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 capable of investing in its own freedom, of conquering its emotional and personal independence. The rest, on the other hand, would come to represent a more interested, materialistic and unproductive type of existential philosophy.

Theories about personality there are many. In fact, it is even possible that at this point more than one feels a certain contradiction. We have  Jung’s theory of personality, that of Carl Rogers, that of Cattell, that of Eysenk or that of the Big Five by Costa and McCrae … Does this mean that to this day the science of behavior has not yet become agree on this to define the character and traits of the human personality?

Each current, each psychological school and each author states from their own theoretical models a particular definition of personality. Thus, the typology developed by Erich Fromm at the time started from an interesting approach based on humanist philosophy that, believe it or not, makes it truly useful today.

If there was something that this social psychologist and author of “The Art of Loving” or “The Fear of Freedom” believed in, it was in the firm obligation of human beings to achieve authentic autonomy, to invest in their independence while respecting the of others. Achieving it, 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 for belonging. Thus, when we read his work, there is a fact that usually draws our attention: Fromm had a somewhat negative vision of the human being, he saw him too passive and motivated only by his need to consume.

For this reason, in a large part of their work we are encouraged to favor our personal development, to put aside our dependence on external factors, material goods or the need for triumph and recognition to invest in qualities such as love, respect , creativity or humility.

In this way, and despite the fact that human character and personality is deeply rooted and difficult to change, it would be enough if we were a little more  aware of our tendencies and attitudes to commit ourselves to change. Now let’s see what those 5 personality types are according to Erich Fromm.

1. The perceptual personality

The receptive type is characterized by the constant need to receive approval and recognition from others. Now, the most striking thing about this personality profile is that they do not usually return the support they receive, there is no investment for the other or reciprocal attention.

2. Personality of the operator

Among the 5 types of personality, according to Erich Fromm this is undoubtedly one of the most common according to the author himself. It refers to those types of profiles that establish links and relationships with others out of pure interest, for their own benefit and even as Fromm said at the time, “for commercial interest”.

The exploitative type is willing to lie and manipulate to get what they need, and they do this by focusing their interest on people with low self-esteem to exploit.

3. The accumulator

The accumulating or hoarding profile refers to those people who only have one goal, one need: to treasure material goods, to own more and more things, more objects …

Thus, the more things he manages to have, the more confident he seems to feel, the more reinforced he perceives himself and the greater personal satisfaction he thinks he achieves. However, it should be noted that this insane attachment to the immaterial is never satisfied, because something is always missing, happiness is never complete or what is worse, something new always comes out in the market that it lacks and that it will try to achieve.

4. The mercantile personality

Among the personality types, according to Erich Fromm, this is the most abundant in our labor market for obvious reasons: they are people who establish relationships with others in order to obtain an economic benefit. They are links based on a clear financial or commercial objective.

Now, what at first may seem normal or expected, in reality is what most damages the inviolable principle of human freedom defended by Fromm. The reason? These commercial ties seek to establish differences in social status, where some achieve prestige and power, while others for their part are subordinate to the former.

5. The productive

So far we have seen those personality types according to Erich Fromm that define the “unproductive”, that is, profiles that do not even invest in their own personal freedom and autonomy and even less in that of others. However, far from being all lost, far from remaining with that somewhat pessimistic vision of the human being, it can be said that there is that fifth profile where our hope and our personal goal are centered.

• The productive type is a person who channels all his effort and interest in being someone committed to the human being. What does this mean? Basically that they are individuals capable of  building loving, enriching and meaningful relationships with their peers.
• Furthermore, they apply a very healthy approach to dealing with negative emotions and the pressures or attempts at control that others may exert over them.

To conclude, this approach proposed by Erich Fromm invites us to reflect once again on that idea that we have seen so much in the field of personal growth, namely: only those who invest in their psychological worth, in their self-esteem, in their independence and it is capable in turn of promoting the same in others, it manages to lay the foundations of a more humane, more hopeful society.

As we can see, this approach to personality according to Erich Fromm has a clear social component that can become a valid source of motivation, why not, to generate, as far as possible, changes that stimulate our growth. Let’s put them into practice.