How do Fromm’s character orientations compare to the traits discussed by Cattell?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Fromm believed that personality consisted of a number of qualities, the most important of which was character, which was relatively permanent and non-instinctual. Cattell also believed that personality is composed of a number of qualities but that these are called traits, which are also relatively permanent. Both traits and character orientations imply that people will behave in certain ways relative to those qualities. While Fromm believed that healthy people behaved in a variety of ways consistent with all five character orientations he suggested, he thought that people were most influenced by one character more than the others, similar to Cattell suggesting that there are sixteen unrelated traits, although personality consists of a combination of each of them, with all of us scoring in a low to high range on each. Fromm and Cattell were also similar in that Fromm discussed nonproductive character orientations, which result in maladjustment, and Cattell discussed twelve abnormal source traits that resulted in maladjusted behavior. On the other hand, Fromm’s character orientations were ways in which people related to the human and natural world. Cattell did not think traits helped us to relate to the natural world. Rather, he suggested that traits develop from biological and/or environmental influences