Ahh Dr. Phil, who comes into our homes everyday and tells us what is wrong with our lives, or rather what is wrong with everyone else's
Recently, Phil had a show about action-figures collectors and of course screamed about Peter Pan syndrome and how awful and those of us who collect action figures are. Gee where do you think I end up on this debate. Right away it should be pointed out that Peter Pan Syndrome is not a registered mental disorder and is not recognized by the American Psychological Association as a diagnosis of a mental disorder (seriously, Google it), not that nay of that information will stop Dr. Phil anyway. The term is from Dr. Dan Kiley in his book The Peter Pan Syndrome: Men Who Have Never Grown Up from 1983.
So what is Peter Pan Syndrome? I am so glad you asked, I was wondering too. After some research (which by the way, exact information on the book is sparse, which is never a good sign) I found this definitions from Answers.com
It (Peter Pan Syndrome) characterizes the personality of an immature person and also includes narcissistic behavior. It groups those with this disorder an undependable, rebellious, anger, narcissism, dependency, and manipulation tendencies. According to Dr. Kiley, "Peter Pan" is the adult little boy who, when in a relationship or in seeking a relationship, acts out a need for mothering.
HMM, thanks for being so vague, but still this doesn't seem to fit what Phil was talking about, maybe I missed something in the show but it seems these guys had more problems with addictive behavior than what can be defined as Peter Pan Syndrome. But of course Phil might not know that since he hasn't been able to publicly practice Psychology anyway. Sure right now some are screaming at the computer but here, here, here, here, is that enough yet.
Point is Dr. Phil often comes across as an authority, but he has been out of practice for a few decades. From outward appearances he seems to not keep up with current research as well, which can be a detriment when dealing with people.
Yes I borrowed that pic, but fun none-the-less.
Part 2 Problems with Research
Now I will say I think Dr. Phil isn't a bad guy at heart, and truth is some people need the smackdown put on them to get straightened out. My problem with Dr. Phil generally comes from the fact he ignores many of the basic tenants of research. No I am not an expert in Psychology, but I have been a Psyche major (and now an Interpersonal Communications major) and had to take Research Methods twice (Once for Psyche, once for Comm, but the basic tenants are the same).
1. Soft Science can never, ever be exact-While there are a billion reasons for this, the easy one to point out here is the human component. We are all different and all have different reactions and quirks to our methodology. Dr. Phil often acts very "One way" in his pronunciations of problems. Worse he often acts as if something is not in the tight suburban, American dream like state it is an aberration.
2. With research people often tell you what they think you want to hear-This is why so much research into humans comes back with a drastic change. People think they are supposed to say "certain things" even when total anonymity is involved. Sure YOU may not do that, but others do and quite often.
3. Unless you sample EVERY SINGLE PERSON ON THE PLANET, the sample size is too small and will not be reflective of the population-Basically EVERYBODY has to get sampled to be able to say a concept is "PROVEN." In fact pay attention to researchers, they often say "Studies show" or "results show" rather than "Prove."
So what is the point of all this, according to the description of The Peter Pan Syndrome: Men Who Have Never Grown Up by Dr. Dan Kiley it says that it follows one case, one person. In other words the sample is very limited, there is no mention anywhere of attempting to see if this is the person saying what wants to be heard, and the human component is almost non-existent. Even positive reviews on Amazon.com admit the book is not scientific. Nevermind the fact that the book is about immature behaviors and has nothing whatsoever to do with toy collecting at all.
Now for the boomerang effect of this whole thing:
Part 3, Dr Phil has a point
I know and I am sorry, but the truth can be the truth. No I am not saying we who collect action figures are socially inept, mother issue laden, immature boys who need help ASAP. Quite the opposite. I am saying Phil hit on some good points (inadvertently I might add) about action figures can be an addiction.
Let me say up front that ANYTHING can be an addiction, there are centers of our brains that receive certain endorphins and we get all goopy. I am convinced this is the reason some young women latch onto guys who really don't give much too them, often to the women's detriment, but I digress. I am not an expert but I have seen addiction in many various forms and while some forms are less problematic than others, all of them are issues that need to be dealt with. The results of not dealing with it can go as far as alienating everyone that we care about, very bad.
So with this in mind let me offer up some hints that you may be addicted to action figure collecting. Of course denial is one of the sings of addiction but if you don't have a problem how can one admit to it. Morons pull that one.
1. Hide or Lie to loved ones-This is not omitted information inadvertently, I am meaning bold face lie. Saying stuff like "No I didn't sped $100 bucks on that rare figure on ebay" is a great example. But also things like buying toys and sneaking them into the house or other stuffs. Now this can get kind of iffy with some couples, but it would seem if you have a person in you life that accepts your collecting who gets agitated with an abundance of new purchases, you need to re-evaluate the way things are handled.
2. Can never get anything into order-The reason being is there is a constant amount of new stuff coming in, you just cannot quit. While collection has rushes (specifically around Christmas) if the toy space is constantly in disarray and being redone, problem.
3. Use terms like "Thrill of the hunt" and "Gotta Have it" constantly-Thrill of the hunt is a more dangerous one, because it means that the exact reason you are getting this stuff is to have a thrill, yeah you follow. Gotta have it isn't as bad cause some things are probably in that vein for everyone, but constantly it's a problem. Worse, if you say something like "it's better than being on crack" that can be a sign of denial.
4. Keep grabbing stuff for no reason and later regret-This happens no matter what, often "buyers remorse" might come from buying a figure you thought would be cool, but wasn't, it happens to us all. But if you are picking up things like McFarline's football figures or Halo figures and really have no interest in those things, there is a sign.
5. Have way too many versions of the same character-This is tricky because this is understandable if you have a love of a character. Han Solo, Iron Man, Spider-Man, ect all have followings ect. Also the way figures are packaged it is hard not to end up with multiples (comic packs, multi-packs ect). But if you have multiples of multiple characters like 50 snake eyes, 40 dukes, 40 cobra commanders, 45 destro's, 30 Luke Skywalkers, 45 Han Solos, 50 Iron mans, well you get the idea.
6. Army Building-OK let's just admit it, the dick waving contests are over. Army building is fun, multiples of things like Stormtroopers, Battle Droids, Cobra soldiers, ect are perfectly fine in a reasonable setting. But huge armies, especially if they encroach on the space you have for your collection is a problem. If it is getting out of hand it is time to re-evaluate everything.
I think it is healthy to re-evaluate one's collection at least once a year. Look at what has come in and what might be a bit too much. It is a great point to purge some of the dead weight that we all inadvertently acquire.
So there is all the crap about the talk show circuit and their views on Action Figure collecting, oh Tyra Banks did a show about action figures too, but she is a moron.
