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CHAPTER- III INNER CONFLICTS AND KAREN HORNEY

Life is full of conflicts. A life without conflicts is no life at all. Conflict is a

common human dilemma in which a person's inner wishes, needs, or urges push him in

different directions. Aubrey Yates mentions that "an individual may be regarded as

being in a state of conflict whenever alternative modes of reaction are simultaneously

open to him" (139). Conflicts arise when two motives operate at once, and an

individual is forced to choose between the satisfaction of one and the satisfaction of

the other. In many cases the conflict is quite obvious, while in other cases it is

disguised by layers of rhetoric and rationalization. Conflicts play an important role in

all of our lives. From international war to the restlessness in our own minds, the loss

of peace begins with a conflict. However, some ways of dealing with the conflicts lead

to growth, a more pleasant life, and better personal relationships. The other ways of

dealing with the conflicts lead to unhappiness and despair. As Barbara Stanford asserts

that, "Learning to handle conflicts more effectively will not remove all the hassles

from our lives, but it will allow more pleasant relationships with a wider variety of

people and ... more effective personal growth" (21).

In Freud's view, mental life in all of us is perpetually engaged with conflicts, in

which one side of the personality stands for certain wishes, urges, while the other side

of the personality struggles against them. According to the Freudian theory, as Robert

Waelder states, "inner conflict is a necessary condition for neurosis formation" (37).

Kurt Lewin (1890-1947), a psychologist whose ideas have been important in social

psychology and psychology of personality, has defined conflict "as the opposition of

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approximately equally strong field forces" (88). For Lewin, conflict is a "situation in

which oppositely directed, simultaneously acting forces of approximately equal strength

work upon the individual" ( 122). Conflicts are an integral part of human life. Barbara

Stanford is of the view that, "Conflict is so central to life, that it cannot be eliminated

without eliminating life" (15).

Conflict implies selection from alternative possibilities and exercise of the

choice. The ability to choose from alternatives is fostered or limited by various

conditions such as individual, social, or others. In The Beginnings of Modern

American Psychiatry (1973), Patrick Mullahy writes "conflict is related to choice,

since there would be no conflict if there were no choice" (257). Life is always a give

and take with the surrounding conditions. These conditions provide opportunity for

wide-ranging choice and personal growth to some persons. They, at the same time,

bring a great deal of tension and confusion to other persons. In a conflict, as Mullahy

notes that, "there must be two or more competing, mutually exclusive highly desirable

goals ... one of which cannot be secured without the person's relinquishing any hope of

attaining the other" (257). Conflict involves the inability to satisfy opposing demands

or to attain divergent goals. In a person undergoing such a conflict, the unity of

consciousness is lacking, and his concentration is destroyed by continual shifting of

attention from one goal object to another. Such a person may be acutely and terribly

unhappy as he is tom by the contradictory pulls of his discordant motivations. On the

one hand he is aware of the ultimate necessity of attaining something, on the other hand

he is impelled by his inner drive to reject it.

In actual life situations, conflict involves a number of motives. As Nicholas

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DiCaprio writes, "A conflict exists when two or more incompatible motives,

intentions, or goals are active at the same time" (275). It is impossible for an

individual to satisfy all his motives. In conflict, the expression of one motive

interferes with the expression of other motives. People are, for example, often caught

in a conflict while expressing aggression. On the one hand they like to give vent to

their rage, on the other hand they fear to express it because of social disapproval. Thus,

aggression is in conflict with the need for social approval. In Principles of Psychology

(1964), James Deese mentions that "people are in conflict between a strong need to

express hostility towards other people and a fear or dread of being seen as a hostile

person" (82). Similarly, need for independence is often in conflict with need for

affiliation. And sexual drives conflict with society's standards of sexual behaviour. As

James Dyal writes :

As a result of continued interactions with his environment, the individual

learns to value and to want to obtain a wide variety of objects, activities

... the possibility of attaining these goals is temporarily or permanently

blocked ... [due to] restrictions imposed by authorities, restricted

socioeconomic opportunities, and inadequate personal ability. Since our

wants are so diverse and heterogeneous, it is understandable that these

wants often compete and are in conflict with each other. Such ... conflict

constitutes ... [a] source of frustation ... [and] involves an increase in

emotionality, typically an arousal of anger, and fear or anxiety. ( 137)

Conflicts among simultaneously aroused motives is the most important reason

why the goals are not achieved. DiCaprio believes that, "Frustration is experienced as

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a highly unpleasant state when basic needs are in conflict" (276). In fact, conflict

produces frustration. Unattainable goals can be the sources of frustration. The

persons, who cannot achieve their most desired goals feel frustrated, depressed,

anxious, or angry. Frustration refers to the blocking of the attainment of some goals.

In Social Psychology (1977), James Zanden mentions that frustration arises from

"interference with the satisfaction of some biological need ( ... food, water, sex, or

sleep) or social need ( ... recognition, Jove, or security)" (240). Environmental forces

and personal limitations may also produce frustration. Psychologists believe that

environmental obstacles may frustrate the satisfaction of motives. An obstacle may be

physical such as a Jack of money, or it may be people- parents, or teachers- that

may frustrate the satisfaction of motives. Sometimes the goals cannot be attained

because they are beyond the abilities of an individual. A student, for instance, aspires

to high academic achievement, but he may be frustrated as he does not have the

necessary talent.

According to psychologists, some conflicts are transitory as they are centered

upon a momentary situation. Other conflicts endure a lifetime because they are rooted

in man's very nature such as the opposition of basic needs by a rigid conscience.

Conflicts, which stem from the very nature of man, or from the relation of the

individual to his environment, affect the whole course of personality development.

Such conflicts leave an individual in a perpetual state of frustration if they are not

properly resolved. They may be a source of psychological disturbances. Conflicts

may be divided into two categories - psychosocial, and intrapsychic. Psychosocial

conflicts are those, which exist between the individual and his environment, and

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intrapsychic conflicts are those which exist within the individual himself.

In the psychosocial conflict, the opposition exists between individual desires

and the restraining forces of society. External pressures which block an individual's

self-seeking motives are always present in this conflict. At first, the child's basic

impulses are blocked by the parents. Later on, this function is taken over by other

tendencies such as teachers, bosses, custom, legal and religious authorities.

Intrapsychic conflicts consist of opposing tendencies within the personality. These

conflicts are so basic that they cannot be properly resolved. In the intrapsychic

conflict, the opposition between drives and conscience is always present. The person

likes to do a certain thing but conscience does not permit him. DiCaprio writes about

a person who is caught in the intrapsychic conflict :

He wavers between the strong desire, on one hand, and the equally strong

proscription against it on the other. The conflict is internal ; he may be

described as a house divided against itself. Compromise as a means of

resolving such conflicts leaves the person with some frustration because

the opposing forces are vital aspects of personality. If the person allows

his impulses outlet, the activity of conscience is intensified and the

outcome is guilt and self-depreciation. (278)

In 1930s, Kurt Lewin presented an extremely cogent analyses of psychological

conflict in human behaviour. He referred to positive or negative qualities of objects as

"valences". A positive valence suggests the attractive or desirable qualities of an

object, and a negative valence suggests the unattractive or undesirable qualities of an

object. In other words, objects that satisfy a need have a positive valence, and objects

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that frustrate or frighten, possess a negative valence. These valences fluctuate with the

needs of an individual. A food object, for instance, possesses a higher positive valence

for a hungry child, but after meal, a favourite toy will have a higher positive valence for

him.

In the history of psychology, Lewin's concept of valence is the most important

work on the nature of conflict. He stated that there are three basic types of conflict­

the approach-approach conflict, the avoidance-avoidance conflict, and the approach­

avoidance conflict. The approach-approach conflict occurs when there are tendencies

to move toward two different goals- goals that are equally attractive at the same time.

In this type of conflict, as Yates mentions, "the person stands between two positive

valences and is required to choose between them" (142). A conflict, for instance,

arises when an individual is hungry and sleepy at the same time. The young child, who

desires for both- going on a picnic and playing with his pals in the neighbourhood ,

behaves according to this psychological principle. It is a situation of conflict because

"one desire cannot be gratified without giving up gratification of the other" (Brown et

a!. 76).

If the goal objects are equally attractive as well as motivationally significant for

the person, the conflict may be severe. A classic example is that of the ass - "The

proverbial donkey was ... starved to death because it stood halfway between two piles

of hay and could not choose between them ... few donkeys, or people starve to death

merely because they are in conflict between two positive goals" (Morgan et al. 300).

This type of conflict is usually easily resolved. James Deese states that "the

approach-approach conflict is a situation that will not last long ... it is in unstable

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equilibrium" (79). The approach-approach conflict can be resolved either by

satisfying first one goal object and then the other, or by satisfying one of the goal

objects and giving up the other.

The avoidance-avoidance conflict involves two alternatives but none of them

seems desirable. In this type of conflict, as Yates writes, "the person stands between

two negative valences, and is required to choose between them" (143). This type of

conflict can be illustrated by the child who is required to do a distasteful task under the

threat of punishment. The unhappy husband, for instance, who neither wants a divorce

nor wants to live with a wife with whom he is unhappy. The miserable individual who

has both a bad toothache and a pathological fear of the dentist's chair. A woman, for

example, becomes pregnant but doesn't want to have the baby and doesn't believe in

abortion. A parent or spouse constantly disapproves of everything we do, but we don't

want to leave him/her. These are very uncomfortable situations.

