KAREN HORNEY

LIFE HISTORY

● Horney was born in Hamburg, Germany.

● Her father was a devout, morose ship captain
● her mother was a liberal and vivacious woman.
● her father belittled her appearance and intelligence. As a result, she felt inferior,
worthless, and hostile
● lack of parental love fostered what Horney later called “basic anxiety”
● Ignoring the opposition from her father, Horney entered medical school at the
University of Berlin
● one of the first women in Germany to study medicine.
● 1915 She earned her medical degree from the University of Berlin
● 1917 delivered her first paper on psychoanalysis
● She married, gave birth to three daughters.
● and became increasingly depressed. She described a long period of unhappiness
and oppression as well as marital difficulties. She complained of crying spells,
stomach pains, chronic fatigue, compulsive behaviors, an inability to work, and
thoughts of suicide
● After several affairs, she divorced her husband to continue her restless quest for
acceptance for the rest of her life. Her most enduring affair was with the
psychoanalyst Erich Fromm.
● When the relationship ended, she was devastated. She chose to undergo
psychoanalysis to deal with her depression and sexual problems.
● She underwent psychoanalysis with the renowned analyst Karl Abraham who
recognized her brilliance and wrote to Freud about her potential (Sayers, 1991). In
time, she became the first female professor at the Berlin Psychoanalytic Institute.
● 1939– Karen and Oscar Horney were divorced.
○ the ensuing period marked a time of great independence in her thinking.
○ same year, she published her book New Ways in Psychoanalysis which took
a critical stand against Freud
● 1941- She resigned from the Society and helped found the Association for the
Advancement of Psychoanalysis (Sayers, 1991).
● also– founder and dean of the American Institute for Psychoanalysis
● founder and editor of the American Journal of Psychoanalysis

HORNEY AS FREUD’S DISCIPLE (Wolman, 2012)

● Karen Horney published "New Ways in Psychoanalysis" in 1939, which marked

her departure from classic Freudian principles.
● Horney, while considered a Freudian disciple, challenged and revised many Freudian
concepts in her book.
 ● She retained some fundamental principles of classic psychoanalysis, including the
belief in absolute causality, where all mental processes have a cause and
effect.
● She fully accepted the principle of unconscious motivation, a key aspect of
psychoanalysis.
● She expanded on Freud's concept of unconscious motivation by emphasizing the
role of emotions in unconscious processes.
● Horney adhered to Freud's methods of analyzing the unconscious, dream
interpretation, and free association. + repression, resistance, transference
● Unlike Freud, Horney was a non-reductionist, meaning she did not believe that all
psychological phenomena could be reduced to purely chemical or physiological
forces.
● Horney shared with Freud a belief that personality develops in the early childhood
years, but she insisted that personality continues to change throughout life.

THE CHALLENGE TO FREUD (Wolman, 2012)

● Horney challenged Freud's theories on personality development, denying the

dominance of instinctual forces and the omnipotence of sexuality.
● She questioned the general validity of Freud's Oedipus theory.
● Horney's rejection of Freudian concepts like libido theory poses a challenge to the
core principles of psychoanalysis.
● Horney shifts the focus in psychoanalytic personality study from internal to
external factors.
● She emphasizes the importance of environmental influences over hereditary
factors and present conflicts over childhood experiences.
● Horney disagreed with Freud's theory of developmental stages based on hereditary
principles, arguing that development is influenced by environment and culture.
● She criticized the assumption that the Oedipus complex is a universal occurrence.
● The sociological school, including Horney, rejects Freud's concept of basic instincts
like love and death, viewing aggressiveness and hatred as products of culture rather
than innate forces.
● Horney rejects Eros as an instinctual force but acknowledges the importance of love
in interpersonal relationships.
● Horney does not deny the pleasure principle but objects to its association solely with
sexuality. She argues that not all forms of satisfaction are derived from sex and that
the pleasure principle should not be equated with sexual desire alone.
● Horney's theory of human behavior is based on two principles: safety and
satisfaction.
● She proposes that individuals strive for both safety and satisfaction in their
lives, emphasizing the importance of psychological security and fulfillment.

