The Opposer of Freud: Karen Horney

• Born December 16, 1885
• Died December 4, 1952, age 67
• Cause of death: Not listed

Karen Horney disagreed with much of Freud's theory, and is known as "The feminist psychologist." She also coined this term. Horney believed that "penis envy" did not exist, and simply only what males believed girls thought . According to anb.org, boys are troubled when they discover that girls do not also have a penis, and Freud believed that girls must also be just as bothered. Horney beleived that "penis envy" is only a male construct and "a product of 'a one-sidedness in our observations, due to their being made from the man's point of view."

Though she did not coin the term "womb envy", she did argue that since women's bodies bring the advantages of bearing new life, caring for a baby and nursing, then men have a reason to envy women.

Perhaps many may also say that "womb envy" is also a one-sided view, due to it being from a woman's standpoint. 

Karen Horney also disagreed with Freud's theory of neurosis. Her theory of neurosis states that it is not a serious mental illness, but is a normal part of life necessary to overcome conflicts. To outline this theory, she created a list of neurotic needs.





According to Horney, the neurotic needs are a way to cope with the stress of life when conflicts between people and the environment arise. There are 3 main movements os a neurotic person:

1. Moving towards people.
2. Moving against people.
3. Moving away from people.

 There are also 3 personality types  that dominates the other 2
1. The compliant type, which moves towards people.
2. The hostile type, which moves against people.
3. The detached type, which moves away from people.


Freud's theory, in contrast states that neurosis is a serious mental illness, characterized by severe anxiety and fear.

The history of the term neurosis is interesting. "Neurosis" was coined in 1769 by Scottish doctor William Cullen. The word is derived from the Greek word neuron  and the suffix - "osis," which means "abnormal" or "diseased."

Horney suffered from depression, and developed a childhood crush on her brother, which was not reciprocated. She also wondered why the care and affection given to her brother from their father was not the same for her because she was not treated as well as her brother. Perhaps Horney developed her theory of neurosis based on her experience with depression and rejection from her father. Number 1 of her neurotic needs  was need for affection and approval. Maybe this was stemming from the lack thereof from her father.