Diseño de la Base de Datos

Match each of the individual’s behavior given below with the neurotic trend described in Table 5.1 and identify the primary mode and orientation it expresses.

1. Maria permits her partner Kristen to control her and dictate her activities.

2. Aaron is determined to achieve and succeed at all costs.

3. Martha seeks to do everything exactly right.

4. Kristen really likes to have dominion over another.

5. Carlos takes advantage of others when he can.

6. Liam needs an inordinate amount of warmth, help, and emotional support from others.

(Continued next page) Karen Horney (1885–1952) 115

Horney’s concept of the idealized self may be seen as a constructive revision or correc-tion of Freud’s concept of the ego-ideal. Freud’s concept of the superego includes two aspects: an introjected social conscience and an ego-ideal that is an idealized image consist-ing of approved and rewarded behaviors. The ego-ideal is the source of pride and provides a concept of who we think we should be. In her elaboration, Horney emphasized social fac-tors that influence the development of an idealized self. Furthermore, Horney viewed the idealized self not as a special agency within the ego but as a special need of the individual to keep up appearances of perfection. She also pointed out that the need to maintain an unrealistic idealized self does not involve simply repression of “bad” feelings and forces within the self. It also entails repression of valuable and legitimate feelings that are repressed because they might endanger the mask. Carl Rogers, whose theory is discussed in the chap-ter on humanism, makes a similar distinction between the real self and the self as perceived.

FEMININE PSYCHOLOGY

Karen Horney’s interest in feminine psychology—psychological theory that focuses on women’s experiences—was stimulated by the fact that certain clinical observations appeared to contradict Freud’s theory of the libido. Freud had suggested that penis envy was largely responsible for a woman’s development, that women view themselves as castrated males. Horney pointed out that both men and women develop fantasies in their efforts to cope with the Oedipal situation. She also emphasized that many men and boys express jealousy over women’s ability to bear and nurse children, a phenomenon that has since been clearly seen in ethnographic accounts from many cultures (Paul, 1992), as well as in clinical settings. Horney termed this phenomenon womb envy. Her work suggests that womb envy and penis envy are complements (1967), reflecting the mutual attraction and envy that the sexes have for each other.

Horney believed the essence of sexual life lies in its biological creative powers; a greater role in sexual life belongs to the female because she is the one who is able to bear and nurse children. This superiority is recognized by the male and is the source of intense envy. Womb envy, rather than being openly acknowledged by most males, has 7. Layle prides herself on being totally autonomous and

self-sufficient.

8. Gianna is forever singing her own praises.

9. Diego’s anxiety leads him to avoid leaving his home and immediate surroundings.

10 Jacob craves public notice and appreciation.

a. Exaggerated need for affection and approval Moving toward Self-effacing

b. Need for a dominant partner Moving toward Self-effacing

c. Exaggerated need for power Moving against Self-expansive

d. Need to exploit others Moving against Self-expansive

e. Exaggerated need for social recognition or prestige Moving against Self-expansive f. Exaggerated need for personal admiration Moving against Self-expansive g. Exaggerated ambition for personal achievement Moving against Self-expansive h. Need to restrict one’s life within narrow boundaries Moving away Resignation i. Exaggerated need for self-sufficiency and Independence Moving away Resignation j. Need for perfection and unassailability Moving away Resignation

Answers: 1b; 2g; 3j; 4c; 5d; 6a; 7i; 8f; 9h; 10e

often taken subtle and indirect forms, such as the rituals of taboo, isolation, and cleans-ing that have frequently been associated with menstruation and childbirth, the need to disparage women, accuse them of witchcraft, belittle their achievements, and deny them equal rights. Similar attempts to deal with these feelings have led men to equate the term feminine with passiveness and to conceive of activity as the prerogative of the male.

Both men and women have an impulse to be creative and productive. Women can satisfy this need naturally and internally, through becoming pregnant and giving birth, as well as in the external world. Men can satisfy their need only externally, through accomplishments in the external world. Thus Horney suggested that the impressive achievements of men in work or other creative fields may be seen as compensations for their inability to bear children.

The woman’s sense of inferiority is not constitutional but acquired. In a patriarchal society, the attitude of the male predominates and successfully convinces women of their supposed inadequacies; it socializes them into a restricted set of role expectations of submissive and loving wife and mother. But these are cultural and social factors that shape development, not biological ones.

