal, and
all separate actions and functions can be
understood only as parts of this goal. The
disturbance of one part of the body cannot be
viewed in isolationC it affects the entire person.
- For Adler, conscious and unconscious are not
considered as a dichotomy, but two cooperating
parts of the same unified system. The conscious
thoughts are helpful for striving superiority while
unconscious is not helpful.
Social Interest
- 4th tenet: The value of all human activity must
be seen from the viewpoint of social interest.
- Social interest means a feeling of oneness with
all humanityC it implies membership in the social
community of all people. It can also be defined as
an attitude of relatedness with humanity in general
as well as the empathy for each member of the
community.
- Social interest was Adler’s yardstick for
measuring psychological health and is thus
the sole criterion of human value”.
Style of Life
- 5th tenet: The self-consistent personality
structure develops into a person's style of life.
Style of life is the term Adler used to refer to the
flavor of a person’s life. It includes a person’s
goal, self-concept, feelings for others, and attitude
toward the world. It is the product of the
interaction of heredity, environment, and a
person’s
creative power.
- Although the final goal is singular, style of life
need not be narrow or rigid.
- +hree major pro&lems of life: neighborly love,
sexual love, and occupation.
Creative Power
6th Tenet: Style of life is molded by people's
creative power.
- Each person is empowered with the freedom to
create his or her own style of life. Ultimately,
people are responsible for who they are and
how they behave. It makes each person a free
individual.
- Each person uses heredity and environment
as the bricks and mortar to build personality, but
the
architectural designmaterials
style. The building reflects that person’s own
of personality are
secondary. We are our own architect and can build
either a useful or useless style of life.
Abnormal Development
- For Adler, the one factor underlying all types of
maladjustments is un#er#evelope# social interest.
- Also neurotics tend to:
(1) set their goals too high
(2) live in their own private world
(3) have a rigid and dogmatic style of life
External Factors in Maladjustment
(1) Exaggerated physical deficiencies
(2) Pampered style of life
- the heart of most neuroses
(3) Neglected style of life
Safeguarding Tendencies
- People create patterns of behavior to protect their
exaggerated sense of self-esteem against public
disgrace.
- This protective devices enable people to hide
their inflated self-image and to maintain their
current style of life.
- These can be compared to Freud’s defense
mechanisms, but are largely conscious to shield
a person’s fragile self-esteem.
+hree forms:
(1) Excuses — commonly expressed in “Des, but or
If only” format
(te2n) dAegngcryession – most common
safeguarding Depreciation, The tendency to
undervalue other people’s achievements and
to overvalue
one’s own (e.g. criticism and gossip).
Accusation, The tendency to blame others for
one’s failures and to seek revenge.
Self-accusation, Marked by self-torture and
guilt (e.g. masochism, depression, suicide).
(3) Withdrawal — Running away f rom difficulties or
referred to as safeguar#ing through #istance”
Four Mo#es:
Movinp Bac/0ards, The tendency to safeguard
one’s fictional goal of superiority by psychologically
reverting to a more secure period of life. It is
designed to elicit sympathy.
Standinp Still. They do not move in any direction,
thus, they avoid all responsibility by ensuring
themselves against any threats of failure.
Hesitatinp. In face of difficult problems, some
people hesitate or vacillate. (e.g. procrastination)
ConstLuctinp Obstacles. The least severe of the
withdrawal safeguarding tendencies.
Masculine Protest
- Psychic
ychic life of women is essentially the same
as that of men and that a male-dominated
society is not natural but rather an artificial
product of historical development.
- According to Adler, cultural and social practicesE
not anatomyEinfluence many men and women to
overemphasize the importance of being manly.
Applications of Individual Psychology
(1) Family Constellation
(2) Early Recollections
(3)Dreams
Golden rule of dream work in individual
psychology: “Everything can be different.”
(4)Psychotherapy
Adlerian theory postulates that psychopathology
results from lack of courage, exaggerated feelings
of inferiority, and underdeveloped social interest.
Thus, the chief purpose of Adlerian
psychotherapy is to enhance courage, lessen
feelings of inferiority, and encourage social
interest.
Critique of Adler
- Bike that of Freud, produced many concepts
that do not easily lend themselves to either
verification or falsification.
-deIt f sinuitf ifoenr s.from a lack of precise operational
- Individual psychology is somewhat philosophical
even moralistic.
- The concept of creative power cannot
be scientifically studied.
- high on free choice an# optimism, very low on
causality, mo#erate on unconscious influences,
an# high on social factors an# the uniqueness of
in#ivi#ual
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
CARB JUNG: Analytical Psychology
- It rests on the assumption that occult
phenomena can and do influence the lives of
everyone.
- Jung believed that each of us is motivated not
only by repressed experiences but also by
certainly emotionally toned experiences inherited
from our ancestors. These make up the
collective unconscious.
- Some elements of the collective unconscious
become highly developed and are called
archetypes.
- Analytical psychology is essentially a psychology
of opposites.
Levels of the Psyche
- Jung strongly asserted that the most important
part of the unconscious springs not from
personal experiences of the individual but from
distant past
of human existence, the collective unconscious. Of
lesser importance are conscious and personal
unconscious.
Conscious. Images that are sensed by the epoC
the center of consciousness. Ego is not the whole
personality, but must be completed by the self, the
center of the personality that is largely
unconscious.
- The consciousness plays a minor role in
analytical psychology, and an overemphasis
on expanding one’s conscious psyche can
lead to psychological imbalance.
