Psych 150 - Analyzing Personalities: Film Character Analysis

UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES - VISAYAS

PSYCH 150: THEORIES OF PERSONALITY

THE GRINCH BALORIA | SOGO-AN | VILLAMOR | ZEE

Group 6: Abraham Maslow’s Theory

brief CONTENTS Introduction Physiological Needs Safety and Security Needs Love and Belongingness Needs Esteem Needs Self-Actualization Jonah Complex Peak Experience Aesthetic Needs Neurotic Needs Cognitive Needs Strength of the Theory Weaknesses of the Theory Conclusion References

TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction The Who? The Grinch Origins of the Character Film Adaptations Why Does The Grinch Hates Christmas?

How The Grinch Climbed The Hierarchy of Needs First Step: Physiological Needs Was The Grinch Surviving?

Second Step: Safety and Security Needs Did The Grinch Feel Safe and Secure?

Third Step: Love and Belongingness Needs How Was The Grinch’s Interpersonal Relationships?

Fourth Step: Esteem Needs How Did The Grinch Feel About Himself?

Fifth Step: Self-Actualization Needs Did The Grinch Get The W? Jonah Complex Does Mr. Grinch Run Away?

Peak Experience Does He Reach The Peak?

Aesthetic Needs Neurotic Needs Cognitive Needs Strengths of Abraham Maslow’s Theory in The Grinch’s Story Weaknesses of Abraham Maslow’s Theory in The Grinch Story Conclusion References

The who?

The Grinch The Grinch has a complex character with a distinct personality. He is considered an antisocial, shorttempered, grumpy, and mean-spirited creature who bullies and antagonizes the citizens of Whoville. The Grinch is known for his distinctive green appearance and mischievous grin.

origins of the character The Grinch was created by Dr. Seuss and was first introduced to the world in an illustrated poem in 1995 called "The Hoobub and The Grinch. Two years later, Dr. Seuss began to work on the very first adaptation of the character in an animated film called "How The Grinch Stole Christmas!" which aired in the year 2000.

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FILM ADAPTATIONS In the very first film adaptation, the story revolved around the tale of the Grinch, who devised a plan to steal Christmas decorations, presents, and food from the Who community to stop them from celebrating the holiday because he found the way the Whoville citizens celebrate Christmas to be very loud and disturbing. Also, since he did not understand how the holiday is supposed to be enjoyable, he wanted to "teach the Who people a lesson" by taking away all things Christmasrelated. However, on Christmas morning, when he saw the Who people seemingly unaffected by the absence of the things he stole, he realized that Christmas was not about the material things, but the love they had for each other. His heart, which at first was two-sizes too small, then grew three-sizes more.

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WHY DOES THE GRINCH HATE CHRISTMAS? In the original poem, the closest reasons Dr. Seuss provided as to why the Grinch was grumpy about the holiday was that it might be that "his shoes were too tight or his head was not correctly screwed, or perhaps it is because his heart was two sizes too small". On the other hand, in the 2018 adaptation which was simply called "The Grinch", the movie provided another explanation as to why he hates Christmas. In the most recent adaptation, they showed that the reason why the Grinch hated Christmas was because he was left in the cold as an infant while the rest of the town was celebrating a delightful Christmas.

He never felt parental warmth and love.

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HOW THE GRINCH CLIMBED THE HIERARCHY OF NEEDS In this character analysis, we will look at the anatomy of The Grinch’s character to unfold significant explanations behind The Grinch’s personality and social behaviors, and evaluate them using Abraham Maslow’s psychological concepts.

FIRST STEP: PHYSIOLOGICAL NEEDS Was The Grinch Surviving?

Maslow defined physiological needs as the most basic needs of any person. This includes food, water, oxygen, maintenance of body temperature, and so on.

Based on this, we can say that The Grinch’s physiological needs were satisfied since he was not shown to have issues acquiring these things.

The cave provides warmth and a feeling of home where he can sleep comfortably and do things that he wants to do for his survival. Access to food and water were also satisfied even though his diet was far from ideal.

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SECOND STEP: SAFETY AND SECURITY NEEDS

Did The Grinch Feel Safe and Secure?

Safety needs, according to Maslow, include a sense of security, stability, dependency, and protection from threatening forces. The Grinch had his sense of security partially satisfied in the cave of Mount Campit where he was away from people, and no one could cause him harm. However, living in a cave does not fully satisfy his safety needs because living at the top of the Mountain can be very cold and the weather is a little more dramatic (e.g., strong winds, heavy rains, etc.).

