Vices,
or irrational needs, are dispositions to make particular false
value-judgments which, in turn, motivate particular acts of wrong
doing. Through repetition these acts of wrong doing reinforce the vices
and become bad habits.
For Stoics, only the Sage is virtuous; everyone else is vicious. The idealized self-image of the vicious individual is chiefly a glorification of the vices, or irrational needs, that have formed in his character. (A need is irrational if it is a requirement for something not in our power and involves a false judgment of good or bad).
The vicious individual takes pride in the imagined attributes of his idealized image.
On the basis of that pride, the individual makes claims, or demands, upon others, and upon life. (Claims are irrational needs that have become demands on others and on life.)
The individual also makes demands of himself, what Karen Horney called "shoulds,"
which compel him to try to live up to his idealized image. (Shoulds are
irrational needs that have become demands of oneself).
But if others do not honor his claims, or if he fails to live up to his idealized image, he hates himself. In reaction to this self-hate he redoubles his efforts and resumes his search for glory. But in seeking after perfection and the absolute in externals, he only ends up sending himself to hell, the inner hell of self-contempt.
Conscientious Vices | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irrational Need | Irrational Need to Avoid | Idealized Image (Oldham, pg. 63) | Personality Disorder | |
| achievement | lack of achievement | achieving, productive, industrious, diligent, hard working | excessive devotion to work and productivity | |
| respect, approval, being beyond reproach, a just reward for rectitude | lack of respect, lack of approval, reproach, lack of a just reward for rectitude | conscientious, scrupulous, upright, just | overconscientious, scrupulous, inflexible | |
| interpersonal control, things being done 'right', correctness | lack of interpersonal control, things not being done 'right', incorrectness | responsible, correct | can't delegate responsibility | |
| perfect performance | mistakes, errors, flaws | perfect, or trying to be perfect | perfectionism | |
| to be right, to be certain | being wrong, being uncertain | persevering, singleminded, imperturbable | rigidity, stubbornness | |
| order and organization (rules) | lack of order and organization (rules) | orderly, organized, meticulous | preoccupied with lists, rules, details, order and organization | |
| to save money | spending money, poverty | prudent, frugal, cautious | parsimony, miserly spending style | |
| to accumulate things | discarding things, being without things | provident, prepared | hoarding worn out or worthless objects | |
The irrational needs of the Conscientious type are based on particular false values.
Sensitive Vices | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irrational Need | Irrational Need to Avoid | Idealized Image (Oldham, pp. 180-81) | Personality Disorder | |
| acceptance; exclusive interpersonal contact with familiars | criticism, disapproval, rejection; significant interpersonal contact with non-familiars | unconditionally accepted; familiar: prefer the known to the unknown; comfortable with and inspired by habit, repetition, and routine | fears criticism, disapproval, or rejection; avoids occupational activities that involve significant interpersonal contact | |
| to be liked | being disliked | well-liked; concerned: care deeply what other people think of them | unwilling to get involved unless certain of being liked | |
| to be restrained in intimate relations | attempts to shame or ridicule them | circumspect: behave with deliberate discretion; don't make hasty judgments or jump in before they know what is appropriate | fears being shamed or ridiculed; shows restraint within intimate relationships | |
| for the familiar; habit, repetition, routine | new interpersonal situations | politely reserved, courteous, self-restrained | feelings of inadequacy; inhibited in new interpersonal situations | |
| to be socially adept and personally appealing | being seen as socially inept or personally unappealing | socially adept, personally appealing | views self as socially inept, personally unappealing, or inferior | |
| familiar, routine activities | new activities and personal risk; being embarrassed | plays their role well; does what is expected of them | is reluctant to take personal risks or to engage in any new activities because they may be embarrassing | |
| approval and acceptance in social situations | being criticized or rejected in social situations | socially approved and accepted | preoccupied with being criticized or rejected in social situations | |
The irrational needs of the Sensitive type are based on particular false values.
