Horney Psychoanalytic Social Theory (Feist) PDF

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Warning: TT: undefined function: 32 Warning: TT: undefined function: 32 Psychoanalytic Social Theory Karen HorneyI. Overview Psychoanalytic social theory – the assumption that social and cultural conditions, especially childhood experiences, are largely responsible for shaping personality. People wh...

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Psychoanalytic Social Theory Karen Horney I. • • •

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Overview Psychoanalytic social theory – the assumption that social and cultural conditions, especially childhood experiences, are largely responsible for shaping personality. People who do not have their needs for love and affection satisfied during childhood develop basic hostility toward their parents and, as a consequence, suffer from basic anxiety. People combat basic anxiety by adopting one of the three fundamental styles of relating to others: 1. Moving toward people 2. Moving against people 3. Moving away from people Neurotics rely on only one of these styles, which will then generates a basic intrapsychic conflict. Intrapsychic conflict may take on either of the two forms: o Idealized self-image ▪ May be expressed as neurotic search for glory, neurotic claims, or neurotic pride o Self-hatred ▪ May be expressed as self-contempt or alienation from the self Biography of Karen Horney

Events that may have influenced Horney’s development of the theory • Had older siblings who were favored by the parents, making her feel unwanted and unloved o Four half-siblings from her father’s first marriage o An older brother from her mother (second wife) • Her half-siblings turned their father against her mother • Felt great hostility toward her devoutly religious father, regarding him as a religious hypocrite • Idolized her mother • Resented the favored treatment given to her older brother • Engaged in an extended self-analysis, starting from writing in a diary (age 13 to 26) • She felt the need to get married to a great man o Was dependent in the relationship o Idealized the relationship o She feared being rejected • She was one of the first women to be admitted to a university in Germany to study medicine. • When she was studying, Freud’s theories was becoming well established. • Her first paper on psychoanalysis, “The Technique of Psychoanalytic Therapy,” reflected mostly Freud’s thinking rather than her own. • Had several love affairs during her marriage • Her husband (and thus, her family) was once rich, but then he lost his job after the inflation and economic disorder of 1923, which caused them to live in an apartment in Berlin. Oskar and Karen separated and then soon divorced.

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After her divorce, she became more involved with writing, teaching, traveling, and lecturing. Her papers also showed differences in thinking with Freud, particularly regarding the aspect of culture, not anatomy, being the one responsible for psychic differences between men and women. In her book entitled New Ways of Psychoanalysis, Horney called for abandoning the instinct theory and placing more emphasis on the ego and social influences. In 1950, Horney published her most important work, Neurosis and Human Growth, wherein she expressed her own creative thinking that was independent and free of reactions of Freud’s work. Introduction to Psychoanalytic Social Theory

A. Horney and Freud Compared • “Man is ruled not by the pleasure principle alone but by two guiding principles: safety and satisfaction.” • …neuroses are not the result of instincts but rather of the person’s “attempt to find paths through a wilderness full of unknown dangers.” This wilderness is created by society and not by instincts or anatomy. • Freud: pessimistic concept of humanity on innate instincts and the stagnation of personality Horney: optimistic view of humanity; centered on the cultural forces that are amenable to change B. The Impact of Culture • Competitiveness results in basic hostility, which then results in feelings of isolation. • Isolation leads to intensified needs for affection, which causes people to overvalue love such that it is deemed as the solution to all problems. • Neurotics’ self-defeating attempts to find love result in low self-esteem, increased hostility, basic anxiety, more competitiveness, and a continuous excessive need for love and affection. • Western society contributes to the vicious cycle of competitiveness → basic hostility → isolation in several respects: 1. Society is imbued with cultural teachings of kinship and humility. However, it also encourages an aggressive attitude and the drive to win or be superior. 2. Society demands that people should have a sense of achievement and become successful. However, even when people have achieved their material ambitions, more and more goals are set before them to accomplish. 3. Society tells people that they are free and that they can achieve anything through hard work. However, the freedom of most people is greatly restricted by genetics, social position, and the competitiveness of others. C. The Importance of Childhood Experiences • A difficult childhood is primarily responsible for neurotic needs. • “The sum total of childhood experiences brings about a certain character structure, or rather, starts its development.” • People who rigidly repeat patterns of behavior do so because they interpret new experiences in a manner consistent with those established patterns.

