Neurotic Pride (Idealized Image) and Neurotic Self-hate

Synonyms

Egocentricity; False pride; False self-esteem; Self-alienation; Unconscious self-glorification.

Definition

Neurotic pride is a defense posture that arises due to an underlying sense of insecurity and feeling of unworthiness. Horney believed that neurotic development generally arose from an unfavorable or inadequate home environment that in turn weakened the child at the core of his being. As a result, Horney (1950) states, “He becomes alienated from himself and divided. His self-idealization is an attempt to remedy the damage done by lifting himself in his mind above the crude reality of himself and others” (p. 87). Neurotic pride is a compulsively driven attempt to overcompensate for and dissociate oneself from deep-seated feelings of inadequacy that interfere with the unfolding emergence of the real self.

Introduction

Neurotic pride and the idealized image are fundamental components of Karen Horney’s theory of neurosis. All of Horney’s character dynamics, “moving toward,”...