The avoidance-avoidance conflict is extremely frustrating because the

alternatives are plainly unpleasant. It is like one is caught "between the devil and the

deep blue sea." A quite frequent response to these situations is vacillation of behaviour

and thought. People caught up in the avoidance-avoidance conflicts are inconsistent in

what they do and think. Vacillation occurs because of the increase in avoidance as the

goal is approached. Deese mentions that "as the organism approaches one negative

goal, it is driven back by the increased tendency to avoid. It turns towards the other ...

unpleasant goal. As the second goal is approached it increases in avoidance value, so

that once again the organism is forced in the opposite direction" (79).

Other behavioral feature of this kind of conflict is withdrawal. People

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may refuse to choose an alternative or may escape from these disagreeable

avoidance-avoidance situations. They may withdraw physically, if possible, or

psychologically by running away from reality. People may "rely on their imaginations

to free them from the fear and anxiety generated by the conflict. They may spend much

of their time daydreaming - conjuring up as imaginary world where there are no

conflicts. Or they may re-create in their minds the carefree world of childhood"

(Morgan eta!. 301). There may be the blocking of response also. These conflicts may

produce procrastination, and laziness in human life. As Fillmore Sanford states that,

"the organism just sits there and gets itself labeled as lazy by people who do not

understand the debilitating effects of conflicts" ( 417). Many intense emotions such

as fear, anger, indignation may be generated by avoidance-avoidance conflicts.

In approach-avoidance conflict, a single goal is both positive and negative. In

this type of conflict, an individual is both attracted and repelled by the same object.

Marx and Hillix affirm that, "Approach-avoidance conflict is characterized by a goal

which is both desired and undesired" (332). In his book Frustration and Conflict ( 1962),

Yates mentions that in this conflict the "person is faced with an object which has both

positive and negative valence and is required to choose between them" (143). The

approach-avoidance conflict can be exemplified by an individual who is attracted to

someone of the other sex, but repelled because of certain qualities. A child, for

instance, may like to stroke a dog, of which he is afraid. A person may both like and

dislike his mother, his teacher, his friend- in his life. Psychologists have described

this particular state as "ambivalence," that means being attracted and repelled by the

same object. An individual, who enjoys smoking but believes that it may produce

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cancer, is ambivalent about smoking.

Like the avoidance-avoidance conflicts, vacillation is common in the

approach-avoidance conflicts. James Deese is of the view that in this conflict "dicisions

are made at psychological cost and frequently after much vacillation" (80). An

individual approaches the goal because of its positive element, but as it is approached,

the negative element becomes stronger. He turns away from it and vacillation occurs.

Moreover, in this type of conflict, attraction is stronger than avoidance at a distance,

and avoidance is stronger than attraction when the person gets close to the object.

Deese opines that "The more distant we are psychologically from a contlict-producing

situation, the less we feel its effect. There is, then, some real psychological advantage

to a short vacation in a distant place when we are under tension from our jobs and

personal relations" (81).

The approach-avoidance conflicts are often very intense and they cannot be

resolved easily. In A Histocy of Psychology :Ideas and Context (1998), Viney and

King mention that the "dynamics of conflict resolution in this type of situation are

complex and depend ultimately on the relative weights of the positive and negative

valences and the capacities of the individual" (358). The approach-avoidance contlict

is the most difficult to resolve because it involves the desire to achieve on the one hand

and the fear of failure on the other hand. According to Sanford, the conflict arises

when "our basic motives 'tempt' us toward primitive satisfactions but our conscience

... gives us a stem and puritanical nay" (417). If an individual follows his impulses,

guilt will haunt him, and if he follows the dictates of conscience, he deprives himself

of satisfaction. The approach-avoidance conflicts may produce emotional reactions

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such as fear, resentment in human beings.

Psychologists also believe in the double or multiple approach-avoidance

conflict, which is an elaboration of the approach-avoidance contlict. In normal life, we

encounter these conflicts more frequently than the other conflicts. In this type of

conflict an individual faces two or more goals, each with positive and negative aspects.

Many of life's major decisions suggest "multiple approach-avoidance conflicts ... [in

which] several goals with positive and negative valences are involved" (Morgan eta!.

302). In this conflict, there are many alternatives, each with pleasant and unpleasant

aspects. All alternatives have their appeal, and all have disadvantages. A student, for

instance, may attempt to choose between two colleges, each of them has some positive

features and some negative features. The conflict, for the beauty-contest winner

occurs as:

[She] has an opportunity to start a movie career, but who ... growing up in

a happy middle class family, has become strongly attracted to the role of

housewife and mother. The goals appear now mutually exclusive. She

wants both but cannot have both. This may not appear on the surface to

be a very serious conflict ... each hom of the dilemma presents its own

dilemma. She wants the movie career but she is very frightened by the

prospect of leaving home, of relating with strangers, whose morals she

suspects .... She also wants marriage .... But marriage, too, has its

psychogical bugaboos. She fears sex. Her upbringing has taught her

that sex is evil, a fascinating but nonetheless abhorrent evil .... (Sanford

418-19).

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In this example, the goal of an independent career is in conflict with the goal of

marriage, and the woman is caught in a trap. Furthermore, in the double or multiple

approach-avoidance conflicts, the negative valences, which are obstacles to reach a

goal object, are internalized. These internalized obstacles stem from the social values

which a person receives from his surroundings. Psychologically, the "internalized

obstacles are the social values which make up conscience. We are motivated to do

something, but this tendency may be held in check by the internalized values we hold

about what is 'right' and 'wrong' "(Morgan eta!. 302). The internalized obstacles, or

inner negative valences produce these conflicts in human beings. For people, it is

always difficult to deal with the obstacles within themselves. They can escape from

the external, or environmental obstacles but they cannot escape from the internalized

obstacles. These conflicts can produce emotional reactions which are the causes of

many behaviorial problems.

The conflict theory of Lewin, in short, in concerned with the predictions about

the gross actions of moving toward or moving away from objects. It owes a great deal

to the notion of conflict developed by Freud. With its emphasis on inner conflict as a

necessary condition for neurosis formation, Freudian theory opposes the ancient

Hippocratic view of illness that depicts neurosis as the result of a conflict between the

organism and its environment. According to Esquirol, the famous French psychiatrist

of the early nineteenth century, external factors such as loss of property, frustrated

love, or insult to one's honour - are responsible for a mental break. For other

psychotherapeutic schools, neurosis is a reaction to unfavourable external conditions.

People often attribute neurosis to overwork or to a tragic experience. Instead,

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psychoanalysts of Freudian tradition believe that "neurosis grew out of an inner

cont1ict" (Waelder 38). Freud mentions in his book A General Introduction to

Psychoanalysis (1935) that "[in neurotic persons] ... signs of contradictory and

opposed wishes ... of mental conflict, are regularly found .... There is no neurosis

without such a CONFLICT" (358).

The Freudian theory of personality is often called a "dynamic" theory because it

deals with the development of man and his personality from birth to adulthood. The

theory of Freud is mainly concerned with the conflict of impulse and the efforts to

resolve such conflict. Freud introduces three principal constituents of personality­

the id, the ego, and the superego- to psychoanalysis through his paper "The Ego and

the Id," which was published in 1923. In his Systems and Theories of Psychology

( 1929), Chaplin notes the view of Hall and Lindzey that in Freudian theory, "the id may

be considered the biological component of personality, the ego the psychological,

and the superego the social" (532). The id, which corresponds to Freud's earlier

notion of the unconscious, is the most primitive component of personality. It is guided

by biological needs that are necessary to the survival of human beings. The id is the

"storehouse of biologically based urges : the urge to eat, drink, eliminate, and ... to be

sexually stimulated" (Morgan et al. 577). In other words, the id is the storehouse of

psychic energy.

According to Freud, contradictory impulses exist in the id side by side. He

observes two different kinds of impulses or urges in the id - life instinct or libido,

and death instinct or thanatos. In Psychology: A Scientific Study of Man (1961),

Fillmore Sanford writes :

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There were urges to live, to create, to love. These forces he [Freud] called

the life-wish, and he used the term libido to symbolize that part of the

life-wish concerning sexual or other affiliative relations with people.

Freud also saw ... there were hostile and destructive impulses lying

behind behaviour. These ... he called the death-wish. (398-99)

Freud describes the destructive, or aggressive impulses in human beings as

thanatos or death instinct. These contradictory drives or impulses- the life-wish and

the death-wish- do not change in the personality. Chaplin is of the view that these

impulses "either originally in the id or forced into it by repression ... remain unaltered

for an indefinite period ... from childhood into adulthood" (529). The id, therefore, is

the reservoir of instinctive impulses and suppressed tendencies that seek immediate

gratification. In the opinion of Freud, the id is not constrained by convention, morality,

or ethics. He mentions in his New Introductory Lectures (1965), that "The id ... knows

no judgements of value : no good and evil, no morality" (73-74). In this way, the id

operates on the basis of the pleasure principle.

However, the id is managed and bridled by the ego. The ego borrows energy

from the id and regulates it. It follows the reality principle. In Freud's view, it

represents what is called reason or rationality. It is the administrator of the

personality. In the opinion of Freud, the ego, unlike the id, is constantly in touch with

the outside environment. The function of the ego is to satisfy the demands of the id as

well as the demands of the external world. The ego constantly strives for the

gratification of the id in a socially accepted manner. In Principles of Psychology (1964),

James Deese writes, "The ego comes to possess a measure of control over the id, for if

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it didn't, the id would destroy the individual in its incessant demands for satisfaction of

its urges. Therefore, the control of impulse and the guiding of behaviour towards

long-term goals is the function of the ego" (331).