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THIRD STEP: LOVE AND BELONGINGNESS How Was The Grinch’s Interpersonal Relationships?

(HINT: NOT GOOD)

Love and belongingness includes the aspects of the emotional needs of humans for interpersonal relationships, affiliation and connection to others, and being part of a group.

It is evident in the first part of the movie that the Grinch did not achieve this level as he lacked a sense of belongingness from his community, and also did not feel loved by anyone. This was explained through the fact that he was an orphan, has been isolated for 53 years, and was excluded from the Who community which built his resentment and bitterness towards them. Additionally, this need was met at the final act of the film when Cindy Lou (the young girl) invited him to join them (the Whos) for Christmas dinner. Despite all he had done to them, the residents of Whoville kept showing him love and making him appear to be a part of the community.

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FOURTH STEP: ESTEEM NEEDS How Did The Grinch Feel About Himself?

(NO, REALLY. WHAT DO YOU THINK??)

Maslow's esteem needs include the need for self-confidence and respect for others. The Grinch was infamous for being antisocial, hated hanging out with the Whos, and disdained them for their devotion to and celebration of Christmas. His goal of taking the Whos' Christmas succeeded, which made him feel fulfilled.

However, it does not meet Grinch's esteem demands at first because he has no respect for anyone. As the film unfolds, he is able to meet his esteem needs, gaining self-respect and respect for others as the Whos make him feel loved and a part of the community.

Moreover, it was not explicitly shown in the adaptations nor in the original poem, so the Grinch’s satisfaction for his esteem needs is up for discussion and open for debate. One can say that since he had successfully felt love and belongingness among his peers, this could have caused his self-esteem to also improve and be satisfied. If his esteem is solely dependent on the Whoville citizens accepting and loving him, Maslow’s theory predicts that he would go back to longing for love and belongingness once again if the people resort back to teasing and isolating him. On the other hand, one can argue that just because the Grinch has achieved satisfaction for his love and belongingness needs, that does not necessarily mean that his esteem needs are automatically satisfied, too.

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FIFTH STEP: SELF-ACTUALIZATION NEEDS Did The Grinch Get The W? The last level is the self-actualization which represents one's potential and personal growth.

Although the Grinch did not reach the B-values criteria needed for self-actualization, his journey throughout the story can be considered as a path toward selfactualization.

He showed goodness by giving back the presents he stole and celebrating Christmas with the Whoville citizens.

He clearly demonstrated certain aspects needed for self-actualization but failed to acquire the others such as a sense of justice.

Lastly, the enlargement of his heart was not completely the acquisition of various self-actualization criteria because he only developed empathy towards the Who community, and not necessarily self-actualization itself.

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Jonah Complex Does Mr. Grinch run away?

The Jonah complex is the dread of succeeding or reaching the heights of one's abilities. Having a difficult time with chances to pursue self-actualization (Jonah Complex, n.d.). It was illustrated in the movie, The Grinch, in which he doubts that he will relish the Christmas season the way the Who citizens did. He never imagined himself building an interpersonal relationship with others, celebrating Christmas, and even accepting his faulty action of attempting to steal Christmas for it is the opposite of his behavioral tendencies.

Overcoming the Jonah Complex can result in more chances of having numerous peak experiences for an individual that may lead to self-contentment, selfawareness, and character development.

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peak experience Does he reach the highest peak?

A stage where one feels in harmony with oneself and their surroundings is called a peak experience. One of Mr. Grinch's notable peak experiences is the overwhelming satisfaction he felt when he successfully stole all Christmasrelated tangible items from 228 houses in the 2018 movie adaptation despite dealing with numerous struggles and hurdles. His covetous smile was depicted while thinking that the spirit of Christmas is dependent on decorations and presents. This was also demonstrated when he realized that the true meaning of Christmas is not about the materialistic things such as presents and decorations but rather it is more about the love, togetherness, and joy of being with loved ones. It was cartoonishly shown with his heart growing three sizes

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Aesthetic needs The Grinch's aesthetic needs were fully satisfied throughout the movie. The overall design and structure of the Grinch’s house in the 2018 movie adaptation was aesthetically pleasing. The things inside his house were fully organized and had acquired all the things that he needed for survival.

He also had enough creativity to sew Santa Claus clothes for himself, building an attractive sleigh, and he was also resourceful in providing for Max's reindeer horn.

One of the most remarkable scenes is when he puts every Christmas decoration back in its proper place which he stole on Christmas morning portraying the appreciation for the beautifully pleasing environment filled with various colorful Christmas decorations during the Christmas season.

