Hockenbury Discovering Psychology 5th txtbk

430 CHAPTER 10 PersonalityMan, [Freud] postulated, is doomed tosuffer or destroy. . . . My own belief isthat man has the capacity as well asthe desire to develop his potentialitiesand become a decent human being,and that these deteriorate if his rela -tionship to others and hence to himselfis, and continues to be, disturbed. Ibelieve that man can change and goon changing as long as he lives.KAREN HORNEY (1945)Karen HorneyBasic Anxiety and “Womb Envy”Trained as a Freudian psychoanalyst, Karen Horney (1885–1952) (pronouncedHORN-eye) emigrated from Germany to the United States during the Great Depressionin the 1930s. Horney noticed distinct differences between her Americanand her German patients. While Freud traced psychological problems to sexual conflicts,Horney found that her American patients were much more worried abouttheir jobs and economic problems than their sex lives. Thus, Horney came to stressthe importance of cultural and social factors in personality development—mattersthat Freud had largely ignored (Horney, 1945).Horney also stressed the importance of social relationships, especially the parent–child relationship, in the development of personality. She believed that disturbancesin human relationships, not sexual conflicts, were the cause of psychological problems.Such problems arise from the attempt to deal with basic anxiety, which Horney(1945) described as “the feeling a child has of being isolated and helpless in apotentially hostile world.”Horney (1945) described three patterns of behavior that the individual uses todefend against basic anxiety: moving toward, against, or away from other people.Those who move toward other people have an excessive need for approval andaffection. Those who move against others have an excessive need for power, especiallypower over other people. They are often competitive, critical, and domineering,and they need to feel superior to others. Finally, those who move away fromother people have an excessive need for independence and self-sufficiency, whichoften makes them aloof and detached from others.Horney contended that people with a healthy personality are flexible in balancingthese different needs, for there are times when each behavior pattern isappropriate. As Horney (1945) wrote, “One should be capable of giving in toothers, of fighting, and keeping to oneself. The three can complement each otherand make for a harmonious whole.” But when one pattern becomes the predominantway of dealing with other people and the world, psychological conflict andproblems can result.Horney also sharply disagreed with Freud’s interpretation of female development,especially his notion that women suffer from penis envy. What women envyin men, Horney (1926) claimed, is not their penis, but their superior status in society.In fact, Horney contended that men often suffer womb envy, envying women’scapacity to bear children. Neatly standing Freud’s view of feminine psychology onits head, Horney argued that men compensate for their relatively minor role inreproduction by constantly striving to make creative achievements in their work(Gilman, 2001). As Horney (1945) wrote, “Is not the tremendous strength in menof the impulse to creative work in every field precisely due to their feelings of playinga relatively small part in the creation of living beings, which constantly impelsthem to an overcompensation in achievement?”Horney shared Jung’s belief that people are not doomed to psychological conflictand problems. Also like Jung, Horney believed that the drive to grow psychologicallyand achieve one’s potential is a basic human motive.Alfred AdlerFeelings of Inferiority and Striving for SuperiorityBorn in Vienna, Alfred Adler (1870–1937) was an extremely sickly child. Yetthrough determination and hard work, he overcame his physical weaknesses. Afterstudying medicine, he became associated with Freud. But from the beginning ofAdler’s interest in psychoanalysis, he disagreed with Freud on several issues. In particular,Adler placed much more emphasis on the importance of conscious thoughtprocesses and social motives. Eventually, Adler broke away from Freud to establishhis own theory of personality.