As the ego is the center of organization and integration, it always attempts to

protect the personal as well as the social order. It mediates between the id and the

external world of social convention by holding under control the pleasure-seeking

demands of the id. It is the Freudian view that the "ego tries to satisfy the id 'surge for

pleasure but only in realistic ways that take account of what is possible in the real

world" (Morgan et al. 578). However, sometimes it becomes difficult for the ego, as

Viney and King assert, to withstand the "conflict imposed by the contradictory

demands of the id and society" (374).

The third part of personality structure, the superego, beings to develop in early

childhood certainly after the Oedipus complex is resolved. Stagner mentions in

A History of Psychological Theories ( 1988), that the superego is a "set of impulses

corresponding fairly well to the traditional idea of morals, ethics, or conscience (313).

The superego comprises two important aspects of personality- conscience and ego

ideal. In Freudian theory, conscience expresses the cultural prohibitions, and the ego

ideal represents the positive prescriptions. Stagner notes that the superego involves

"two systems, one of taboos ... and the other of ideals .... The former derives maily

from anxiety over future consequences, the latter mainly from identification with the

parents (especially the identification with the like-sexed parent at the conclusion of

the Oedipal phase)" (313). The superego serves the goal of perfection ratherthan the

goal of pleasure. The function of the superego is to suppress the energies of the id and

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to actualize the ego ideal to the state of perfection.

In his New Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis (1933), Freud mentions

that the superego represents "every moral restriction, the advocate of a striving

towards perfection - it is, in short ... able to grasp psychologically of what is

described as the higher side of human life" (67). The rules of conduct taught by the

parents through rewards and punishments are contained in the superego. The child

internalizes parental restrictions, prohibitions, and customs through the process of

identificaion. He desires to be like his parents, so he unconsciously acquires the

parents' moral point of view. Later on, these parental restrictions or controls become

his own controls.

In Freudian theory, as Reuben Fine mentions in Freud : A Critical Re-evaluation

of His Theories (1967), that the "superego is frequently harsher than the parents"

( 168, italics added). In addition, the superego takes the decision whether an activity is

good or bad according to the standards of society. It forces certain prescriptions such

as never be selfish, never get angry at one's parents, never think about sexual matters.

Fine believes that "social cohesiveness is made possible by the fact that a number of

people have similar superego sanctions and prohibitions" (168). Although superego is

unconscious, it may produce conscious feelings in the ego such as guilt, remorse, and

anxiety.

These constituents of personality- the id, the ego, and the superego- may be

discussed separately, but they are not separate entities within the personality. They are

intrinsically interwoven in man's all activities. Freud intends to convey an on-going

interplay among these personality characteristics. In this interplay, he observes that

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there is a continuous conflict among all these functional areas of human personality :

There are two classes of conflicting forces, the pleasure-bent urges of

the Id and the moral imperatives of the Superego ; what one values

positively the other values negatively. The Ego would be a third force,

an executive agency that works at resolving conflict or producing

balance by adopting intermediate values, repressing, and differentiating.

(Brown eta!. 80-81, emphasis added)

A powerful superego represses the biological drives of the id. The repression

of basic biological needs often results in the varieties of abnormal behaviour.

Similarly, the dominant id is responsible for generating immoral, asocial, and

officially disapproved behaviour. The ego, therefore, is at the mercy of the other two

components of personality. As Freud mentions in his New Introductory Lectures (1933),

that the "poor ego ... has to serve three harsh masters, and has to do its best to reconcile

the demands of all three" (108). The ego tends to find a compromise between the

gratification sought by the id and the rules of conduct sought by the superego. On the

one hand the ego deals with the demands of society, on the other hand it deals with the

compromised exposure of both the superego and the id. Ross Stanger is of the view

that the "conflict between id and superego may impose extreme stress on the ego

functions ... in Freud's typical formula for neurosis, the id demands, the superego

forbids, and the ego is stuck with the task of working out a compromise that may

salvage some impulse gratification without evoking excessive guilt" (314, italics added).

It is a Freudian psychoanalytic view that the "superego is in direct conflict with

the id" (Schultz 281 ). In fact, the id demands satisfaction, but the superego inhibits the

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id completely. Sanford affirms that there is an "everlasting and irreconcilable

conflict between good and evil, between superego and id. And he [Freud] conceived

of much of this conflict occuring beyond the conscious awareness of the ego"

(399, emphasis added). According to Ferud, one of the main tasks in life is "taming of

the id." The ego acts as a mediator between two warring systems - the id and the

superego. Each system efforts to dominate the personality. If the id and the superego

are weakened, they can easily be managed by the ego. If the ego yields to the id 's

demand for something that is morally prohibited, the superego punishes the ego by

generating a sense of guilt and inferiority.

In Freud's theory, as Haynie mentions that the conflict may arise whenever the

ego becomes "too overburdened with the triple impact of the psychic energies of the

pleasure-seeking id, the need to manipulate reality for tension reduction, and the

perfectionistic superego" (38). Freud believes that neurotic behaviour involves

conflict between the pleasure-seeking motives of the id and the social and moral

restrictions imposed by the superego. Psychologists such as John Dollard and Neal

Miller, draw an "analogy between this conflict [between the id and the superego] and

the conflict between approach and avoidance tendencies" (Morgan et al. 593). For

them, an individual may act indecisive and neurotic when he is tom between satisfying

or approaching, and avoiding a certain wish or a goal object. In such situations, the

tendency to approach is stronger than the tendency to avoid, but as the individual gets

closer to the object, the avoidance tendency becomes stronger and he retreats from the

object.

Indeed, severe psychological disturbances may occur, if any of the three is

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unduly pronounced or weakened. Freud opines that there are many persons who never

arrive at an adquate balance between impulse and control. Life will be impossible for

those who are guided by impulses. Consequently, impulses must be held in check by

external forces- presence of superiors, power of the law, customs, and traditions. There

are many persons who suffer from a rigid, self-limiting superego which constantly

tortures them. The outcome is guilt and self-depreciation. Most people, who have an

overglamorous ego ideal, chase after impossible and unattainable goals throughtout

there lives. They carry around a heavy load of disillusionment and cynicism. The

person may be described as enjoying inner hormony when there is a balance among the

opposing forces of his personality. The ego should, as DiCaprio asserts, "allow some

expression to both the self-seeking motives of the individual and the social and moral

restrictions imposed by external forces" (289). According to Freud, the ego must

have sufficient strength to maintain a reasonable balance among the id, the ego, and the

superego - necessary for the psychological adjustment of the individual.

Horney's Conflict Principle -

Conflict plays a basic role in Horney's thinking. Much of her work centers

about the external and internal factors in man's experience which are responsible for

the development of conflict. She mentions that the "impossibility of choosing one's

parents can ... be extended to life in general - choosing and succeeding in an

occupation, choosing ways of recreation, choosing a mate" (NP 289). For Horney,

conflicts are an important part of human personality. As she herself notes:

We may have to decide between desires that lead in opposite directions.

We may ... want to be alone but also want ot be with a friend ; we may

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want to study medicine but also to study music. Or there may be a

conflict between wishes and obligations :we may wish to be with a lover

when someone in trouble needs our care. We may be divided between a

desire to be in accord with others and a conviction ... expressing an

opinion antagonistic to them. We may be in conflict ... between two sets

of values, as occurs when we believe in taking on a hazardous job in

wartin1e but believe also in our duty to our family. ( OIC 23)

Honey believes that conflict is painful to the human organism. If a person wishes

to go in two diametrically opposed directions at once, he finds it difficult to move at

all. She mentions that a person "engulfed in a conflict is not free to choose. He is

driven by equally compelling forces in opposite directions .... Hence a decision ... is

impossible. He is stranded, with no way out" (32).

In his Intemreting Personality Theories ( 1970), Ledford Bischof mentions that

Dr. Karen Homey is "the only woman personality theorist" (164). Her theory of

conflict is entirely different from Freud's theory. She revolts against the Freudian

theory of personality which focuses on the conflict between id demands and superego

restraints. For her, the Freudian structure of the id, the ego, and the superego- is

rigid and limited. She criticizes Freud's concept of the ego. Moreover, she rejects, as

Munroe notes, "his [Freud's] considering 'weak' ... aspect of the personality which ... is

[for her] the strongest of all" ( 445). Homey believes in the natural potentiality of man

at birth and at any stage of his life. She feels that man has a positive nature. He has the

ability as well as aspiration to develop his potentialities. Homey's view, as depicted in

the last passages of her last book Neurosis and Human Growth ( 1991), is indicative of

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the hope for the future :

Freud [did] not have any clear vision of constructive forces in man ... in

his system of thought there were only destructive and libidinal forces ....

Freud's philosophy, in this deep sense, is a pessimistic one. Ours,

with all its cognizance of the tragic element in neurosis, is an optimistic

one. (378).

Homey regards "real self" as the foundation of personality. For her, the real

self is the "central inner force, common to all human beings and yet unique in each,

which is the deep source of growth" (NHG 17). Under favourable conditions, an

individual may develop his potentialities. Homey emphasizes the development of the

real self. An individual needs favourable conditions for his growth "from acorn into

oak tree." If he gets favourable environment, warmth of affection, inner security, and

inner freedom, he grows in accordance with his real self. In the opinion of Homey,

neurosis begins when the growth of the real self is hampered. She does not accept the

notion that conflict is inevitable and man can at best only mitigate and sublimate its

effects. For her, man is a potentially harmonious organism from birth. He is able to

develop happy relationship with his surroundings. In his Personality Theories :Guides

to Living (1974), DiCaprio notes the view of Homey that "it [conflict] is acquired

through the faulty training and expectations of the child" (313). She opines that

conflict does not develop if the child is given the opportunity to grow according to his

individual needs and possibilities.

