IndexThe character of Squidward through the lens of Maslow's theorySquidward's traits in the Big Five modelSummary and reflectionsI chose Squidward from SpongeBob Squarepants to make an analysis of the psychological theory. Squidward is one of the main characters on the Nickelodeon show. Squidward is portrayed as a short-tempered, impetuous, cunning, selfish, lazy, conceited, cynical, and incredibly unwelcoming octopus on the show. He hates his neighbors for their noisy and annoying behavior and likes to be left alone in the house without noise. Squidward works at the Krusty Krab as a cashier, which he despises. Squidward lives his entire life in a constant state of pain and agony because he desperately wants to become a celebrity or an artist with hair and wealth. He has a passion for playing the clarinet, but he is not good at it. Squidward doesn't talk much about his family and considers himself misunderstood by the people who live in bikinis and blame society for his failures. He also has an arch-enemy from high school who took away his life goal and has always had disgust towards him since that was supposed to be Squidward. This plays an important role in his personality as he always has to prove to him that he is doing much better, which is why he always tries to improve his ability to achieve success. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The Character of Squidward Through the Lens of Maslow's Theory The theory that I think best describes Squidward in the humanistic approach is Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Squidward has met the physiological needs to be able to live alone and be independent and this has allowed him to move up the hierarchy where he gains security. He has the security of defense of the body, work, morality, family, health and property. This allowed him to move to where he remained for most of his life. He doesn't have a relationship with his family now and because of that he wants that love which is why he is so detached when SpongeBob and Patrick pay attention to him as this is not the attention he wants but from his family. He was very spoiled and loved as a child, but now as an adult he barely talks to any of his family. Therefore, it is stuck in this place in the hierarchy. According to the Hierarchy he is unable to achieve esteem and self-realization because he has failed to achieve love and belonging to it. This leads to failure to satisfy needs lower in the hierarchy which produces a larger problem called deficiency needs. This is what Squidward shows as he lacks the confidence to know that he can indeed be a famous clarinetist, but he doesn't practice properly. He thinks everything he does is perfect but it's not. This is where his growth stops as he is stuck at the level of love/belonging. Since he is no longer achieving levels, he uses it as a reason to act out and pretend to achieve self-actualization. According to the author, “If you can perceive the world accurately and without neurotic distortion, and if you take responsibility for your choices, then you become what Rogers called a fully functioning person, living what existentialists would call a authentic existence – except that the fully functioning person is happy.” This refers to Squidward as he is trying to reach this point where he is normal and is able to achieve his goals, but is failing due to the fact that he is stuck at a level that is causing his motivation to lower and resist him from moving forward , causing him to lose focus on what he wanted to do. This is where he started to lose motivation on thejob and started thinking only about what he wanted to do, leading him to constantly think about playing the clarinet or practicing at work when he should have been working as a cashier. According to the author: “So it is crucial that employees go that extra mile and apply their own initiative and imagination to the organization's goals.” This is what Squidward is not doing as he tries to be an independent person who doesn't need love or support, that's why he always tries to play his clarinet to make himself known in public so he can become famous. For him, he doesn't need anyone to help him get to where he needs to be, but due to the fact that he hasn't gotten to where he needs to be, he starts to get very irritated showing signs of neuroticism. This explains why he doesn't have many friends or people who support him because he wants to move forward to get where he wants but can't. This is because he tries to act like he doesn't need friends when he feels very lonely and acts crazy when he is around SpongeBob but still enjoys his company but tries to keep it hidden. Squidward Traits in the Big Five Model Another theory, I think the best description of Squidward in the traits approach is the Big Five model. He would score low on extroversion as he doesn't like being around people. He does not have an affectionate, excitement-seeking, dominant and optimistic, ambitious demeanor. He simply pretends that he has the potential to achieve his goals but has not been able to achieve them as if he were famous. He also reacts much more than a normal person to sensory stimuli. For example, when his archenemy came to visit him, Squidward had to prove he was just as successful by lying that he owned a restaurant. According to the text, “But introverts react more quickly and more strongly to strong, bright, or exciting stimuli – or, even, harsh tastes. These reactions lead them to withdraw – the crowds, noise and excitement are just too much – and exhibit the pattern of behavior.” This shows that this represents Squidward the most as he always tries to stay away from people as he doesn't like interacting with people and likes to be left alone in a quiet area with no one. Squidward would also score very high on the neuroticism scale as Squidward is very awkward and hostile. Squidward has difficulty trying to use effective problem-solving skills with SpongeBob as he doesn't know how to deal with people since he's never had many friends. According to the text, “People who score high on this characteristic tend to deal ineffectively with problems in their lives and react more negatively to stressful events.” This ties in very well with Squidward as he has the inability to deal with problems as he goes crazy when SpongeBob or Patrick annoy him or if he sees his archenemy, Squilliam Fancyson, stressing him out causing him to react negatively and very aggressively as they cause him a lot of stress . This is because he considers it the epitome of the success he is trying to achieve. He also doesn't react well to SpongeBob and Patrick when they stress him because he starts going crazy and starts reacting in abnormal ways towards them since they are too loud for Squidward to handle. Squidward would most likely score low on conscientiousness since he comes to work at the Krusty Krab all the time, doesn't like working there, and doesn't have the qualities to be a cashier since he isn't very inviting of a person. According to the author, "This trait has other downsides: Highly conscientious people tend to feel guilty when they don't live up to expectations." This relates to Squidward since.