Personal Unconscious. It embraces all
repressed, forgotten, or subliminally perceived
experiences of one particular individual. It contains
repressed infantile memories and impulses,
forgotten events, and experiences originally
perceived below the threshold of our
consciousness. Our personal unconscious is
formed by our individual experiences and is
therefore unique to each of us.
Complexes — are contents of the personal
unconscious. It is an emotionally toned
congscloiomuesratniodnmoaf
ya ssteomciafrtoemd
ibdoetahs.thIteispeprasrotlnyal and collective
unconscious.
- an individualized component of the personal
unconscious.
Collective Unconscious – This has roots in the
ancestral past of the entire species. The physical
contents of the collective unconscious are
inherited and pass from one generation to the
next as a psychic potential.
- This refers to human’s innate tendency to react in
a particular way whenever their experiences
stimulate
tendency. a biologically inherited response
- This does not lie dormant but are active
and influence a person’s thoughts, emotions,
and actions.
- Countless repetition of these biologically based
predispositions have them part of the human
biological constitution which then begin to
develop some content and to emerge as a
relatively
autonomous archetypes.
Archetypes
- are ancient or archaic images that derive from
the collective unconscious.
- These emotionally tones collection of associated
images are generalized components of the
collective unconscious.
- Archetypes cannot be directly represented, but
when activated it expresses itself through
several modes (e.g. dreams, fantasies, and
delusions).
PeLsona
- the side of personality that people show to
the world
- If we over identify with our persona, we lose
touch with our inner self and remain dependent
on society’s expectations of us.
Shadow
- the archetype of darkness and repression
represents those qualities we do not wish to
acknowledge but attempt to hide from
ourselves and others
A- tnhiemfeaminine side of men’s personality
- represents irrational moods and feelings
Animus
- the masculine side of women’s personality
- symbolic of thinking and reasoning
GLeat MotheL
- derivative of anima archetype
- represents both positive and negative
feelings: fertility and nourishment and on the
one hand, power and destruction
- Fertility and power combine to form the concept
of re&irth, which maybe a separate archetype.
Wise Old Man
- archetype of wisdom and meaning, symbolizes
human’s pre-existing knowledge of the
mysteries of life.
HeLo
- the conquering hero archetype represents victory
over the forces of darkness
Self
- the innate disposition possessed by each person
to move toward growth, perfection, and
completion
- the most comprehensive of all archetypes
- the self is the archetype of archetypes because
it pulls together the other archetypes and unites
them in the process of self-realization
-its ultimate symbol is the man#ala, representing
the strivings of the collective unconscious for unity,
balance and wholeness
Dynamics of Personality
Causality and Teleology
- He insisted that both causal and teleological
forces must be balanced.
Progression — adaptation to the outside world
involving the forward flow of psychic energy
Regression - adaptation to the inner world
involving the backward flow of psychic energy
H Alone, neither progression
prog nor regression
leads to development. Either can bring about too
much one-sidedness and failure in adaptationC
but the two, working together, can activate the
process of healthy personality development.
Psychological Types
Attitudes. Jung defined it as a predisposition to
act or react in a characteristic direction. He
insisted that each person has both an introverte#
and an extraverte# attitude, although one may be
conscious while the other is unconscious.
Intoversion
- is the turning inward of psychic energy with an
orientation toward the subjective. Introverts are
tuned in to their inner world with all its biases,
fantasies, dreams, and individualized perceptions.
Extraversion
- is the turning outward of psychic energy with an
orientation toward the objective.
4 Functions:
Sensinp — tells people that something exists
Extraverte# sensing- people perceive external
stimuli objectively
Introverte# sensing — guided by their subjective
interpretation of sense stimuli
Thinkinp — enables them to recognize its meaning
Extraverte# thinking — relying heavily on concrete
thoughts, objective
Introverte# thinking — interpretation of an event is
colored more by the internal meaning, subjective
Feelinp — tells them its value or worth
Extraverte# feeling — people use objective data to
make evaluations
Introverte# feeling - people base their value
judgments primarily on subjective perceptions
Intuitinp — allows them to know without knowing
how they know
Extraverte# intuitive people — are oriented towards
facts in the external world
Introverte# intuitive people — are guided by
unconscious perceptions of facts that are basically
subjective and have no resemblance to external
stimuli
Development of Personality
Stages of Development: childhood, youth, middle
life, and old age
Childhood
T( 1h) r Ae en a3ruc&hsitca pg ehsa:s e —
characterized by chaotic and sporadic consciousness.
Experiences of the anarchic phase sometimes
enter consciousness as primitive images,
incapable of being accurately verbalized.
- Islan#s of consciousness” may exist but there
is little or no connection among these islands.
(2)Monarchic phase — characterized by the
development of ego and by the beginning of
logical and verbal thinking. During this time,
children refer to themselves in the third person.
-more
The numerous
islands of consciousness become
and inhabited by larger,
a primitive
ego.
- The ego is perceived as an object, not as
a perceiver.
(3)Dualistic phase — The ego as perceiver
arises during this stage and divided into the
subjective and objective.
- Children now refer to themselves in the first
person and aware of their existence as
separate individuals.
- The islands of consciousness become
continuous land, inhabited by an ego-complex that
recognizes itself as both object and subject.
Youth
- the period from puberty until middle life
- Doung people strive to gain psychic and
physical independence from their parents, find a
mate, raise a family, and make a place in the
world.
