Character Profile : Monica Geller from F.R.I.E.N.D.

Oishi Pal

Department of Social Sciences (Psychology and English), Christ (Deemed to be

University)

PSY 201-2 : Personality and Individual Differences

Jojo Chacko Epen and Jesline Rose Joshi

April 8th, 2024

Character: MONICA GELLER from Friends

Monica Geller, one of the six protagonists of the popular American television sitcom,
Friends, is a woman navigating through the challenges and demands of adulthood. She is
a passionate woman of extroverted nature and has complex personality characteristics
that are portrayed through her interactions, behavior and experiences. Her relationship
with her parents (Jack and Judy Geller), her brother (Ross Geller), her friends (Rachel,
Chandler, Joey, Phoebe) as well as with the people involved in her love life, portray
diverse aspects of Monica's personality and character.

Monica Geller can be assessed using personality, learning and intelligence theories to
analyze and understand her character in depth.

Learning Theories:

1. Observational Learning Theory - Albert Bandura

(Monica’s compulsive behaviors)

Monica Geller’s character trait and habit of compulsive behaviors can be studied
through the observational learning theory given by Albert Bandura. According to
his theory an individual either imitates or learns from the behaviors of a certain
model individual. This process of imitation or modeling consists of four processes:
attention, retention, reproduction, motivation (Feldman, 2019).
Monica Geller’s mother Judy Geller is seen in several episodes to complain and be
bothered if any small detail of organizing an event is not carried out correctly. She
also needs things to be her way always which is what we see in Monica’s behavior
as well. To confirm this connection, Ross says “You are mom” when Monica is
surprised at the realization of her compulsive urge to keep the green ottoman
exactly where she had previously placed it.
It is possible that Monica picked up this behavior from her mother. She doesn't
exhibit other symptoms of OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) which is why
the possibility of her compulsive organizing and cleanliness originating from
modeling has more possibility.
Personality Theories

1) Alfred Adler - Individual Psychology [Birth Order, Inferiority]

(Second/Youngest child, Inferiority Complex)

Inferiority and Parenting: Monica's experience lines up with the Adlerian concept
of childhood inferiority arising from neglectful parents. Her brother Ross always
received more attention which is repetitively reinforced throughout the TV show.
Hence, applying the Adlerian theory Monica exhibits aggression drive to
compensate for the inferiority feeling.

Personality Type: Monica exhibits the Adlerian “Ruling Type” with an intense
energy and tendency to dominate decisions in the friend group.

Birth Order: The Adlerian characteristics of the youngest child and the second
born child match Monica's experience and behavior. She feels inferior to her
brother as he set the benchmark for achievements. She was constantly compared to
Ross which made her feel like she was not as good as him. Ross is often referred
to by their father Jack Geller as “a miracle” because the birth had lots of medical
complications. This added to Monica's feeling of not being worthy enough.

2) Psychodynamic Approach - Sigmund Freud

(Freudian coping mechanisms, conflict with mother and imitation of mother)

Defense Mechanisms: Monica’s use of sublimation is an interesting aspect of her

character. Her inferiority feelings clearly create an urge to dominate (later
discussed under Karen Horney). Since she cannot openly exhibit her dominating
urge, it creates anxiety which she tries to cope with by expressing the domination
in a more acceptable manner through her job preference. She is seen to vent her
dominating urges in the job position of a chef where she gets to instruct and assert
control over the others working under her.

Psychosexual stages: In the Freudian phallic stage, electra complex arises in girls
which is characterized by attractions towards the father and hatred for the mother.
Monica's tendency to imitate her mother (As discussed in Observation Learning)
also aligns with the Freudian idea that girls tend to mirror their mother to secure
the affection of the father.
 3) Carl Roger - Humanistic Theory

Monica never received unconditional positive regard in her childhood. She

constantly had to prove herself to receive validation from her parents while she
always felt like Ross received unconditional love. Even in her social experience,
she had to face bullying and criticism due to her obesity. Conditional positive
regard leads to incongruence and difficulty in reaching one's full potential.
Monica's struggle in her working sphere reflects this difficulty.

4) Karen horney

This theory can be used to describe the “basic anxiety” that Monica must have
experienced as she didn't receive enough love. Horney's “aggressive style” of
coping with basic aggression and anxiety aligns with Monica's traits of trying to
assert dominance.

5) Type A and Type B

Monica exhibits characteristics of Type A personality. She is a perfectionist who

often gets very stressed when things don't go in an orderly way. She is highly
organized in all spheres of her life. She is prone to get anxious when there is a lot
to handle and manage. We see this when she cooks for Thanksgiving dinner and
during Halloween. She tends to shout at people and get very hyper when she is
stressed and under pressure.

Intelligence Theories:

1) Daniel Goleman - Emotional Intelligence Theory

Monica Geller would score high on the Emotional Intelligence scale. This
statement can be backed using this theory and its five components.

Monica is very good at self regulation as she is seen to be emotionally mature

knowing when to express what emotions. For example, in season 1, episode 3,
Ross finds out that their dog chichi had died long back and that he had not been
 sent to live on a farm (which is the lie that had been told to Ross to save him from
the distress). Monica is seen to know already. This shows that their parents knew
Monica despite being younger could handle the difficult news unlike Ross. This
displays the presence of a good sense of emotional regulation.

Monica always showed immense motivation in her work sphere. She possesses the
inner drive and strength to strive to flourish in her job despite facing setbacks.

In the episode mentioned previously where Ross finds out about chichi, Monica is
very understanding towards Ross. Her empathy is clearly portrayed. We also see
that whenever Rachel or Phoebe is in distress, Monica is the first to comfort them
and hear them out.

Monica also displays strong social skills. She is the character who we see
communicating healthily about issues.

Monica's self awareness however might not be that strong. Often she requires
others to point out things about her character for her to realize it.

However the strong presence of the other qualities confirm her emotional
intelligence.

These psychological theories are tools that can help conceptualize and understand
Monica Geller's complex character.
References

Feldman, Robert S.. (2019). Understanding Psychology, 14th ed. (14). New York:
McGraw Hill Education.

Weiten, W. (2001). Psychology: Themes and variations (5th ed.).