Karen Horney's Critique of Freud (Hergenhahn, 1976)

● Horney believed that Freudian concepts such as unconscious sexual motivation, the
Oedipal complex, and the division of the mind into id, ego, and superego were more
 relevant to Freud's cultural setting and historical context than to the problems faced
by people during the Depression years in the United States.
● She observed that her clients' struggles were primarily related to economic
hardships, such as unemployment, financial instability, and inadequate access to
necessities like food and medical care.
● Unconscious sexual conflicts were rarely the cause of her clients' psychological
problems, hence she questioned the relevance of Freudian intrapsychic conflicts

Focus on Social Determinants (Hergenhahn, 1976)

● A person's social experiences and interactions determine the likelihood of
experiencing psychological problems, rather than Freudian intrapsychic conflicts.
● She argued that mental illness is rooted in societal factors and social dynamics,
hence these factors must be addressed in therapy.

Horney's Theory of Womb Envy (Schultz & Schultz, 2011)

● Contrary to Freud's concept of penis envy in women, Horney proposed the idea of
"womb envy" in men.
● Men feel jealous of women's ability to give birth and manifest this envy through
behaviors aimed at harassing and belittling women.
● Men's attempts to deny women equal rights and opportunities stem from a
subconscious desire to maintain a perceived natural superiority rooted in womb envy.

Differences in Views of Human Nature (Schultz & Schultz, 2011)

● Horney criticized Freud's pessimistic view of neuroses and their treatment, which she
believed stemmed from Freud's disbelief in human goodness and potential for
growth.
● She believed in humanity's capacity for development and the desire to become
decent human beings.
● She asserted that individuals have the ability to change and grow throughout their
lives, rejecting Freud's notion of an innate tendency towards suffering or destruction.
● “My own belief is that man has the capacity as well as the desire to develop his
potentialities and become a decent human being. I believe that man can change and
go on changing as long as he lives.” (Horney, 1945)

BASIC HOSTILITY AND BASIC ANXIETY

● psychological problems stem from disturbed human relationships, especially those
between the parents and the child are most important.
● Every child has 2 basic needs:
○ 1. to be safe from pain, danger, and fear
○ 2. to have biological needs satisfied.

● Two possibilities exist:

○ 1. the parents consistently and lovingly satisfy the child’s needs, → child
becomes a normal, healthy adult.
 ○ 2. the parents demonstrate indifference, inconsistency, or even hatred toward

the child. → the child is said to have experienced the basic evil &
becomes neurotic.
● A child experiencing some form of basic evil develops basic hostility toward the
parents– aggression that a child develops as a result of “basic evil”.
● Basic evil is generally defined as “invariably the lack of genuine warmth and
affection”
● the hostility develops into a worldview– the world is viewed as a dangerous,
unpredictable place.
● But the child is in no position to aggress toward the parents or the world, hence the
basic hostility felt toward them must be repressed.
● When basic hostility is repressed, it becomes basic anxiety– an “all-pervading
feeling of being lonely and helpless in a hostile world” (Horney, 1937).
● Basic anxiety is the prerequisite for the development of neurosis.
● Basic anxiety arises from the parent-child relationship.

ADJUSTMENT TO BASIC ANXIETY

● When this socially produced anxiety becomes evident, the child develops behavioral
strategies in response to parental behavior to cope with the feelings of helplessness
and insecurity.
● Horney (1945) described three major adjustment patterns available to neurotic
individuals, that is, those with basic anxiety:
○ The compliant personality—one who needs to move toward other people,
expressing needs for approval, affection, and a dominant partner (accepting
one’s feelings of helplessness and acting to win the affection of others and
feeling secure)
“needs to be liked, wanted, desired, loved; to feel accepted, welcomed,
approved of, appreciated; to be needed, to be of importance to others,
especially to one particular person; to be helped, protected, taken care of,
guided” (Horney, 1945)

○ The detached personality—one who needs to move away from people,

expressing needs for independence, perfection, and withdrawal (withdrawing,
behaving to appear self-sufficient and avoid dependency)
“If I have power, no one can hurt me” (Horney, 1937)
“Any situation or relationship is looked at from the standpoint of “What can I
get out of it?”—whether it has to do with money, prestige, contacts, or ideas.
The person himself is consciously or semiconsciously convinced that
everyone acts this way, and so what counts is to do it more efficiently than the
rest.” (Horney, 1945)

