Feist−Feist: Theories of
Personality, Seventh
EditionII. Psychodynamic
Theories- Fromm: Humanistic
Psychoanalysis
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Companies, 2009death. Necrophilia is an alternative character orientation to biophilia.People natu-
rally love life, but when social conditions stunt biophilia, they may adopt a
necrophilic orientation.
Necrophilic personalities hate humanity; they are racists, warmongers, and
bullies; they love bloodshed, destruction, terror, and torture; and they delight in de-
stroying life. They are strong advocates of law and order; love to talk about sickness,
death, and burials; and they are fascinated by dirt, decay, corpses, and feces. They
prefer night to day and love to operate in darkness and shadow.
Necrophilous people do not simply behavein a destructive manner; rather,
their destructive behavior is a reflection of their basic character.All people behave
aggressively and destructively at times, but the entire lifestyle of the necrophilous
person revolves around death, destruction, disease, and decay.
Malignant Narcissism
Just as all people display some necrophilic behavior, so too do all have some narcis-
sistic tendencies. Healthy people manifest a benign form of narcissism,that is, an
interest in their own body. However, in its malignant form, narcissism impedes the
perception of reality so that everything belonging to a narcissistic person is highly
valued and everything belonging to another is devalued.
Narcissistic individuals are preoccupied with themselves, but this concern is
not limited to admiring themselves in a mirror. Preoccupation with one’s body often
leads to hypochondriasis,or an obsessive attention to one’s health. Fromm (1964)
also discussed moral hypochondriasis,or a preoccupation with guiltabout previ-
ous transgressions. People who are fixated on themselves are likely to internalize ex-
periences and to dwell on both physical health and moral virtues.
Narcissistic people possess what Horney (see Chapter 6) called “neurotic
claims.” They achieve security by holding on to the distorted belief that their ex-
traordinary personal qualities give them superiority over everyone else. Because
what they have—looks, physique, wealth—is so wonderful, they believe that they
need not do anything to prove their value. Their sense of worth depends on their nar-
cissistic self-image and not on their achievements. When their efforts are criticized
by others, they react with anger and rage, frequently striking out against their critics,
trying to destroy them. If the criticism is overwhelming, they may be unable to de-
stroy it, and so they turn their rage inward. The result is depression,a feeling of
worthlessness. Although depression, intense guilt, and hypochondriasis may appear
to be anything but self-glorification, Fromm believed that each of these could be
symptomatic of deep underlying narcissism.
Incestuous Symbiosis
A third pathological orientation is incestuous symbiosis,or an extreme dependence
on the mother or mother surrogate. Incestuous symbiosis is an exaggerated form of
the more common and more benign mother fixation.Men with a mother fixation
need a woman to care for them, dote on them, and admire them; they feel somewhat
anxious and depressed when their needs are not fulfilled. This condition is relatively
normal and does not greatly interfere with their daily life.
With incestuous symbiosis, however, people are inseparable from the host
person; their personalities are blended with the other person and their individual
Chapter 7 Fromm: Humanistic Psychoanalysis 201