Marx and Hillix write in Systems and Theories in Psychology ( 1963), that "Karen

Homey's social theory flies the banner of basic anxiety" (393). Her concept of "basic

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anxiety" provides a systematic analysis of the conflicts in human beings. According to

her, basic anxiety is "his [child's] feeling of being isolated and helpless in a world

conceived as potentially hostile" (NHG 17). These feelings come into existence when

a child does not get favourable conditions to grow according to his individual needs.

Basic anxiety is a primary condition for later personality difficulties. It is not

inherited but a product of our culture and upbringing. Horney emphasizes the

importance of social and environmental conditions in moulding the personality. She,

like Freud, places great importance on childhood experiences. As Munroe affirms

that, "Horney grants the profound effects of early experience in the family upon

personality development" (380).

Homey is concerned with social relationships, especially with the parents. A

satisfactory childhood leaves the person free to respond freely to the opportunities

and pressures. Instead, child who does not get "genuine warmth and affection" from

his parents, loses the sense of belonging , the "we" feeling, and develops "profound

insecurity and vague apprehensiveness" (Homey, NHG 18). Unconditional love is

absolutely essential for the healthy growth of a child. There are many factors which

may hinder the flow of warmth and affection from parents. Homey states that

dominating, overprotective, intimidating, irritable, overindulgent, partial to other

siblings, indifferent, or hypocritical parents endanger the child's free use of his

energies. They exert the unfavourable influences upon the growth of their children. In

Horney's view, the child reared by such parents becomes profoundly insecure,

apprehensive, and develops the feeling of basic anxiety. In her The Neurotic

Personality of Our Time (1937), Homey writes :

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[Basic anxiety] means emotional isolation ... it concurs with a feeling of

intrinsic weakness of the self. It means a weakening of the very

foundation of self-confidence. It carries the germ for a potential

conflict between the desire to rely on others, and the impossibility to do

so because of deep distrust of and hostility toward them. It means that

because of intrinsic weakness the person feels a desire to put all

responsibility upon others, to be protected and taken care of, whereas

because of the basic hostility there is ... too much distrust to carry out

this desire. (96,emphasis added)

The child sees the world as unfriendly and frightening because of his basic

anxiety. Thus, basic anxiety is a child's feelings of insecurity and doubt when

the parent is unloving and indifferent. In the opinion of Homey, basic anxiety is

responsible for the child's basic hostility towards his parents. As a result, he may be

caught in a conflict and may become neurotic. Homey notes that, "coNFLICTS play an

infinitely greater role in neurosis ... every neurotic symptom points to an underlying

conflict ; that is, every [neurotic] symptom is a more or less direct outgrowth of a

conflict" (OIC 34). She believes that unresolved conflicts may produce states of

indecision, depression, inertia, detachment, and so on.

Horney stresses the point that culture and environment influence the

personality of an individual. She makes it clear that the kind, scope, and intensity of

conflicts are determined by the civilization in which the individual lives. In a stable and

tradition bound civilization, the range of possible individual conflicts is limited. On

the contrary, as she asserts, "if the civilization is in a state of rapid transition. where

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highly contradictory values and divergent ways ofliving exist side by side, the choices

the individual has to make are manifold and difficult" (OIC 24). In every conflict, there

are contradictory tendencies which the neurotic is unable to reconcile. In addition,

Homey observes contradictions within the culture. As Stagner writes, "Homey will be

remembered for ... her keen observation of the internal contradictions of our

society" (355).

The conflict between demands for success and concern for others is a chronic

problem of our civilization. In The Neurotic Personality of Our Time (1937), Homey

mentions:

[The conflict may be] between competition and success on the one hand,

and brotherly love and humility on the other. On the one hand everything

is done to spur us toward success ... we must be not only assertive but

aggressive, able to push others out of the way. On the other hand ... it is

selfish to want everything for ourselves. (288)

In her view, the child is pushed and persuaded to strive for success, to be on top.

The child also gets training to do good without hope of reward, to help others, not to

take advantage of somebody else's weakness. Homey considers that any child who

tries to live up to these contradictory ideals is going to have problems. In her Schools

of Psychoanalytic Thought (1955), Ruth Munroe affirms that " [Horney]

emphasizes ... the conflicts inherent in social values .... Ideals of brotherly love and of

personal success, both inculcated in our society, are ... incompatible. Any person finds

it difficult to make a full integration of these conflicting trends (385). In the opinion

of Homey, competition is a driving force in all human relationships, and hence the

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success of the other person is experienced as one's own failure.

Horney observes another cultural cont1ict between freedom of the individual

and the reality of all his constraints and limitations. The child is told that he is

independent, and he can do anything if he tries hard enough. For the majority of

children, however, the possibility of freedom is restrained. Analyzing the theories of

Karen Horney, Stagner writes that, "Children move into a society that denies freedom,

imposes legal and economic handicaps, frustrates educational aspirations and

generally gives the lie to the fantasy of personal freedom" (354-55). As a result, the

child becomes inhibited in both the directions.

In Horney's view, as Stagner cormnents, "[contradiction is also] between

stimulating human needs and blocking their gratification" (354). In fact, for the

majority of people, the actual fulfillment of their needs is not possible because of

economic reasons. The possessors of wealth are represented as successful human

beings in our culture, whereas only a small percentage of the population is allowed to

live in luxuries. Homey states that an individual's needs may be stimulated by various

means such as "advertisements ... the ideal of 'keeping up with the Joneses' "(NP288)

Consequently, there is a conflict between individual's desires and their fulfillment.

When these culturally induced conflicts are itnposed on an individual who is

already in a state of " basic anxiety," he becomes neurotic. Homey believes that

neurosis arises from the conflicting demands within the culture. She, as noted by Dyal,

mentions that "neurosis is due ... to difficulties caused by the conflicting

characterofthe demands which a culture imposes on its individuls" (416). According

to her, conflicts are not inherent, but they are created. As she states :

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Person who is likely to become neurotic is one who has experienced the

culturally determined difficulties [conflicts] in an accentuated form,

mostly through the medium of childhood experiences, and who has

consequently been unable to solve them, or has solved them only at

great cost to his personality. We might call him a stepchild of our

culture. (NP290,emphasisadded).

For Homey, basic anxiety is the most painful experience a child can have. It is

the motive force behind repression. When parents do not provide appropriate

atmosphere and ingredients to promote growth of the "real self" of a child, he

experiences insecurity or basic anxiety. In Theories of Personality (1957), Calvin

Hall and Gardner Lindzey write about basic anxiety that "anything that disturbs the

security of the child in relation to his parents produces basic anxiety" (132).

Nicholas DiCaprio, who mentions the fundamentals ofHomeyan psychoanalysis in his

Personality Theories :Guides to Living (1974), states that "Basic anxiety is painful

and adverse .... Feeling utterly helpless and alone in a life situation that one cannot

master is certainly a terrifying state" (316).

Horney is of the view that the main source of basic anxiety is unconscious

hostile impulses. In other words, the unconscious hostile impulses for the parents

produce basic anxiety in a child. Moreover, a child's hostility towards his

parents arise from his inner conflict. On the one hand he wants to get their affection,

and on the other hand he feels hostility towards them. Homey takes the concept of

anxiety from Soren Kierkegaard, a Danish philosopher and theologian, whose works

have a great effect on her thinking.

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Basic anxiety generates a feeling of insecurity in a child, and he dreads the

environment which is unfair and merciless to him. In Contemporary Schools of

Psychology (1951), Robert Woodworth analyzes the theories of Karen Homey and

mentions that "Basic anxiety is the child's feeling that the social environment is

hostile and dangerous" (207). This insecure,and anxious child cannot relate himself

to others with his spontaneous real self. Instead, he develops some strategies to cope

with his environment and acts to alleviate his feelings of insecurity. Homey mentions

that the child becomes self-protective and unconsciously deals with others "in ways

which do not arouse, or increase, but rather allay his basic anxiety" (NHG 18). His

likes and dislikes, wants and wishes, trust and distrust - all are determined by such

strategical necessities. In Homey's view, the child "cannot simply like or dislike, trust

or distrust, expresses his wishes or protest against those of others, but ... devise[s]

ways to cope with people and to manipulate them with minimum damage to himself"

(OIC 210). In this process, his real self becomes weak and environment becomes

more threatening.

The helpless child defends himself againt his basic anxiety by "safety devices".

As Munroe affirms, "the expedients by which ... [the child] attempts to cope with a

world he deeply experiences as hostile Homey calls safety devices" (345). According

to Homey, the ultimate goal of a child is security, and he fancies that these devices can

make him more secure. In order to alleviate his basic anxiety, he may become hostile

and aggressive. Or he may become submissive and compliant if he finds that he can

reduce his insecurity by complying with the wishes of others.Or he may detach himself

from others. and thereby avoid a conflict between the tendency to either dominate or

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to submit. In this way, he structures his personality in response to the demands of his

environment. Homey emphasizes the importance of safety devices or character trends

for a child. She states that "the child gropes ... ways to cope with this menacing world

... he develops not only ad hoc strategies but lasting character trends which become

part of his personality. I have called these 'neurotic trends' "(OIC 42). From Homey's

point of view, a child develops irrational strategies or neurotic trends to cope against

his basic anxiety.

