Karen Horney Essays (Examples)

For Horney, it is self-actualization that ultimately develops a healthy individual, wherein satisfaction of the basic needs of an individual, such as sense of belongingness and love, are satisfactorily met and felt by the individual. If these needs are not met, the individual can develop conflicting selves: the "ideal" and "real" selves, which creates an internal conflict within the individual. This conflict creates, not only dissatisfaction, but a general hatred of the 'real' self, especially if the person's perceived 'ideal' self dominates over the real one.

These ideas presented in Horney's psychoanalytical theories are noted to be attitudes and behavior displayed at its most extreme form by the individual. Although I do not exhibit extreme forms of this behavior, I consider myself to have had experienced "basic anxiety" as outlined in Horney's behavioral phases towards the development of neurosis.

As a college student, I am exposed to different pressures and…

Accounting for Neurosis

Karen Horney's work of non-fiction, Neurosis and Human Growth, is many different things. It is an astute analysis of the self -- both as it exists inwardly and externally. It is a comparative effort on some of the most eminent theories pertaining to Sigmund Freud. It also offers more than a little advice for how to account for life and the feelings of fulfillment and completeness towards which most people strive. In addressing all of these various aspects of human existence, the author relies on the conception of the neurotic as a fundamental starting point for how the self operates, what it accounts for, and how it ultimately plays out in the lives of any different number of individuals. This reliance on the neurotic as the touchstone for the author's myriad concepts discussed in this book function as the central takeaway of a work that actually spans…

The second major category of neurosis consisted of the need to control those very desires, and so remain independent and even assert control over other people. This she called Moving Against People (Horney, 2003, p. 116). Horney had, from the beginning struck out on her path independent of her mentor, Abraham, and her indirect mentors Freud and Adler. Lastly, there was the desire to abandon the world altogether, or Moving Away From People (Horney, 2003, p. 117) Karen Horney had left her home in Europe behind, sundering close ties. America represented a new beginning.

Among those who embraced Karen Horney's ideas was the industrial psychologist Abraham Maslow. He was particularly attracted by Horney's point that human beings must be understood within the context of their culture and society (Maslow, 2000, p. 284).

Maslow was primarily concerned with the workings of organizations. Horney had thought much, in her own life, and…

Psychosocial Development Theory

In the history of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud was the first to delve into the unknown recesses of the human mind to identify reasons for neuroses. As such, he identified infantile sexuality to lie at the heart of most problems in the relationship with the self and others and used the three-dimensional model of the id, the ego, and superego to describe the various ways in which these neuroses manifested themselves. Today, many theorists use Freud's theories to build their own derivative theories. Even though many today reject some or most of the early philosopher's ideas, it is thanks to him that these theories have a reason for existence in themselves. Today, the theory known as psychosocial development bases many of its concepts on the early ideas conceptualized by Freud. As such, theorists like Erik Erikson, Alfred Adler, and Karen Horney have developed their own concepts of what…

The ideal self is the person, someone feels they should be and will model their behavior, based upon this image. The real self is the side of your personality that friends and family know well. This creates a conflict in the individual called self-actualization, as the person will attempt to live up to the image of their ideal self. Where, these perceptions will affect the self-image of the individual throughout their life. (Gentile, 2008)

Evelyn Hooker

Evelyn Hooker conducted the first scientific experiment on male homosexuality. Where, she would survey both heterosexuals and homosexuals, to determine if homosexuals have trouble adjusting to various social circumstances. The effects of the survey were: homosexuals have no difference in adjusting to social situations in comparison with heterosexuals. As a result, this information would help to provide a research methodology that would be used in the future, to understand homosexual behavior. (Gentile, 2008)

Thomas…

ersonality Theory

Neurosis in the workplace and in society in general

This essay discusses with regard to neurosis and to the degree to which it can affect a person. The paper relates to how the contemporary society has a somewhat limited understanding of the concept and concerning how the fact that many mental health specialists consider the matter to be outdated does not help neurotic individuals and people around them. There are a multitude of topics that one can associate with neurosis and by comprehending what it entails and strategies that one can take with the purpose to reduce the influence that its symptoms have on individuals and environments they interact with, one can successfully combat the condition.

