Karen Horney Research Paper

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Karen Horney’s ideas are still to this day highly relevant in psychological and psychoanalytic theory, as many of her ideas are comparable to those of attachment theory, self-psychology, intersubjective and the person in the environment theories (Smith,2006). Anxiety was a central component of Horney’s theory, of which today anxietys prevalence rate would likely shock her and her colleagues of that time (Smith, 2006). Horney early on in the aspect of psychological theory, recognized the significant impact familial interaction and relationships had on developing anxiety, she understood that the way an individual behaved and view the view stemmed heavily from upbringing and familial influence(Smith, 2006). In the 19th century, science had revolved …show more content…

These differences in backgrounds lead way for a separation of Freud and Horney in light of Horney coming into a more, open less concrete way of thinking, even though she still had many uphill battles ahead as enduring sexism was still high prominent (Smith, 2006). Horney nevertheless idenified as a psychoanalyist as did Freud, but she separated herself on several key foundational issues upon which had built his theory (Smith, 2006). Horney’s view therapeutic outlook was held in the present, meaning that she valued our early experiences as conditioners of the the way we are today; our enduring personalities (Smith, …show more content…

Although in today's standards, this logic is widely accepted, for Horney’s time this was quite the radical thought, further illustrating how integral a role she played in Feminine Psychology (Smith, 2006). She over 80 years ago identified that women show presented themselves as more passive, masochistic, compliant, and dependent would be viewed by men as more desirable as these traits better aligned with what men expected women to be like (Smith, 2006). These ideas about how men and women should behave still permeate our culture today's, and her ideas still fit the bill when it come to the preserving view of how a women ought to

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