Fromm

Question 1

authoritarianism

Answer 1

The tendency to give up one’s independence and to unite with another person or persons in order to gain strength. Takes the form of masochism or sadism.

Question 2

basic anxiety

Answer 2

The feeling of being alone and isolated, separated from the natural world.

Question 3

character orientation

Answer 3

Productive or nonproductive patterns of reacting to the world of things and the world of people.

Question 4

character

Answer 4

Relatively permanent acquired qualities through which people relate themselves to others and to the world.

Question 5

conformity

Answer 5

Means of escaping from isolation and aloneness by giving up one’s self and becoming whatever others desire.

Question 6

destructiveness

Answer 6

Method of escaping from freedom by eliminating people or objects, thus restoring feelings of power.

Question 7

existential needs

Answer 7

Peculiarly human needs aimed at moving people toward a reunification with the natural world. Fromm listed relatedness, transcendence, rootedness, a sense of identity, and a frame of orientation as existential, or human, needs.

Question 8

exploitative characters

Answer 8

People who take from others, by either force or cunning.

Question 9

fixation

Answer 9

The nonproductive form of rootedness marked by a reluctance to grow beyond the security provided by one’s mother.

Question 10

frame of orientation

Answer 10

The need for humans to develop a unifying philosophy or consistent way of looking at things.

Question 11

hoarding characters

Answer 11

People who seek to save and not let go of material possessions, feelings, or ideas.

Question 12

human dilemma

Answer 12

The present condition of humans who have the ability to reason but who lack powerful instincts needed to adapt to a changing world.

Question 13

incestuous symbiosis

Answer 13

Extreme dependence on a mother or mother substitute.

Question 14

love

Answer 14

A union with another person in which a person retains separateness and integrity of self.

Question 15

malignant aggression

Answer 15

The destruction of life for reasons other than survival.

Question 16

marketing characters

Answer 16

People who see themselves as commodities, with their personal value dependent on their ability to sell themselves.

Question 17

moral hypochondriasis

Answer 17

Preoccupation with guilt about things one has done wrong.

Question 18

positive freedom

Answer 18

Spontaneous activity of the whole, integrated personality; signals a reunification with others and with the world.

Question 19

receptive characters

Answer 19

People who relate to the world through receiving love, knowledge, and material possessions.

Question 20

relatedness

Answer 20

The need for union with another person or persons. Expressed through submission, power, or love.

Question 21

rootedness

Answer 21

The human need to establish roots, that is, to find a home again in the world.

Question 22

sense of identity

Answer 22

The distinctively human need to develop a feeling of “I.”

Question 23

transcendence

Answer 23

The need for humans to rise above their passive animal existence through either creating or destroying life.