Compensation of primitive rigidity at the basic level results in adaptations represented as [f*=Rc] or [f*+=Rc+]. These are highly defensive states, in which the primitive tendency, associated with anxiety, guilt, and threat in childhood, is firmly denied at adolescence. As a result, the common characteristic of the "Rc" adjustments is a strong tendency to perceive, respond, and experience as an "F."
The repression of the primitive tendency, on which the "Rc" orientations rest, produces great but unconscious strain. The tension is not in the individual's consciousness, because he refuses to recognize it. To be aware of it would be to admit that there is reason for its existence, a fact which the [f*=Rc] cannot afford to accept.
Despite the inaccurate self picture which inevitably results, the individual retains sufficient traces of his primitive rigidity to prevent him from achieving a completely "F" state. His tension, observable to others if not to himself, betrays the fact that his is a compensated adjustment. He has thus retained the advantages of his "R" nature, and, potentially, is able to utilize them. Actually, however, he will forcibly prevent himself' from doing so, because of his strong investment in denial.
The [f*+=Rc+] represents the extreme reaction against primitive rigidity. He is engaged in constant efforts to control all possible manifestations of his inherent "R" reactivity to which he responds only at unconscious levels. A compensated "R" does not consciously feel the need to prove his "F-ness," because he is unaware that he has ever been anything but an "F." He cannot, however, tolerate "R" behavior in others. The [f*+=Rc+] is particularly sensitive to "R-ness" in others, and especially abusive in his attacks upon it.
The [f*+=Rc+], and, to a lesser extent, the [f=Fu] as well, must constantly engage in activities which depend on perceiving relationships and acquiring insights, to defend himself against his underlying tendencies in opposite directions. He will be extremely devoted to such undertakings, disturbed if he does not perform well in them, and painstaking in efforts at improvement. The [f*+=Rc+], in particular, is likely to apply himself to acquiring and following the moral, ethical, and religious codes of his society. He can become extremely dedicated, often fanatically so. He is likely to manifest a compulsive tendency to reform others, an attribute which often characterizes the individual who deludes himself.
The capacity of the [f*+=Rc+] for dedication does not always result in irrational zeal. Even when it does, he is not necessarily occupied exclusively with fanaticism. His ability to apply himself often turns to productive and useful endeavors, in which his dedicated nature serves him well. If he is an Externalizer, he will invest his dedication in external events. If he is an Internalizer, he will apply himself primarily to intellectual areas. He will, however, require that his intellectual activities are in some way related to the well-being of others, lest he be guilty of the lack of interpersonal awareness of an "R."
Both the [f*+=Rc+] and the [f*=Rc] have trained themselves to function in learning situations on the basis of insightful approaches. They have also acquired the ability to undertake self-initiated shifts in interests and activities, and may appear to be original, creative, and spontaneous. It is likely, however, that such attributes will be more apparent than real. These orientations depend, not only on great effort, but also to some extent, on delusions. The individual may therefore delude himself into the belief that he has achieved the talents of an "F," while actually retaining his inherent inabilities in these areas. His primitive tendency to compartmentalize, which he has not entirely overcome, may help him maintain such misconceptions about himself.
In spite of the many difficulties which the [f*+=Rc+] orientation involves, and despite the great tension with which it is maintained, the individual has nevertheless managed to transcend a number of his inherent limitations. Unfortunately, he has cut himself off from many of his inherent strengths in so going, but he has not entirely lost them. In effect, then, he has reached a basic adjustment in which the potential range of his awareness and behavior is greater than that which characterized his primitive state.
The [f*=Rc] adaptation, because of its greater moderation, is in many ways more like an [r=Ru] type of adjustment. The [f*=Rc], however, is better able than the [r=Ru] to control his tendency to revert to [r+=Ru+] behavior. He recognizes the need for understanding relationships, and makes sustained attempts to control his feelings appropriately. He is highly dependent, however, on external guidance to provide him with procedures for attaining suitable relationships and emotional control, both of which are fundamentally alien to him. Once he has learned the "right" rules, he tends to adhere to them in a characteristically rigid manner. The result is often inappropriate or stereotypic behavior. Prejudice, conventional behavior, and a marked tendency to cling to out-moded methods of response are characteristic of an [f*=Rc].
The more temperate nature of his compensation renders the [f*=Rc] comparatively less hostile to "R" characteristics than is the [f*+=Rc+]. As a result, his interpersonal responses are not so inappropriate and irrational. Like the [f*+=Rc+], he can accept, learn, and follow the social code of his milieu, with which he tends to identify. He is not, however, as disposed toward fanaticism, and is therefore apt to be more appropriate in the quality of his dedication.
On the other hand, he has the disadvantages of superficiality In his acquired insight and understanding, and a lack of genuine interpersonal sensitivity, which persists in the face of his own denial.