This paper will discuss the life and teachings of Karen Horney. The purpose of this paper is for one to learn about Horney’s life and her contributions to the field. Karen was largely known for her Neo-Freudian perspective. The following will discuss Horney’s Social and Cultural Psychoanalytic Theory. Karen was also one of the first feminist psychologists and greatly affected the beliefs of female psychology. Without Karen Horney’s studies and theories on female psychology and psychodynamic thought the knowledge that is included in this paper would not be as accurate as it is.
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One major theory Karen is largely known for is the Psychoanalytic Social Theory. This states that the social and cultural conditions, emphasizing when one is a child, will form one into their future self. It is believed that a lack of love and affection from a child’s parent will result in that child developing basic hostility towards the parent. Once this occurs a child is more susceptible to develop basic anxiety later on in life. From this Horney theorized people battle basic anxiety by: moving to people, moving away from people and moving against people. (Psychoanalytic) Karen was also known as the first feminist psychologist. With her look and …show more content…
She was born to her father, Berndt Danielson, and her mother, Clotilde. Horney’s relationship, as she described in journals, was not well. After comments made by her father Karen decided that “if she couldn’t be pretty, then she would be smart. (Held, 2010)” Karen had an older brother, who was also named Berndt, and four older half siblings that she had no communication with. Berndt though, she admired greatly and developed a crush on. He was embarrassed by this and pushed Karen away. This led to Karen suffering for the first of many times from depression at the age of nine. When she was just thirteen years old, Horney decided she wanted to become a doctor.