Meera, 24, comes to Dr. Sen, a psychologist trained in the Freudian tradition. When she was a child, her parents were cold one day and harsh the next, and they rarely praised her. Meera grew up feeling unsafe, and she still feels deep anger towards them. Dr. Sen does not trace her problems to inborn sexual or aggressive drives. He looks instead at how her parents treated her in her early years. He is also hopeful: he believes Meera can still grow and reach her fullest potential. He rejects the old idea that women are by nature weaker than men.
Dr. Sen's way of understanding Meera is closest to the theory of which psychologist?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Karen Horney
Option (1) Alfred Adler — Incorrect. Adler's theory, called individual psychology, sees behaviour as purposeful and goal-directed. Its centre is the <strong>inferiority complex</strong>, the feelings of inadequacy and guilt; it does not link disorders to cold, erratic parents or take up the place of women.
Option (2) Erich Fromm — Incorrect. Fromm took a <strong>social orientation</strong>: he held that character traits develop from our experiences with other individuals. But the challenge to Freud's view of women and the link between disorders and disturbed relations with parents in childhood are Horney's ideas.
Option (3) Erik Erikson — Incorrect. Erikson stressed <strong>rational, conscious ego processes</strong> and saw development as a lifelong process. His central idea is ego identity and the identity crisis of adolescence.
Option (4) Karen Horney — Correct. Horney broke away from Freud and took a <strong>more optimistic view</strong> of human life, stressing growth and self-actualisation. She traced psychological disorders to <strong>disturbed relationships in childhood</strong> and rejected Freud's treatment of women as inferior, just as Dr. Sen does.
NCERT (2026-27): “Karen Horney : Optimism “Horney’s major contribution lies in her challenge to Freud’s treatment of women as inferior. According to her, each sex has attributes to be admired by the other, and neither sex can be viewed as superior or inferior. She countered that women were more likely to be affected by social and cultural factors than by biological factors. She argued that psychological disorders were caused by disturbed interpersonal relationship during childhood. When parents’ behaviour toward a child is indifferent, discouraging, and erratic, the child feels insecure and a feeling called basic anxiety results. Deep resentment toward parents or basic hostility occurs due to this anxiety. By showing excessive dominance or indifference, or by providing too much or too little approval, parents can generate among children feelings of isolation and helplessness which interfere with their healthy development.” |