Analysis of Gregory House By Becca Kinkoph 6th per. Psychology 4-15-09 In the show, House M. D. , there is an especially difficult doctor whom people cannot help but love despite his unpleasant demeanor. This is Doctor Gregory House. He specializes in diagnosing rare medical anomalies with the help of his team of diagnosticians: Foreman, Chase, and Cameron. House is somewhat a mystery to his team members and everyone else. He is a cynical and bitter medical genius who can sometimes come across as an arrogant jerk. Some of this is due to his drug use (he has acquired an addiction to painkillers) and his leg injury which came about from an incorrect diagnosis. House also possesses an almost O. C. D. like symptom of having to solve his cases. He loves anomalies and puzzles; they make diagnosing almost like a game to him. But when it comes to being right, Dr. House almost never fails. One explanation for this compulsive response is Freud’s second psychosexual stage. This is the anal stage and if Dr.
House’s needs were not met in this stage of his development as a child, it could have resulted in his obsession with solving cases. The Id (source for mental energy) of Dr. House is quite apparent and dominant most of the time. The pleasure principle states that it is going to satisfy the drives of pain with out concern for others. This is exactly what House does, and it is literally his pain which causes him to do so. In one episode, he causes his best and only true friend Dr. Wilson to temporarily lose his ability to write prescriptions and therefore his ability to do his job. House had forged Wilson’s signature to write himself prescriptions for Vicodin. A cop had been snooping around looking for dirt on House whom Wilson even lied for. The cop found probable cause to penalize Wilson, who was just trying to cover for House. Dr. House shows no remorse at all that his only friend Wilson had to quit his job for him. This just shows that Dr. House’s prominent division of his mind is the Id. He does not even try to find socially acceptable ways to satisfy his Id, he simple shows no regard for others.
His superego might as well be nonexistent. House displays many of the defense mechanisms as well. He finds ways to rationalize his drug abuse since he is in pain due to his leg. However, he knows he has a problem and is just in denial. He refuses to address the problem and chooses to ignore it and go along seeking to please his Id. Another explanation for why Dr. House is the way he is could be the Social Cognitive Theory, which states that one’s personality is shaped by environmental learning, cognitive and personal factors, and behaviors. The cognitive factors would be House’s beliefs, values, and expectations. Since House has a pretty bleak outlook on life and a lack of values, this is one reason for why he is the way he is. So basically, it’s just his views on life and since they are pretty sinister and pessimistic, it shows through in his personality such as the bitterness, bluntness, and rudeness. Some of this could be from personal factors as well. In one episode we meet Mom and Dad House.
Genetics can influence personality and we find his mother is relatively normal while his father is a complete jerk. Also, environmental factors such as living with a jerk as a father could be a probable cause for rudeness and bitterness too. When it comes to Type A and Type B behavior, House definitely would be more on the B side of things. He tends to be easier going about things and possibly a bit lazy as well. Sometimes in the show he will hide out in patients’ rooms watching television instead of doing his job. House is a very cynical person or maybe one could just say he is a “realist. ” His outlook on life could be viewed as pessimism, however, he is mainly just brutally honest about things, and even the unfortunate things in life like when a patient may die or suffer severe loss. It is true, Dr. House is a rare character with many interesting traits. We will never truly know why he is the way he is, and yet some of these theories may provide possible explanations as to House behind his rough exterior.
