Essay On Karen Horney's Contributions To Psychology

Psychology is a field that has been studied by brilliant minds for many years. Throughout the years, we have learned about many different psychologists that have made an impact in the field of psychology. When you examine about the field of psychology, there are a few names that came to mind. The few Psychologists that come to mind are B.F Skinner, Sigmund Freud, Albert Bandura, Ivan Pavlov, Erik Erickson & etc. These men hold a lasting impact in the field of psychology but women have also made contributions in psychology. Among these influential women, Karen Horney was a pioneering theorist. Karen Horney made a lasting Impact on the field of psychology. Karen Horney was born on September, 16, 1885 near Hamburg Germany. Her parents were Clotide and Berndt Danielson. Her parents later got divorced which caused her to cling to her mother more. She was neglected by her father. Around the age of 9, she became infatuated with her older brother Brendt. He rejected her feelings …show more content…
Karen followed most of Sigmund Freud theories but disagree with him on his view of female psychology. One of the most well known features of Freud’s theories on women is the concept of penis envy. Freud states “during the phallic stage of emotional growth develop 'Penis Envy ', the desire to have their own penis." Since girls don’t have a penis they become jealous of boy who do and form resentment toward their mother whom they blame for not having a penis. In other word, Freudian believe that female envy men because of their penis. Karen strongly rejected his notion because it was inaccurate and demeaning to woman and she gave many reasons why it’s inaccurate. She explained that girl also desire to have breasts, which is strictly a female possession. Therefore the wish to have a penis does not mean wanting to be male. Controversial to Freud theory of “penis envy”, Karen Horney developed the concept of