Vigilant Vices | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irrational Need | Irrational Need to Avoid | Idealized Image (Oldham, pp. 157-58) | Personality Disorder | |
| being exploited, harmed, or deceived by others | autonomous, independent; keep their own counsel, require no outside reassurance or advice; make decisions easily, and take care of themselves | suspects that others are exploiting, harming, or deceiving them | ||
| loyalty of others | the disloyalty or untrustworthiness of friends or associates | loyal and trustworthy | unjustified doubts about loyalty or trustworthiness of friends or associates | |
| having information confided to others used against them | cautious; careful in their dealings with others, preferring to size up a person before entering a relationship | reluctance to confide in others because of fear that the information will be used maliciously against them | ||
| demeaning or threatening remarks or events | perceptive; good listener, with an ear for subtlety, tone, and multiple levels of communication | fears hidden demeaning or threatening meanings in benign remarks or events | ||
| insults, injuries, slights, and attacks on their character or reputation | able to defend self; feisty and do not hesitate to stand up for themselves, especially when they are under attack | bears grudges; is unforgiving of insults, injuries, or slights; perceived attacks on their character not apparent to others; is quick to react angrily or to counterattack | ||
| fidelity of their spouse or sexual partner | the infidelity of their spouse or sexual partner | faithful and loyal | has suspicions, without justification, regarding fidelity of spouse, or sexual partner | |
The irrational needs of the Vigilant type are based on particular false values.
Dramatic Vices | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irrational Need | Irrational Need to Avoid | Idealized Image (Oldham, pp. 131-32) | Personality Disorder | |
| attention | being ignored | like to be seen and noticed; often the center of attention; rise to the occasion when all eyes are on them | uncomfortable in situations in which they are not the center of attention | |
| to be sexually attractive | sexually attractive; seductive, engaging, charming | interaction with others often characterized by inappropriate sexually seductive or provocative behavior | ||
| to react emotionally to events | feeling; live in an emotional world; sensation oriented, emotionally demonstrative, physically affectionate; react emotionally to events | rapidly shifting and shallow expression of emotion | ||
| to present an attractive physical appearance | pay a lot of attention to grooming; enjoy clothes, style, and fashion | consistently uses physical appearance to draw attention to self | ||
| to have a dramatic, stimulating style of speech | experiences life vividly and expansively; have rich imaginations, tell entertaining stories, and are drawn to romance and melodrama | has a style of speech that is excessively impressionistic and lacking in detail | ||
| to dramatically express emotion | expressive; display their emotions freely and openly | shows self-dramatization, theatricality, and exaggerated expression of emotion | ||
| others' guidance, help, and considered opinions | eagerly responds to new ideas and suggestions by others | is suggestible, easily influenced by others or circumstances | ||
| intimate relationships | easily put their trust in others; are able to become quickly involved in relationships | consider relationships to be more intimate than they actually are | ||
The irrational needs of the Dramatic type are based on particular false values.
Aggressive Vices | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irrational Need | Irrational Need to Avoid | Idealized Image (Oldham, pp. 345-45) | Personality Disorder (not completely correlated) | |
| to dominate; to be in charge; to have power, authority, responsibility; control | to be without power | commanding; take charge; are comfortable with power, authority, and responsibility | uses physical cruelty or violence to establish dominance in relationships | |
| traditional power structure; hierarchical lines of authority | operate best within traditional power structure where everyone knows his or her place and the lines of authority are clear | humiliates or demeans people in the presence of others | ||
| self-discipline; to have those in their charge follow their rules | having those in their charge not follow the rules which they have imposed | highly disciplined; impose rules of order that they expect those in their charge to follow | treated or disciplined someone under their control unusually harshly | |
| to be pragmatic | take a pragmatic, practical approach to accomplishing their objectives; do what is necessary to get the job done | amused or takes pleasure in the psychological or physical suffering of others | ||
| to accomplish goals | things which distract them from accomplishing their goals | highly goal oriented | lies for the purpose of harming or inflicting pain on others | |
| action, adventure, competition, and being physically assertive | active and adventurous; physically assertive; competitive in sports, especially contact sports | is fascinated by violence, weapons, martial arts, injury, or torture | ||
| for people to do what they want them to do | neither sqeamish or fainthearted; can function well in difficult situations without being distracted by fear or horror | gets people to do what they want by frightening them | ||
| control of those with whom they have a close relationship | protective of and responsible for those with whom they have a close relationship | restricts the autonomy of people with whom they have a close relationship | ||
The irrational needs of the Aggressive type are based on particular false values.