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Basic Hostility and Basic Anxiety People need favorable conditions to grow (mentally) healthy. Children need to experience both genuine love and healthy discipline. Such conditions provide them with feelings of safety and satisfaction and permit them to grow in accordance with their real self. • If parents do not satisfy the child’s needs for safety and satisfaction, the child develops basic hostility toward the parents. However, children rarely express hostility such that they repress it. ▪ Repressed hostility then leads to profound feelings of insecurity and a vague sense of apprehension. Basic anxiety – “a feeling of being isolated and helpless in a world conceived as potentially hostile”; “a feeling of being small, insignificant, helpless, deserted, endangered, in a world that is out to abuse, cheat, attack, humiliate, betray, envy.” Basic hostility and basic anxiety are inextricably woven. Hostile impulses are the principal source of basic anxiety, but basic anxiety can also contribute to feelings of hostility. There is no stimulus needed to produce basic hostility or basic anxiety toward a person, event, or object. There are four defense mechanisms (protective devices) that people use to protect themselves against feeling alone in a potentially hostile world: • Affection – does not always lead to authentic love; may be attempted to attain through purchasing love. • Submissiveness – neurotics submit themselves to certain people, institutions, or religion to gain affection. • Striving for power, prestige, or possession ▪ Power is a defense against the real or imagined hostility of others and takes the form of a tendency to dominate others. ▪ Prestige is a protection against humiliation and is expressed as a tendency to humiliate others. ▪ Possession acts as a buffer against destitution and poverty and manifests itself as a tendency to deprive others. • Withdrawal – developing an independence from others or by becoming emotionally detached from them. Protective devices become unhealthy when people feel compelled to rely on them and are thus unable to employ a variety of interpersonal strategies. Compulsive Drives

Neurotics experience problems to a greater degree than normal people would. In addition, to solve these problems, neurotics compulsively repeat the same strategy in an essentially unproductive manner as compared to normal people who can use a variety of protective devices. These strategies/behaviors often perpetuate low self-esteem, general hostility, inappropriate striving for power, inflated feelings of superiority, and persistent apprehension, all of which result in more basic anxiety.

A. Neurotic needs – characterize neurotics in their attempts to combat basic anxiety. (A person may employ more than one.) 1. ...for affection and approval – neurotics attempt indiscriminately to please others. 2. ...for a powerful partner – neurotics try to attach themselves to a powerful partner because they lack self-confidence; includes an overvaluation of love and a dread of being alone or deserted. 3. ...to restrict one’s life within narrow borders – neurotics frequently strive to remain inconspicuous, take second place, and be content with very little. 4. ...for power – the need to control others and to avoid feelings of weakness or stupidity. 5. ...to exploit others – neurotics frequently evaluate others based on how they can be used or exploited; but they fear being exploited by others. 6. …for social recognition or prestige – trying to be first, to be important, or to attract attention to themselves. 7. …for personal admiration – to be admired for what they are rather than for what they possess; must be continually fed by the admiration and approval of others. 8. …for ambition and personal achievement – a strong drive to be the best; must defeat other people to confirm their superiority. 9. …for self-sufficiency and independence – a strong need to move away from people, thereby proving that they can get along without others. 10. …for perfection and unassailability – neurotics dread making mistakes and having personal flaws, and desperately attempt to hide their weaknesses from others; perfection is proof of their self-esteem and personal superiority. B. Neurotic trends – three general categories that group neurotic needs, each relating to a person’s basic attitude toward the self and others. • Nonproductive solutions/strategies • Children attempt to solve basic conflicts by making one of the three neurotic trends consistently dominant.

Basic conflict or source of neurotic trend Neurotic needs

Normal analog

Neurotic Trends Toward People Against People The Compliant The Aggressive Personality Personality Feelings of Protection against the helplessness hostility of others

Away from People The Detached Personality Feelings of isolation

1. Affection and approval 2. Powerful partner 3. Narrow limits to life

4. Power 5. Exploitation 6. Recognition and unassailability 7. Personal admiration 8. Personal achievement

9. Self-sufficiency and independence 10. Perfection and prestige

Friendly, loving

Ability to survive in a competitive society

Autonomous and serene

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Intrapsychic Conflicts Idealized self-image – an attempt to solve conflicts by painting a godlike picture of oneself. Self-hatred – an interrelated yet equally irrational and powerful tendency to despise one’s real self. As people build an idealized image of their self, their real self lags farther and farther behind. This gap creates a growing alienation between the real self and the idealized self and leads neurotics to despise their actual self because it falls so short in matching the glorified self-image.