In Lives in Progress : A Study of the Natural Growth of Personality (1952),

Robert White mentions that "The concept of neurotic trend was brought into

prominence through the work of Karen Homey" (318). Homey believes that her study

of neurotic trends sets her apart from other analysts of the psychodynamic school. In

Self-Analysis (1942), she writes:

Freud believed that the [neurotic] disturbances generate from a conflict

between environmental factors and repressed instinctual impulses. Adler

... believes that they are created by the ... means that people use to assert

their superiority over others. Jung ... believes in collective

unconscious fantasies which, though replete with creative possibilities,

may work havoc because the unconscious strivings fed by them are the

exact opposite of those in the conscious mind. My own answer is that in

the center of psychic disturbances are unconscious strivings developed

in order to cope with life despite fears, helplessness, and isolation. I

have called them 'neurotic trends'. (40, emphasis added)

Homey calls these trends "neurotic" because they are irrational in nature.

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Discussing the theories of Karen Homey, Ruth Munroe writes in her Schools of

Psychoanalytic Thought (1955), that neurotic trends "protect against ... deep inner

fear [basic anxiety] and are not expediently related to the realistic dangers he [the child]

encounters" (348). The child feels helpless, defenseless, weak, and unlovable because

of his feelings of insecurity. Homey is of the view that neurotic needs or trends "are

the only means for the individual to have some feeling of safety" (NW 78). Moreover,

these neurotic needs are unrealistic and they are of a compulsive nature.An

individual may develop an insatiable need for affection, approval, perfection, power, or

prestige. Similarly, he may have a need to exploit others, to seek a partner who will

take over his life, or to restrict life practices within narrow borders. Homey believes

that all human beings require these needs to succeed in life. Viney and King write

about neurotic trends that, "all people possess such needs to some degree, neurotic

people irrationally adopt these trends as absolute needs that dominate their lives

and relationships" (394). As a psychiatrist, Homey identifies ten neurotic trends or

needs:

1. The need for affection or approval- The person with this need tries to please

others and to live up to their expectations. He is easily offended by any sign of

rejection or unfriendliness.

2. The need for a partner in life - This need is characterized by an earnest desire

for a partner who can love and solve all problems. The person overvalues love

and is afraid of being deserted and left alone.

3. The need to restrict life practices within narrow borders- Such a person lives

in a narrow world. He is usually undemanding, and is content with little. He

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wishes to live an inconspicuous life, and values modesty.

4. The need for power - This need expresses itself by the ability to achieve

control over others. Such persons believe in the omnipotence of will, and feel

that they can attain anything by exerting will power.

5. The need to exploit others- A person with this need wishes to dominate and

use family members or others for his own gain. He fosters the belief that people

are there simply to be used.

6. The need for social recognition- Such a person values prestige above all else.

He seeks publicity, and his self-evaluation depends upon the amount of public

recognition he receives.

7. The need for personal admiration - The person who has this need wants to be

admired for the inflated picture he has of himself.

8. The need for personal achievement - Such a person wishes to make

achievements. He strives to be the best because of his basic anxiety or

insecurity.

9. The need for self-sufficiency and independence - The person wants total

freedom. He does not accept to be tied down to anyone or anything. He simply

wishes to leave other individuals entirely.

10. The need for perfection - The person with this need wishes to make himself

infallible. He constantly seeks to eliminate all errors from himself and to

produce a perfect human being.

In the opinion of Homey, everyone possesses these needs. However, these

needs are quite strong and persistent in the neurotic person. As Ledford Bischof

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affim1s, "All personalities have these needs to some extent. The neurotic has them to

an overpowering degree" (220). In addition, one need usually predominates and

becomes a compelling force in a neurotic person.

Homey believes that these neurotic needs or trends are the sources from which

inner conflicts develop. A person's neurotic need for independence, for instance,

conflicts with the other part of his personality that wants to be loved and admired. In

her Self-Analysis (1942), Homey mentions :

Each neurotic trend [or need] carries within itself the germ of conflicts

.... If compliance is just as compulsive for him[ a neurotic] as absolute

independence he feels caught in a conflict which does not permit of any

permanent solution ... same impasse occurs when a compulsive need to

dominate others ... is combined with a striving to lean on another person,

or when a need to exploit others ... is of equal intensity with a need to be

admired as the superior .... It [conflict] occurs, in fact, whenever

contradictory trends exist together. (69, italics added)

According to Homey, all of us have these conflicts. The conflicts of the normal

person are different from the conflicts of the neurotic person. Homey believes that a

normal conflict may be entirely conscious. A neurotic conflict, on the other hand, is

always unconscious because the contradictory trends operating in it are deeply

repressed. Moreover, the emotional factors are rationalized in a neurotic conflict.

For Homey, the essential difference between a normal conflict and a neurotic conflict

is one of degree. As she asserts, "the disparity between the conflicting issues is much

less ... for the nom1al person than for the neurotic .... Graphically speaking, the

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conflicting directions diverge only 90 degrees or less, as against the possible 180

degrees confronting the neurotic" (OIC 31). Thus, the cont1icting tendencies in

a neurotic conflict are absolutely incompatible. Horney points out that these

conflicting tendencies are of compulsive nature. A neurotic individual is driven in

both directions by compelling forces over which he has no control. He cannot give up

any of the needs acquired by his inner necessity. He possesses the conflicts in an

aggravated form. So, it is not possible for him to arrive at a feasible decision.

Neurotic trends hold disruptive forces, and they can make the individual extremely

helpless and isolated. Analyzing the theories of Karen Homey, Robert White

mentions, "Neurotic trends do not stand alone ; they reveal themselves by lending an

exaggerated intensity to what would otherwise be quite ordinary forms of interest and

striving. They make their possessor vulnerable to neurotic breakdown ... " (318-19).

In her book Our Inner Conflicts (1945), Homey divides ten neurotic needs

or trends into three groups - moving toward people (neurotic need for affection,

approval), moving against people (neurotic need for power, exploitation), and moving

away from people (neurotic need for self-sufficiency, perfection) .As she writes :

I could see that a neurotic need for affection, compulsive modesty, and

the need for a 'panner' belonged together ... they represented a basic

attitude toward others and the self, and a particular philosophy of life.

These trends are the nuclei of what I have now drawn together as a

'moving toward people.' I saw, too, that a compulsive craving for

power and prestige and neurotic ambition had someting in common.

They constitute ... the factors involved in what I ... call 'moving against

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people.' "(14, italics added)

The adoption of these three unconscious trends depends upon individual's

temperament and his social or familial conditions. A child who "moves toward people"

shows compliant or self-effacing characteristics. The trend of "moving against people"

expresses his aggressiveness and hostility, and "moving away from people" trend

indicates his sense of isolation and not-belonging. In this way, a child uses three types

of behavioral pattern or neurotic trends in order to find security. In A History of

Psychology : Ideas and Context ( 1998), Viney and King write that the "neurotic

individuals rely on [these neurotic trends] to deal with [their] basic anxiety" (394).

Homey believes in the compulsive nature of the neurotic trends.It is a Homeyan

psychoanalytic view that the neurotic trends are the sources of inner conflict as well as

neurotic behaviour.Thus, neurotic trends are the driving forces in neurosis.Homey

mentions in her book Self-Analysis (1942) that the "essence of a 'neurosis' is the

neurotic character structure, the focal points of which are the neurotic trends" (69).

According to Homey, neurotic trends produce conflicts in human beings. In

A History of Modem Psychology (1969), Duane Schultz writes that "Homey felt that

none of these [trends] ... are realistic ways to deal with [basic] anxiety and that they ...

give rise to ... conflicts because of their incompatibility" (303). This view is supported

by Hall and Lindzey, as they mention in Theories of Personality ( 1957), that "Horney

finds in these different orientations [moving toward, against, and away from people]

the basis for inner conflict" ( 133, italics added). In much the same way, Robert Lundin

states that in the personality of a neurotic person, "These three forces [trends] ...

obviously come in conflict with one another" (139). Furthermore, the conflicts which

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grow out of incompatible trends, are responsible for neurosis formation. As Homey

mentions that "it [conflict] is the dynamic center from which neuroses emanate"

(0IC47).

Although Homey focuses on the neurotic aspect of personality, she holds out

many useful insights and principles of healthy living. In her opinion, the difference

between healthy strivings and neurotic drives is "one between spontaneity and

compulsion ; between recognizing and denying limitations ; between a focus upon the

vision of a glorious end-product and a feeling for evolution ; between ... fantasy and

truth" (NHG 38-39). She believes that a healthy person can move flexibly and

appropriately in all three directions. He can love tenderly, in another situation exert

control, and in still another, wisely withdraw. Thus, he is capable of choosing his

attitudes despite conscious awareness of conflicting tendencies within himself. Homey

affirms that "in a healthy human relationship the moves toward, against, or away from

others are not mutually exclusive ... these are complementary capacities necessary for

good human relations" ( 19).

According to Homey, a healthy person can slide from one move to another in

response to his fellow man. His choice depends upon the situation. In other words, he

is able to experience every kind of feeling. Horney states that the "three [trends or

moves] can complement each other and make for a harmonious whole" (OIC 45-46).

Thus, these three moves are important ,and a healthy person can freely move in each of

these three directions.

In contrast, when a child suffers from basic anxiety or excessive insecurity, his

moves - toward, against, and away from others - become increasingly fixed and

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rigid. He expresses a strong and concentrated desire to fulfill his needs. As he is not

flexible, he demonstrates these moves or attitudes regardless of their suitability in any

particular circumstances. His compulsive attitudes, therefore, clash with each other,

and he finds himself caught in a conflict. Horney states that these three

attitudes or trends generate conflicts because of their incompatibility. Discussing the

theories of Karen Homey, Robert Woodworth mentions in Contemporary Schools of

Psychology (1951), that the "shift from one of these attitudes to another according to

the circumstances would be normal ... but if each attitude is compulsive ... the outcome

is a neurosis with severe conflict between the trends" (208,emphasis added). Thus,

neurosis is the result of conflicts that occur between the individual's contradictory

trends. In Freud and the Post-Freudians (1964), Brown writes that, "It is Karen Horney's

contention that the conflict between these three tendencies constitutes the core of any

neurosis and it is therefore described as the 'basic conflict' "(144).According to the

Homeyan theory, the neurotic trends are the modes of defense against basic anxiety.