Idiosyncratic Vices | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irrational Need | Irrational Need to Avoid | Idealized Image (Oldham, pp. 252-53) | Personality Disorder (not correlated) | |
| self-direction and independence | close relationships | are self-directed and independent | lack of close friends or confidants | |
| an interesting, unusual, and eccentric lifestyle | convention; conformity | oblivious to convention; create interesting, unusual, often eccentric lifestyles | odd beliefs or magical thinking | |
| things of the occult, extrasensory, or supernatural | the mundane | open to anything; are interested in the occult, the extrasensory, and the supernatural | odd thinking and speech | |
| to have their own idiosyncratic feelings and belief system | conventional emotional experience; adopting others' beliefs | are tuned into and sustained by their own feelings and belief systems | suspiciousness or paranoid ideation | |
| abstract and speculative thinking | concrete and conventional thinking | are drawn to abstract and speculative thinking | inappropriate or constricted affect | |
| positive reactions from others | being the object of others' attention | though they are inner-directed and follow their own hearts and minds, are keen observers of others, particularly sensitive to how other people react to them | excessive social anxiety; ideas of reference | |
| behavior or appearance that is odd, eccentric, or peculiar | ||||
The irrational needs of the Idiosyncratic type are based on particular false values.
Inventive Vices | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irrational Need | Irrational Need to Avoid | Idealized Image | Personality Disorder | |
| to have an image of superiority and high worth | ||||
| social recognition, status, and prestige | obscurity, low status, and lack of prestige | |||
| outstanding acievement | being out-achieved by others | |||
| glory, honors, and fame | ||||
| praise and approval | others' critical judgments and disapproval | |||
| to be highly esteemed | ||||
| greatness, perfection, genius, or stardom | ||||
| a highly valued spouse or partner; to be affirmed and confirmed in relationships | ||||
| to be their idealized self | being their actual self | |||
| success and others' admiration | ||||
| being slighted and not receiving constant admiration | ||||
| love and approval from others | ||||
| the attention and admiration of others | ||||
| fulfillment of their grandiose expectations | lack of fulfillment of their grandiose expectations | |||
| to receive praise | being criticized | |||
The irrational needs of the Inventive type are based on particular false values.
Solitary Vices | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irrational Need | Irrational Need to Avoid | Idealized Image (Oldham, pp. 275-76) | Personality Disorder | |
| to be alone | close relationships and being part of a family | have small need of companionship and are most comfortable alone | neither desires nor enjoys close relationships, including being part of a family | |
| solitude and solitary activities | lack of solitude; having to do things with others | are self-contained and do not require interaction with others in order to enjoy their experiences or to get on in life | almost always choose solitary activities | |
| autoeroticism | sexual experiences with others | are not driven by sexual needs; enjoy sex but will not suffer in its absence | has little if any interest in having sexual experiences with another person | |
| self-control | pleasure and pain | display an apparent indifference to pleasure and pain | takes pleasure in few activities | |
| secrecy | intimacy, friendship, and confiding in others | are their own truest, most trusted companions, providing the most important resources they need | lacks close friends or confidants other than first degree relatives | |
| to be unaffected and uninfluenced | praise and criticism | are unswayed by either praise or criticism and can confidently come to terms with their own behavior | appears indifferent to the praise or criticism of others | |
| to suppress emotion | expression of emotion and feeling | are even-tempered, calm, dispassionate, unsentimental, and unflappable | shows emotional coldness, detachment, or flattened affectivity | |
The irrational needs of the Solitary type are based on particular false values.
Leisurely Vices | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irrational Need | Irrational Need to Avoid | Idealized Image (Oldham, pp. 203-204) | Personality Disorder | |
| to be free to do as one pleases | having to fulfill routine social and occupational tasks | believe in their right to enjoy themselves on their own terms in their own time; value and protect their comfort, their free time, and their individual pursuit of happiness | passively resist fulfilling routine social and occupational tasks | |
| to be understood and appreciated by others | being misunderstood and unappreciated by others | agree to play by the rules; deliver what is expected of them and no more; expect others to recognize and respect that limit | complains of being misunderstood and unappreciated by others | |
| to resist the demands of others | compliance with others' demands and expectations; external demands | cannot be exploited; can comfortably resist acceding to demands that they deem unreasonable or above and beyond the call of duty | is sullen and argumentative | |
| to withhold respect for figures of authority | submission to authority figures and their expectations and demands | are not overawed by authority; accept themselves and their approach to life | unreasonably criticizes and scorns authority | |
| to possess the same advantages as possessed by others | ill fortune and not getting the best in life | believe that blind luck accounts for who fares well and who fares poorly | expresses envy and resentment toward those apparently more fortunate | |
| for a life of pleasure and comfort | personal misfortunes | believe that they are just as good as anyone else and as entitled to the best things in life | voices exaggerated and persistent complaints of personal misfortune | |
| to be free to do as ones pleases, but also to be taken care of | being restricted; alienating those they depend on | feel free to proceed in their own direction, yet do not like to risk important relationships | alternate between hostile defiance and contrition | |
The irrational needs of the Leisurely type are based on particular false values.
