Searching for a term, can you assist me?

Deleted by me. However, I am also sure that it is not synchophant (sic).

Grandiosity?

I’d say “histrionic”, except that a histrionic person emotes excessively to both negative and positive stimuli.

Yeah – I was thinking histrionic too.

Agitatee.

In some ways, “hyperbolic” fits the bill.

A Pollyanna always looks on the bright side of life….

Bewildered simpleton?

I was a misleading with politican comment. I think it is more on the opposite side of the spectrum of histronic. I got the impression that the people described lacked social skills. Maybe I am wrong on that though.

Hyperbolic does seem to describe it as I understand it in certain ways.

Lack of grandiosity, possibly stemming from an inferiority complex.

And as a bewildered simpleton they may seem, this won’t help me figure out if my impressions are correct or how to handle this sort of person.

Sounds like what’s known colloquially as an “approval whore”. I don’t know a more clinical term.

It fits with Karen Horney’s compliant personality type.
One of the sub categories is histrionic

Here is David Brooks of the New York Times giving Karen Horney her due in a recent article. He does wonder if we mightn’t be wise to remember the old ways of assessing personality, such as Horney’s theories, when we evaluate presidential candidates. Perhaps that is the connection you remember to politicians?

I asked a therapist friend of mine and he said dependent personality is how they would define it in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
He said that the manual strives to be free of any strictly theoretical frameworks That means, it’s not Freudian or Cognitive or Rogerian….etc. I’m not sure that that really helps our understanding of mental illness or neurosis, but there it is.

Human? Or go with Drama Queen?

@thorninmud Yup, that seems to be it, but in the extreme.

@Earthgirl I really liked the first link about the self effacing person. It wasn’t the term I was failing to recall but what is a label when the concept is the same? I thought it very clear and wonderful presentation.

The others were interesting but and fit to a degree but it didn’t have the Eureka moment I felt with the first.

I appreciate the thought, time and effort you put into your answer.

After following numerous DSM links, @talljasperman, I am beginning to agree with your ‘human’ assessment.

approval junkie…..lurve whore….