A. The Idealized Self-Image • To acquire a stable sense of identity, people create an idealized self-image, which is an extravagantly positive view of themselves that exists only in their personal belief system. • As the idealized self-image becomes solidified, neurotics begin to believe in the reality of that image. They lose touch with their real self and use the idealized self as the standard for selfevaluation. Rather than growing toward self-realization, they move toward actualizing their idealized self. a. The neurotic search for glory – the comprehensive drive toward actualizing the ideal self. • Elements: 1. Need for perfection – the drive to mold the whole personality into the idealized self. ▪ Tyranny of the should – a complex set of should and should nots that is established to try to achieve perfection. 2. Neurotic ambition – the compulsive drive toward superiority. 3. Drive toward vindictive triumph – may be disguised as a drive for achievement or success, but actually aims to shame or defeat others through achievements or to attain the power to inflict suffering on them (mostly of a humiliating kind). ▪ The drive for a vindictive triumph grows out of the childhood desire to take revenge for real or imagined humiliations. b. Neurotic claims – the proclamations of being special and therefore entitled to being treated in accordance with their idealized view of themselves (in their fantasy world that is out of sync with the real world). • Neurotic claims grow out of normal needs and wishes. However, when neurotic claims are not met, neurotics become indignant, bewildered, and unable to comprehend why others have not granted their claims. They become unreasonable with their demands. c. Neurotic pride – a false pride based not on a realistic view of the true self, but on a spurious image of the idealized self. • Based on an idealized image of the self and is usually loudly proclaimed to protect and support a glorified view of one’s self.

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To prevent hurt to their neurotic pride, neurotics avoid people who refuse to yield to their neurotic claims, and instead, try to become associated with socially prominent and prestigious institutions and acquisitions.

B. Self-Hatred • When neurotics realize that their real self does not match the insatiable demands of their idealized self, they will begin to hate and despise themselves. • There are six major ways by which people expressed their self-hatred: 1. Relentless demands on the self – continuing to push the self toward perfection because of the belief that one should be perfect (ex. tyranny of the should). 2. Merciless self-accusation – neurotics constantly berate themselves. • May take a variety of forms, from obviously grandiose expressions (such as taking responsibility for natural disasters) to scrupulously questioning the virtue of their own motivations. 3. Self-contempt – prevents people from striving for improvement or achievement; may be expressed as belittling, disparaging, doubting, discrediting, and ridiculing oneself. 4. Self-frustration – stems from self-hatred and is designed to actualize an inflated selfimage; neurotics are frequently shackled by taboos against enjoyment. 5. Self-torment or self-torture – when people’s main intension is to inflict harm or suffering on themselves. 6. Self-destructive actions and impulses – may be either physical or psychological, conscious or unconscious, acute or chronic; carried out in action or enacted only in imagination. VII. • • •

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Feminine Psychology Horney recognized the existence of Oedipus complex. However, she insisted that it is not caused by biology, but rather by certain environmental conditions. There are no evidence for a universal Oedipus complex, which should be present if it is indeed caused by anatomy. Behaviors described by the Oedipus complex (clinginess and jealousy toward a parent) are simply means of alleviating basic anxiety. Contrary to Freud’s belief, the child’s main goal is security, not sexual intercourse. Horney agreed with Adler that masculine protest or the pathological belief that men are superior to women and that because of this, women desire to become men does exist. However, it is not a case of penis envy, but rather “a wish for all those qualities or privileges which in our culture are regarded as masculine.” Janet Shibley Hyde – supported Horney’s cause of “forgetting” about gender differences in studies because men and women have more similarities than people think. o Stereotypes cause men to behave like men and women to behave like women. These behaviors are social constructs that are made because the idea of men and women belonging to different “planets” appeals to our intuitions. The danger is that our expectations likely guide our cognitions and our behaviors, creating a self-fulfilling prophecy.

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Psychotherapy

Neurotic trends can produce temporary relief, but eventually, they drive the person farther away from actualizing the real self and deeper into a neurotic spiral. General goal of Horneyian therapy: To have patients give up their idealized self-image, relinquish their neurotic search for glory, and change self-hatred to an acceptance of the real self. Patients tend to cling to the neurotic trends because they usually view them in a positive light (moving toward = love, moving against = mastery, and moving away = freedom) so that their actions will appear healthy, right, and desirable. Patients must understand the difference between their idealized self-image and their real self. Horneyian therapists used many of the techniques used by Freudian therapists: o Dream interpretation – dreams as attempts to solve conflicts, but the solutions can be either neurotic or healthy. ▪ When therapists provide a correct interpretation, patients are helped toward a better understanding of their real self. o Free association – patients are asked to say everything that comes to mind and are encouraged to express whatever feelings may arise from the associations. ▪ Free association eventually reveals patients’ idealized self-image and persistent but unsuccessful attempts at accomplishing it....