A person develops neurotic trends in order to alleviate his basic anxiety. But his

compulsive trends produce inner conflicts in his personality. In Neurosis and Human

Growth ( 1991), Homey notes :

In order to keep ... basic anxiety at a minimum the spontaneous moves

toward, against, and away from others became compulsive. While the

spontaneous moves were compatible, each with the others, the

compulsive ones collided. The conflicts generated in this way, which I

called basic conflicts, were therefore the result of conflicting needs and

conflicting attitudes .... (366-67, emphasis added)

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In the normal course of life, a secure person maintains all three attitudes. But,

in the neurotic person these attitudes give rise to conflicts. Homey is of the view that,

"when all three attitudes [moving toward, against, and away from people] are present in

... strong degree, he [a neurotic] is bound to be caught in a severe conflict" (OIC 46).

The neurotic person is not free to experiment with new ways of handling the situations.

As he is rigid, he cannot change his attitudes according to the circumstances. Homey

asserts that the "neurotic is not flexible ; he is driven to comply, to fight, to be aloof,

regardless of whether the move is appropriate in the particular circumstance, and he is

thrown into a panic if he behaves otherwise" ( 46) .In Homey's view, a neurotic person

is psychically rigid. So, he cannot deviate from his method of coping against his

basic anxiety. Analyzing the theories of Karen Homey, Schultz mentions in

A History of Modem Psychology ( 1969), that "Once a person firmly establishes his

method of coping with[his basic] anxiety, his behaviour ceases to be flexible enough to

permit alternative modes of expression" (303) .But this behaviour intensifies the

difficulties of a neurotic person. As his trends are rigid and compulsive, they produce

inner conflicts within his personality. Moreover, these conflicts bad! y affect his entire

personaliy. As Homey notes :

The attitudes do not remain restricted to the area of human relationships

but gradually pervade the entire personality, as a malignant tumor

pervades the whole organic tissue. They end by encompassing not only

the person's relation to others but also his relation to himself and to life

in general ... a conflict that starts with our relation to others in time

affects the whole personality. (OIC 46)

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In the opinion of Horney, conflicts within ourselves arise when all three

neurotic trends are nearly equal in strength. The result is procrastination. She believes

that neurotic trends are irrational and artificial solutions to the problem. So they do

not relieve a person of his basic anxiety. In each of these three trends, one of the

elements involved in basic anxiety still remains- helplessness in compliant solution,

hostility in aggressive solution, and isolation in detachment. As the neurotic person is

not able to resolve his conflict, he tends to move in one of three possible directions. In

her book Neurosis and Human Growth (1991), Horney mentions that

the neurotic person "tries to solve it [conflict] by making one of these moves

consistently predominant- tries to make his prevailing attitude one of compliance,

or aggressiveness, or aloofness" (19). She is of the view that all of us use all three

moves, but a neurotic individual utilizes one move to the exclusion of the other two.

Although one move or trend predominates and influences the actual conduct of

a neurotic person, the other trends do not cease to operate and they clash with one

other. In Interpreting Personality Theories (1970),Ledford Bischof mentions:

Homey's three types of neurotic adjustment techniques ... follow a

chronological pattern from moving toward people to moving against

people to the isolationist desire to move away from people .... Conflict

arises immediately when [a person] ... descend[ s] too deeply into the

exclusive use of any one of the techiques. (324-25, emphasis added)

A normal person, in Homey's view, can integrate all his moves since they are

not mutually exclusive. A neurotic person, on the other hand,tries to resolve his

contlicts by using only one of the trends and repressing the othertwo trends. However,

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for him,the unity of personality is not within reach. He gets some sense of wholeness

but is not able to resolve his conflicts. He cannot integrate his three trends or

orientations as they are mutually exclusive.

According to Homey, one move or trend is overemphasized in a neurotic

person and the other trends are repressed. In other words, he recognizes only one of

his trends and represses the other two. Discussing the theories of Karen Homey, R.B.

Ewen notes, "Homey's model can be schematized as a triangle, with a given individual's

dominant orientation at fhe apex and the two remaining orientations (which are

primarily unconscious, and which conflict wifh fhe dominant orientation) at each of

the comers" (140). When an individual adopts one orientation to the exclusion

of others, three types of personality may emerge - the "compliant" type (moving

toward people), the hostile or "aggressive" type (moving against people), and the

"withdrawing" type (moving away from people).

In Homey's view, a person who attempts to reduce his basic anxiety by "moving

toward people," is a compliant person. He feels fhat he is weak, helpless, and makes

supreme efforts to win the affection of all who surround him. For him, "salvation lies"

in love. He converts his helplessness into an advantage by using it to evoke care and

love from other people.It is a Homeyan psychoanalytic view, as Mumoe notes,

"affection and approval are the breath oflife to these people- many of whom do not

even make the show of independence" ( 448, emphasis added). The compliant person

moves toward people in order to secure safety for himself. He acquires needs,

sensitivities and even values that revolve round winning affection and acceptance by

others. Such a person is usually unaware of what neurotic trends are the driving forces

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in his life.

According to Homey, the compliant person expresses a need for affection

and approval . He may seek a partner who will love and solve all his problems. In

Homey's view, he shows a "need for affection and approval and an especial need for a

'partner'- that is, a friend, lover, husband or wife 'who is to fult111 all expectations of

life and take responsibility for good and evil' "(OIC 50). Like other neurotic needs,

his needs are compulsive as well as indiscriminate. They center upon a desire for

human intimacy.

Moreover, the compliant individual is a composite of all lovable qualities. He

is loving, loyal, and kind. He feels deeply hurt if his qualities are not recognized.

Homey states that the "[compliant] type needs to be liked, wanted, desired, loved; to

feel accepted, welcomed, approved of, appreciated ; to be needed, to be of importance

to others, especially to one particular person ... " (51). The individual whose major

orientation is "moving toward people" places taboos on all selfishness. He is

unselfish, undemanding, overconsiderate, overgrateful, and generous. He becomes too

sensitive to the needs of others. Thus, he makes every effort to win the affection and

approval of others. In his Interpreting Personality Theories (1964) Ledford Bischof

writes about Homey's compliant type:

Failure to achieve his goal of winning affection frequently turns him

into a hypochondriac or a victim of multiple psychosomatic complaints.

He reasons that society always commiserates with an invalid .... He finds

comfort in the phrase, 'poor little ol' me. (326)

From Homey's point of view,lack of assertiveness and fimmess impairs the

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capacities of the compliant individual. In addition, he suffers bitterly if rejected. His

self-esteem depends upon the approval of all who know him. Any criticism, or

rejection is, therefore, catastrophic for him. In the opinion of Horney, as Marx and

Hillix note in Systems and Theories in Psychology (1963), that the "compliant

individual relies upon other people ... and finds personal criticism devastating" (394).

He overvalues his lovable qualities and expects that others must value him for

them.But, when others do not stand up to his expectations, he becomes aggressive .For a

compliant person, however, it is not possible to express his aggressive tendencies

openly.Homey observes that he strongly represses a variety of aggressive tendencies

within himself. In her view, he is a true humanitarian. So, any expression of aggressive

behaviour appears to him as selfish.

Homey opines that love, for the compliant person, is the most desired

sentiment. He always seeks love, but can never return it since he fears emotional

dependency. This situation brings about the conflict. On the one hand he shows a great

need of love from others, on the other hand he is incapable of loving .In The Neurotic

Personality of Our Time( 193 7), Homey mentions :

The structure of an emotional dependence is more complicated. In

relationships in which one person becomes dependent on the other there

is invariably a great deal of resentment. The dependent person ... resents

having to comply, but continues to do so out of fear of losing the other.

Not knowing that it is his own anxiety which creates the situation ....

(120-21).

According to Homey, his handicaps and his suffering arise out of conflicts within

129

himself. His longing for love can be seen as the longing for unlimited support. For

Horney, this is a neurotic phenomenon because it is irrational and compulsive. In the

family, he attaches himself to the most powerful person who can give him strength and

protection. However, the relationship cannot sustain itself. A compliant person, as

Homey states, tends to "carry his conflicts into the relationship and thereby destroy it"

(OIC 62)

The "aggressive" personality whose major orientation is "moving against people",

feels that "everyone is hostile." He often shows anger, or hostility to those around him.

For him, the world is an arena where, in the Darwinian sense, only the fittest survives

and the strong overcomes the weak. As a result, feelings of weakness and vulnembility

are usually denied. In the persons, who emphasize this orientation, there may be a need

for power, and a need for control over others. The aggressive or hostile individual

seeks "satisfaction through ascendance and domination of others. Self-protection

is provided via one's power over others" (Morgan et al. 588). It is a Homeyan

psychoanalytic view, that neurotic need for power springs from basic anxiety. The

person with this orientation may also have a need for social recognition. He may want

to achieve success, prestige, or recognition in any form. Analyzing the theories of

Karen Homey, Ruth Mumoe writes in Schools of Psychoanalytic Thought ( 1955), that

"The aggressive type tends to demand power and prestige and personal

infallibility as its major mode of coping with a hostile world" (440).