During her practice in the 1920s, Karen Horney believed that she was observing a

“flight from womanhood.” Many women were inhibiting their femininity. Distrusting men and rebuffing their advances, these women wished that they were male and could enjoy the career opportunities and power held by male members of society. This flight from womanhood was due to their experience of real social and cultural disadvantages.

Sexual unresponsiveness, Horney pointed out, is not the normal attitude of women. It is the result of cultural factors. Our patriarchal society is not amenable to the unfolding of a woman’s individuality (see also Westkott, 1996; Burger & Cosby, 1999; Cyranowski &

Anderson, 2000).

Horney’s psychology of women, which is almost a direct inversion of Freud’s theory, has met with criticism because she held that the essence of being a woman lies in moth-erhood. Nevertheless, her contributions to feminine psychology have been very valuable. Much of Horney’s work in feminine psychology and her challenge to male authority laid the founda-tion for the new psychology of women. In many ways, Horney was prophetic. As early as the 1920s, she observed that it was men who had written human history and men who had shaped

According to Horney, women can satisfy their creative needs internally or externally, but men can satisfy their creative needs only externally, often through work.

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Karen Horney (1885–1952) 117

the psychoanalytic movement. Those enterprises reflected male needs and biases. Men, she insisted, should “let women speak, and hear their ‘interpretations’, even ‘biases’, if you will” (Coles, 1974). Horney as such became the first psychoanalyst who sought to define the feminine self in terms of a woman’s own self and not in terms of a woman’s relationship with a man (Miccolis, 1996).

Contemporary theories, as Horney support a socially shaped “sexual subjectivity” view (Person et al., 2005).

ASSESSMENT AND RESEARCH INHORNEY’S THEORY

In her assessment of personality, Karen Horney primarily employed the techniques of free association and dream analysis. She also suggested (1942) that self-analysis can assist normal personality development. Significant gains may be made in self-understanding and in reaching freedom from inner restraints that hinder the develop-ment of one’s best potentialities.

Each one of us engages in self-analysis when we try to account for the motives behind our behaviors. A student who fails a test that she thought was unfair might ask herself whether she had properly prepared for it. An individual who concedes to another might ask himself whether he was convinced that the other person’s point of view was superior or was afraid of a possible argument. Such analyses are common in normal living.

Systematic self-analysis differs from occasional self-analysis in degree rather than kind, entailing a serious and protracted effort for self-understanding undertaken on a regular basis. Systematic self-analysis employs the tool of free association, followed by reflection on what one has thought and analysis of the resistance that aims to maintain the status quo. When one obtains insight into one’s personality, energies previously engaged in perpetuating neurotic trends are freed and can be used for making construc-tive changes. When we are cognizant of our feelings and values, we are able to make good decisions and assume responsibility for them. Although self-analysis can never be considered a totally adequate substitute for professional analysis of neurosis, its possible benefits for enhancing individual development merit its use.

Compared with Freudian psychoanalysis, Horney’s theory recommends greater inter-personal understanding of a patient’s issues. Like Freud, however, Horney felt that trac-ing the origin of early patterns is critical, as is the analysis of transference.

Van den Daele (1987) has suggested that Horney’s theory of personality can be oper-ationally defined and is essentially compatible with the requirements of psychological measurement. A child and adolescent version of the Horney-Collidge Tridimensional Inventory (2004) demonstrates good reliability and construct validity (Coolidge et al., 2011). Research that fails to support some of Freud’s ideas concerning women (Fisher &

Greenberg, 1977) can be seen as supportive of Horney’s views (Schultz, 1990). Horney’s three primary modes are seen as providing an excellent framework for investigating inter-personal patterns in inter-personality disorders (Coolidge, Moor, Yamazaki, Stewart, & Segal, 2001), as well as a useful rubric for understanding a persons way of relating to god (Parker et al., 2009). Research on parenting styles underscores Horney’s conviction that parenting patterns have a strong impact on children and that children respond positively to parents who are both affectionate and firm (Baumrind, 1972; Maccoby & Martin, 1983).

