Character orientation

Character orientation is how people relate to the world by acquiring and using things (assimilation) and by relating to self and others (socialization), and they can do so either nonproductively or productively.^[1] Erich Fromm is a theorist who came up with six different character orientations; Receptive, Exploitative, Hoarding, Necrophilous, Marketing and Productive.^[2]

Nonproductive Orientation

Receptive Orientation They receive satisfaction from outside factors, and thus they passively wait for others to provide them with things that they need.^[2] For example, they want someone to provide them with love and attention. They are not the ones to give these things away and often lose loved ones who are close to them because of their inabilities to open up about their feelings.

Exploitative Orientation Exploitative oriented people aggressively take what they want rather than passively receiving it.^[1] These types of people do whatever they can to get what they want; even if it includes stealing, or snatching something away from somebody else just to get it. ^[2]

Hoarding Orientation Hoarding oriented people save what they already have obtained, including their opinions, feelings, and material possessions.^[1] It may be love, power, or someone’s time.

Marketing Orientation People who are marketing orientated see themselves as commodities and value themselves against the criterion of their ability to sell themselves. ^[1] They have fewer positive qualities than the other orientations because they are essentially empty.^[1]

Productive Orientation

There is a healthy personality as well, which Erich Fromm occasionally refers to as the person without a mask .^[2] This is the person who, without disavowing his or her biological and social nature, and does not avoid freedom and responsibility. ^[2] This person comes out of a family that loves, which prefers reason to rules, and freedom to conformity.^[2]

Reference List

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} The Glaring Facts . "Erich Fromm & Humanistic Psychoanalysis ." The Glaring Facts . The Glaring Facts , n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2011. <http://www.theglaringfacts.com/erich-fromm-humanistic-psychoanalysis/>.
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f}

1. Boeree, C. George. "Erich Fromm." Personality Theories: My Webspace files. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. <http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/fromm.html>.

2.The Glaring Facts . "Erich Fromm & Humanistic Psychoanalysis ." The Glaring Facts . The Glaring Facts , n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2011. <http://www.theglaringfacts.com/erich-fromm-humanistic-psychoanalysis/>.

See also

• Personality