The Five Personality Types According To Erich Fromm

The five personality types according to Erich Fromm are based on the principle of productivity. According to the famous psychoanalyst, only one type of people is able to invest in their own freedom. Only one type has the ability to conquer its emotional and personal independence. The rest represent a more selfish, materialistic and unproductive part of society.

Theories about personality abound. We have the personality theories of Jung, Carl Rogers, Cattell, Eysenk or the big five of Costa and McCrae. In all these different theories we also notice a certain conflict. Does this mean that behavioral science has not yet succeeded in arriving at a common definition of the character and characteristics of the human personality?

Each movement, school of thought and author emphasizes its own specific description of the personality from its own theoretical models. Erich Fromm has also developed a typology. He started from an interesting approach based on humanistic philosophy. Whether we believe it or not, it is still really useful today.

This social psychologist and author of The Art of Loving and The Fear of Freedom was convinced of one thing in particular. According to him, man has an enormous responsibility to acquire true autonomy. People should also invest in their own independence while at the same time respecting the independence of others. According to Erich Fromm, achieving this autonomy is synonymous with productivity.

The personality types according to Erich Fromm

Erich Fromm’s Theory of Personality is based on two primary needs: the need for freedom, as we already know, and the need to belong. So when we read his work, there is something that usually catches our attention. Fromm was a neo-Freudian psychoanalyst who had a negative view of the human being. He considered man too passive and motivated only by his need to consume.

Thus, in many of his works, he encourages us to promote our own personal development. He says that we should put aside our dependence on external factors, material things or the need for success and recognition. We just need to invest in qualities like love, respect, creativity or humility.

Human character and personality are deeply rooted and difficult to change. And yet Fromm argues that it is enough if we become just a little more aware of our inclinations and attitudes. We need to realize this enough so that we are able to deploy and change ourselves. Now let’s see what these five personality types according to Erich Fromm are.

1. Personality Types According to Erich Fromm: The Receptive Personality

The receptive type is characterized by the constant need to gain approval and recognition from others. The most striking feature of this personality type is that they usually don’t return the support they receive. There is no input whatsoever into the other person’s life and they are not trying to help either.

They also usually have limited social skills and make difficult decisions. In addition, they clearly underestimate their equity.

2. Personality Types According to Erich Fromm: The Exploiter

Erich Fromm believes that of the five personality types, this is one of the most common. It refers to those personality profiles that bond with others and build relationships out of pure self-interest. They do this for their own benefit and, as Fromm puts it, “for commercial interest”.

The exploitative type is willing to lie and manipulate to get what he wants. He also manages to focus his interest on people with low self-esteem so that he can exploit them.

3. Erich Fromm’s Personality Types: The Hoarder

The collector or hoarder personality type refers to the people who have only one goal: to store goods. Their only wish, which they regard as a need, is to possess and accumulate more and more things.

The more they have, the safer they feel. They feel stronger and believe that in this way they have achieved greater personal satisfaction. But we want to note that this unhealthy attachment to material things is never satisfied. They always miss something. Their happiness is never complete. But the worst part is that when new things are launched in the market, their first impulse is that they have to have it.

4. Erich Fromm’s Personality Types: The Salesperson Type

Erich Fromm maintains that of all these personality types, this type is the most prevalent in work environments for obvious reasons. These are people who build relationships with others in order to get a financial benefit from it. They are contacts based on clear financial or commercial objectives.

What may initially seem fairly normal or expected is actually what harms the most unwavering principle of human freedom that Fromm defends. What is the reason? These commercial contacts try to create differences in social status. Some will gain prestige and power while others will serve that first group.

5. Erich Fromm’s Personality Types: The Productive Type

According to Erich Fromm, the personality types we have discussed so far represent everything that is “unproductive.” Because these personality profiles do not invest in their own personal freedom and autonomy and even less in that of others. But all is not lost yet. We are not going to leave you with a pessimistic view of humanity. Fortunately, there is a fifth personality type in which our hopes lie and where we find our personal goals.

• The productive type is a person who puts all his effort and interest into being someone who is committed to others. What does this mean? They are actually individuals who are able to have loving, enriching and meaningful relationships with their peers.
• In addition, they have a very healthy way of coping with negative emotions and with pressure or attempts from others to control them.

Erich Fromm invites us to rethink an idea we’ve seen so often in the field of personal growth. This idea suggests that only he who invests in his own psychological worth, self-confidence, and independence is able to promote the same things in others. Only that person will be able to lay the foundations for a more humane and more hopeful society.

As we see, Erich Fromm’s view of the human personality has a clear social element that can be a source of real motivation. His goal is to create changes that stimulate our personal growth. Let’s try to put that into practice.