Relatively early in the twentieth century, Horney (1937) began to see a trend in America toward hypercompetitiveness, a sweeping desire to compete and win in order to keep or heighten beliefs that one is worthy. Ryckman, Hammer, Kaczor, and Gold (1990) developed a Hypercompetitive Attitude Scale to evaluate the soundness of Horney’s concept and found empirical backing for it. College men and women scoring higher in hypercompetitiveness had less self-esteem and were not as healthy psychologically

as those who scored lower. Moreover, men with higher scores were more macho and thought of women as sexual objects. Kaczor, Ryckman, Thornton, and Kuelnel (1991) forecast and found that hypercompetitive men were more likely to charge rape victims as being responsible for having been raped and to view them as losers in a fierce phys-ical fight for supremacy. In today’s hyper competitive culture, power becomes power over others by the winners (Walker, 2008).

In his analysis of the contribution of Karen Horney to contemporary psychological thought, Paris (1996) suggests that her most important modification of Freud was her emphasis on an individual’s current situation rather than on the past. She began by addressing current defenses and inner conflicts. Her mature theory inspired the interper-sonal school of psychoanalysis and furnished a model for therapies that focus on the present. Her concept of the tyranny of the should is remarkably consistent with Albert Ellis’s concept of “musterbation” and Aaron Beck’s idea of cognitive distortions, dis-cussed in the chapter on cognitive-behavioral theories.

ATTACHMENT ANDPARENTINGRESEARCH

Horney’s emphasis on the importance of parenting is reflected in research that has con-firmed the significance of attachment and parenting to child outcomes. Early research with baby monkeys who distinctly preferred being fed by and clinging to terry cloth rather than wire surrogate mothers indicated the importance of tactile comfort as well as nourishment in the mother-child relationship (Harlow, 1958). Higher infant mortality rates in orphanages showed the importance of nurturance needs as well as physical needs in a child’s ability to “thrive” (Spitz, 1945).

Bowlby (1977, 1988) suggested that seeking interpersonal attachments is a primary goal of development. He developed attachment theory as a way of understanding the tendency of people to bond to specific others and to account for the distress that may follow separation and loss. He saw infants as engaging in specific behaviors, such as smiling and gazing, that lead to closeness and a secure bond with a preferred caregiver.

In his research on attachment, Bowlby (1969), like Horney, stressed the importance of

“felt security,” which arises out of parental sensitivity and appropriate response to infant clues of attachment, distress, fatigue, and happiness. Having established a secure base, the child is free to explore physical and social surroundings and develop other appropriate behaviors. This early attachment creates a basic pattern for later relationships with others.

Infants whose caretakers respond sensitively to their needs develop secure attach-ments. Ainsworth and her colleagues (1978) observed the behavior of caregiver and infants in a “strange situation” in which a child is separated from and then reunited with the mother or primary caregiver after being exposed to a stranger. She identified three styles of infant attachment patterns. Secure children seek proximity with their mother but also use her as a “secure base” from which to move and explore. As they grow, such children show greater ego strength, peer competence, and persistence in problem solving than other attachment groups. Avoidant children mix proximity seeking with avoidance behavior toward their mother. There is little affective sharing in the mother-child relationship. Such children show less ego strength, peer competence, and freedom in exploring. Resistant children alternate proximity seeking with passive or aggressive behavior (hitting or kicking). Such children are wary and appear unable to trust others. They may actively resist exploring the environment and show little ego strength and peer competence.

Feiring (1984) further subdivided Ainsworth’s secure infants into two groups, thus creating a fourfold classification: a healthy balanced form of attachment and three unhealthy patterns comparable to Horney’s moving toward, moving against, and moving Karen Horney (1885–1952) 119

away. Secure children who use the mother as a safe base for further exploration are using a healthy balance of Horney’s three modes. Those who cling to the mother are moving toward, and avoidant and resistant children are moving away or against.

