Erich Fromm (Soc PA theories) Flashcards
Under the dynamics of the personality, Fromm says humans have 5 needs. What are they?
- relatedness
- transcendence
- rootedness
- personal identity
- frame of reference
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Under the development of the personality, Fromm lists two types of orientation, the first of which has 5 types of character. What are they?
Non-productive orientation
- Receptive
- Exploitative
- Hoarding
- Marketing
- Necrophilous
Productive orientation
Who greatly influences Fromm’s writings?
Karl Marx
- but Fromm was interested in his social and philosophical views, not his political and economic theories
*nonetheless, he felt capitalism had a negative effect on an individual’s psyche
What is the main theme of Fromm’s work?
People’s struggle to retain their worth and freedom in spite of society’s pressure to conform
Fromm’s theories were seen as ….. and ….. as he seemed to disagree with Freud on….. But,…
anti-biological
sociocultural
biological determinism
Fromm actually did not object to biological influences on personality, but rather to Freud’s mechanistic view
Fromm sees the human …. with both a….. and ….
dualistic
animal and human nature (basic physiological needs and also self-con, reason, conscience)
For Fromm, people must ….. and ……
- transcend their animal natures and confront their existential and historical dichotomies
Explain what existential and historical dichotomies are
existential dichotomies: e insoluble conflicts inherent in human existence; individuals can react in various ways according to their characters and culture
historical dichotomies: conflicts that can be overcome or discarded
- all people are alike in that they all face the same dichotomies
According to Fromm, where do humans’ basic motivation come from?
in the management
of the dichotomies of human existence (animal versus human nature; individual
versus society)
WRT the structure of the personality, in what ways does Fromm differ and agree with Freud
- Agrees that con and uncon are NB parts of human functioning
Differs:
- little attention to structural components and focus on social dynamics (like Horney)
- does not accept division on id,E,SE
- wrt consciousness, focusses on SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS (con of the fact that one is con - separates us from animals)
Self-con results in 2 purely human processes. Outline them.
- Reason
- enables us to transcend animal nature and deal with dichotomies of life.
- a blessing and a curse, constantly trying to solve the unsolvable and make the world more comfortable - Conscience
- regulates the personality and allows evaluation of behaviour
a) authoritarian conscience
- voice in internalized external authority
- inhibits development by detracting from freedom and and forcing conformity
b) humanistic conscience
- person’s own inner voice, the voice of their whole being (functional or not) and not an aspect.
- encourages growth, maintains self-interest and integrity
What are the two components of personality according to Fromm?
Inherent and learnt psychic characteristics which creates difference between:
- temperament: behavioural responses, cannot be changed
- character: component shaped by personal experiences and socialisation (can be changed), reflects society’s influence
What does Fromm see as a replacement for instincts?
- character. Instincts direct and determine animal behaviour only.
Character is a more or less set way in which humans channel their energy when interact with people
While Freud sees biological determinism as the explanation of human behaviour, Fromm sees a …… foundation localized in the indi’s…..
social determinist
character
To Fromm, the SOCIAL CHARACTER is the nucleus of the character structure, is shared by most members of a culture and is distinct from INDIVIDUAL CHARACTRE
According to Fromm, the social character has an….. on the individual character
overriding
- and indi can only live as a social being, thus SC plays a decisive role in the formation of IC
Fromm’s main difference from Freud ITO the dynamics of the personality is that
- he does not regards humans as being at the mercy of their instincts . He sees behaviour as rising out of HUMAN NEEDS
Fromm see’s human behaviour as rising out of 5 human needs. One of which is the need for relatedness. Outline this need.
- need to belong to someone/thing as we have no unity with nature
- sep. from nature leaves us lonely and isolated, enter relationship with others for our sanity
- unhealthy: relationships of domination (sadistic) and submission (masochistic) - both types are dependent and inhibit individuality/freedom
- healthy: love - two people become one, but remain two at the same time
- those incapable of love suffer from narcissism, which is found in all forms of psychopathology
Outline Fromm’s need for transcendence.
