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Karen horneys psychoanalytic social theory

...... A second extremely important factor that underlies much of the trajectory and impetus of her views is that the social determinants of the personality refer especially to the child-parent relationship. As mentioned, this theoretical stance, which emphasized social and interpersonal criteria, was in opposition to the mainstream of thought in psychoanalysis at the time which, which saw the biological and instinctive element as the central and most powerful determinants in human personality construction and development
Other central issues that dominate her theoretical output are the following. Horneys view of personality was more positive and optimistic than many of the theories at the time. Part of the impetus behind her theory was to .correct Freud's pessimistic view of human nature by arguing that our inner potentials are entirely healthy (Ewen, 2003, p. 116). She was also concerned to show that personality is often in conflict with itself and that this state of conflict was an important aspect of human development. In this sense, she was opposed to theorists like Adler who envisaged human personality as a unified and integrated whole. In her theory of personality, Horney saw the personality as composed of intrapsychic conflict, which was to have important implications