248 Part II Psychodynamic Theories
other by what we possess (the biggest house, the most exotic vacation, the tightest
abs, even the best boyfriend or girlfriend) rather than by who we are.
In Australia, two researchers, Shaun Saunders and Don Munro, sought to test
whether Fromm’s marketing character was indeed a more nonproductive orientation to
the world, and whether it was more prevalent in cultures that emphasize individualism,
as Fromm theorized. First, they developed and validated a measure of the marketing
character called the Saunders Consumer Orientation Index (SCOI; Saunders & Munro,
2000). This 35-item scale includes such statements as “It doesn’t matter what some-
thing costs as long as it looks good,” “If money was not a problem, I would prefer an
expensive car,” and “I try to keep up with the latest fashions.” Scores on the SCOI
were positively correlated with conformity, authoritarianism, and anger, supporting
Fromm’s (1955) theorizing about this character orientation. Furthermore, scores on the
SCOI and materialism were positively correlated with depression and negatively cor-
related, as Fromm would have predicted, with biophilia and environmentalism.
In a second study, Saunders and Munro (2001) tested whether the marketing
character was more associated with cultural individualism. People in cultures that are
individualistic are motivated to serve their own interests, and seek personal success.
Other cultures are more collectivistic, and in these cultures, people are more concerned
with service to others (Hofstede, 1984). Within individualist and collectivist cultures,
there is also variation in whether the culture is more “horizontal” or “vertical” in
nature (Triandis, 1995). The vertical dimension describes cultures in which rank and
inequality prevail. The horizontal dimension is characterized by valuing the essential
similarity of people, and a dislike for “standing out.” So there can be Horizontal Col-
lectivism (e.g., an Israeli kibbutz or a monastic order), Horizontal Individualism (e.g.,
Scandinavian countries), Vertical Collectivism (e.g., India), and Vertical Individualism
(e.g., United States). Saunders and Munro (2001) administered the SCOI as well as
a measure of vertical and horizontal collectivism and individualism (Singelis, Triandis,
Bhawuk, & Gelfand, 1995) to 167 psychology students. Interestingly, they found that
scores on the SCOI were more strongly correlated with the vertical than the horizon-
tal dimension of individualism, but found only partial support for their prediction that
SCOI scores would be positively correlated with individualism per se. That is, higher
marketing character orientation appears to be associated with an emphasis on hierar-
chy, but not necessarily on individualism. The authors discuss China as a highly
collectivist culture, also characterized by hierarchy and respect for rank, as an exam-
ple of a remarkable and rapid embracing of marketing values as they experience
economic growth. This study suggests that Fromm’s marketing character may not be
associated so much with individualist values per se, but rather with whether hierarchy
and income inequality prevail in a consumerist society.Estrangement From Culture and Well-Being
Recall that the central theme to Erich Fromm’s theory of personality involves
estrangement and alienation: Humans have become removed from the natural envi-
ronment they were designed to inhabit and distanced from one another. Further-
more, according to Fromm, the material wealth created by capitalism has created
so much freedom that quite frankly we do not know what to do with ourselves.
Anxiety and isolation, ironically, result from too much freedom. Mark Bernard and