- A period of increased activity, maturing
sexuality, and growing consciousness.
Middle Life
- approximately begins at age 35 or 40
- presents people with increasing anxiety, and
a period of tremendous potential
- If middle-aged people retain the social and
moral values of their early life, they become rigid
and fanatical in trying to hold on to their physical
attractiveness and agility.
Old Age
- people certainly fear death during this stage
Self-realization
- athlseopcroacll edssaosf
pbseyccohmolilono g icaanl irnedbiviritdhual or a
whole person
- the process of integrating the opposite poles
into a single homogenous individual
- this process of “coming to selfhood” means that a
person has all psychological components
functioning in unity, with no psychic process
atrophying
- The self-realized person must allow the
unconscious to be the core of
personality.
Methods of Investigation
(1)Word Association Test
(2)Dream Analysis
- Jung objected to Freud’s notion that nearly all
dreams are wish fulfilments and that most dream
symbols represent sexual urgesC rather people
used symbols to represent a variety of concepts
to try to comprehend the “innumerable things
beyond the range of human understanding”.
- Dreams are our unconscious and spontaneous
attempt to know the unknowable.
- The purpose of Jungian dream interpretation is
to uncover elements from the personal and
collective unconscious and to integrate them into
consciousness in order to facilitate the process of
self-realization.
- Jung felt that certain dreams offered proof for
the existence of the collective unconscious.
These dreams included big dreams, which have
special meaning for all peopleC typical dreams,
which are common to most peopleC and earliest
dreams remembered.
(3) Active Imagination
- This method requires a person to begin with any
impressionEa dream image, vision, picture, or
fantasyEand to concentrate until the impressions
begins to “move”. The person must follow these
images and courageously face these
autonomous images and freely communicate with
them.
- The purpose of active imagination is to
reveal archetypal images emerging from the
unconscious.
-aJduvnagntbaegleieovveedr
tdhraetaamctaivneailmysaisgiinnatthioant
ihtsasimaanges are produced during a conscious
state of mind, thus making them more clear and
reproducible. Variations:
- nonverbal manner (drawing, painting)
(4)Psychotherapy
- The first stage is the confession of a pathogenic
secret (adopted from Breuer’s cathartic method).
- The second stage involves interpretation,
explanation, and elucidation. This gives
the
patients insight into the causes of their neuroses
but may still leave them incapable of solving social
problems (adopted from Freud).
- The third stage is the education of patients
as social beings (adopted from Adler).
- The fourth stage is transformation. By
transformation, he meant that the therapist
must first be transformed into a healthy human
being, preferably by undergoing psychotherapy.
Only
after transformation and an established philosophy
of life is the therapist able to help patients move
toward individuation, wholeness, or self-realization.
- He adopted an eclectic approach in
psychotherapy. His treatment varied according
to the age, stage of development, and particular
problem of the patient.
- The ultimate purpose of Jungian therapy is to
help neurotic patients become healthy and to
encourage healthy people to work
independently toward self-realization.
Critique of Jung
- has a subjective and philosophical quality
- the collective unconscious remains a difficult
concept to test empirically
- the acceptance of Jung’s archetype and
collective unconscious rests more on faith than
on empirical evidences
- Analytical psychology is unique because it adds
new dimension to personality theory dealing with
the occult, the mysterious, and the
parapsychological
-limusiteefdultnoetshsoosef
mthoesrtaapnisatlsy twichaol
psusybcshcorilboegytoisbasic Jungian tenets
- his view of personality was neither pessimistic
nor optimistic, neither deterministic nor purposive
- people are motivated partly by conscious
thoughts, partly by images from their personal
unconscious.
- the theory leans strongly in the direction of
biology
- can be rated high on similarities among people
and low in individual differences
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

MELANIE KLEIN: Object Relations
Theory
- Klein stressed the importance of the first 4 to
6 months after birth.
- an offspring of Freud’s instinct theory but differs
i(n1)thItrepelagce ns eleras lsweamysp:hasis on
biologically based drives and more importance on
consistent patterns of interpersonal relationships.
(2) It tends to be more maternal, stressing the
intimacy and nurturing of the mother, as
opposed to Freud’s rather paternalistic theory
that emphasizes the power and control of the
father.
(3) Object relations theorists generally see human
contact and relatedness — not sexual pleasure
as the prime motive of human behavior.
Psychic Life of the Infant
- first 4-6 months of an infant is important
- To her, infants do not begin life with a blank
slate but with an inherited predisposition to
reduce the anxiety they experience as a result of
the conflict produced by the forces of the life
instinct and the power of the death instinct. The
infant’s innate readiness to act or react
presupposes the existence of phylogenetic
endowment, a concept that Freud also accepted.
Phantasies
- Infants, even at birth possesses an active
phantasy life.
- Phantasies are psychic representations of
unconscious id instincts
- It also springs from reality and universal
predispositions.
- Infants possess unconscious images of “good”
and “bad” (e.g. bad breast and good breast)
- As they mature, newer phantasies emerge
Objects
- Humans have innate drives or instincts, including
death instinct
- The earliest object relations are with the
mother’s breast
- In their active fantasy, they introject, or take into
- The ego is beginning to mature to the point at
their psychic structure the external objects.
Positions
- Infants attempt to deal with life instincts and
death instincts, and they attempt to organize
these experiences into positions3 or ways of
dealing with both internal and external objects.
The term
“position” was used to indicate that positions
alternate back and forth. They are not stages of
development through which a person passes.
