Karen Horney's personality theory, a departure from Freudian psychoanalysis, centers on the individual's potential for self-realization and the pursuit of a healthy self. Her work reinterpreted Freudian ideas through a cultural lens, arguing that personality differences and jealousies between genders are rooted in societal structures and privileges rather than biology.

Horney's Theory of Personality

Karen Horney was one of the first women to be trained as a Freudian psychoanalyst. After moving from Germany to the United States during the Great Depression, she developed her own theories that diverged significantly from Freud's, placing greater emphasis on cultural factors and the potential for self-realization.

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Among the prominent theorists who adapted Freudian principles, four are particularly notable: Alfred Adler, Erik Erikson, Carl Jung, and Karen Horney. Each of these figures made significant contributions by building upon or diverging from Freud's original work.

Key Neo-Freudian Theorists

Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., & Lovett, M. D. (2020, April 22). Psychology (2nd ed.). OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/1-introduction

OpenStax Psychology (2nd ed.) Textbook

Carl Gustav Jung developed his theory of personality surrounding an idea of the Psyche. He describes the Psyche as the main part of his theory, with four different aspects going into it. First is the Psychic Energy, also known as “Libido.” Next, is the principle of opposites, followed by the principle of equivalence. Finally, there is the principle of entropy.

Jung's Theory of Personality

Erik Erikson (1902–1994) was an influential stage theorist who expanded on Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic work. His journey into psychoanalysis began in Vienna after meeting Anna Freud, who encouraged him to study the field. He earned his diploma from the Vienna Psychoanalytic Institute in 1933 before immigrating to the United States to escape the rise of Nazism. Erikson is most famous for his psychosocial theory of development, which asserts that personality is shaped by social interactions throughout a person's entire life.

Erik Erikson

Alfred Adler was an Austrian medical doctor and a key figure in early psychoanalysis. He was initially a colleague of Sigmund Freud and served as the first president of the Vienna Psychoanalytical Society. He later became the first major theorist to break from Freud's circle, going on to establish his own school of psychology.

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