Basic Anxiety

The term "basic anxiety" is a term used by psychoanalytic theorist Karen Horney. Her work posited that neurosis is the result of basic anxiety that is created by personal relationships. She further stated that this basic anxiety, and therefore neurosis, are the result of dysfunctional parenting behaviors such as domination, indifference, erratic behavior, lack of guidance, isolation from other children, injustice, lack of warmth, and many other negative behaviors. Unlike her contemporary Freud, she believed that human personality continued to develop over lifetime and disagreed with Freud's belief in "universal developmental stages."