(1) Paranoid-Schizoid Position (4-4mos.)
- a way of organizing experiences that includes
both paranoid feelings of being persecuted and
a splitting of internal and external objects into
good and bad.
- Paranoid-Schizoid position develops during
which the ego’s perception of the external world
is subjective and fantastic rather than objective
and real.
- The child alternately experiences feelings of
gratification and frustration. In order to tolerate
these feelings, the ego then splits itself, retaining
parts of the life and death instincts while
deflecting parts of both instincts onto the breast.
Persecutory breast
Ideal breast which provides love, comfort, and
gratification.
- Thus, the persecutory feelings are considered to
be paranoid; that is, they are not based on any
real or immediate danger from the outside world.
-
dIensthruectyivoeunfegeclihniglds’sasrechdiizreoci
dtewdotroldw,arradgteheanbdad breast, while
feelings of love and comfort are associated with
the good breast.
- Language is not used to identify the good
and bad breast, they use a biological
disposition.
(2) Depressive Position (5-6 mos.)
- An infant begins to view external objects as
whole and to see that good and bad exist in
the same person.
- The infant develops a more realistic picture of the
mother and recognizes that she is an independent
person who can be both good and bad.
which it can tolerate some of its own destructive
feelings rather than projecting them outward.
- The infant experiences feelings of guilt for
its previous destructive urges toward the
mother.
- The feelings of anxiety over losing a loved
object coupled with a sense of guilt for wanting to
destroy the object constitute what Klein called the
depressive position.
- When the depressive position is resolved,
children close the split between the good and the
bad mother. They are able not only to experience
love from their mother, but also to display their own
love for her. However, an incomplete resolution of
the depressive position can result in lack of trust,
morbid mourning at the loss of a loved one, and a
variety of other psychic disorders.

PInsfayncthsi ac dDoepftesnesve
e rMael
pcshyacnhiiscmdesfense mechanisms to protect
their ego against the anxiety aroused by their
own destructive fantasies.

(1) Introjection
- Infants fantasize taking into their body those
perceptions and experiences that have had with
the external object, originally the mother’s
breast.
- Introjected objects are not accurate
representations of the real objects but are
colored by children’s fantasies.
( 2 ) P r o je c tio n
- P r oj e c tio n is the fantasy that one’s
own feelings and impulses actually reside in
another person and not within one’s body.
- By projecting unmanageable destructive
impulses onto external objects, infants alleviate
the unbearable anxiety of being destroyed by
dangerous internal forces
(3)Splitting
- keeping part incompatible impulses, the
good and bad aspect of themselves and of
external objects
- In order to separate bad and good objects,
the ego must itself be split. Thus, infants
develop a
picture of both the “good me” and the “bad me”
that enables them to deal with both pleasurable
and destructive impulses toward external objects.
- If splitting is not extreme and rigid, it has a
positive effect on the child. The child can see
both positive and negative aspects of their self. If
splitting is excessive an inflexible, it can lead to
pathological repression.
(4) Projective Identification
- A psychic defense mechanism in which infants
split off unacceptable part of themselves, project
them into another object, and finally introject
them back into themselves in a changed or
distorted form. Then they identify with the object.
- It exerts a powerful influence on adult
interpersonal relations.
Internalizations
- When object relations theorists speak of
internalizations, they mean that the person
takes in (introjects) aspects of the external
world and then organizes those introjections into
a psychologically meaningful framework.
(1)Ego
- Klein largely ignored the id, and that the
ego reaches maturity at a much earlier stage
than Freud had assumed.
- Ego’s has the early ability to sense both
destructive and loving forces and to manage
them
t-hbreofuogrhe sapulinttiifniegd,
pergoojeecmtioenr,gaens d,
iitnmtruosjetcfitriostn. become split
(2)Superego
- Klein’s conception of superego differs with
Freud in three important respects:
(a) emerges much earlier in life
(b) it is not an outgrowth of Oedipus complex
(c) it is much more harsh and cruel
- Early superego not produces guilt but terror
(3) Oedipus Complex
- merely an extension not a refutation to Freud’s
ideas
(a) begins at much earlier stage, overlaps with oral
and anal stage and reaches its climax during the
genital stage at around age 3-4
(b) A significant part of the Oedipus complex is
children’s fear of retaliation from their parent
for their fantasy of emptying the parent’s body.
(c) stressed the importance of children retaining
positive feelings toward both parents during the
Oedipal years
(d) Fourth, she hypothesized that during its early
stages, the Oedipus complex serves the same
need for both genders, that is, to establish a
positive attitude with the good or gratifying object
(breast or penis) and to avoid the bad or terrifying
object (breast or penis). In this position, children of
either gender can direct their love either alternately
or simultaneously toward each parent.
Female Oedipal Development
1st month — the little girl sees her mother’s breast
as both good and bad.
6 months — she begins to the view the breast as
more positive than negative
- She sees her mother as full of good things
(this leads to her imagining of how babies are
made).
- She y by fantasizes that the father’s penis feeds
her mother with riches, including babies (she
fantasizes that the father will her with babies).
- If the Oedipal stage flows smoothly, the little
girl adopts a “feminine” position and has a
positive relationship with both parents.
- Under less ideal circumstances, the little girl will
sheer mheorthmeor tohfehrearsfaathrievra’sl
apnednwisilal nfadnstatesaizliengrohbebring mother’s
babies. The little girl’s wish to rob her mother
produces a paranoid fear that her mother will
retaliate against her by injuring her or taking away
her babies.