Moreover, the aggressive or hostile individual believes in using others for the

attaimnent of his own goals. He may have a need for exploitation. In the opinion of

Homey. a hostile person may have a "strong need to exploit others ... to make them of

130

use to himself .... Any situation or relationship is looked at from the standpoint of

'what can I get out of it?' - whether it has to do with money, prestige, contacts, or

ideas" (OIC 65). In addition, he remains indifferent to all feelings. His own feelings

as well as the feelings of others are not important to him. For him, the compliant

person is a "sloppy sentimentalist." Love plays a negligible role in the life of an

aggressive individual. R.B. Ewen writes about the aggressive personality that "Those

who emphasize this orientation [aggressiveness] ... conclude that genuine affection is

unattainable or even nonexistent. Such individuals repress their feelings of

helplessness and need for love ... "(140). Even in marriage,as Homey states, a hostile

person seeks a partner who can enhance his status. He often wants money, or social

prestige in his choice of wife. Ledford Bischof asserts that, "For his social partner he

[hostile person] wants either the beauty queen or the girl with money, privileges ... who

will bring ... more than a fair share of success" (328).

From Homey's point of view, an aggressive individual is a good fighter. He

dislikes admitting any kind of fear. He wishes to overcome all obstacles, master fate

and get over all difficulties. For this type, as Horney mentions, "ruthlessness is strength,

lack of consideration for others, honesty, and a callous pursuit of one's own ends,

realism" (OIC 68). He is without humaneness and mercy. According to Homey, he

rejects feelings such as sympathy, friendliness, compliance, and appeasement. He

believes in the "philosophy of the jungle." For him, the wisest philosophy is "Might

makes right." However, the aggressive individual has a neurotic need for affection and

approval. Thus, he experiences a conflict between his divergent trends. On the one

hand he feels hostility towards others, on the other hand he wants their affection.

131

As Homey aftinns that, "For the aggressive type ... feeling of sympathy ... or attitude of

compliance would be incompatible with the whole structure of [his] living ... and

would shake its foundation" (OIC 70). He attempts to solve his internal cont1icts by

repressing his need for affection. But repression of this need in tum reinforces his

aggressive pattern which is both compulsive and inflexible.

The "detached" or withdrawing individual seeks safety for himself by "moving

away from people". He employs, as Viney and King mention in A Histozy of

Psychology :Ideas and Context (1998) that, "an inte1personal coping strategy based on

withdrawal and detachment from society" (394). But, his detachment indicates that he

is in conflict. In order to find freedom from his conflicts, he follows the strategy of

withdrawal. Homey states that, "all-important function of neurotic detachment ... is to

keep major conflicts out of operation" (OIC 95). The person who has the tendency to

withdraw, wants neither to belong nor to fight. In Homey's view, his strongest wish is

to hold himself apart. Ledford Bischof writes about the detached personality that

"Because people are the main sources of unhappiness and conflict, his overwhelming

desire is to be entirely free of entanglements" (218). The withdrawing neurotics avoid

intimate or even casual contacts with others. They live in an ivory tower, and feels

proud of their detachment. Homey believes that this social resignation arises from,

[Their] inner need to put emotional distance between themselves and

others. More accurately, it is their conscious and unconscious

detennination not to get emotionally involved with others in any way,

whether in love, fight, co-operation, or competition. They draw around

themselves a kind of magic circle which no one may penetrate. (OIC 75)

132

A detached person usually avoids social functions. He dislikes power, prestige,

competition, and success. Moreover, he may have a need for privacy. When such a

person goes to a hotel, he never removes the "Do-Not-Disturb" sign from the door. In

the opinion of Horney, the detached person expresses a strong need for independence.

He always strives from freedom. However, his independence has a negative orientation

as it is aimed at not being influenced, tied, or obligated. In Homey's view, this need for

independence is irrational and compulsive.

For Homey, neurotic withdrawal is based upon the belief that, "If I become

self-sufficient, I will be safe". There is a pronounced need for self-sufficiency in a

detached person. The withdrawing neurotics, as R.B. Even states, "strive to become

completely and unrealistically self-sufficient ... by overestimating their abilities

and their differences from other people. Such individuals try never to allow anyone ...

to become indispensable" (140). Thus, the individuals whose major orientation

is moving away from people, effort to resolve their conflicts by becoming

self- sufficient.

The detached person or isolationist wishes to be emotionally independent of

people. He says, "If! withdraw, no one can hurt me." Analyzing the theories of Karen

Horney, Ledford Bischof mentions that "independence guarantees for him [a detached

person] no heartbreaking involvements. If he can establish that he is not dependent

upon others ... he keeps trouble out of his life. He lives for himself and by himself"

(218). The isolationist feels that he has not much in common with them and that they

may not understand him anyway. In the opinion of Homey, the person who moves away

from people "takes extraordinary pride in having kept free of the leveling influences of

133

environment" (OIC 81 ). " But, when isolation becomes unbearable, he wishes for

human intimacy, or for marriage. In this way, he expresses his need for affection

and protection.According to Homey,as Ruth Munroe writes, the "detached person is ...

prey to undercover longings for closeness, to unconscious dependency ... " ( 497). From

Homey's point of view, the individual who emphasizes this orientation, supresses his

need for love and his healthy emotions.

It is important to note that Homeyan theory of personality focuses on the

detached person's aloofness and his non-participation in society. Homey is of the

view that the suppressed feelings of a person become active in the areas of books,

nature, and art. Some of the most highly respected individuals, who take the direction

away from the people, as DiCaprio remarks, are "the philosophers, the great

theologians, ... scientists- who live above the mundane and commonplace" (318). In

much the same way, Ruth Munroe writes about the detached individual that "a number

of ... research scientists, even artists are of this type" ( 451).

According to Homey, neurotic detachment is not a matter of choice but of

inner compulsion .It is a defense against basic anxiety.For Homey, detachment is one

of the many ways of creating an artificial harmony .In Our Inner Conflicts (1945), she

summarizes the three types as :

the compliant type looks at his fellow man with the silent question, "Will

he like me?"- and the aggressive type wants to know, "How strong an

adversary is he?" or "Can he be useful to me?"- the detached person's

first concern is, "Will he interfere with me ? Will be want to influence

me or will he leave me alone?" (80-81, emphasis added)

134

In each instance, the two orientations that are less conspicuous, remain alive in

the unconscious, and conflict with the dominant orientation. In Homey's view, the

alternate moves that are at odds with the primary move, do not disappear. They remain

powerful at the unconscious level and constantly struggle for expression against the

primary move. The person, for instance, who rigidly moves against others,

experiences softer feelings as threatening. He rejects these feelings. However, these

feelings continue to operate unconsciously and conflict with his aggressive

tendencies. Similarly, the neurotic solution of compliance involves sharp inner

conflicts with repressed wishes to be aggressive and detached. And the

neurotic solution of detachment is maintained by repressing compliance and

aggressiveness, both of them conflict with the manifest withdrawal. In this way,

these opposing strivings generate much of the unconscious inner conflict, the basis for

neurosis.

The normal person is free to move toward, against, or away from others as the

circumstances dictate. He may resolve his conflicts by integrating these three

orientations as they are not mutually exclusive. On the contrary, these orientations are

compulsive and inflexible in a neurotic person.. As Homey mentions "all three

attitudes are not only desirable but necessary to our development as human beings. It

is only when they appear and operate in a neurotic framework that they become

compulsive, rigid, indiscriminate, and mutually exclusive" (OIC 89). The neurotic

individuals try to resolve their conflicts by elevating one of the moves into a dominant

position and repressing the other two. These repressed moves remain active in

the unconscious and conflict with the conspicuous move. For Homey, these three

135

orientations or moves are actually pseudo-solutions to the underlying problem

of basic anxiety.

Apart from ten neurotic needs and three types of adjustment techniques, Homey

describes two safety devices or unconscious defense mechanisms which are used by

the neurotic to solve the problems created by his inner conflicts. The neurotic

individual may form an idealized image of himself. Or he may externalize his

conflicts. According to Homey, the neurotic person may deny or repress his inner

conflicts by creating an unrealistic and artificial image of himself. A sense of unity is

essential for an individual to function in life. As she writes, "longing for unity within

ourselves ... is prompted by the practical necessity of having to function in life- an

impossibility when one is ... driven in opposite directions - and by what in

consequence amounts to a supreme terror of being split apart" (OIC 56-57).

A neurotic individual respresses his conflicting tendencies in order to attain a

sense of unity, a feeling of wholeness. But these repressed tendencies do not cease to

operate. Discussing the theoris of Karen Horney, Hall and Lindzey assert that

"[A neurotic person] creates an idealized image of himself in which the contradictory

trends ... disappear, although actually they do not" (134).

For Homey, the real self is the core of one's being, one's potential. She

believes that the real self is "the 'original' force toward individual growth and

fulfillment" (NHG 158). It contains potential for growth, happiness, will-power, gifts,

and so on. If an individual has an accurate conception of himself, he is free to realize

his potential and achieves what he wishes, within reasonable boundaries. According to

Homey, a healthy person strives for self-realization. In the foreword to Neurosis and

136

Human Growth ( 1991 ), Jeffrey Rubin and Stephanie Steinfeld write about the real self

that it is the "fundamental core of aliveness ... universally present in each of us, finds

its unique expression in each individual's development of his/her potential for

self-realization" (4). In Homey's view, self-realization is the healthy person's aim

throughout his life. She mentions that, "Self-realization ... is the evolution of one's

potentialities as a human being ... it involves in a central place- the development of

one's capacities ... " (NHG 308). To her, the real self suggests integration and positive

striving in dealing with the external world.

