Psychological Analysis of “Joe” Character in “You” Series

Joe Goldberg; getting obsessed with certain women, ‘stalking’ them, somehow gaining their attention and getting them believed to be unfair A character with killing behaviors.

Despite all his terrible behavior and crimes, Joe character manages to impress even the on-screen audience with his charm. psychology experts even intrigued. For those who do not know what the series is about, let’s take a quick look at its subject before moving on to how it is evaluated psychologically.

The plot of the series “You”, which reached a large audience in a short time:

‘You’, based on the novel by Caroline Kepnes published in 2014, is an American psychological tension type of television series.

Joe, the narrator and main character of the series, obsesses about the women he meets somewhere. full of manipulations He commits murders while putting him in a “love” circle.

Joe Goldberg’s character does not fall under the category of ‘psychopath’ in psychology.

“Psychopath” is the colloquial name for antisocial personality disorder. Generally their behavior to social norms and is used to describe a person who challenges traditional notions of right/wrong. But according to mental health experts, Goldberg’s mental health is more complex than a single label.

According to Pamela Rutledge, a social scientist who studies the intersection of media, human behavior, and neuroscience, there is only one thing for Goldberg. sanity One reason it’s hard to pinpoint its status is that “You” was created for television.

The fact that she looks so attractive signals narcissism.

Rutledge for Goldberg “It seems like a mix of abnormal levels of personality traits built to create a good story and to create a character that, despite killing people, evokes a certain amount of empathy in the audience. Few people act that way in real life.” says.

From the moment Joe Goldberg was first introduced to the audience extremely attractive His appearance also indicates that he may be a narcissist.

We come across with different personality disorders in different seasons.

While Goldberg showed signs of antisocial personality disorder, narcissism and interdependence in season 1, in season 2; to past traumas By experiencing flashbacks, he indicates that he actually has an attachment disorder.

There are two most obvious diagnoses for Joe.

According to the National Institutes of Health, people with antisocial personality disorder lack empathy and, as a result, rely on others to get what they want. manipulating Or they may act in ways that society deems morally unsound, such as violating someone else’s privacy.

According to the Mayo Clinic, people with narcissistic personality disorder typically experience low to mask self-esteem has an inflated sense of self-importance and a lack of empathy for others, which are the mechanisms used.

It contains signs of antisocial personality disorder and narcissism.

In some ways, Goldberg embodies both situations because a person for doing injustice He always resorts to violence when he believes.

For example, in season 1, Beck’s girlfriend, whom he was obsessed with, hit him on the head, locked her in a glass box, and killed him a few days later. In the following chapters, Beck’s best friend’s relationship from interfering He also killed her because she didn’t like it.

Therapist Kelly Scott said that Goldberg’s all this disgusting and illegal acts He said that he acted without remorse and that he did it for his own benefit, which can be defined as antisocial personality disorder.

According to some experts, the diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder is inappropriate.

According to Scott, Goldberg’s violence was not because he lacked empathy and had antisocial personality disorder. his turbulent childhood develops with attachment disorder.

Some scenes, like the season 2 scene where Joe looks devastated after learning that his landlord has been murdered, are some scenes where Goldberg really does. have empathy and therefore proves that he does not have antisocial personality disorder.

He is sickly dependent on someone.

According to Rutledge, Goldberg’s obsession with the tendency to harm or kill those close to them is, sickly It also shows that he is dependent on someone.

People who are severely dependent on each other have the ability to control and control their spouse or dependent. rather than having their own identity They tend to define themselves according to their relationships with their spouses.

insecure-anxious attachment

In season 2, he delves deeper into Goldberg’s past and uncovers clues that he actually has an attachment problem. in psychology “insecure-anxious attachment” There is a very high probability that it has the type of binding referred to as

The person with this attachment type adopts a needy and clingy role in their relationship. The character of Joe also focuses his whole mind on his partner and as a threat it detects. When a negative situation occurs between him and his partner, he panics and starts to give unhealthy reactions.

We can catch clues that he has a “disliking schema”.

Due to traumatic events in his childhood “Love Chart” Joe, who develops his own life, is losing faith that he will always be loved. In order to get rid of this dislike, he approaches women in an obsessive manner with the method of “overcompensation”, perceiving everyone around them as a threat and killing them.

A must, “mommy issues”

Scott continues his analysis of Joe’s character:

“Unresponsive to their needs, inconsistent and untrustworthy was attached to his mother. His mother abused and neglected him. That’s why, later in life, Goldberg becomes obsessively attached to women he believes can give him what he needs and is motivated by the idea of ​​getting love.”