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.
However, character may also develop in a positive way according to how the individual meets the psychosocial challenges of the life cycle (Erikson).
[2] For Erich Fromm character develops as the way in which an individual structures modes of assimilation and relatedness.
Fromm adds the marketing type to describe individuals who continually adapt the self to succeed in the new service economy.
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.