Application Of Karen Horney’S Theories Of Personality To My Life

Karen Horney firmly believed that the way in which a child is parented, greatly influences the development of their personality. Although she was trained under Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic perspective, Horney had her own individual views on what is true in the development of personality. Karen Horney believed that Freud’s views were outdated, and believed that stresses involving money to provide for one’s family, and ensure their health and safety was the dominant problem people experienced in life. Horney also believed that the extensive problems people experienced, were heavily influenced by the location they were in the world, rather than only making biological conclusions for peoples problems. She disagreed with Freud’s extensive theories on the heavy prevalence of “sexual problems” influencing an individual’s personality development, including references to the oedipal complex and theories involving the Id, Ego, and Superego. Horney stressed the importance of human relationships and its impact on behaviour, specifically neuroses.

The relationship between a child and a parent was vital in determining the development of one’s personality. This relationship could either impact a child negatively, or positively depending on whether their needs for satisfaction and safety are met. Satisfaction represented basic needs such as food, water, and sleep, whereas safety is feeling free from any fears a child may have. Alfred Adler’s theory that a child is born with a feeling of helplessness and inferiority towards their parents, was something that Karen Horney also disagreed with. She believed that there were two potential possibilities: parents demonstrating “genuine affection and warmth toward the child, thereby satisfying the need for safety; or 2) the parents can demonstrate indifference, hostility, or even hatred toward the child, thereby frustrating the need for safety”.

Although Horney believed that helplessness was necessary, although it does not meet the threshold to cause complete neurosis. I personally believe that if I were to take Karen Horney’s theories, and apply it to my own life, they would be most relevant to how I believe my personality developed. As her theories state: the social influences that a child has, especially from their parents, determines the development of their personality. Starting by the age of six, my father no longer became a stable parent figure in my life, and by the age of fifteen we longer spoke at all. My mother, on the other hand was always a stable parent throughout my childhood. Although I only had one parent for the majority of my life, I believe she was able to take the place for both parents. This would be why I believe I never consciously lacked anyone or anything, throughout my childhood. When looking at the emphasis Karen Horney puts on the importance of satisfaction and safety, and comparing it to my own life, I believe my needs were sufficiently met in both perspectives. I never felt deprived, regardless of the problems my own family may have been going through. My satisfaction needs (food, water, or sleep) never suffered and I always had more than enough of my basic needs. Additionally, in regards to my safety, I was free from any fears I could have had and never had a loss of my sense of security.

In regards to Alfred Adler’s theory of personality, the only helplessness I may have experienced would have been encouragement from my parents to learn independence. I personally never felt inferior towards my parents as he suggested, leading me to believe I never reached the threshold for neurosis. I always experienced “genuine warmth and affection” throughout my childhood, both physically and emotionally. Karen Horney also believed that children have the ability to stay strong in environments that may be considered traumatic for them, as long as they know they are genuinely loved and are cared for. If I were to compare this to my own experience as a child, the divorce between my parents may have been considered traumatic for a child, however this difficult experience did not shape my brother or I into neurotic individuals. Whenever I was exposed to an environment that may have been considered traumatic, my mother always made sure to let my brother and I feel loved and wanted. When I analyze the way my personality developed, even through traumatic experiences in my childhood, I can still come to the conclusion that I did not go into adulthood with any serious neurotic tendencies. When comparing this to the theories of Karen Horney, the relationship between my mother and I was one of the most influential aspects of shaping who I am today.