This entry introduces the pioneering work of the German psychoanalyst Karen Horney (1885–1952). Although trained in the Freudian tradition, Horney was an early internal critic of Freud, most notably in relation to his androcentric account of female sexuality and biologically grounded theory of neurosis. Horney argued that perceptions of inferiority and psychological conflict arose from relational and cultural conditions rather than biological determinants. Her work has exerted a lasting influence on feminist, interpersonal, and humanistic psychologies concerned with the role of social and cultural factors in shaping sexuality, personality, and the self.