Karen Horney's Theory of Neurotic Needs

By
Kendra Cherry
Medically reviewed by
Amy Morin, LCSW
on November 26, 2019
Have you ever known someone who seemed to have a pathological need to be liked by others? According to theorist
Karen Horney, this behavior is due to a neurotic need for affection and approval.

In her book "Self-Analysis" (1942), Horney outlined her theory of neurosis, describing different types of neurotic
behavior as a result of overusing coping strategies to deal with basic anxiety. These behaviors include such things as the
neurotic needs for power, prestige, and affection. Horney identified three broad categories of needs in her theory.

An Overview of Horney's Theory of Neurotic Needs

Psychoanalytic theorist Karen Horney developed one of the best-known theories of neurosis. She believed that neurosis
resulted from basic anxiety caused by interpersonal relationships.

Horney's theory proposes that strategies used to cope with anxiety can be overused, causing them to take on the
appearance of needs.

According to Horney, basic anxiety (and therefore neurosis) could result from a variety of situations including "direct or
indirect domination, indifference, erratic behavior, lack of respect for the child's individual needs, lack of real guidance,
disparaging attitudes, too much admiration or the absence of it, lack of reliable warmth, having to take sides in parental
disagreements, too much or too little responsibility, over-protection, isolation from other children, injustice,
discrimination, unkept promises, hostile atmosphere, and so on and so on" (Horney, 1945).

These 10 neurotic needs can be classed into three broad categories:

1. Needs that move you towards others: These neurotic needs cause individuals to seek affirmation and acceptance
from others. They are often described as needy or clingy as they seek out approval and love.
2. Needs that move you away from others: These neurotic needs create hostility and antisocial behavior. These
individuals are often described as cold, indifferent, and aloof.
3. Needs that move you against others: These neurotic needs result in hostility and a need to control other people.
These individuals are often described as difficult, domineering, and unkind.

Neurotic people tend to utilize two or more of these ways of coping, creating conflict, turmoil, and confusion.

The 10 Neurotic Needs

Well-adjusted individuals utilize all three of the strategies (toward, away, and against others), shifting focus depending on
internal and external factors. So what is it that makes these coping strategies neurotic? According to Horney, it is
the overuse of one or more of these interpersonal styles.

1. The Neurotic Need for Affection and Approval

This need includes the desires to be liked, to please other people, and meet the expectations of others. People with this
type of need are extremely sensitive to rejection and criticism and fear the anger or hostility of others.

2. The Neurotic Need for a Partner Who Will Take Over One’s Life

This involves the need to be centered on a partner. People with this need suffer extreme fear of being abandoned by their
partner. Oftentimes, these individuals place an exaggerated importance on love and believe that having a partner will
resolve all of life’s troubles.
3. The Neurotic Need to Restrict One’s Life Within Narrow Borders

Individuals with this need prefer to remain inconspicuous and unnoticed. They are undemanding and content with little.
They avoid wishing for material things, often making their own needs secondary and undervaluing their own talents and
abilities.

4. The Neurotic Need for Power

Individuals with this need seek power for its own sake. They usually praise strength, despise weakness, and will exploit or
dominate other people. These people fear personal limitations, helplessness, and uncontrollable situations.

5. The Neurotic Need to Exploit Others

These individuals view others in terms of what can be gained through association with them. People with this need
generally pride themselves on their ability to exploit other people and are often focused on manipulating others to obtain
desired objectives, including such things as ideas, power, money, or sex.

6. The Neurotic Need for Prestige

Individuals with a need for prestige value themselves in terms of public recognition and acclaim. Material
possessions, personality characteristics, professional accomplishments, and loved ones are evaluated based on prestige
value. These individuals often fear public embarrassment and loss of social status.

7. The Neurotic Need for Personal Admiration

Individuals with a neurotic need for personal admiration are narcissistic and have an exaggerated self-perception. They
want to be admired based on this imagined self-view, not upon how they really are.

8. The Neurotic Need for Personal Achievement

According to Horney, people push themselves to achieve greater and greater things as a result of basic insecurity. These
individuals fear failure and feel a constant need to accomplish more than other people and to top even their own earlier
successes.

