The primitive qualities [E] and [R] were discussed in connection with the [ERA] type. Here we are concerned with the primitive personality type [ERU], and the emphasis is on the [U] dimension.

Those infants who are not particularly noticed and who are relatively ignored or overlooked by most people in their environment are characterized as [U] babies. Parents with primitive [U] babies respond with considerable guilt about their own attitude towards their baby and usually displace this guilt by becoming hostile towards others who react negatively or indifferently towards their offspring. This is soon supplanted by a tendency to place the child under strong pressure to become more effective and to earn recognition. Many parents are very protective of the [U] child while at the same time they are quite aggressive (and even hostile) because he lacks social versatility and social adaptability.

Fundamentally, the primitive [U] child has experience at a very early age with rejection and hostility. If he is a primitive [E], he responds to interaction early in life. Even though the primitive [ERU] child enjoys attention, recognition and interaction, he meets with more resistance, negativism and rejection than acceptance, warmth and support. He learns either to modify his behavior or to adapt it. At first, this is most likely to take the form of negativism and aggression. Social bewilderment (i.e. an inability to understand what is expected of him) is a prime characteristic of the primitive [U] child. Specifically, the primitive [U] infant is socially responsive and socially imitative but, since he is not role versatile, is likely to be inept, inadequate and, in extreme instances, ludicrous.

The primitive [U] infant will show frustration (or bewilderment) when expected to display social versatility; he will show anger when punished or misunderstood and will show fear when removed from familiar surroundings and placed in new situations.

The [ERU] child begins life as an externally oriented, imitative but perseverating, socially inept individual. Regardless of his Normal Level, his maturation rate will be considered erratic, for even though he learns behavioral activities quickly, he appears inefficient and somewhat awkward. He will demand considerable attention but will receive at worst rejection and humiliation and at best attention deriving more from a sense of responsibility or pity than from genuine affection and warmth. He will, in return, either learn to curb his demands for attention or else develop indirect ways of receiving it. He will be relatively vulnerable to many early childhood trauma. For example, separation from his mother could be relatively traumatic because the chances are greater that he will move from a comfortable environment in which the involvement stems from a deep sense of responsibility to one which might be either hostile or indifferent. Although he has the ability to make rapid and effective emotional involvements with others, the chances of genuine reciprocation are not good. Toilet training, as such, would likely be a problem. First, because his preoccupation (or perseveration) with his own and others' toilet functions (or genitals) would be unusually objectionable and disturbing to his parents or others, resulting in severe punishment or rejection. Second, because of its intensity, the reaction precipitated by his toilet habits may become an early indirect means of gaining attention. Acquisition of language would be rapid, for initially, he would have considerable need to communicate with others. This, coupled with his need to be understood, might actually result in more rapid acquisition of language by the [ERU] than by any other primitive group. Depending on his intelligence, he would not only learn vocabulary or languages efficiently but also would learn to communicate with any group with whom he was out of contact. [ERU]s with low or barely average intelligence would experience considerable frustration, because their need to learn language would be greater than their ability. Many in this group would either over-achieve in language (resulting in tendencies towards pedantry, malapropisms and word salads) or, defensively, would become overly taciturn and monosyllabic.

The primary factors that may be traumatic for the [ERU] child include (1) growing up in a socially active, gregarious group where he runs a good chance of being overlooked, ignored, slighted and misunderstood (e.g. as an only child in a socially isolated family he may be the center of attention and the recipient of considerable understanding, while as one child in a large family he may be neglected, and thus develop negativism and hostility towards his parents and siblings); (2) strong curtailment of his activeness and expressiveness (e.g. thwarting or overcontrolling his movements). This is frequently the lot of the [ERU] because of the "objectionable" quality of his activity. Since, as an [R], he perseverates an objectionable activity, he may be punished severely. This results in frustration and anger, usually precipitated as negativism or defensiveness; and (3) threatening or disturbing already established involvements (an emotional involvement once made is very important to him and any threat to it is personally dangerous). The [ERU] child is often very possessive of his mother, for example, and jealous and hostile regarding her relations with others, including members of the family.

The [ERU] child requires considerable direction and patience. The primary liability of the adjustment is that initially the individual achieves so much satisfaction out of each stage of his development, he must be forced, quite literally, to move on to the next stage. Unlike the [ERA], the [ERU] child does not appear to do so well that he is left alone to enjoy his perseveration. Guidance and direction are given for a longer period in order to achieve compliance and competence. As a result, the child gets lots of attention (which he enjoys) in the early stages of learning but this is quickly replaced by impatience and dissatisfaction. By the time the child is ready to be left alone to perseverate, he is forced to move on to a new stage of development and the pattern of pressure begins again. The learning experience of the [ERU], then, is frequently emotion ladened, high pressured and oppressive. Anxiety and tension are produced early, and much of the [ERU]'s subsequent development is colored by this experience. In addition, the child (being [R]) is prone to bewilderment. As he grows older and develops more understanding, he is frequently bombarded with accusations of being "different" from other children and is strongly forced into becoming more conforming and conventional. A major drive, then, for [ERU] children is to find a pattern of behavior that will gain acceptance or recognition or both. A major irony of fate is that the [ERU] is early subjected to strong discipline when probably he would adapt better (at least as a child) if handled with patience and understanding.

The [ERU] reacts to his rejection and indifference by seeking either to escape his cultural sub-milieu or to over-achieve in some highly acceptable aspect of his sub-milieu. Productive ambition derived from jealousy and rejection; precision derived from bewilderment and forced repetition of actions; and a genuine sense of justice derived from experience with injustice and misunderstanding are not unusual characteristics of the adult [ERU]. It is also possible for the [ERU] group to produce bitter, paranoid personalities; bewildered, inferiority-ridden individuals; and hostile, aggressive anti-social beings.

Elementary school may or may not be a crisis for the [ERU]. The [ERU] who has made an adaptation to home and family but who feels anxious with outsiders will find the new environment antagonistic and traumatic. The [ERU] who is still seeking acceptance will find the new experience exciting because it represents a new and indirect means to get acceptance and recognition. In the first grades of school he may be overactive, demanding and aggressive. He probably (depending on intelligence) achieves quite well -- particularly in reading or activities. However, he will demand so much of the teacher's time and attention she will be forced to become punitive and rejecting. In other words, the [ERU] child's group or social adjustment will be questioned and he will be put under strong pressure to conform. Generally speaking, those with high intelligence will do well academically, but in many instances they will be more oriented to get acceptance from the teacher than from their peers. A common characteristic, then, of many [ERU] children is a tendency to over-achieve intellectually, usually at the expense of peer adjustment. Some [ERU]s, however, may be oriented more to gain peer acceptance and will over-achieve in developing some peer-acceptable role, often at the expense of teacher acceptance. As they grow older, the [ERU] s of this group often develop physical prowess and may become excellent athletes. Most grade school bullies tend to be [ERU] s demanding recognition. In any event, there is a general tendency for the [ERU] to specialize early in some type of activity to gain recognition.

In spite of this tendency towards achievement, the [ERU] is regarded as a behavior problem and is the target of considerable rejection and hostility. The [ERU] can rarely -- if ever -- develop an expedient pseudo-maturity. He must always over-prove his ability to read, or his ability to play ball, or his ability to assume responsibility. As a result, he does develop skills but this is usually accompanied with resentment towards those who seem to achieve recognition without earning it, and towards those who give this recognition without proper proof. Jealousy, contempt, aggressiveness, defensiveness, competitiveness and suspiciousness are all usually more prominent in the [ERU], but these traits, it should be recognized, can be enabling as well as disabling.