Question

In the context of basic hostility and basic anxiety, which of the following was a belief Karen Horney held about people?

a) People are inherently good
b) People are driven by a desire for power and control
c) People are motivated by a fear of success
d) People are influenced by unconscious sexual instincts

Answer 1

Karen Horney believed that basic anxiety and coping mechanisms influence people, with behaviors that can include seeking power and control as a reaction to such anxiety.

Step-by-step explanation:

Karen Horney, a prominent psychoanalyst, diverged from Sigmund Freud's focus on unconscious sexual instincts. Instead, Horney proposed that people are driven by basic anxiety and basic hostility, resulting from needs not being met during childhood. She believed that this anxiety leads to three coping styles: moving toward people, moving against people, and moving away from people, which are not inherently driven by a desire for power and control or a fear of success, but rather as coping mechanisms for anxiety. Therefore, the belief Karen Horney held about people is most closely related to option (b) People are driven by a desire for power and control, as this behavior can stem from the coping style of moving against people to deal with basic anxiety.