Serious Vices | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irrational Need | Irrational Need to Avoid | Idealized Image (Oldham, pp. 366-67) | Personality Disorder | |
| to see current circumstances, themselves, and the future as worse than they are | maintain a sober demeanor; are solemn and not given to emotional expression | usual mood is dominated by dejection, gloominess, cheerlessness, joylessness, and unhappiness | ||
| to have a negative view of themselves | are realistically aware of their own capabilities, but are also aware of their limitations; they are not tempted by vanity or self-importance | self-concept centers around beliefs of inadequacy, worthlessness, and low self-esteem | ||
| to see themselves as bad | hold themselves responsible for their actions; will not soft-pedal their own faults and do not let themselves off the hook | is critical, blaming, and derogatory toward self | ||
| bad things happening in the future | are thinkers, analyzers, evaluators, ruminators; will always play things over in their own minds before they act | is brooding and give to worry | ||
| to see others and their behavior as bad | are sharp appraisers of others; have ability to critique and evaluate other people | is negativistic, critical, and judgmental toward others | ||
| bad things happening in the future | anticipate problems and when the worst happens, they're prepared to deal with it | is pessimistic | ||
| to see things that they have done in the past as bad | suffer greatly when they realize they've been thoughtless or impolite to others | is prone to feeling guilty or remorseful | ||
The irrational needs of the Serious type are based on particular false values.
Self-Sacrificing Vices | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irrational Need | Irrational Need to Avoid | Idealized Image (Oldham, pp. 319-20) Not well correlated | Personality Disorder | |
| situations that lead to disappointment, failure, or mistreatment | accepting; are nonjudgmental, tolerant of others foibles, and never harshly reproving; stick with you through thick and thin | chooses people and situations that lead to disappointment, failure, or mistreatment | ||
| attempts by others to help them | serving; prime directive is to be helpful to others | rejects or renders ineffective the attempts of others to help them | ||
| positive personal events | long suffering; prefer to shoulder their own burden in life | following positive events, responds with depression, guilt, or a behavior that produces pain | ||
| to be hurt, defeated, or humiliated | humble; are neither boastful nor proud and are uncomfortable being fussed over; do not like being the center of attention; are uneasy in the limelight | incites angry or rejecting responses from others and then feels hurt, defeated, or humiliated | ||
| opportunities for pleasure, or acknowledging enjoying themselves | enduring; have much patience and a high tolerance for discomfort | rejects opportunities for pleasure, or is reluctant to acknowledge enjoying themselves | ||
| to sacrifice accomplishing their personal objectives | out of deference to others, are noncompetitive and unambitious, comfortable coming in second, even last | fails to accomplish tasks crucial to their personal objectives despite demonstrated ability to do so | ||
| people who consistently treat them badly | people who consistently treat them well | are always considerate in their dealings with others; are ethical, honest, and trustworthy | is uninterested in or rejects people who consistently treat them well | |
| self-sacrifice | taking care of their own appropriate needs | generous; will give you the shirt off their back if you need it; do not wait to be asked | engages excessive self-sacrifice that is unsolicited by the recipient of the sacrifice | |
The irrational needs of the Self-Sacrificing type are based on particular false values.
