The 5 Personality Types According to Erich Fromm’s Theory

Eric Fromm He is one of the authors par excellence in philosophy and psychology. He dedicated many years of his brilliant career to humanistic and social psychology, thus studying human behavior and seeking to solve many enigmas that psychology posed at that time.

After years of writing and studying, this author concludes that there are five personality types Erich Fromm analyzed personality in its individual scope through the personal history of the protagonist and also, socially, from the context of contact with others. In this PsychologyFor article, we will develop one by one the 5 personality types according to Erich Fromm’s theory

Biography of Erich Fromm and his theory

This thinker was born in Germany in 1900 into a Jewish family. In fact, Erich Fromm himself considered becoming a rabbi during his youth. However, he put that goal aside and decided to study law and sociology.

In 1926 he married the famous psychoanalyst Frieda Reichmann Thanks to her, Erich Fromm began to take his first steps in psychology and, more specifically, in psychoanalysis. Five years later, he began practicing as a psychoanalyst in Berlin until, in the 1940s, he began to publish his most important works. It is important to note that he separated from Frieda in 1931 but maintained a good friendship at all times. After all, it was she who introduced Erich Fromm to the world of psychoanalysis

Erich Fromm began to combine his publishing work with teaching and ended his years as a professor at the University of Michigan. He died in 1980, already retired, in a small town in Switzerland.

Erich Fromm: theory and books

For Fromm, the human being had as its primary objective understand yourself and your circumstances Two basic needs of the human being in the framework of the author’s context are: the need for freedom and the search for belonging. That is, the reconciliation of that individuation with social development. We highlight this message from the author: “There is almost no activity or project that begins with such high hopes and expectations, and at the same time fails as often, as love.”

Fromm’s most notable books are the following:

• The fear of freedom (1941)
• Psychoanalysis and religion (1950)
• The art of loving (1956)
• From having to being (1976)

Erich Fromm wrote many more books than we mention here. However, in this article we are going to focus on one of the most interesting theories about him: The 5 personality types according to Erich Fromm’s theory If you want to know more, we recommend this article on Fromm’s theories of personality.

Next, we are going to define each type of personality according to Erich Fromm described to us throughout his work.

1. Perceptual personality

It is that type of personality that tends to seeking approval of the closest beings in the face of the perception of insecurity to make decisions alone. These types of people seek constant support from others, however, being excessively egocentric, they do not usually show any type of gratitude towards those who support them. They do not practice reciprocity and generate very high expectations of others.

In addition to placing excessive weight on the behavior of others, they also underestimate their own potential, which greatly hinders their ability to make decisions and relate to others. They are usually considered insecure and introverted people.

2. Personality of the exploiter

This type of personality shows the behavior of that person who turns friendship into a means for their own benefit, that is, instrumentalizes the links affective in an almost commercial way based on that individual interest that is contrary to the selflessness of friendship. They are people who tend to establish bonds with weak and insecure people since they are easier to manipulate.

We can go so far as to affirm that this type of personality, according to Erich Fromm, is the most frequent profile in our society. Relationships out of pure interest are the order of the day and, on many occasions, we tend to seek our own benefit in social interactions.

3. Commercial personality

The commercial personality is characterized by seeking the economic benefit in their personal interactions. It is closely related to the personality of the explorer, however, its difference lies in the type of benefit each individual seeks.

The type of interest that is present in this type of personality is the search for relationships focused on financial matters. For example, a person with personal development in the field of business. It is a type of personality that leads you to put your own personal worth in your own status, your motivation will always be to climb positions until you reach the top. Of the 5 personality types according to Erich Fromm’s theory, this is the most criticized (despite being the most abundant in the business world ).

4. Personality of the hoarder

It is the personality of that person with accumulation tendency and save things. They are people with an extreme tendency towards savings since they experience spending as a possible personal danger, as a form of lack of protection against what may occur in the future. The more material goods they possess, the happier they seem to be. This type of personality is typical of someone who values ​​their material goods extremely highly in the form of an unhealthy attachment.

Possessing the personality of the accumulator can lead to many difficulties in enjoying life, they always have savings and austerity in mind and see money as a treasure, not as the tool it really is.

In relation to this point we highlight a message from Erich Fromm: “Greed is a bottomless pit that exhausts a person in an eternal effort to satisfy need without even achieving satisfaction.“.

5. Productive personality

The previous personality types that we have mentioned are part of what Erich Fromm calls “unproductive personalities “. This is because these profiles use their vital energy to satisfy their own desires without taking others into account. However, there is a last type that is defined by precisely the opposite quality: the productive personality

The productive personality is typical of that person who uses their personal energy to undertake truly valuable life projects. They are people who put a positive interest in establishing solid bonds with other people based on fundamental values ​​such as love and respect. For this reason, these individuals usually enjoy good personal relationships, both loving and friendly.

People called productive also have a good ability to overcome vital obstacles, that is, they have highly developed resilience.

Of all the personality types described so far, the productive approach is the only one that is truly significant in reconciling in humans that balance between the love of freedom and the personal ties that are the basis of that affiliation or belonging to the group.

10 Quotes by Erich Fromm that will inspire you

To get to know this thinker a little better, it never hurts to appreciate the famous phrases that he left in his legacy:

1. Only the person who has faith in himself is capable of having faith in others.
2. The search for narcissistic satisfaction derives from the need to compensate for material and cultural poverty.
3. We live in a world of things and our only relationship with them is that we know how to manipulate or consume them.
4. Love is the only sane and satisfactory answer to the problem of human existence.
5. He is not rich who has a lot, but he who gives a lot
6. The biological weakness of the being is the condition of human culture
7. Life has no meaning, except the very meaning that each person gives to their own life by revealing all their powers.
8. Accept the difficulties, setbacks and tragedies of life as a challenge that, when overcome, makes us stronger
9. As we ascend the social ladder, perversity wears a thicker mask.
10. Selfish people are incapable of loving others, and they are also incapable of loving themselves.

This article is merely informative, at PsychologyFor we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

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