This page will be divided into two sections. The first part will explore the prevalence of neediness in all 12 seasons of TBBT through Voyant in response to RQ1, while the second part focuses on how neediness influences characterization and the relationship trajectory using season 1 as an example, responding to RQ2.

Neediness as a theme

Through Voyant, corpus research is carried out using the 288 episodes from all 12 seasons of TBBT. Based on the previously gathered keywords and definitions, we chose the following words to illustrate the frequency of neediness in the show: words that denote romantic relationships ("love", "date"), and words that denote sexual relationships to satiate the characters' need for sex ("sexual", "have sex").

Neediness in Characterization

Data Collection

To answer RQ2, we decided to choose 1 season out of the 12 seasons of the show to closely examine the scenes in which neediness is demonstrated and determine what kind of actions are used to characterize neediness. The scope was narrowed to seasons 1-4 as Howard gets married to Bernadette and Leonard's relationship with Penny gets onto track in season 5, thus greatly diminishing the appearance of needy scenes. After a brief skim of the plot synopsis by all members, season 1 was chosen as it contained the highest percentage of episodes with needy elements. The scenes were already divided by the fan transcriber that uploaded them on the website, but researchers double-checked as they were collecting the data. The total number of all scenes and needy scenes were counted to provide a percentage of the neediness theme. 

Both quantitative and qualitative data were obtained during the data collection process. Quantitative metadata included the scene number, the people involved in the needy relationship (coined "the needer" for the one exhibiting neediness behavior and "the needed" for the one receiving), the relationship status, and the category of the needy action. We divided four relationship statutes to describe the dynamic between "the needer" and "the needed": 

1. Dating: The two individuals are officially in a relationship of “boyfriend-girlfriend” or “bed partners”.

2. Chasing: The two individuals are not officially in a romantic relationship but may be in a sexual relationship. “The needer” actively exhibits behaviors of advancement with a clear goal of a relationship in mind (i.e. asking someone out) which the viewers recognize but are not necessarily recognized or acknowledged by “the needed”.

3. Simping: The two individuals are not officially in a romantic relationship but may be in a sexual relationship. “The needer” could be involved in secret exhibitions of his affection towards “the needed” in situations without “the needed’s” presence, such as imaginations or declarations in private. “The needer” could also be exhibiting casual and mostly passive flirtatious behavior due to sexual attraction rather than for the goal of dating.

4. Rejected: The two individuals used to be in one or many of the previous stages but clear rejection was issued either by “the needed” or external forces such as parents. Neither side is restarting the relationship or involved in any romantic or sexual attempts at the moment.

Furthermore, categories describing the type of neediness behavior done by the characters were generated. 

1. Active Imagination: "the needer" imagining a future with "the needed" on their first date or when their relationship isn’t as intimate as their imagination.

2. Over-accommodation: In all relationship statuses, when “the needer” contributions are disproportionate to “the needed’s”, or when “the needer” does things for “the needed” at the expense of himself or other friends. The actions are all for the purpose to increase “the needer’s” image or favor in the eyes of “the needed”.

3. Being unnecessarily defensive: In all relationship statuses, when “the needer” exhibits hostile or insecure behavior that is not normally needed in a friendship situation. This is usually due to feeling threatened by other pursuers or low self-esteem.

4. Over-interpretation of "signs": Usually in the “simping” status but sometimes in other relationship statuses, when “the needer” overthinks a nonchalant gesture from “the needer”, usually twisting its meaning from a friendly gesture to one with encouraging and romantic undertones.

5. Inappropriate Flirtation: A subcategory of attention-seeking, singled out due to the inappropriate factor. Especially in a “simping” situation, “the needer” may display certain behaviors that are distressing, offensive, insulting, or inappropriate in general to “the needed”. This mostly comes in the form of sexual comments that are borderline harassment and perceived as creepy.

6. Overdramatic reactions when disillusioned: When “the needer” exhibits exaggerated responses to unrequited love, breakup, or disillusionment (i.e. realizing “the needed” did not like them romantically). These can include extended periods of depression, excessive grieving, and extremely negative assumptions about one’s lives and future.

7. Exaggerated Responses: Responses by “the needer” to “the needed”that have an element of exaggeration due to “the needer’s” intention to flatter, compliment, or otherwise increase their image in the mind of “the needed”. Sometimes these reactions are physical reactions of arousal in response to friendly gestures like a short hug or a touch on neutral areas of the body (e.g. shoulder).

8. Attention-seeking: Direct behaviors that “the needer” exhibit to attract attention, flirt normally, increase the favor of “the needed”, or otherwise attempt to form a bond with the “the needed”.

Qualitative data consists of the columns "Action Summary" and "Quotes". The former is a short summary of the needy behavior provided by the team and the latter quotes from the script that signal the event. These provide evidence and proof for backtracking or double-confirmation should disputes arise. For scenes that are not needy, NA is written on all columns.

Data Analysis

First of all, general statistics of the data demonstrate that every episode of season 1 (17 in all) contains scenes with neediness. Among all 154 scenes in season 1, 81 show needy behavior. Thus the percentage of needy scenes in season 1 is 52.60%, more than half and rather high considering this is a show focusing on all aspects of the scientists rather than just their romantic life.

Secondly, the pie chart below displays the percentage of the major categories of needy behavior. The largest percentages go to "Attention-seeking" followed by "Inappropriate Flirtation". This is in direct alignment with the mainstream definitions of neediness (see Key Terms for the full account).  However, not much was said about coping with rejection, probably because there was little-to-no actual dating in the 1st season. In the brief moments that Leonard thought his hopes of getting Penny dashed, he sunk quickly into strong self-negation and unhealthy coping methods such as planning to buy cats. With the contradictions of "nerdiness" and "neediness", Leonard, Howard, and Raj found themselves thirsting but failing to make good progress toward sex and a stable romantic relationship. Their strong desire for love not only comes from physical demands, but also from viewing women as trophies, linking singleness to unattractiveness and therefore self-worth, and attempting to fill emotional damages from their past. Their behaviors, while exaggerated, are representative of the actions and reasons of the average socially awkward person when seeking a romantic partner. Therefore, the characterization of TBBT on neediness is very realistic and entertaining. The question then changes to: How do viewers approach the needy characters on screen that are reflective of themselves? Would they be apprehensive due to the similarity and reality? Or would they be even more entertained as long as they witness the exaggerated failures of others?