Feist−Feist: Theories of
Personality, Seventh
EditionII. Psychodynamic
Theories- Fromm: Humanistic
Psychoanalysis
(^200) © The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2009
reluctance to move beyond the protective security provided by one’s mother. People
who strive for rootedness through fixation are “afraid to take the next step of birth,
to be weaned from the mother’s breast. [They]... have a deep craving to be moth-
ered, nursed, protected by a motherly figure; they are the externally dependent ones,
who are frightened and insecure when motherly protection is withdrawn” (Fromm,
1955, p. 40).
Rootedness can also be seen phylogenetically in the evolution of the human
species. Fromm agreed with Freud that incestuous desires are universal, but he dis-
agreed with Freud’s belief that they are essentially sexual. According to Fromm
(1955, pp. 40–41), incestuous feelings are based in “the deep-seated craving to re-
main in, or to return to, the all-enveloping womb, or to the all-nourishing breasts.”
Fromm was influenced by Johann Jakob Bachofen’s (1861/1967) ideas on early ma-
triarchal societies. Unlike Freud, who believed that early societies were patriarchal,
Bachofen held that the mother was the central figure in these ancient social groups.
It was she who provided roots for her children and motivated them either to develop
their individuality and reason or to become fixated and incapable of psychological
growth.
Fromm’s (1997) strong preference for Bachofen’s mother-centered theory of
the Oedipal situation over Freud’s father-centered conception is consistent with his
preference for older women. Fromm’s first wife, Frieda Fromm-Reichmann, was
more than 10 years older than Fromm, and his long-time lover, Karen Horney, was
15 years his senior. Fromm’s conception of the Oedipus complex as a desire to re-
turn to the mother’s womb or breast or to a person with a mothering function should
be viewed in light of his attraction to older women.
Sense of Identity
The fourth human need is for a sense of identity,or the capacity to be aware of our-
selves as a separate entity. Because we have been torn away from nature, we need to
form a concept of our self, to be able to say, “I am I,” or “I am the subject of my ac-
tions.” Fromm (1981) believed that primitive people identified more closely with
their clan and did not see themselves as individuals existing apart from their group.
Even during medieval times, people were identified largely by their social role in the
feudal hierarchy. In agreement with Marx, Fromm believed that the rise of capital-
ism has given people more economic and political freedom. However, this freedom
has given only a minority of people a true sense of “I.” The identity of most people
still resides in their attachment to others or to institutions such as nation, religion,
occupation, or social group.
Instead of the pre-individualistic clan identity, a new herd identity develops in
which the sense of identity rests on the sense of an unquestionable belonging to
the crowd. That this uniformity and conformity are often not recognized as such,
and are covered by the illusion of individuality, does not alter the facts. (p. 9)
Without a sense of identity, people could not retain their sanity, and this threat
provides a powerful motivation to do almost anything to acquire a sense of identity.
Neurotics try to attach themselves to powerful people or to social or political
institutions. Healthy people, however, have less need to conform to the herd, less
194 Part II Psychodynamic Theories