- need to transcend natural/instinctual by creating or destroying
- creation = purposeful, free existence through art, love etc
- destruction = when creation is blocked
Two types of aggression:
1. benign aggression: instinctual impulse aimed at protection
2. malignant aggression: agg that is an end in itself (peculiar to humans)
- love and hate both answer the need for transcendence
Outline the need for rootedness
- need to be protected and form part of a historical past
- people yearn lifelong for the protection they experienced pre-birth
- unity of family, church, state etc is mature adult exhibition of this
Outline the need for personal identity
- breaking of bond with mother and awakening of self-awareness/sense of being distinct creates need for ID
- people need to know themselves and their place as free indis
- not fully possible under a government, only an ideal
Outline the need for a frame of reference
- reason, conscience and imagination (distinguish us from animals and) make us search for our own IDs
- FOR orientates us w/in the world and gives meaning to our existence
- 3 common FOR systems:
1. Primitive: natural objects and ancestors give meaning
2. Nontheistic: no specific deity, but a general philosophy to life (Hinduism, Buddhism etc)
3. Monotheistic: specific concepts of God to which people can orient and direct their lives
Depending on a person’s character, they can actualize their 5 needs in…. or ….ways
constructive (healthy, productive, actualising) - painful but fulfilling
or
destructive (escaping human freedom by submission or domination) - temporary security but destructive to spiritual health and human nature.
How does Fromm see the personality developing?
What are the 2 ways environment shapes ones character?
socially driven resulting in character types
Assimilation (our experiences) and Socialization (parents/community experiences that are transmitted to the child)
What are the 3 types of relationship that parents/community can form with children in the course of their socialisation?
- Symbiotic
- parents swallow up children and children swallow up parents through buying intimacy and manipulating them to satisfy them respectively
- no IND for child in either case
- a dependent relationship will develop receptive-character
- a manipulative relationship will create an exploitative character type - Withdrawing-destructive relationship:
- great distance, stems from subjugating child to parents will at any cost
- child feels powerless
- copes by: withdrawal/indifference (marketing character type) or assertive destruction (hoarding character type) - Ideal parent-child relationship:
- love, responsibility and consideration for oneself and others
- child receives love and learns to give it (to themselves and others
- develops productive interpersonal style manifested as biophilous character type
What are the two interpersonl styles that underlie the different character types?
Non-productive orientation
- surrender of freedom and integrity through excessive indi needs/social demands (narcissism, selfishness, conformity etc)
Productive orientation
- actualisation of potential with no surrender of freedom or integrity (love, generosity, creativity, indep, rationality)
What are the 5 character types within the Non-productive orientation interpersonal style
- Receptive (oral-incorporating and “moves towards others”)
- Exploitative (moves against and oral-aggressive)
- Hoarding (anal-retentive, moves away)
- Marketing (“I am as you desire me”, characterised by indifference)
- Necrophilous (anal - cruelty and aggression as the only ways of operating)
What is the one character type within the productive orientation?
The biophilous charater
- love life and others in a productive way
- seeks freedom and independance
- influence others through love and reason, not power
What are Fromm’s two modes of exisence?
Having mode - IDs defined in terms of possessions - “I am what I possess”
Being mode - sharing and co-op based on love, IDs defined in terms of what they are
What is that one things that Fromm thinks can save the world from psychological and economic catastrophe?
when society shifts from a having mode to a being mode
What are some of the characteristics of a healthy person according to Fromm?
- spiritually healthy
- productively-oriented lives
- biophilous character type
- being mode
- live in present
- one with themselves and society
SPLOBBeing mode
What is required for optimal development to take place?
- a healthy society
What is the most common frustrater or optimal development?
a sick society
- both cap and comm
What is the cause of Psychopathology according to Fromm?
- the sociocultural properties of society: sick societies produce sick people
- neurosis develops when healthy drives are blocked by parental of societal demands
*his therapy wanted to change society, not the individual
According to Fromm, new personality types will emerge as….
society and its demands change
Name the 4 types of Benign aggression
- Pseudo-agression (accidents, sports, assertion)
- Defensive (eliminate threats
- Conforming (at behest of authority)
- Instrumental (as a means, e.g., war)
How should benign aggression be handled?
IDing and controlling the conditions that gave rise to it
What character types display malignant aggression?
- necrophilous and exploitative
*this stems from character, not biology
How ought one deal with malignant aggression?
Create a society in which human needs can be satisfied in productive ways
What is the main critique of Fromm and Horney’s theories?
Not verified through observations drawn from clinical practice, but on critical analysis of social structure