Research on attachment, based on behavioral observations of infants, projective stories told by children, and interpersonal narratives told by adults (Weinberger & Westen, 2001), provides a useful framework for understanding adult emotional reactions and patterns of coping. Attachment styles are based on the working models of the self and others that we develop in infancy and childhood. Such styles continue into adulthood and carry with them personality characteristics consistent with the earlier behaviors. The links between early childhood attachment and the dynamics of adolescent and adult relationships are becoming clearer. Securely attached individuals are socially skilled and have low levels of loneliness (DiTommaso, Brannen-McNulty, Ross, & Burgess, 2003). They show greater compassion and altruistic behavior (Mikulincer, Shaver, Gillath, & Nitzberg, 2005). The characteristics of adult attachment patterns match traits identified with biologically deter-mined temperaments, discussed in the chapter on biological traits, suggesting that they arise out of the interaction of one’s biology and cultural heritage. Attachment theory is also being studied in terms of interpersonal constructs such as those described in the chapter on human relations (e.g., Gallo, Smith & Ruiz, 2003). The relationship view of the person described by Horney is being validated by brain science which testifies to the importance of human relationships for brain wiring and survival (Fishbane, 2007). The integration of psychophysical measures into attachment research helps to clarify its under-lying biological processes. The attachment patterns we develop change the brain by altering its synaptic connections and circuits (Cozolino, 2006; Fishbane, 2007; Siegel, 2007) and the process is anchored by biological and psychosocial structures at every level (Seligman, 2009). Attachment research provides scientific credence to psychoanalytic theory and therapy while therapy lays bare the relevance of the attachment process (Tasso, 2011).

Research on parenting has generally relied on Diana Baumrind’s concept of parenting style, which describes normal variations in parenting by focusing on two important dimen-sions: parental warmth or support and parental demands or behavioral control (Baumrind, 1971). Classifying parents according to whether they are high or low in warmth and control creates a typology of four parenting styles. Indulgent parents are more responsive than demanding. Nontraditional and lenient, they permit the child considerable self-regulation and seek to avoid confrontation. Authoritarian parents are high on demands but low on warmth and support. They provide well-ordered, structured environments and expect obe-dience. Authoritative parents are high in both demands and warmth. They provide clear standards and supportive disciplinary measures. They encourage children to be assertive, socially responsible, self-regulated, and cooperative. Uninvolved parents are low in both warmth and control, providing little emotional support and making few behavioral demands on their children. Most parents of this type fall within the normal range of parenting, but in

an extreme form this style could entail rejection and neglect.

Barber (1996) has added a third dimension, psychological con-trol, to clarify the difference between authoritarian and authorita-tive parenting. Psychological control entails efforts to influence a child that interfere with psychological and emotional growth, such as shaming, inducing guilt, or withdrawing love. Whereas authoritarian and authoritative parents are both high on behavioral control, authoritarian parents also tend to be high in psychological control, a factor generally low in authoritative parenting.

Horney believed that children respond positively to parents who are both affectionate and firm.

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Consistent with the expectations of Horney’s theory, authoritative parenting is seen most reliably as a family variable associated with higher instrumental and social compe-tence and lower levels of problem behavior in childhood and adolescence, whereas unin-volved parenting is associated with poorer performance and higher levels of problem behavior (Baumrind, 1991).

Cross-cultural studies have questioned the assumption that healthy development is most likely to arise within the nuclear family model in which the mother is the primary caregiver. A positive attachment to the mother is not necessarily a mandate for healthy development. Attachment to the father also leads to positive outcomes, as does good care provided by members of an extended family or other caregivers. Single parenting does not necessarily put children at greater risk for psychopathology, nor does parenting within a gay or lesbian family (Hall & Barongan, 2002; Tasker & Patterson, 2007). Each family alternative has its own advantages and disadvantages, and when the challenges are met constructively, healthy development can and does occur.

It is also important to be aware of differences in cultural perceptions. For example, in Japan parents demonstrate their sensitivity to children’s needs by anticipating them, whereas in the United States parents tend to wait for the child to express them and then respond appropriately (Rothbaum, Weisz, Pott, Miyake, & Morelli, 2000). Further, particu-lar parenting styles may be perceived differently in different cultures. Parenting behaviors deemed authoritarian by European Americans were rated more positively by Latino Americans (Sonnek, 1999). Positive effects of authoritative parenting, consistently shown for Caucasians, are not always seen for Asians (Ang & Goh, 2006). The public perception of Amy Chua’s authoritarian parenting style, described in her book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother (2011), saw it as unacceptable or politically incorrect. Children in different eras and cultures may interpret and respond to the same parenting style differently. In the mid-twentieth century, children in the United States tended to react submissively to authoritarian parents. Today, they are more likely to rebel.