Okay, so I’ve been diving into AP Psychology, and the name Karen Horney keeps popping up. I figured it was time to really understand what she was all about. I’m no expert, but here’s how I got my head around her theories.
Digging into Karen Horney’s Theories
First, I grabbed my AP Psych textbook and flipped to the personality section. Horney’s considered a neo-Freudian, meaning she took some of Freud’s ideas and then went her own way. I started by just reading through the basics, you know, trying to get a general feel for her work.
Next, I needed a little more than my text,I jumped online and found some of the most basic overviews. It’s just good to cross-reference. I was making my own notes during this stage.
- Wrote down keywords: “neurotic needs,” “basic anxiety,” “womb envy.” It’s all very… intense.
- Focused on how she disagreed with Freud. That seemed pretty important. Apparently, she wasn’t big on his ideas about penis envy. She thought it was more about social and cultural factors, not biology.
- Tried to connect her ideas to real life. Like, how do these “neurotic needs” actually show up in people? I was thinking about people I know, trying to see if any of it fit.
Consolidate and Check
I am not going to lie,Then I reviewed my notes and went back to the textbook to make sure I hadn’t gone off the rails. It’s easy to get lost in this stuff. It seemed like I had a decent handle on the main points.
Honestly, learning about Horney felt like putting together a puzzle. You start with these scattered pieces of information, and then slowly, they start to connect and form a bigger picture. I’m still no expert, but at least now I feel like I have a basic understanding of her contribution to psychology.