In distinct contrast to this, the neurotic individual attempts to repress his

painful inner conflicts. He despises his faults, weaknesses and seeks safety in his

idealized image. From Homey's point of view, an individual creates an idealized image

of himself because his real or actual self is inadequte to deal with his circumstances.

The idealized image denotes that the individual cannot tolerate himself what

he actually is. In other words, he cannot tolerate his real self. It is a Homeyan

psychoanalytic view, as Robert Woodworth and Mary Sheehan mention in

Contemporary Schools of Psychology (1964) that the "idealized image stands in the

way of the individual's coming to an understanding and acceptance of his 'real' self'

(322). Horney believes that the creation of an idealized image is an unconscious

phenomenon. In actuality, this image is unrealistic, fictitious, and illusory. However,

its influence upon the individual's life is very real.

For a neurotic person, as Benjamin Wolman writes in Contemporal)' Theories

and Systems in Psychology (1979), that the image has "the value of reality, thus

helping him avoid awareness of his inner conflicts" (353). The image gives him a

137

sense of unity and integration despite the rift in his personality. Homey is of the view

that the image has a static quality. It is not a genuine goal, but a fixed idea. A genuine

goal often has a dynamic quality. It is absolutely essential for growth and development

of an individual. But the idealized image, as Homey mentions, "is a decided hindrance

to growth because it ... denies shortcomings ... "(OIC 99).

In the process of creating an idealized image of himself, the individual develops

the belief that he is the exquisite human being whose faults are divine. He feels

himself far superior to the man he actually is. Thus, the image provides him a false

picture of his personality. Homey opines that the individual "endows himself with

unlimited powers and with exalted faculties ; he becomes a hero, a genius, a supreme

lover, a saint, a god" (NHG 22). He lives in his idealized image. He does not realize

that he is harbouring an illusion. Discussing the theories of Karen Homey, Robert

Lundin states that "Through this self-deception, persons create an image of what they

... feel they ought to be :a saint, a mastermind, or a Casanova" (139). In Homey's

view, the idealized self-image gives an individual a feeling of security, a feeling of

significance.

Moreover, the idealized image reinforces the dominant artificial solution. The

compliant person, for instance, may believe that he is extremely unselfish and helpful.

In a similar way, the aggressive individual may see himself as an invincible

warrior. And the detached individual may conclude that he is utterly independent and

self-sufficient, and he has no need for other persons. Thus, the neurotic individual

believes that he is his idealized image. All his efforts are directed towards actualizing

his idealized, and unrealistic image. According to Homey, the individual gradually

138

becomes his idealized self. In Neurosis and Human Growth (199l).she notes:

The individual may come to identify himself with his idealized,

integrated image. Then it does not remain a visionary image which he

secretly cherishes; imperceptibly he becomes this image: the idealized

image becomes an idealized self. And this idealized self becomes more

real to him than his real self .... This transfer of his center of gravity is an

entirely inward process; there is no ... outward change in him. The change

is in the core of his being, in his feeling about himself ... he now starts to

abandon it [his real self] definitely for the idealized self.(23,italics added)

Thus, he finds himself divorced from his true or real self. Homey calls this

process the alienation from self. She finds this process devastating. In History and

Systems of Psychology (1975), William Sahakian writes about Horney's concept of

alienation that, "In the process of neurosis, an individual abandons his real self for an

idealized one" (272). The idealized image dominates the healthy drives and conscious

thoughts of an individual. It drives him to establish unattainable goals and standards.

As Ruth Murnoe states that "the idealized image becomes a dictator which demands

rigid fulfillment of its canons .. : "(454). In the process of self-alienation, the person

becomes his idealized or ideal self. He attempts to actualize his ideal self. In other

words, he strives for the unattainable goals. Consequently, he develops neuroticism in

his behaviour. Analyzing the theories of Karen Homey, Nicholas Dicaprio writes,

"neurotic behaviour increases as the ideal self moves away from the real self' (319).

The individual, who abandons his real self, loses touch with his greatest source

of strength. His quest is to become his ideal self. This ideal self gives him a feeling of

139

support, a feeling of significance. As DiCaprio states, "To the frustrated child,

the discovery of the ideal self is a momentous event because it opens up a variety

of possibilities .... The feelings of inadequacy ... inner discord ... can be easily

rationalized, for what he really has become, in his own view ... [a] glorious person with

extraordinary powers ... "(318). The identification with the ideal self is so strong that

he clings to it at all cost. Yet, it is not possible for him to live upto the standards laid

down by the ideal self. In the opinion of Homey, the ideal self is not a positive goal.

It is unrealistic and impossible.However, the individual attempts to measure upto his

idealized self. In other words, he strives for self-idealization. Instead of using his

energies for self-realization, he destroys them in actulization of his ideal self. From

Homey's point of view, he experiences a conflict between self-realization and

self-idealization. The price he pays is the neglect of his real potentialities and chasing

after the talents and abilities which he does not have. In his efforts to measure up to his

ideal self, the neurotic individual alienates himself from his real self. Discussing the

self-concept principle of Karen Homey, Ledford Bischof writes :

In order to achieve self-realization man must have ... an idealized self

before him ... as a model. In doing this he ... by-passes the genuine goal

of self-realization and constructs ... [unattainable] idealized self .... The

idealized self is never possible. Instead of returning to the 'spontaneity'

of the real self, man continues to drift away from what he actually is ....

[The more] he drifts toward an illusory goal, the more alienated he

becomes from his actual self. The result is inner conflict , which leads

to neurotic behaviour .... (319-20, emphasis added)

140

In Horney's view, the conflict between the idealized self and the real self is the

central inner conflict. She states that the "central inner conflict is one between the

constructive forces of the real self ... [and] to prove in actuality the perfection of the

idealized self" (NHG 368). Thus, the individual's two selves- real and idealized­

conflict with each other. In Schools of Psychoanalytic Thought (1955), Ruth Munroe

affirms that "Horney ... consider[ s] tension between the real self and the idealized ...

self as the central conflict in all neurosis" (456). The neurotic individual tries to

resolve his conflicts. He can resolve his inner conflicts by re-establishing the real

self over his idealized self. In this way, he may struggle for self-realization. Homey

maintains that such self-realization decreases inner conflict and helps the person to

strive for harmony with others and himself.

According to Homey, another solution employed by the neurotic individual for

his conflicts is "extemalization". He externalizes his inner conflicts. In this process,

self-feelings are externalized. The person experiences his internal feelings, and

impulses as occuring outside himself. He sees his conflicts not in himself, but in the

external world. To Homey, extemalization suggests getting away from the real self.

She believes that an individual takes "refuge from his ... conflict in his idealized [self]

... but when discrepancies between the actual self and the idealized one reach a point

where tensions become unbearable, he ... run[s] away from himself [his real self]

entirely and see[s] everything as if it lay outside" (OIC 115-16).

The externalizing individual shifts blame and responsibility towards others

and feels that all these things occur outside himself. Homey is of the view that the

individual unconsciously experiences all his faults and problems in others. In his

141

book Freud and the Post-Freudians (1964), J.A.C. Brown writes about Horney's

externalizing individual that "Feeling oppressed by his own problems, he may show

indignation at the oppression of small nations : anger directed towards others may

really represent his own dislike (145).Moreover, he feels that external forces are

responsible not only for his conflicts but also for his personal achievements. He

ascribes his failures as well as his successes to outside events - to fate, or to the

weather. In the process of externalization, as Marx and Hillix mention in their book

Systems and Theories in Psychology (1963), that the "organism participates in

an attempt to explain every motive and action externally, not just the undesirable

ones" (394).

According to Horney, the neurotic individual depends upon others for

externalizing his conflicts. In fact, he may feel that his life is determined by others.

Homey asserts that "extemalizationmakes for dependence upon others" (OIC 117).

In addition, the person, who tends to externalize, does not experience the conflicting

forces operating within himself. He may be worried about the neurosis of his wife,

brother, or friend, but not about his own. He may feel, as Homey mentions that "If his

wife were not so neurotic or his work so upsetting,he would be quite all right" (130).

For Homey, this person is "psychically nonexistent" because he is not aware of his

own conflicts. This safety device or the defense mechanism of extemalization does

not bring a reduction of anxiety, but increases it.

All these solutions are compulsive because they are motivated by basic anxiety

of the child. They operate regularly in all neuroses. Horney makes it clear that all

these devices or defenses are built around the nucleus of the basic conflict.

142

Conflicts, in Horney's view, can be avoided or resolved if the child is raised in a horne

where there is Jove, respect, security, trust, and tolerance. Like Freud, she believes

that conflict is the core of every neurosis. However, unlike Freud and Jung, she does

not accept the notion that conflict is innate, and therefore, inevitable. She opines that

conflicts grow out of social conditions. In her view, as Schultz notes, "conflicts ...

arise out of undesirable social conditions in childhood and can be prevented if the

child's home life is characterized by understanding, security, love, and warmth" (303).

For Homey, man can reduce or even eliminate his inner conflicts. She states that her

theory is a constructive theory of neurosis because it brings "actual resolution [of

conflicts], and ... enables us to work toward a real integration of personality" (OIC 19).

For Homey, conflicts can be resolved by changing those conditions within the

personality which brought them into being. Man can integrate the conflicting forces

operating within himself. He can solve many of his emotional problems and avoid

inner conflicts by his own capacity to change his behaviour. Homey feels that man has

the capacity to analyze his own maneuvers, and that he can chage his own personality.

As she writes :

The human personality can change. It is not only the young child who is

pliable. All of us retain the capacity to change, even to change in

fundamental ways ... the better we understand the forces operating

in neurosis the greater our chance of effecting desired change.

(OIC 242-43)

143

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