Devoted Vices | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irrational Need | Irrational Need to Avoid | Idealized Image (Oldham, pg. 109) | Personality Disorder | |
| for others to make everyday decisions for them; advice and reassurance from others | having to make everyday decisions; having to rely solely on their own judgment | when making decisions, are happy to seek out others' opinions and to follow their advice | has difficulty making everyday decisions without an excessive amount of advice and reassurance from others | |
| for others to assume responsibiluty for major areas of their lives | having to be responsible for themselves | assumes the less dominant, more passive caretaking role; prefer to rely on the judgment of the central person in their lives | needs others to assume responsibility for most major areas of their lives | |
| support and approval from others | losing the support or approval of others | are careful to promote good feelings between themselves and the important people in their lives; to promote harmony, tend to be polite, agreeable, and tactful | has difficulty expressing disagreement with others because of fear of loss of support or approval | |
| to follow the lead of others | initiating projects or doing things on their own | would rather follow than lead; are cooperative and respectful of authority and institutions; easily rely on others, and take direction well | has difficulty initiating projects or doing things on their own | |
| nurturance and support | being without nurturance and support | are thoughtful of others and good at pleasing them; will endure personal discomfort to do a good turn for the key people in their lives | goes to excessive lengths to obtain nurturance and support from others, to the point of volunteering to do things that are unpleasant | |
| for a significant other | being alone; not being taken care of | prefer the company of one or more people to being alone | feels uncomfortable or helpless when alone because of exaggerated fear of being unable to care for themselves | |
| relationships: care and support | not having a relationship with a significant other | relationships provide life's meaning for them; even after a painful loss of someone around whom their life was centered, they are able to form new meaningful bonds | urgently seeks another relationship as a source of care and support when a close relationship ends | |
| to be taken care of: advice, reassurance, and support | being left to care for themselves | thoroughly dedicated to relationships in their lives; place the highest value on sustained relationships; respect the institution of marriage, as well as unofficial avowals of commitment; and work hard to keep their relationships going | is unrealistically preoccupied with fears of being left to take care of themselves | |
| praise and approval | criticism and disapproval, especially from significant others | feel personally responsible for things that go wrong in a relationship; take it upon themselves to make things better | is easily hurt by criticism or disapproval | |
The irrational needs of the Devoted type are based on particular false values.
Self-Confident Vices | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irrational Need | Irrational Need to Avoid | Idealized Image (Oldham, pg. 86) | Personality Disorder | |
| achievement; recognition of talent; importance | identify with people of high rank and status | has a grandiose sense of self-importance | ||
| success, power, brilliance, beauty, and ideal love | are able to visualize themselves as the hero, star, the best in their role, or the most accomplished in their field | is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love | ||
| to be "special" and unique; association with other "special" or high-status people (or institutions) | believe in themselves and in their abilities; have no doubt that they are unique and special and that there is a reason for their being on the planet | believe that they are "special" and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with other special or high status people or institutions | ||
| to be the object of admiration | accept compliments, praise, and admiration gracefully and with self-possession | requires excessive admiration | ||
| favorable treatment and automatic compliance with their expectations | expect others to treat them well at all times | has a sense of entitlement, i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with their expectations | ||
| to use others to achieve their own ends | are able to take advantage of the strengths and abilities of other people in order to achieve their goals, and are shrewd in their dealings with others | is interpersonally exploitive, i.e., takes advantage of others to achieve their own ends | ||
| empathizing with others; consideration of the feelings and needs of others | have a keen awareness of their thoughts and feelings and their overall inner state of being | lacks empathy; is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others | ||
| to be envied by others; to have what others have | are able competitors; they love getting to the top, and they enjoy staying there | is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of them | ||
| for importance, high status, and prestige | are unabashedly open about their aspirations and possibilities | shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes | ||
The irrational needs of the Self-Confident type are based on particular false values.