Neurosis in the workplace is a sensible issue, as it would be difficult for a coworker to simply diagnose one of his or her colleagues or to go as far as to…

Gender and Culture
Gender is an important and essential construct in human beings. Throughout generations gender has remained central to the family unit. Normative conditions have always dictated perceptions and expectation with respect to the masculinity of men and femininity of women. Authors like Butler have argued that gender is not an automatic or mechanical construct and that gender authoring should be acceptable and normal. Factually speaking gender is a huge aspect of life that determines how people are recognized and accepted. In the film Zerophilia, Luke struggles with identity due to his condition that allows him to switch between genders after an orgasm. Borrowing from the Film, any unique gender construct will inevitably cause a lot of confusion and possibly affect the life of the victim negatively. This discourse analyzes the different perspectives concerning gender from Butler, Woolf and Horney. It will be deduced that gender fundamentally influences the…

Introduction
Psychoanalysis, behaviorism, and humanistic, transpersonal, and existential (HTE) psychology are the three primary movements in the study of the human experience. Each of these movements uses different research methodologies and epistemologies, and each focuses on different aspects of the human experience. Moreover, each of these movements presents unique therapeutic interventions and goals in the field of psychology. With each having contributed tremendously to the social sciences, psychoanalysis, behaviorism, and humanistic psychology can also be integrated for a richer understanding of human consciousness and the human condition. Historical context of the science and practice of psychology helps illuminate the field’s core values.
Historical Context and Rationale
Although inquiries into the human experience can be traced through the disciplines of philosophy and religion, the first scientific, empirical studies of human nature and behavior began more concertedly in the nineteenth century. William Wundt opened the first real laboratory dedicated exclusively to psychology…

The major criticisms of Freud's Theory thought that it was difficult to test and there was too much emphasis on Biology.

Humanistic Theory- was developed by Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow and emphasizes the internal experiences such as feelings and thoughts and the individual's feelings of worth. It believes that humans are naturally good and have a positive drive towards their own self-fulfilment. Rogers was most interested in the interaction between mental health, self-concept and self-esteem. Maslow believed that every person has an in-born drive to develop all their talents and capacities and calls this self-actualization. The critics of this theory felt that it is naive to assume that all people are good and think it takes a narrow view of personality.

Social-Cognitive Theory- by Albert Bandura believes that personality comes from the person's history of interaction with the environment. He believes that self-efficacy comes from having a strong belief…

In this regard, Demorest concludes that, "Together these and other theorists have provided accounts of what it means to be a person that all fit within the psychodynamic paradigm, a perspective that holds a vision of people as at their core driven by dynamic forces in their unconscious minds" (2005, p. 3).

Freud's influence on psychoanalytic thought, though, required some time to take hold and many of his methods were rejected outright by the contemporary medical establishment, particularly in the United States. For example, following Freud's only trip to North America in 1909, one psychiatrist believed that, "Many patients were psychotically disturbed and deemed to be beyond the reach of Freud's intellectual 'talk therapy'" (Beam, 2001, p. 94). Not only did others think that Freud's methods were not appropriate for some patients, Freud himself acknowledged their limitations. In fact, Beam points out as well that, "Freud himself thought most schizophrenics…

Also, later theorists were more inclined to analyze the human person, not in pathological or arrested state, but in a normal state. The input of theorists such as Karen Horney and Erik Erikson during the early part of the 20th century stressed human development from infancy to adulthood and the development of human society from a 'primitive' or collective state to today's more individualistic culture. However, theorists such as Karl Jung still made use of Freud's theory of the unconscious, even while Jung was more apt to stress the need to understand the collective unconscious, the social collective memory.