- This anxiety will only be alleviated when she
later gives birth to a healthy baby.
- Penis envy stems from the little girl’s wish to
internalize her father’s penis and to receive a baby
from him. This precedes the desire to have an
external penis.
Male Oedipal Development
- The little boy sees his mother’s breast as both
good and bad
- During the early months; the boy shifts some of
his oral desires from his mother’s breast to his
father’s penis. The little boy is in his feminine
position, a positive homosexual attitude toward his
father.
- Next, he moves to a heterosexual relationship
with the mother.
- As the boy matures, the boy develops oral-
sadistic impulses toward his father and want to bite
off his penis and to murder him. This feeling
arouses penis castration, which resolves the boy’s
Oedipus complex.
* For both girls and boys, a healthy resolution
of the Oedipus complex depends on their
ability to allow their mother and father to
come together and to have sexual
intercourse with each other. No remnant of
rivalry
remains. Children’s positive feelings toward
both parents later serve to enhance their adult
sexual relations.
Later Biews on Object Relations
MARGARET MAHLER
- Psychological birth begins during the first
weeks of postnatal life and continues for the next 3
years or so. It meant that the child becomes an
individual separate from his or her primary
caregiver, an accomplishment that leads ultimately
-toTahesecnhsiled opfroidcenetditsy.through a series
of three major developmental stages and four
substages to achieve psychological birth and
individuation:
First Stage: Normal Autism
- spans from birth until about age 3 or 4 weeks
- Newborn infant satisfies various needs within the
all-powerful protective orbit of a mother’s care.
- This stage is a period of absolute primary
narcissism in which an infant is unaware of
any other person unlike Klein who
conceptualized a newborn infant as being
terrified.
-naturally
An “objectless” stage when an infant
searches for the mother’s breast.
- She disagreed with Klein’s notion that the
infants incorporate the good breast and other
objects into their ego.
Second Stage: Normal Symbiosis
- This stage occurs as infants gradually realize
they cannot satisfy their own needs, and they
begin to recognize their primary caregiver and
to seek a symbiotic relationship with her.
- begins around 4th or 5th week of age but reaches
its zenith during the 4th or 5th month
- The symbiosis is characterized by a mutual
cuing of infant and mother.
- objects relations have not yet begun — mothers
and others are still preobjects
+hird Stage: Separation-Individuation
- spans the period from about the 4th or 5th month
of age until about the 30th or 36th month.
- Children become psychologically separated from
their mothers, achieve a sense of individuation,
and begin to develop feelings of personal identity.
- they no longer experience a dual unity with their
mother, they must surrender their delusion of
omnipotence and face their vulnerability to
external threats
Overlapping Substages of Separation-
Individuation
First Substage: DiffeLentiation
- lasts from about the 5th month until the 7th to 10th
month of age
-mmotahrek re-dinbfaynat
sbyomdbilyiobtirceoarkbinitg away from the
- Psychologically
Psychological healthy infants who expand
their world beyond the mother will be curious
about strangers and will inspect them; unhealthy
infants will fear strangers and recoil from them.
Second Substage: PLacticinp
- a period from about 7th to 10th month of age
to about the 15th or 16th month
- an autonomous ego begin to develop, a
specific bond with the mother is established, and
the children easily distinguish their body from
their
mother’s
- during the early stages, they do not like to lose
sight of their mother
- later, they begin to walk and to take in the
outside world.
+hird Substage: RappLochement
- about 16 to 25 months of age
- they desire to bring back their mother and
themselves back together, both physically
and physiologically
- their increased cognitive skills make them more
aware of their separateness and make various
ploys to regain the desired unity
Fourth Substage: Libidinal Object Constancy
-approximates the 3rd year of life
- children will continue to depend on their mother’s
physical presence for their own security if they do
not develop a constant inner representation of
their mother.
- children must also learn to consolidate their
individuality, that is they must learn to function
without their mother and to develop other
object relations
*The strength of Mahler’s theory is its elegant
description of psychological birth based on
empirical observations of mother-child interactions.
Although many of her tenets rely on inferences
gleaned from reactions of preverbal infants, her
ideas can easily be extended to adults.
HEINZ KOHUT
- He emphasized the process by which the self
evolves from a vague and undifferentiated image
to a clear and precise sense of individual identity.
- He defined the self as “the center of the
individual’s psychological universe” and “the
center of initiative and recipient of
impressions”.
- He also focused on early mother-child
relationship as the key to later development just
like other object relations theorists.
- Infants require adult caregivers not only to gratify
physical needs but also to satisfy psychological
needs. The adults or selfobjects must treat infants
as if they had a sense of self.
- Through the process of empathic interaction,
the infant takes in the selfobject’s responses as
pride, guilt, shame, or envy—all attitudes that
eventually form the building blocks of the self.
- He believed that infants are naturally narcissistic
and self-centered. The self is crystallized around
two basic narcissistic needs:
(1)the need to exhibit the grandiose of self
- The grandiose exhibitionistic self is established
when the infant relates to a “mirroring”
selfobject who reflects approval of its behavior.
The infant thus forms a rudimentary self-image
from messages such as “If others see me as
perfect, then I am perfect.”
(2)the need to acquire an idealized image
of one or both parents
- The idealized parent image is opposed to the
grandiose self because it implies that someone
else is perfect. Nevertheless, it too satisfies a
narcissistic need because the infant adopts the
attitude “You are perfect, but I am part of you.”
