Problem 12 - An Introduction to Theories of Personality

Question

A terrorist blows up a building in a hated foreign country. How might Horney explain the terrorist's behavior?

Step-by-Step Solution

Answer

Horney might interpret the terrorist's act as a 'moving against people' coping strategy resulting from basic anxiety, which involves hostility and aggression towards others as a form of manipulation for control and power. The act of terrorism could be a projection of their repressed anger and unresolved internal conflicts.

Step 1: Understand Horney's theory

Karen Horney was a german psychoanalyst who proposed a theory of neurosis. She believed that basic anxiety arises in individuals when their needs are not met during childhood. This basic anxiety can lead individuals to adopt one of three coping strategies: moving towards people (compliance), moving against people (aggression or hostility), and moving away from people (withdrawal).

Step 2: Apply Horney's theory to the terrorist act

In the context of a terrorist act, the terrorist blows up a building in a foreign country they detest. Horney might explain this behavior as a manifestation of the 'moving against people' strategy. This coping mechanism involves hostility and aggression towards others and is often used as a means to gain control, power, or to manipulate situations.

Step 3: Analyse the motives

The terrorist's hatred for the foreign country could be a displacement of their unresolved internal conflicts. The act of terrorism can be seen as an externalized projection of their internalized anger and anxiety. This extreme measure implies a high level of anxiety, which lead to the neurotic behavior.