Adventurous Vices | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irrational Need | Irrational Need to Avoid | Idealized Image (Oldham, pp. 227-28) | Personality Disorder | |
| to live by their own internal code of values | being influenced by others or by the norms of society | live by their own internal code of values; are not strongly influenced by other people or by the norms of society | failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest | |
| to engage in high risk activities | boredom | daring; love the thrill of risk and routinely engage in high-risk activities | reckless disregard for safety of self and others | |
| to take advantage of the weaknesses of others | consideration of others | do not worry much about others because they expect each human being to be responsible for themselves | lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another | |
| to persuade people to do what they want them to do | being deceived, manipulated, or exploited by others | are silver-tongued, gifted in the gentle art of winning friends and influencing people | deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure | |
| for sexual variety | being tied down in a monogamous relationship | relish sex; have a strong sex drive and enjoy numerous sexual experiences with different partners | have never sustained a totally monogamous relationship for more than one year | |
| to keep moving and exploring | settling down | love to keep moving, settling down only to have the urge to pick up and go explore, move out, move on | wanderlust | |
| to earn an independent free-lance living by talent, skills, ingenuity and wit | the nine-to-five world | avoid the nine-to-five world; prefer to earn an independent free-lance living; do not worry about finding work; live well by their talents, skills, ingenuity, and wits | is unable to sustain consistent work behavior as indicated by... | |
| to spend money | are easy and generous with money, believing that money should be spent and that more will turn up somewhere | repeatedly fails to honor financial obligations, as indicated by defaulting on debts or failure to provide child support or support for... | ||
| to raise hell and make mischief | were usually high-spirited hell-raisers and mischief makers | (conduct disorder as child or adolescent) | ||
| to be physically bold and tough | being exploited or taken advantage of | are courageous, physically bold, and tough; will stand up to anyone who dares to try to take advantage of them | irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults | |
| to live without concern for consequences | concern for consequences | live in the present; do not feel guilty about the past or anxious about the future; life is meant to be experienced now | impulsivity or failure to plan ahead | |
The irrational needs of the Adventurous type are based on particular false values.
Mercurial Vices | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irrational Need | Irrational Need to Avoid | Idealized Image (Oldham, pp. 293-94) | Personality Disorder | |
| for an intimate relationship | abandonment | must always be deeply involved in a romantic relationship with one person | frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment | |
| to alternately idealize and devalue the other in relationship | experience a passionate, focused attachment in all their relationships; nothing that goes on between them and other people is trivial, nothing taken lightly | a pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extreme idealization and devaluation | ||
| to alternately idealize or devalue the self | are imaginative and curious, willing to experience and experiment with other cultures, roles, and value systems, and to follow new paths | identity disturbances; markedly and persistently unstable self-image or sense of self | ||
| to shop and spend money; for sex; for mind and mood altering substances; for fast driving and other exciting activities; for food | are uninhibited, spontaneous, fun-loving, and undaunted by risk | impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self-damaging (e.g., spending, sex, substance abuse, reckless driving, binge eating) | ||
| to cause themselves pain or to harm themselves, or to make gestures or to threaten to harm themselves | will go to great lengths to attain calmness and inner peace | recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, or threats, or self-mutilating behavior | ||
| to react to events in an unregulated expression of passion | show what they feel; are emotionally active and reactive; put their hearts into everything | affective instability due to a marked reactivity of mood (e.g., episodic dysphoria, irritability, or anxiety | ||
| the love, protection, and companionship of a nurturing, thoroughly good person (pg. 313) | feelings of emptiness | unlimited appreciation of the other in relationships | chronic feelings of emptiness | |
| to frequently express anger | energetic; are lively, creative, busy, and engaging; show initiative and can stir others to activity | inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger (e.g., frequent displays of temper, constant anger, recurrent physical fights) | ||
| to distance or distract themselves from reality | are skilled at distancing or distracting themselves from reality when it is painful or harsh | transient, stress-related paranoid ideation or severe dissociative symptoms | ||
The irrational needs of the Mercurial type are based on particular false values.
Exuberant Vices | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irrational Need | Irrational Need to Avoid | Idealized Image | Personality Disorder | |
| pleasure | pain | |||
| intense emotional experiences | ||||
| constant activity | ||||
| pleasurable experiences | ||||
| a positive view of past achievement | ||||
| social situations to be good, and to work out well | ||||
| to be able to go without sleep | ||||
| to see oneself as good | ||||
| to have a high level of creativity | ||||
| a high level of productivity, and to produce high quality work | ||||
| for people and sex | ||||
| for one's activity, whatever one is doing, to be good | ||||
| money | ||||
| romance and sex | ||||
| for the stimulation or relaxation of alcohol and/or drugs | ||||
| for current experiences to be good | ||||
| for new residences and new geographic locations to be good | ||||
| for knowledge, skill, expertise, and mastery in certain selected areas of interest | ||||
| self-confidence, sensuality, creativity, and efficiency | ||||
| creative work | ||||
The irrational needs of the Exuberant type are based on particular false values.
John
M. Oldham and Lois B. Morris (1995). The New Personality Self-Portrait:
Why You Think, Work, Love and Act the Way You Do. New York: Bantam.
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ptypes@yahoo.com