*Both narcissistic self-images are necessary for
healthy personality development. Both, however,
must change as the child grows older. If they
remain unaltered, they result in a pathologically
narcissistic adult personality.
- Grandiosity must changed into a realistic view
of self. The idealized parent image must grow
into a realistic picture of the parents.
JOHN BOWLBY: Attachment Theory
- He realized that object relations theory could be
integrated with an evolutionary perspective. But
this he believed that he can correct the empirical
shortcomings of the theory end extend it into a
new direction.
- Attachment theory also departed from
psychoanalytic thinking by taking childhood
as starting point and then extrapolating
toward adulthood.
- Bowlby firmly believed that the attachments
formed during childhood have an important
impact
on adulthood. Childhood attachments are crucial
to later development.
- Humans just like primate infants go through a
clear sequence of reactions when separated
from their primary caregivers.
Three Stages of Separation Anxiety
(1) pLotest — When the caregiver is first out
of sight, infants will cry, resist soothing by
other people, and search for their caregiver.
(2) despaiL — As separation continues, infants
become quiet, sad, passive, listless, and apathetic.
(4) detachment — The last stage the only one
unique to humans. During this stage, infants
become emotionally detached from other people
including their caregiver. If their caregiver
returns, infants will disregard and avoid her. As
they become older, their interpersonal relations
are superficial and lack warmth.
Bowlby’s theory rests on two fundamental
assumptions:
(a) A responsive and accessible caregiver must
create a secure base for the child. If this
dependability is present, the child is better able
to develop confidence and security in exploring
the world.
(b) A bonding relationship (or lack thereof)
becomes internalized and serves as a mental
working model on which future friendships
and
l*oAv tetarechlamtioenst
hsitpysleaisreabrueillta.tionship between two people
and not a trait given to the infant by the caregiver.
It is a two-way street—the infant and the caregiver
must be responsive to each other and each must
influence the other’s behavior.
MARY AINSWORTH: Strange Situation
- influenced by Bowlby’s theory
- Ainsworth and her associates developed a
technique for measuring the type of
attachment style that exists between caregiver
and infant,
known as the Strange Situation.
(1) secure attachment — Infants are
confident in the accessibility and responsiveness of
their caregiver.
(2) anxious-resistant attachment — Infants
are
ambivalent. They seek contact with their mother,
while on the other hand, and reject attempts at
being soothed.
(3) anxious-avoidant attachment - With
this style, infants stay calm when their mother
leaves; they accept the stranger, and when their
mother returns, they ignore and avoid her.
Psychotherapy
- Klein insisted that negative transference was an
essential step toward successful treatment.
- She substituted play therapy for Freudian dream
analysis and free association.
- The aim of Kleinian therapy is to reduce
depressive anxieties and persecutory fears and
to mitigate the harshness of internalized objects.
Object Relations and Eating Disorders
- As applied to eating disorders, when these
individuals feel anxious, they look for comfort in
external sources; and food is a primary means
of soothing and regulating their anxiety.
- Bulimia is associated with overseparation
(detachment) from parents, whereas anorexia
was associated with high levels of guilt and
conflict over separation from parents.
Attachment Theory and Adult Relationships
-thPeeirocpalerewghivoerhsawd
oeualdrlyesxepceurireenactetamchohmrmeetnruts
stw, ith closeness, and positive emotions.
- Avoidant adults would fear closeness and lack
trust, whereas anxious-ambivalent adults would
be preoccupied with and obsessed by their
relationships.
- Attachment is also related to the type of
information people seek or avoid regarding their
Three attachment styles:
tend to be chronically worried about the state of
relationship so they express a strong desire to gain
more information about their romantic partner.
Attachment Style and Leadership
- Leaders with a secure attachment style (neither
anxious nor avoidant) are more effective than
insecurely attached (anxious or avoidant)
leaders.
Critique of Object Relations Theory
- low on its ability to generate research
- Since it grew out of the orthodox psychoanalytic
theory, it suffers from some of the falsifications
that confront Freud’s theory.
- Klein used needlessly complex phrases and
concepts to express her theory.
- It has the ability to organize information about the
behavior of infants. Objects relations theory has
speculated on how humans gradually come to a
sense of identity.
- It is built on careful observations of the mother-
child relationship.
- Parents of young infants can learn the
importance of a warm, accepting, and
nurturing caregiver.
- high on determinism, low on free choice
- can either be pessimistic or optimistic
- tends to be more causal, expectations of the
future play a very minor role
- hbigohloogny
ausncmoonrseciomupsodrteatnetrmthiannanetns
voirfobnemheanvitoinr shaping personality in
terms of the concept of phylogenetic endowment
and death instinct
- the biologically based infantile stages lean more
toward social determinants of personality
- it tends toward similarities
relationship and romantic partner. Avoidant
individuals strive to maintain emotional
independence, so they would not seek out
additional information about their partner’s intimate
feelings and dreams. While anxious individuals
KAREN HORNEY: Psychoanalytic
Social
Theory
Overview
- Culture, especially childhood experiences,
plays a leading role in shaping human
personality, either
 - This hostility is often repressed and takes the
neurotic or healthy. form as a basic anxiety, the profound feelings of
- Social rather than biological forces are insecurity and vague sense of apprehension. It is
paramount in personality development. further defined as a feeling of being isolated and
- Horney criticized Freud on several accounts: helpless in a world conceived as potentially hostile.
