Horney
Basic Evil, Hostility, and Anxiety
The two basic needs of childhood are safety and
satisfaction.
Safety is a move towards Object Relations – wherein the
relationship is more important than the satisfaction of
biological needs.
Basic Evil – Behaviors of the parents that undermine a
child’s security. Some examples:
Indifference
Rejection
Hostility
Preference for a sibling
Unfair punishment
Ridicule
Humiliation
Erratic behavior
Unkept promises
Isolation of the child from others
The child develops basic hostility towards the parents after
being treated in one of these ways. But because it is unsafe
to feel hostile towards one’s parents, the child internalizes
and generalizes this hostility and directs it towards the
world at large, which results in basic anxiety.