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Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences pp 1–3Cite as

Self-Realization (Horney)

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Synonyms

Authentic self; Creative ability; Real self; Self-actualizing self; Self-knowledge

Definition

According to Karen Horney, the real self is not a fixed entity but a set of “intrinsic potentialities” (Horney 1950, p. 17). These potentialities include various capacities, talents, interests, and perhaps what we would today describe as hard-wiring neurological components, such as temperament or genetic predispositions that influence one’s capacities around self- realization. Horney describes the real self as “the alive, unique, personal center of ourselves,” (1950, p. 155) the actualization of which comprises the meaning of life, and the inhibition or alienation from which can be associated with a form of “psychic death” (1945, p. 185). Factors that inhibit the development of self-realization are childhood conditions where the parental figures do not convey an atmosphere of warmth where a child is allowed to have and express his or her own feelings and thoughts, nor are the child’s...

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References

  • Horney, K. (1939). New ways in psychoanalysis. New York: W. W. Norton.

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  • Horney, K. (1945). Our inner conflicts. New York: W. W. Norton.

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  • Horney, K. (1950). Neurosis and human growth. New York: W. W. Norton.

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  • Paris, B. J. (1999). Karen Horney’s vision of the self. The American Journal of Psychoanalysis, 59, 157–166.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The American Institute for Psychoanalysis, Karen Horney Center, New York, NY, USA

    Jack Danielian

  2. Woodland Psychological Services, North Hampton, NH, USA

    Patricia Gianotti

Authors
  1. Jack Danielian
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  2. Patricia Gianotti
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jack Danielian .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Virgil Zeigler-Hill

  2. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW, Australia

    Simon Boag

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© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG

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Danielian, J., Gianotti, P. (2018). Self-Realization (Horney). In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1425-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1425-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

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