(1) strict adherence to orthodox psychoanalysis
would lead to stagnation in both theoretical - Hostile impulses are the principal source of basic
and therapeutic practice. anxiety, but basic anxiety can also contribute to
(2) She objected to Freud’s ideas on feelings of hostility.
feminine psychology
(3) psychoanalysis should move beyond instinct Protective mechanisms from feelings of isolation
theory emphasize the importance of cultural (1) affection
influences in shaping personality (2) submissiveness
The Impact of CultuLe (3) striving for power, prestige or possession
- Modern culture is based on competition (4) withdrawal
among individuals. - Everyone uses these various protective devices
- Competitiveness and the basic hostility it to guard against the rejection, hostility, and
spawns result in feelings of isolation. These competitiveness of others. People become
feelings of being alone in a potentially hostile unhealthy when people feel compelled to rely on
world lead to intensified needs for affection, them.
which in turn, causes people to overvalue love.
- They see love and affection as solution to their Compulsive Drives
problems. Desperate need for love can lead to - Compulsion is the salient characteristic of all
the development of neuroses. neurotic drives.
The ImpoLtance of Childhood ExpeLiences NeuLotic Needs
- Childhood is the age from which the vast majority (1) The neuLotic need foL affection and
of problems arise. appLoval. In their quest for affection and
- Horney hypothesized that a difficult childhood approval, neurotics attempt indiscriminately to
is primarily responsible for neurotic needs. please others. They try to live up to the
These needs become powerful because they are expectations of others, tend to dread self-
the child’s only means of gaining feelings of assertion, and are quite uncomfortable with the
safety.
hwoitshtiinlittyheo mf ost eh levressa. s well as the
-exBpuet
hostile feelings
riitesnhcoeusl,dnboestihneglseuemartloyoteaxl (2) The neuLotic need foL a poweLful paLtneL.
Lacking self-confidence, neurotics try to attach
poef rciheinldcheoisod responsible for later themselves to a powerful partner. This need
personality. includes an overvaluation of love and a dread of
being alone or deserted.
Casic Hostility and Casic Anxiety (3) The neuLotic need to LestLict one*s life
- Each person begins life with the potential for within naLLow boLdeLs. Neurotics frequently
healthy development, but favorable conditions for strive to remain inconspicuous, to take second
growth are needed conditions that provide
place, and to be content with very little. They
feelings of safety and satisfaction and permit downgrade their own abilities and dread making
them to grow in accordance with their real self.
- If parents do not satisfy the child’s need for demands on others.
(4) The neuLotic need foL poweL. Power and
safety and satisfaction, the child develops feelings
of
basic hostility toward the parents.
affection are perhaps the two greatest neurotic
needs. The need for power is usually combined
with the needs for prestige and possession and
manifests itself as the need to control others and
to avoid feelings of weakness or stupidity.
(5) The neuLotic need to exploit otheLs.
Neurotics frequently evaluate others on the
basis of how they can be used or exploited, but
at the same time, they fear being exploited by
others.
(6) The neuLotic need foL social Lecopnition oL
pLestipe. Some people combat basic anxiety by
trying to be first, to be important, or to attract
attention to themselves.

(7) The neuLotic need foL peLsonal admiLation.

Neurotics have a need to be admired for what
they are rather than for what they possess. Their
inflated self-esteem must be continually fed by
the admiration and approval of others.
(8) The neuLotic need foL ambition and
peLsonal achievement. Neurotics often have a
strong drive to be the best. They must defeat
other people in order to confirm their superiority.
(9) The neuLotic need foL self-sufficiency
and independence. Many neurotics have a
strong need to move away from people,
thereby proving that they can get along
without others.
(10) The neuLotic need foL peLfection and
unassailability. By striving relentlessly for
perfection, neurotics receive “proof ” of their
self-
emsatekeinmg manisdtapkeerssoannadl
shuapveinrgioprietyr.sTohneayl fdlarewasd, and
they desperately attempt to hide their weaknesses
from others.

NeuLotic TLends
- The 10 neurotic needs can be grouped into
three categories, each relating to a person’s
basic attitude toward self and others (also
referred as basic conflict).
(1) moving toward people
(2) moving against people
(3) moving away from people
 Normal Defenses (Spontaneous Movement)
Toward people
(friendly, loving personality)
Against people
(a survivor in a competitive society)
A(awutaoynofrmomoups,esoeprlene
personality)
Neurotic Defenses (Compulsive Movement)
Toward people (1-4)
(compliant personality)
Against people (4-=)
(aggressive personality)
Away from people (>-10)
(detached personality)
- - they want to attain autonomy and separateness
wNheerueraosticnsoarmreallismcitaendcthoothoese
uasevaorfieatysinogf le trend, strategies.
- Neurotics are unaware of their basic attitude
and they are forced to act.
Moving Toward People
- refers to the neurotic need to protect
oneself against feelings of helplessness
through compliance
- complaint people comply either or both of the first
two neurotic needs: (1) they desperately strive for
affection and approval of others (2) they seek a
powerful
lives partner who will take responsibility of their
- Horney referred to this need as “moLbid
dependency”
Moving Against People
- they move against others by appearing tough or
ruthless to resolve feelings of hostility
- they are motivated by the strong need to
exploit others and to use them for their own
benefit
- compulsively driven to appear perfect, powerful,
and superior
- Neurotic needs incorporated include: (1) the
need to be powerful, (2) to exploit others, (3) to
receive recognition and prestige, (4) to be
- Horney recognized three aspects of the idealized
admired, and (5) to achieve. self.