○ The aggressive personality—one who needs to move against people,

expressing needs for power, exploitation, prestige, admiration, and
achievement (involves hostility, rebellion, and aggression.)
“What is crucial is their inner need to put emotional distance between
themselves and others. More accurately, it is their conscious and unconscious
 determination not to get emotionally involved with others in any way, whether
in love, fight, co-operation, or competition. They draw around themselves a
kind of magic circle which no one may penetrate.” (Horney, 1945)

FEMINIST CRITIQUE OF FREUDIAN PSYCHOANALYSIS/ FEMININE

PSYCHOLOGY

Critique of Freud's "Anatomy is Destiny"

● Horney argued that cultural, not anatomical, factors produce differences between
genders.
● Found psychoanalysis excessively male-oriented and phallocentric in gender
development matters.
● In response to penis envy in psychoanalytic discussions, she gave the term womb
envy– males envying female anatomy & pregnancy, childbirth, motherhood, and
breastfeeding, which are reflected in the unconscious.

Emphasis on Cultural Influences

● Later shifted her view to focus more on cultural factors than biological ones in
determining personality traits.
● Wrote articles on how culture influences female personality development.

Women's Inferiority
● Agreed that women often feel inferior to men but attributed this to cultural, not
biological, factors.
● Described how cultural stereotypes hold women back from achieving independence
and expanding their interests.
● Asserted that when women appear to desire masculinity, they are actually seeking
cultural equality.
● Noted that in a masculine-dominated culture, gaining power often means adopting
masculine traits.
● The wish to be a man … may be the expression of a wish for all those qualities or
privileges which in our culture are regarded as masculine, such as strength, courage,
independence, success, sexual freedom, right to choose a partner. (Horney, 1939)
● Believed women's sense of inferiority is acquired from masculine society, it is not
constitutional.

Understanding of Women in Psychoanalysis

● Criticized Freud and psychoanalysis for having a male-centric perspective.
● Suggested that psychoanalysis has historically understood men better than women
due to its male origins.
● Psychoanalysis is the creation of a male genius, and almost all those who have
developed his ideas have been men. It is only right and reasonable that they should
evolve more easily a masculine psychology and understand more of the development
of men than of women (Horney and Kelman, 1967)
 ● Personality development and gender tensions attributed to environmental, not
biological, factors.
● Horney (1967) challenged society’s “dread of women,” which results in
disparaging and hostile attitudes that define women as emotionally and intellectually
inferior to men.
● Surveyed historical examples of female persecution to illustrate patriarchal dread and
hostile attitudes towards women, ranging from biblical admonishments to the
senseless slaughter of witches.
● She called for a new understanding of women but noted the discouraging
stereotypes of her day
○ Women’s efforts for independence and enlargement of their field of activities
are continually met with a skepticism that insists that such efforts should be
made only in the face of economic necessity
○ efforts of this sort are said to be without any vital significance for women,
whose every thought should center upon the male or motherhood. (Horney,
1934)

Divergence from Freudian Theory & Her Therapeutic Process

● Wrote fourteen papers between 1923 and 1936 challenging Freud's theory of female
sexual development. Freud condemned Horney's sociocultural theory, but she
remained undeterred by his criticism.
● Agreed with Freud on the importance of early experiences and unconscious
motivation but disagreed on biological vs. cultural motivation.
● In therapy, she used free association and dream analysis and believed transference
and resistance provided important information.
● She was much more optimistic about people’s ability to change their personalities
than Freud was, and, unlike Freud, she believed people could solve many of their
own problems
● Horney was strongly influenced by Freudian theory and accepted much of it.
However, she disagreed with almost every conclusion that Freud had reached about
women.
● Horney's departure from Freudian dogma was met with controversy and
excommunication from the psychoanalytic community.
● She is the first psychoanalytic feminist.

Influence and Impact of Horney's Work

● Horney's work contributed significantly to advancing the psychological study of
women, gaining momentum in the 1960s.
● Her ideas influenced cognitive and rational-emotive therapy, as well as the study of
literature.
● Unlike Adler and Jung, Horney did not replace psychoanalysis with a new theory but
challenged and restructured Freudian assumptions to fit a different time and culture.
(Wallace, 1993)
● Horney's work on cultural influences of personality and feminine psychology opened
new frontiers and broadened the scope of psychoanalytic theory.