Nie dorosnąć do… Infantylna osobowość naszych czasów

Abstract

The starting point of the reflection is the work of Karen Horney who published a monograph entitled The Neurotic Personality our times in the 1937. In my research I recall social phenomena well known nowadays in Poland, such as: a decline in fertility, the decreasing number of marriages, the increase in number of divorces, domestic violence, the corrosion of authority, escape from the aging process and many more. From my point of view, as from a clinical psychologist's view, based on the single case studies collected together with past year’s graduates, I am trying to answer some selected questions. The general way to answer all these questions would be: these people do not undertake developmental tasks which are proper for their age group, gender or life situation. We can say about these people that they don’t undertake responsibility for themselves and others. They show a way of thinking and reacting specific for an infantile personality. However, the main question I am trying to answer in my lecture is: why the infantile personality is so characteristic for our times and what is its relation to social life conditions.