It is interesting to note that Jung's 20th century analysis of personality types incorporated older ideas about how body types and humors affect one's personality, for example whether one is a bold type, and the high-strung type, for example -- which Jung called degrees of personal extroversion or introversion. But because…

Housing Support on Teenager Parents

Housing Support on Teenagers

The Impacts of Housing Support on Teenagers Parent in United Kingdom

UK leads Europe in teenage pregnancies in Western Europe with 35,966 conceptions in the under 18s in 2009. Majority of these unplanned pregnancies are the cause and consequence of social exclusion in UK. (UNICEF, 2001) There are 90K teenagers under 20 years and 8k under 16-year's pregnancies in England each year; it is the highest rate in Western Europe (SEU, 1999).

Teenage pregnancy can take place before first menstrual period (12or 13 years), which can result into pregnancy but usually occurs between 13 to 20 years of age. The National Health Services spends over £63 million a year on teenage pregnancies in UK. (Dennison, 2004).

Teenage parenthood is a serious social problem; it has adverse effects on parents and children. These young mothers have greater chances of being poor, less…

S., experts estimate the genuine number of incidents of abuse and neglect ranges three times higher than reported. (National Child Abuse Statistics, 2006) in light of these critical contemporary concerns for youth, this researcher chose to document the application of Object elation, Attachment Theories, and Self-Psychology to clinical practice, specifically focusing on a patient who experienced abuse when a child. Consequently, this researcher contends this clinical case study dissertation proves to be vital venture, which will contribute to enhancing research in the field of psychology.

For this clinical case study dissertation exploring Object elation, Attachment Theories, and Self-Psychology, along with researching information for the application of these theories to clinical practice, this researcher answered the following research questions.

esearch Questions

What is Winnicott's elational Model Theory?

What is Bowlby's Attachment Theory?

What is Kohut's Self-Psychology?

How may components of these three theories be applied to the clinical case chosen for…

I know the teaching profession doesn't pay much, and there are a lot of serious problems in schools today, but I'm up for the challenge. They say if you can make a big difference in the lives of three or four students in each class, you can consider that you have done your job.

"I'll try to make a difference in the lives of every student in every class. What's wrong with trying to go for it all? The Phillies tried to go for it all and win a World Series, but they got stopped just short of their goal. Still, how many other teams didn't even get that far? In the National League there are 16 teams, so the Phillies beat out 15 teams to get to the world series. If I can change the lives of even 2 or 3 students in each of my 4 or 5…

Psychology

Erick Erikson's Theory of Socioemotional Development

Erik Erikson, American psychoanalyst, is known in the field of psychology for his contribution in studying the socioemotional aspect of development among humans. Called the theory of socioemotional development, Erikson posits in his theory that, "people grow and develop "socialized by and socialize others -- parents, siblings, peers, teachers... processes that involve changes in an individual's relationships with other people, changes in emotion, and changes in personality" (Santrock, 2001:338). Erikson identified different dichotomies that specifically delineate positive and negative aspects of socioemotional developments among individuals. These dichotomies are placed at various levels, where different socioemotional characteristics are manifested at each level of the individual's development.

Erikson's theory is an essential tool to understanding human behavior because it serves as a guideline for people to understand the different changes in socioemotional characteristics of people as they grow older. Of course, there are certain exceptions…

Psychology

The author of this report is to answer to two different psychology-related questions. The first question asks the author of this report to speak to how certain career people would tend to fit into the five factor model. The second and final question asks the author of this report to take an online personality assessment and share the results. While making broad generalizations about the first of those two questions would be unwise, there are patterns and trends that would make themselves clear and personality tests like the one taken in the second question would be much more precise.

Questions Answered

The five factors of the Five Factor grouping are openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism. The president of a corporation would absolutely tend to have extraversion and neuroticism as the main foci. To be specific, they would tend to be secure and confident as well as…