The primitive [EFA] is a very active, very sensitive, and very personable baby. Of all the primitive personality types, the [EFA] is the most involving and relating, primarily because he is not only very responsive to external stimuli, he is also very attractive to people in his environment and is the target of much attention and attempted involvement. A primary liability of the [EFA], then, is that he is in danger of being "spoiled," because his dependency needs are not only recognized but are catered to and satisfied. He has little or no experience with early rejection or, if he receives early rejection, it is possible for him rapidly and effectively to receive support from another source. Fundamentally, the [EFA] child is fickle, responsive, curious, distractible and inconsistent.

The maturation rate of [F] babies tends to be slow and somewhat erratic. This is due to the fact that distractibility interferes with the learning process and, in general, the child will abandon a "hard" task in order to try a new activity. Consequently, perseveration rarely occurs in the [F] child. To a certain extent, the [F] child must understand what he is to do before he can learn to do it; whereas, the [R] child must learn to do a thing before he can "understand" it. Consequently, the imitativeness of the [R] child is not present in the [F] child.

Confusion and diffusion are prominent in the early experience of the [EFA], and to make any type of adjustment, he must learn in some manner to organize his responsiveness before be can learn. The [EFA] child's development is further complicated by the fact that his social acceptability is so marked; many people in his environment will "do things for him," "take care of him" or "protect" him. In addition, the [EF] child is very expressive and his confusion, feelings, helplessness, etc are very obvious. The [EFU] child soon learns to protect his external dependency relationships because of the danger of being abandoned or punished. The [EFA] child, on the other hand, does not have this experience, since he easily replaces one dependency figure with another. In a relatively subtle way, the [EFU] child begins to learn to "satisfy" or "please" his external supporters so they will not abandon him. The [EFA] child, by his potential fickleness, forces his external supporters to try to "satisfy" or "please" him so he will not abandon them. It is this phenomenon that gives the "spoiled" or narcissistic flavor to the [EFA] adjustment.

The [EFA] child not only is slow and inept in doing things for himself, he invites others to do things for him. Unless he is in an environment that forces him to learn some self-sufficiency, he may develop as a relatively immature and dependent person. The helplessness of the [EFA] child neither frustrates nor exasperates external figures, but actually engenders sympathy, which is immediately recognized and responded to by the child. Any attempt by an external figure to discipline or control the [EFA] child brings other external figures to the defense of the child. To a large degree, the [EFA] child is a catalyst who precipitates conflict, jealousy and discord in others. This characteristic often plagues the [EFA] throughout his life.

Under ordinary conditions, age is the biggest "enemy" of the [EFA] child. The deceptiveness of the [A] adjustment often masks immaturity and ineptness until his performance is clearly inappropriate for his age and experience. In the early period of schooling, the [EFA] tends to be pampered, "understood" and protected not only by his parents but also by his teachers. During this period, the [EFA] learns to use affect for ends that are primarily his own. Adolescence for the [EFA] male is likely to be particularly traumatic because the more he is expected to show independence and self-reliance, the more obvious his immaturity. In many instances, the ability to use emotional manipulation becomes, for the first time, inadequate and engenders rejection and hostility. Because he has had little experience with rejection and hostility, his negativism and defensiveness tend to be more primitive (or immature). In addition, since affect or emotionality has been his primary means of manipulating his environment, the negativism and defensiveness are quite emotional. Because of his relative ease in gaining support in superficial relationships, he can be extremely hostile and rejecting towards those who try to discipline or control him. Reaction against authority (as represented by parents and teachers) is a marked characteristic of many [EFA] males. Running away from home, quitting school and teenage marriages are quite common.