Fromm: Humanistic Psychoanalysis

Psychology of Personality

Lecture, Chapter 7

Overview of Humanistic Psychoanalyis

nModern-day people have been torn away from their prehistoric union with nature and each other.

nThe special capabilities of humans to form rational thought and have self-awareness contribute to feelings of loneliness, isolation, and homelessness.

nHumans’ evolution of weak instincts, replaced by increased cognitive capacity, along with the rise of capitalism, leaving humans with both more freedom and more isolation, brings us to two choices:

nEscape from freedom into interpersonal dependencies.

nMove to self-realization through productive love and work.

nHumanistic psychoanalysis considers sociobiological, historical, economic, and class structure factors, emphasizing their effect on culture rather than individual.

Fromm’s Life

nErich Fromm was born as the only child of a middle-class Orthodox Jewish family in Frankfurt.

nErich’s childhood was not a happy one, viewing his father as moody, his mother as depressive, and himself as neurotic.

nThe irrational nationalism of Germany, Britain, and France in WWI impressed on Erich difficult questions of why war was necessary and why some seemed so intent on killing and dying.

nErich was formally trained in sociology and Freudian psychoanalysis.

nErich’s personal life lead to a string of relationships with women who served as “mother figures.”

nThroughout his life, Erich lived in several countries, possibly influencing his tendency to consider cultural factors.

nErich was difficult to get to know, as others have described him using a variety of contradicting traits.

Basic Assumptions

nFromm’s most basic assumption is that of the human dilemma, the idea that humans have no powerful instincts to adapt to a changing world but have the capacity to be aware of their isolation.

nThe ability to reason allows humans to survive but forces them to address 3 basic existential dichotomies:

nLife vs. death; we are aware that we will die, but we try to deny that through beliefs in life after death.

nWe understand complete self-realization, but our lives are too short to reach this goal.

nWe are ultimately alone, but we cannot tolerate isolation.

Human Needs

nRelatedness

nTranscendence

nRootedness

nSense of identity

nFrame of orientation.

Freedom

nThe unique ability of humans to reason gives them the freedom to express their individuality while, paradoxically, experiencing basic anxiety from being free or alone in the world.

nAuthoritarianism

nDestructiveness

nConformity

Character Orientations

nFromm believed that character, or the relatively permanent system of noninstinctual strivings through which man relates to others and the natural world, is the most important aspect of personality.

There are four nonproductive ways through which character is developed:

nReceptive

nExploitative

nHoarding

nMarketing

nProductive characters:

Personality Disorders

nThose who are not able to work, love, and think productively, nor to establish unions with others, develop personality disorders:

nNecrophilia

nMalignant narcissism.

nIncestuous symbiosis

nMost individuals have average psychological health, resonating somewhere between growth and decay.

nThose inhabiting one of the three personality disorders form the syndrome of decay.

nThose inhabiting opposite qualities of biophilia, love, and positive freedom form the syndrome of growth.

Psychotherapy

nHumanistic psychoanalysis encompassed a greater emphasis on the interpersonal aspects of therapy.

nGoal: to know themselves through communication or authentic sharing involving self-awareness.

nDream analysis

Methods of Investigation

nAnthropological study in Chiconcuac, a small, isolated, farming village in Mexico.

nPsychobiography of Hitler

Conclusion

nDid Fromm use science in his theory development? Was his theory able to generate research, be falsified, organize data, guide action, be internally consistent, and be parsimonious?

nWhere does Humanistic psychoanalysis fall on the basic issues concerning the nature of humanity?

nDeterminism vs. free choice

nPessimism vs. optimism

nCausality vs. teleology

nConscious vs. unconscious

nSocial vs. biological influences

nUniqueness vs. similarities

Case Study: Discussion Questions

1. What type of mother fixation could describe the relationship between Marla and her mother, according to Fromm? According to the theory, why is this behavior displayed?

2. What character orientation, according to Fromm, would best describe Marla?

3. Which of Fromm’s existential needs are met for Marla? Which are not? For Andrea? Which are not?

4. Which mechanism of escape from freedom has Marla adopted? Explain.
 

5. Compare Horney’s concept of submissiveness to combat anxiety with Fromm’s concept of submitting to another (conformity) to fulfill the relatedness need. Apply both of these concepts to Marla’s relationship with her mother.

6. Consider the various attachment styles according to Bowlby’s Attachment Theory. How might Bowlby describe both Marla’s and Andrea’s attachment styles? Explain.

7. How might Klein’s object relations theory explain Marla’s relationship with her mother? In your discussion address concepts of (a) love/hate and satisfaction/frustration, (b) distinguishing between parts of the love object and the whole person, and (c) anger/envy/fear/guilt.