Seinfeld Offered Insight Into Personality and Defenses

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It's been said that the comedy Seinfeld, “a show about nothing,” relates to everything. If you know, you know. But aside from fans' silly references to certain episodes, Seinfeld is actually relevant to learning about psychology.

The personalities

Perhaps best known is that the main characters of Jerry, Elaine, George, and Kramer are built around personality disturbances. While I’d never suggest learning to diagnose disorders from TV characters, viewers get a good look at chief features of narcissistic, histrionic, dependent/passive-aggressive, and schizotypal personalities of the aforementioned characters, respectively.

In a nutshell, Jerry displays narcissism in often showing little empathy for others, he can be self-absorbed and flaunt his financial status. Elaine, true to a histrionic profile portrays a damsel in distress, is excessively flirty and dramatic, especially with the opposite sex, can have a penchant for being the center of attention, and seems more interested in the chase than sustaining any romantic relationship.

George’s dependent character might be the most “textbook” of all. He exhibits fear of rejection/abandonment, requires constant approval, has inordinate struggles with assertiveness, is very sensitive to criticism, and has an exceedingly poor self-image. George also demonstrates passive-aggressive characteristics in that he will hold grudges and sabotage others to get back at them instead of constructively resolving conflicts, talk about others behind their backs, holds grudges, and will vacillate between a contrite demeanor in the face of conflict or sometimes exploding. This particular mixed personality pathology is not uncommon. Readers are invited to read Understanding the Passive-Aggressive Personality for more details.

Finally, Kramer might be best described as a high-functioning caricature of a schizotypal personality given his odd/eccentric demeanor and tendency for unusual thought processes and behaviors. He also is never “in the real world,” and seems to live a sort of fantasy life; schizotypal people are very internalized and live a separate reality of sorts. He departs significantly from actual schizotypy in that he is very social and often shows emotions.

Defenses

The show is rich with examples of psychological defense mechanisms, albeit sometimes absurd illustrations. Some examples we see portrayed include:

• Moralization: This is justification of an action based on it being the morally correct thing to do. Moralization is illustrated when, during a child’s birthday party George is at, a small grease fire breaks out in the kitchen, smoking up the house. He runs out ahead, pushing everyone down. Later, he said he did it because he knew he had to be the leader getting people out, and explained he put himself in danger to lead them to safety, but received only criticism for his heroic effort.
• Rationalization: This defense is when a seemingly logical, justifiable explanation is given to protect self-esteem. When Kramer got a call back from the bagel shop he was laid off from many years before, Jerry said, “Why didn’t you ever mention this?” Kramer responded, “Jerry, I didn’t want you to know I was out of work. It’s embarrassing!”
• Reaction formation: This defense is when a person unconsciously replaces an uncomfortable thought or feeling with its opposite to make it more bearable. When George became engaged, Elaine was very jealous, saying George was a loser and saying she should be the one getting engaged. When George entered the room, however, she dramatically threw her arms around him and expressed how happy she was for him.
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  Source: LML6768
• Regression: Here, a person regresses to an earlier time in life, to something or sometime where they felt taken care of and secure. George, who constantly needs to see that people care or that he is approved, entered the hospital for an alleged heart attack. His friends all arrived, showing he mattered. When the doctor said he hadn't had a heart attack, but there was something else they wanted to examine (tonsils), before the doctor could say what it was, George panicked and exclaimed, "Oh God! Mommy!" like a little child begging for rescue in a scary situation.
• Splitting: The hallmark of splitting is over-idealizing and undervaluing people. Someone will go from “this person will make all my dreams come true,” to, at the first sign of them not being ideal, devaluing them and pushing them away. Its an effort not to end up somehow hurt because it seems the person can no longer deliver or is on their side. Jerry often engaged in splitting with his girlfriends. He would see the world in them, but upon noticing some flaw, became disgusted and ended the relationship. This is fitting for narcissists in that they feel someone less than perfect can damage their image.
• Undoing: Undoing is a corrective sort of defense, whereby one attempts to “erase” a situation they, for instance, felt bad about, by taking an opposing action. When Elaine ordered a special pencil for her boss, the stationary store manager took a shine to her and would not stop calling. She went and got a pencil elsewhere to avoid him. When he called and said it was in, Elaine went to the store to say she didn’t need it. The stationer appeared crestfallen, and she apologized profusely, to which the stationer replied, “Yeah, well then how about going out with me tonight?” Elaine accepted, later explaining to Jerry she felt so guilty she couldn’t say no, thus “undoing” her guilt.

Source: LML6768

Given the characters’ degree of pathology, they were ripe with defenses, albeit often absurd, but nonetheless illustrative, and helped make the show humorous whenever the characters were interacting.

If you notice yourself or someone you know in any of above, don’t worry. One needn’t have major personality disturbances to have defenses. The term “being defensive” sounds pejorative, but they’re unavoidable and we exhibit some at some point. When a defense is in constant use, like splitting, it can become very disruptive for relationships and indicate more pervasive issues. Jerry’s relationships without splitting wouldn’t be very funny, for example, but outside of TV land, it can be unbearable for everyone involved.

So, once again Seinfeld, highlighting defense mechanisms, proves itself universally applicable. For good primers on recognizing defenses, how they evolve in us and perhaps how to work with them once noticed, readers will be interested in Why Do I Do That? Psychological Defense Mechanisms and the Hidden Ways They Shape Our Lives by Joseph Burgos, Ph.D., or Protecting the Self: Defense Mechanisms in Action, by Phebe Cramer, Ph.D.

Disclaimer: The material provided in this post is for informational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any illness in readers or people they know. The information should not replace personalized care or intervention from an individual’s provider or formal supervision if you’re a practitioner or student.