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neurotic needs The Grinch lived an unhealthy lifestyle where he neither desired nor did not know how to achieve self-actualization. He also has a dominating attitude toward his dog where he overworked it to gain his desires by forcing it to drag the sleigh solely using its strength, then he inflicted pain on it whenever the sleigh was not working. He has a symbiotic relationship with his dog, Max, where he is the one who only benefits, and Max is always viewed as wrong every time the Grinch dislikes his behavior. He also bullies some citizens of Whoville Village for he loathes its pattern of life and way of extravagantly celebrating the whole Christmas season.

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Cognitive Needs The Grinch was curious for 53 years as to why Whoville citizens are delightful during the Christmas season and exert effort and energy with their gifts and performances. He tried to unwrap the mysteries behind it and so he hypothesizes that it may be because of the various hues of Christmas decorations and other material things that they keep celebrating it by exchanging gifts, and singing energetically together while holding their hands shortest to tallest citizens. With the aforementioned curiosity, he had an idea to steal Christmas by stealing any tangible things from 228 houses in the 2018 movie adaptation that perhaps gives light to the holidays.

Cognitive needs are necessary for seeking satisfaction in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs by knowing what certain processes will satisfy his physiological needs and safety needs through building a shelter and securing food which the character knows well. However, The Grinch is not aware of why his heart is void which threatens the achievement of a higher level of the hierarchy of needs such as esteem needs, love and belongingness, and selfactualization.

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Strengths of Abraham Maslow’s Theory in The Grinch’s Story Maslow’s model for the hierarchy of needs is simple and intuitive, as it provides a structured way to understand the needs and motivations of people. We found this concept applicable to the character of the Grinch as he was also motivated by his needs in the story, particularly his need for love and belongingness.

Relating to Maslow’s theory where lower tier needs must first be at least partially satisfied before proceeding to higher tiers, the Grinch had his physiological and safety needs already satisfied, so his whole story revolved around him lashing out to the Whoville citizens because of his underlying need and longing for belongingness from them.

His “happily ever after” ending was with him learning empathy and achieving satisfaction for his love and belongingness needs, as he was shown eating and enjoying Christmas among the Whoville citizens.

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Weaknesses of Abraham Maslow’s Theory in The Grinch’s Story The reflection of Maslow’s theory on the story of the Grinch–in both referenced adaptations and even in the original poem–ends in our protagonist achieving satisfaction for the third tier, though. There were no notable characters in any of the tellings of the story that were shown to be self-actualized, or even working on achieving it. So, we are not sure if the very concept of self-actualization exists in this world. The story seems to peak at satisfying the needs for love and belongingness.

We can consider the fact that the world of the Grinch is not as realistic as what we are experiencing.

In that fictional world, no one was shown to have any issues with acquiring their basic physiological and safety needs, including the Grinch who was abandoned as an infant and was isolated on the top of a mountain as an adult. Yet in our world, the real world, the majority of the world population is struggling to even partially satisfy their physiological needs.

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conclusion Using the psychological concepts of Maslow provides an insightful character analysis of The Grinch especially through the lens of hierarchical needs. The Grinch since the first part of the film was able to satisfy his deficiency needs (physiological and safety needs) and he was able to satisfy his love and belongingness and esteem needs as the movie progresses.

Despite the fact that Grinch was able to partially meet his physiological needs, safety needs, love and belongingness needs, and achieve self-esteem, he did not make it to the level of self-actualization since he was not able to embrace the Bvalues. However, the story highlights his emotional struggles and journey from a place of bitterness, isolation, and low self-esteem to a progression towards self-actualization. The Grinch's story is a heartwarming example of personal development and transformation, demonstrating that even the most isolated and bitter creatures may discover love, belonging, and a sense of purpose.

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REFERENCES Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch – Illumination Entertainment. (n.d.). https://www.illumination.com/movie/dr-seuss-the-grinch/ Feist, G.J., Roberts, T., and Feist, J. (2021). Theories of Personality (10th ed.). McGraw-Hill.

How the Grinch Stole Psychology Class – AP Central | College Board. (n.d.). https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/appsychology/classroom-resources/how-grinch-stole-psychologyclass#) Jonah Complex definition | Psychology Glossary. (n.d.).

AlleyDog.com. https://www.alleydog.com/glossary/definition.php? term=Jonah+Complex Schultz, D. P., & Schultz, S. E. (2017). Theories of personality (11th ed.)

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