Karen Horney &

Erich Fromm

Personality PsychologyPersonality Psychology

HistoryHistory

Karen Horney Born: September 16, 1885 in Hamburg Germany Died: December, 4, 1952 in NYC Father: Ship’s captain. Overbearing and

authoritarian. Mother: Second, younger wife of Horney’s father.

Had two children, one son and one daughter. Brother: Horney was very close to her brother.

HistoryHistory Career and Family: In 1906, she entered medical

school at University of Berlin. While there, she met and married a law student

named Oscar Horney. He eventually became a broken man. Karen and

her daughters moved out of Oskar's house in 1926 and, four years later, moved to the U.S., eventually settling in Brooklyn.

Befriended Erich Fromm and Harry Stack Sullivan. Had many bouts with depression and feelings of

rejection.

Concepts

Basic Evil: Parental Indifference Basic Hostility

Sense of anger and betrayal First reaction to parental indifference

Basic Anxiety Fear of being alone, helpless Similar to mistrust

Neurosis

Neurosis is a way we attempt to deal with life. It is a continuum of “normal” behavior.

Coping Strategies Moving-toward strategy (Compliance) Moving-against strategy (Aggression) Moving-away-from strategy (Withdrawal)

Neurotic Needs

1. The Neurotic Need for Affection and Approval

2. The Neurotic Need for a Partner Who Will Take Over One’s Life

3. The Neurotic Need to Restrict One’s Life Within Narrow Borders

4. The Neurotic Need for Power

5. The Neurotic Need to Exploit Others

6. The Neurotic Need for Social Recognition and Prestige

7. The Neurotic Need for Personal Admiration

8. The Neurotic Need for Personal Achievement

9. The Neurotic Need for Self-Sufficiency and Independence

10. The Neurotic Need for Perfection and Unassailability

Self

Real Self Self-Realization

Ideal Self vs. Despised Self Neurotic is alienated from real self Goes back and forth between hating self and thinking

they are perfect

HistoryHistory

Erich Fromm Born: 1900 in Frankfurt, Germany. Died: 1980 in Switzerland Family: Came from a very religious family, in his

case orthodox Jews. Not a happy family; moody father, depressed mother.

HistoryHistory

Career: He received his PhD in 1922. He started with advanced training in Political Sociology.

He moved to the U.S. in 1934 and settled in New York City, where he met many other psychologists of the time, including Adler, Sullivan, and Horney.

He taught at many universities around the world and wrote many books, while continuing his private clinical practice.

Freedom

Humans strive for freedom and autonomy but striving for freedom may result in feelings of isolation, alienation, and bewilderment.

People need to be free, but also to feel connected to others. Freedom is a difficult thing to have, and when we can we tend to flee from it.

He observed that embracing our freedom of will was healthy, whereas escaping freedom through the use of escape mechanisms was the root of psychological conflicts

Escape from Freedom

Authoritarianism

Destructiveness

Conformity

Needs Relatedness 

Relationships with others, care, respect, knowledge. Transcendence / Creativity

Developing a loving and interesting life. Rootedness 

Feeling of belonging. Sense of Identity 

Seeing ourselves as a unique person and part of a social group.

Frame of orientation  Understanding the world and our place in it.