* Moving towards others and moving against
people are “polar opposites”. The compliant
person needs affection from others while the
aggressive person sees everyone as a
potential enemy.
* For both types, “the center of gravity lies
outside the person”.
Moving Away From People
- To resolve basic conflict of isolation,
people behave in a detached manner and
adopt a neurotic need.
- an expression of needs for
privacy, independence, and self-
sufficiency
- this needs become neurotic when people try
to satisfy each of these needs by compulsively
putting emotional distance between themselves
and other people
Intrapsychic Conflicts
- Horney did not neglect the impact of
intrapsychic factors in the development of
personality.
The two important intrapsychic conflicts
are: the idealized self-image and self-
hatred The Idealized Self-Image
- If given an environment of discipline and
warmth, people will develop feelings of security
and self- confidence and a tendency toward self-
Leali<ation. Yet, early negative influences often
igmropwedinegpseeonpsle
’osfnaaltieunraaltitonwfarordmsethlfe-
rmesaelizlvaetsio. n,
- This dilemma can only be solved by acquiring a
stable sense of identity, an extravagantly positive
view of themselves that exists only in their
personal belief system.
- The idealized self-image is not a global
construction. As it becomes solidified, 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.
(1) The NeuLotic SeaLch foL GloLy
- 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.
- It includes three other elements:
(a)the need for perfection — Refers to the drive
to mold the whole personality in to the idealized
self. They try to achieve perfection by erecting a
complex set of ‘shoulds’ and ‘should nots’,
referred as the “tyranny of the should”.
(b) neurotic ambition — Refers to the compulsive
drive toward superiority.
(c) the drive toward a vindictive triumph — The
most destructive element of all. It may be
disguised as a drive for achievement or success
but its chief aim is to put others to shame or
defeat them through one’s very success, to attain
power. .
. to inflict suffering on them—mostly of a humiliating
kind.
(2) NeuLotic Claims
- In their search for glory, neurotics build a
fantasy world — a world that is out of sync with
the real world.
- They proclaim that they are special and
therefore entitled to be treated in accordance
with their idealized view of themselves.
- Neurotic claims grow out of normal needs and
wishes, however when neurotic claims are not
met, neurotics become indignant, bewildered,
and
ug nraanbtleedtothceoirmcplar iemhse.nd why others
have not
(4) NeuLotic PLide
- A false pride based not on a realistic view of
the true self but on a spurious image of the
idealized self.
- It is qualitatively different from healthy pride
or realistic self-esteem.
- Genuine self-esteem is based on realistic
attributes and accomplishments and is generally
expressed with quiet dignity. 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.

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.
- Horney recognized six ways in which people
express self-hatred:
(1) relentless demands on the self
(2) merciless self-accusation
(3) self-contempt
(4) self-frustration
(5) self-torment or self-torture
(6) self-destructive actions and impulses
Feminine Psychology
* Psychic differences between men and women
a rnred nsotctihael erexpsuelct toaftiaonas tomy but
rather of cultural
- Oedipus complex is not universal, instead is
found only in some people and is an expression
for the neurotic need for love.
- A child may passionately cling to one parent
and express (neurotic need for love) and
express jealousy toward the other, as means of
alleviating basic anxiety and not manifestations
of an anatomically based Oedipus complex.
- The child’s main goal is security not
sexual intercourse.
- Horney agreed with Adler that women possess a
masculine protest (men are superior than women)
that leads to the neurotic desire to be a man, not
an expression of penis envy.
Psychotherapy
-The general goal of Horneyian therapy is to help
patients gradually grow in the direction of self-
realization. More specifically, the aim is to have
patients give up their idealized self-image,
relinquish their neurotic search for glory, and
change selfhatred to an acceptance of the real
self.
- Self-understanding is the key to positive change.
- Successful therapy is built on patient’s self-
analysis (idealized self-image vs. real self).
- In terms of techniques, Freudian dream
interpretation and free association are employed.
Horney saw dreams as attempts to solve
conflicts.
- When therapy is successful, patients gradually
develop confidence in their ability to assume
responsibility for their psychological development,
they move toward self-realization.
Related Research
- The Neurotic Compulsion to Avoid the
Negative. Neuroticism is associated with setting
avoidance goals rather than approach goals.
High levels of neuroticism is also associated with
experiencing more negative emotion and being
more likely to develop generalized anxiety
disorder.
-
FNoretuhroostiecipsemopcalenhaiglshoinbenseeu
erontiicnisamp,otshietiyvehaligveht.
the ability to recognize threats in the environment
and would be related to decreased negative mood.
Critique of Horney
- The strength of Horney’s theory is her lucid
portrayal of the neurotic personality. Her
comprehensive descriptions of neurotic
personalities provide an excellent framework
for understanding unhealthy people.
- A serious limitation to her theory is that her
references to the normal or healthy people are
general and not well-explicated. There was no
clear picture of what self-realization would be.
-deterministic for neurotic individuals, but a healthy
person would have a large element of free choice
- somewhat more optimistic than pessimistic,
people possess inherent curative powers that lead
toward self-realization.
- a middle position on causality vs. teleology:
childhood experiences can block the
movement toward self-realization
- most people have limited awareness of their
motives
- strongly emphasized social influences more than
biological ones
- it highlights similarities among people more
than uniqueness