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Part II    Psychodynamic Theories262
Necrophilia doesnotsimply refertobehavior; itpervades aperson’s entire char-
acter. AndsoitwaswithHitler. After hecame topower, hedemanded thathisene-
miesnotmerely surrender, butthattheybeannihilated aswell.Hisnecrophilia was
expressed inhismania fordestroying buildings andcities, hisorders tokill“defec -
tive”people, hisboredom, andhisslaughter ofmillions ofJews.
Another traitHitler manifested wasmalignant narcissism. Hewasinterested 
onlyinhimself, hisplans, andhisideology. Hisconviction thathecould build a
“Thousand-Year Reich” shows aninflated sense ofself-importance. Hehadnointer-
estinanyone unless thatperson wasofservice tohim.Hisrelations towomen lacked 
loveandtenderness; heseemed tohaveusedthem solely forperverted personal plea-
sure, especially forvoyeuristic satisfaction.
According toFromm’s analysis, Hitler alsopossessed anincestuous symbiosis, 
manifested byhispassionate devotion nottohisrealmother buttotheGermanic 
“race.” Consistent withthistrait,healsowassadomasochistic, withdrawn, andlacking 
infeelings ofgenuine loveorcompassion. Allthese characteristics, Fromm contended, 
didnotmake Hitler psychotic. They did,however, make himasickanddangerous man.
Insisting thatpeople notseeHitler asinhuman, Fromm (1973) concluded his
psychohistory withthese words: “Any analysis thatwould distort Hitler’s picture by
depriving himofhishumanity would onlyintensify thetendency tobeblind tothe
potential Hitlers unless theywear horns” (p.433).
Related Research
Although Erich Fromm’s writings arestimulating andinsightful, hisideas havepro-
duced verylittleempirical research inthefieldofpersonality psychology. Onereason 
forthismaybeduetothebroad approach Fromm takes. Inmany ways hisideas 
aremore sociological thanpsychological inthathistheory deals withalienation from 
culture andnature ingeneral, twotopics thataremore typically covered inasociol -
ogyclassthanapsychology class. Thisdoesnotmean, however, thatsuchbroad top-
icsarenotimportant topersonality psychology. Quite thecontrary, howandwhen 
wepresent andmarket ourselves socially (think Facebook andInstagram) areclearly 
tiedtoFromm’s theory of“marketing character.” Thematerialism thatcharacterizes 
thismarketing personality orientation hasbeenshown tohavenegative consequences 
forourfeelings ofbelonging andourcapacity forcommunity concern. Inaddition, 
although broad andsociological, estrangement from one’s culture isatopic thatcan
bestudied attheindividual levelinpsychological studies andcanhaveimplications for
well-being. Finally, Fromm’s ideas about authoritarianism haveledtorecent empirical 
investigations, inparticular intotheassociation between fearandauthoritarian beliefs.
Testing the Assumptions of Fromm’s Marketing Character  
InThe Sane Society (1955), Fromm wrote critically about western cultures suchas
theUnited States encouraging thedevelopment ofthemarketing character orienta -
tion,which buysandsellsandseeseverything asapotential object ofconsumption. 
Ifyouthink about it,millions ofAmericans’ engagement withsocial media platforms 
suchasFacebook, Instagram, andPinterest isatestament toourdesire tosellour
veryselves, toshowcase ourbestphotographs andexperiences inamarketplace ofFinal PDF to printer