9. The Neurotic Need for Self-Sufficiency and Independence

These individuals exhibit a “loner” mentality, distancing themselves from others in order to avoid being tied down or
dependent upon other people.

10. The Neurotic Need for Perfection and Unassailability

These individuals constantly strive for complete infallibility. A common feature of this neurotic need is searching for
personal flaws in order to quickly change or cover up these perceived imperfections.

How Neuroticism Affects Your Behavior

A Word From Verywell

While neuroticism is no longer considered a mental health diagnosis, researchers continue to investigate this aspect of
personality. While popular culture often paints neurotic behaviors as quirky and cute, neurosis may play a role in mood
and anxiety problems.

Recognizing your own neurotic tendencies can help you better understand your own behaviors. By addressing these
issues, people can often improve their overall mental health and wellness. Researchers have found that mindfulness, or
being aware of your own thoughts, might be a useful approach for combating neurotic, negative thoughts that contribute
to worry, anxiety,1 and relationship problems

Contributions of Karen Horney to Psychology

Karen Horney (pronounced horn-eye) was a neo-Freudian psychologist known for her theory of neurotic needs, her
research on feminine psychology, and her critiques of Freud's emphasis on the concept of penis envy. In addition to this,
she made important contributions to the areas of self-psychology and the role that self-analysis and self-help play in
mental health.

Life itself still remains a very effective therapist. — Karen Horney

Best Known For

 Feminine psychology
 Theory of neurotic needs
 Neo-Freudian psychology

Brief Timeline of Karen Horney's Life

 September 16, 1885 - Born in Germany

Early Life

Karen Horney dealt with depression early in life. She described her father as a strict disciplinarian and she was very close
to her older brother, Berndt. When he distanced himself from her, Horney became depressed, a problem she would deal
with throughout her life.

Horney devoted herself to school, believing that, "If I couldn't be beautiful, I decided I would be smart."

She began medical school in 1906 and married a law student named Oskar Horney in 1909. The death of her mother and
then brother in 1911 and 1923 were extremely difficult for Horney. In 1926, Horney left her husband and in 1932 moved
to the United States with her three daughters, Brigitte, Marianne, and Renate. It was here that she became friends with
other prominent intellectuals and developed her theories on psychology.

Career, Theories, and Critique of Freud

Karen Horney developed a theory of neurosis that is still prominent today. Unlike previous theorists, Horney viewed
these neuroses as a sort of coping mechanism that is a large part of normal life. She identified ten neuroses, including
the need for power, the need for affection, the need for social prestige, and the need for independence.

She defined neurosis as the "psychic disturbance brought by fears and defenses against these fears, and by attempts to
find compromise solutions for conflicting tendencies." She also believed that in order to understand these neuroses, it
was essential to look at the culture in which a person lived. Where Freud had suggested that many neuroses had a
biological base, Horney believed that cultural attitudes played a role in determining these neurotic feelings.

While Horney followed much of Sigmund Freud's theory, she disagreed with his views on female psychology. She
rejected his concept of penis envy, declaring it to be both inaccurate and demeaning to women. Horney instead
proposed the concept of womb envy in which men experience feelings of inferiority because they cannot give birth to
children.

"Is not the tremendous strength in men of the impulse to creative work in every field precisely due to their feeling of
playing a relatively small part in the creation of living beings, which constantly impels them to an overcompensation in
achievement?" Horney suggested.

Major Contributions to Psychology

Karen Horney made significant contributions to humanism, self-psychology, psychoanalysis, and feminine psychology.
Her refutation of Freud's theories about women generated more interest in the psychology of women.

Horney also believed that people were able to act as their own therapists, emphasizing the personal role each person
has in their own mental health and encouraging self-analysis and self-help.

Horney was a psychologist during a time when women's contributions were often overlooked and ignored. Despite the
many obstacles that she faced as a woman in a field dominated by men, she became a prominent thinker who made
important contributions to our understanding of human psychology.