The 5 Personality Types According To Erich Fromm

The 5 personality types according to Erich Fromm are based on the principle of productivity. According to the famous psychoanalyst, only one of these five typologies is able to invest in its own freedom, to conquer its emotional and personal independence. The rest, however, would represent a more self-serving, materialistic, and unproductive type of existential philosophy.

There are many theories about personality. In fact, it is possible that, at this point, some people feel a certain contradiction. We have the personality theory of Jung, Carl Rogers, Cattell, Eysenk or the big five factors of Costa and McCrae… Does this mean that to this day behavioral science has not managed to define the character and characteristics of human personality?

Each current, each psychological school and each author enunciates a particular definition of personality based on their own theoretical models. Thus, the typology developed by Erich Fromm started from an interesting approach based on humanist philosophy that, believe it or not, is very useful to this day.

If there was something that this social psychologist and author of “The Art of Love” or “The Fear of Freedom” believed in, it was the obligation of human beings to achieve their true autonomy, to invest in their independence, respecting that of others. Achieving this goal, according to Erich Fromm, is synonymous with productivity.

Personality types according to Erich Fromm

The personality theory of Erich Fromm, a neo-Freudian psychoanalyst, is based on two primary needs: the need for freedom, as we already know, and the need to belong to a group. Thus, when we read his book, there is a fact that usually catches our attention: Fromm had a negative view of the human being, he saw him as a passive being and motivated only by his need for consumption.

Therefore, in much of his work, he encourages us to promote our personal development, to put aside our dependence on external factors, material goods or the need for success and recognition, to invest in qualities such as love, respect, creativity or humility.

Although human character and personality are deeply rooted and difficult to change, it would be enough if we were a little more aware of our tendencies and attitudes to commit to change. In this article we will show you which are the 5 personality types according to Erich Fromm.

1. The receptive personality

The receptive type is characterized by the constant need to receive approval and recognition from others.  The most striking feature of this personality profile is that they seek constant support from family, friends and others, but they do not usually reciprocate the support they receive, there is no reciprocal attention.

They also show poor social skills, difficulty making decisions and a clear underestimation of their own human potential.

2. The Explorer Personality

Among the 5 personality types, this is undoubtedly one of the most common according to the author himself. They form bonds and relationships with others out of pure interest, for their own benefit and, as Fromm put it, even out of “commercial interest.”

The exploiter is always willing to lie and manipulate to get what he wants, and usually focuses his interest on people with low self-esteem to exploit them.

3. The personality of the accumulator

The accumulator or cumulative type represents  people who only have one goal, one need: to accumulate material goods, own more and more things, more objects…

Thus, the more things you manage to accumulate, the more secure you feel, strengthen your self-esteem and achieve greater personal satisfaction. However, this insane attachment to material is never sated, because something is always missing. Happiness is never complete or what’s worse, there will always be something new on the market that he doesn’t have yet and will do anything to buy.

4. The mercantile personality

Among all personality types, according to Erich Fromm, this is the most common in our labor market for obvious reasons: they are people who establish relationships with others for economic benefit. These are links based on a clear financial or business objective.

What may seem normal or expected is actually what most undermines Fromm’s inviolable principle of human freedom. The reason? These mercantile links seek to establish differences in social status, where some gain prestige and power, while others, in turn, are subordinate.

5. The productive

So far, we’ve seen the personality types that, according to Erich Fromm, are the “unproductive”. In other words, they are personalities that do not invest in their own personal freedom and autonomy, and even less in relation to others. However, all is not lost and it is not necessary to remain with this somewhat pessimistic view of the human being. We can say that there is a fifth profile where our hope and our personal objective are focused.

• The productive type is a person who channels all his effort and interest in being someone committed to being human. What does that mean? It means that they are individuals capable of building enriching and meaningful loving relationships with their fellow men.
• In addition, they use a very healthy approach to dealing with negative emotions, pressures or attempts to control others wish to exert over them.

In conclusion, this approach proposed by Erich Fromm invites us to reflect once more on this idea that we see so much in the field of personal growth: only those who invest in their psychological resources, in their self-esteem, in their independence, are able to promote this in our lives. others, it is capable of laying the foundations for a more humane and more hopeful society.

As we can see, this approach to personality has a social component that can be a valid source of motivation to generate, as far as possible, changes that stimulate our personal growth. Are we going to put it into practice?