A character structure is a system of secondary traits manifested in the specific ways that an individual relates and reacts to others, to various kinds of stimuli, and to the environment. A child whose nurture and/or education cause them to have conflict between legitimate feelings, living in an illogical environment and interacting with adults who do not take the long-term interests of the child to heart will be more likely to form these secondary traits. In this manner the child blocks the unwanted emotional reaction that would have normally occurred. Although this may serve the child well while in that dysfunctional environment, it may also cause the child to react in inappropriate ways, by developing alternate ways in which the energy compulsively surfaces, ways damaging to his or her own interests, when interacting with people in a completely independent environment. Major trauma that occurs later in life, even in adulthood, can sometimes have a profound effect on character. See

post-traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats o ...

. However, character may also develop in a positive way according to how the individual meets the psychosocial challenges of the life cycle ( Erikson).

Theories

Freud

Freud's first paper on character described the anal character consisting of stubbornness, stinginess, and extreme neatness. He saw this as a reaction formation to the child's having to give up pleasure in

anal eroticism Anal eroticism, in psychoanalysis, is sensuous pleasure derived from anal sensations. Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, hypothesized that the anal stage of childhood psychosexual development was marked by the predominance of anal erot ...

. The positive version of this character is the conscientious, inner directed obsessive. Freud also described the erotic character as both loving and dependent. And the

narcissistic Narcissism is a self-centered personality style characterized as having an excessive interest in one's physical appearance or image and an excessive preoccupation with one's own needs, often at the expense of others. Narcissism exists on a co ...

character as the natural leader, aggressive and independent because of not internalizing a strong super-ego.

Fromm

For Erich Fromm character develops as the way in which an individual structures modes of assimilation and relatedness. The character types are almost identical to Freud's but Fromm gives them different names: ''receptive'', ''hoarding'', and ''exploitative''. Fromm adds the ''marketing'' type to describe individuals who continually adapt the self to succeed in the new service economy. For Fromm, character types can be productive or unproductive. Fromm notes that character structures develop in each individual to enable him or her to interact successfully within a given society and adapt to its mode of production and social norms (see

social character The social character is the central basic concept of the analytic social psychology of Erich Fromm. Overview The concept describes the formation of the shared character structure of the people of a society or a social class according to their w ...

), and may be very counter-productive when used in a different society. Fromm got his ideas about character structure from two associates/students of Freud,

Sándor Ferenczi Sándor Ferenczi (7 July 1873 – 22 May 1933) was a Hungarian psychoanalyst, a key theorist of the psychoanalytic school and a close associate of Sigmund Freud. Biography Born Sándor Fränkel to Baruch Fränkel and Rosa Eibenschütz, bo ...

and

Wilhelm Reich Wilhelm Reich ( , ; 24 March 1897 – 3 November 1957) was an Austrian doctor of medicine and a psychoanalyst, along with being a member of the second generation of analysts after Sigmund Freud. The author of several influential books, most ...

. It is Reich who really developed the concept from Ferenczi, and added to it an exploration of character structure as it applies to body structure and development as well as mental life.

Reich

For

, character structures are based upon blocks—chronic, unconsciously held muscular contractions—against awareness of feelings. The blocks result from trauma: the child learns to limit their awareness of strong feelings as their needs are thwarted by parents who meet cries for fulfillment with neglect or punishment. Reich argued for five basic character structures, each with its own body type developed as a result of the particular blocks created due to deprivation or frustration of the child's stage-specific needs: # The

schizoid Schizoid personality disorder (, often abbreviated as SzPD or ScPD) is a personality disorder characterized by a lack of interest in social relationships, a tendency toward a solitary or sheltered lifestyle, secretiveness, emotional coldness ...

structure, which could result in full blown

schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social wit ...

: this is the result of not feeling wanted by hostile parents, even in the womb. There is a fragmentation of both body and mind with this structure. # The oral structure is an adaptation to an early wound of deprivation around the basic need for nourishment from birth to approx. 18 months. The oral structure as an adult will sometimes adopt an attitude of "you do it for me," as a reaction to not having been nurtured when young. At other times the defense is one of compensation where the individual denies their own needs in the belief that needing will result in abandonment. The person loses touch with their healthy natural assertion and aggression and energy tends to collapse and be difficult to sustain. The body adopts a posture where shoulders are usually hunched which contracts the chest and limits breath and therefore the amount of energy the body takes in. The head juts forward, This posture limits energy flow to the arms which then feel weak. The body of the oral structure defends against receiving and thus confirms the belief that they cannot get their needs met, which becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy unless the defense can be challenged in both mind and body and the individual can mobilize their energy, stand on their own two feet and own the right to need and to receive. # The

psychopath Psychopathy, sometimes considered synonymous with sociopathy, is characterized by persistent antisocial behavior, impaired empathy and remorse, and bold, disinhibited, and egotistical traits. Different conceptions of psychopathy have been ...

or upwardly displaced structure: this wound, around the age of 3, is around the parent manipulating, emotionally molesting the child by seducing them into feeling "special" for the parent's own narcissistic needs. The child resolves to never again permit themselves to be vulnerable, and so decides to instead manipulate and overpower others with their will. The body is well developed above, weak below, as the psychopath pulls away from the ground and attempts to overpower from above. This structure has variations, depending on the admixture with prior wounds: the overbearing is the pure type, the submissive is mixed with oral, the withdrawing, with schizoid. # The

masochist Masochist may refer to: * Sadomasochism, giving or receiving pleasure from the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation Music * The Prophet (musician) (born 1968), Dutch DJ and producer who has recorded as The Masochist Albums * ''Masochis ...

structure: this wound occurs when the parent refuses to allow the child to say "no," the first step in

setting boundaries Personal boundaries or the act of'' setting boundaries'' is a life skill that has been popularized by self help authors and support groups since the mid 1980s. It is the practice of openly communicating and asserting personal values as way to p ...

. The child seeks relief from the rage that builds up underneath bounded muscle and fat, by provoking punishment from others. # The rigid: this wound occurs around the time of the first puberty, the age of 4. The child's sexuality is not affirmed by the parent, but instead shamed or denied. This structure seeks to prove to the parents and others that the child is worthy of love. The rigid structure is often beautifully harmonious, but there is a physical split around the diaphragm between heart and pelvis:

love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of meanings is that the love o ...

and

sex Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones ( ova, of ...

. This person has trouble with being aware of their emotions, which are strong, yet buried. The rigid structure has many substructures, depending on the exact nature of the wound, the admixture with other pre-rigid (oedipal) structures, and the

gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures ...

: in women, the masculine aggressive, hysterical, and the alternating; in men, the phallic narcissist, the compulsive, and the passive feminine. While each of these structures has blocks, and these blocks to some degree resemble "armour", it is only the rigid structure that truly has what Reich called "character armour": a system of blocks all over the body. Depending on which version of rigid one is, the rigid character possesses either 'plate' (i.e. clanky) or 'mesh' (much more flexible) character armour.

References

* Alexander Lowen, The Language of the Body * Wilhelm Reich, Character Analysis

External links