Maslowian Theory During a Zombie Apocalypse:

Abraham Maslow's Theory of Personality is based on a hierarchy of needs. This hierarchy is best seen as a pyramid. On the bottom are the most basic and important needs, identified as Physiological Needs. These needs consist of food, water, sleep, and breathing. If these needs are met, a person can progress to the next level; Safety. This explains the need for a sense of security in your life. Above Safety is Belonging: friendship, family, and sexual intimacy. If these needs are met, then an individual will strive to meet the next level, which is Esteem. This is confidence in ourselves, respect from others and respecting others. The final and most difficult level to reach is Self Actualization which is at the top of the Maslow pyramid.

Very few people actually reach a self-actualized state because it requires characteristics like selflessness and the ability to not only understand everyone, but to accept them and value all points of view. A self-actualized person is also creative and a non-conformist. They possess a strong ethical sense and are able to laugh at themselves. They have a deep appreciation for the wonders of the world. They are also confident enough in themselves that they do not need to always have people around to make them feel secure. Achieving Self Actualization is almost impossible in our current world and completely impossible in a world infested with zombies because it is just not practical. Reaching the Esteem Level of Maslow's pyramid is the best a person living in a zombie-infested world can achieve. However, Maslow's hierarchy is not a one way, one-time climb. If an individual's needs are not met for a lower level of the pyramid, they regress to functioning at that lower level until the needs can be met again. Because Maslow's Psychological Needs are very environmentally based, this allows people the flexibility of adapting their outlook and needs to their current situation.

If the environment suddenly changes, depriving an individual of a specific need, their position on the pyramid can suddenly drop. If the environment suddenly fulfills the need, a person can just as quickly shoot back up the pyramid. In a world with zombies, like the world the human survivors in The Walking Dead inhabit, their environment and situations are constantly changing drastically at a moment's notice. One minute the group of refugees can be functioning at the Belonging Level while sharing stories around a campfire and then suddenly a zombie herd wanders out of the woods instantly reducing the camp to the Safety Level. Stories of the past are quickly forgotten as their security is threatened.

Shane Walsh's early life was a good life by Maslowian standards. Shane was resting comfortably at the Esteem Level of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs for most of his life in the pre-zombie world. We do not know much about Shane growing up, but we can assume that while his parents may not have been rich, Shane never lacked food or feared for his security. This upbringing allowed Shane to focus on higher aspirations like forming relationships in his community. In high school, Shane had a lot of friends from the football team. He gained a great sense of belonging and self-esteem from the popularity his position on the team provided. These relationships would have been seen as a luxury and unimportant if Shane's physiological and safety needs were not met. Because Shane's basic, lower level needs were satisfied, he could use his time and energy to join the team and make friends.

Shane had a lot of casual friends, as well as several close friends like Rick and Rick's future wife, Lori. Shane felt comfortable and safe in his community, allowing him to focus and aspire to functioning at Maslow's Esteem Level. Shane was very sure of himself. When Shane and Rick talk about their past, Shane is portrayed as a self-assured rebel. He was a ladies man and knew it, "Prodigy what you call a high school stud banging thirty year-olds on the regular?" (2.5). In addition to sleeping with thirty year-olds, Shane was a prankster. He once stole the Principal's car and took it for a joyride. This was an extremely risky decision on his part. If Shane had been functioning on the Physiological Level or the Safety Level, he would not have taken the risk because there was nothing to gain other than the thrill. But, because Shane felt invincible he was able to feed his inflated ego.

As Shane matured, the source of his self-esteem and belonging changed. Rick and Shane joined the police force together. Being a police officer gave Shane a sense of pride and a feeling of great power. This power fed his self-esteem. Shane craved this type of attention and belonging. His underlying motives for having these needs were very selfish. He felt incomplete without this attention. He obsessively tried to fill this hole. This type of motivation to meet his needs is called a deficiency motive (d-motive). Shane felt a deficiency in his life and worked to stop the hurt. The opposite of this is called a being motive or a b-motive. Being motives to meet personal needs are based on personal and inner growth. The growth is the motive to fill the need not a deficiency. Shane has never functioned using b-motives during The Walking Dead. He is always striving toward higher goals, not to make himself better, but to make himself feel better. He did not join the team to become a good football player, or join the force to make a difference in the world. He did these things to gain the attention and recognition he felt he deserved and desired above all else. Even in the pre-zombies world, Shane would never have reached Self-Actualization because his motives were almost always d-motives.

Shane's job also provided for his lower level needs, allowing him to mentally focus on the Esteem Level of the pyramid. As a working member of the middle-class, Shane's job as a police officer allowed him to put a roof over his head and food on his table. He even had a steady stream of female companionship. His physiological needs were satisfied. Shane's job also allowed him to sleep soundly at night in the safety of his house knowing he would not be attacked in the night. Other than in the rare cases when Shane encountered danger on the job, his safety was well maintained and secure.

He also belonged to several different groups that cared about his wellbeing. He was well respected in the police force. Also, even though he was single, he had developed a family with Rick, Lori, and their son, Carl. They adopted him into their family circle. He was like an uncle to Carl and a brother to Rick and Lori. Not only did they respect him, but he respected them. They shared a great intimacy and trust.

The intimate brotherly bond is clear when Shane thinks he sees Rick die. Rick was in a coma when the zombie outbreak happens. Shane went to get Rick out of the hospital so they can escape the city with Lori and Carl. However, the hospital was overrun with zombies. SWAT teams were executing both the healthy people and the zombies as they tried to stem the spread of the outbreak. It was utter chaos. Shane should revert back to his Safety Level and make a run for it. Instead he goes back for Rick and tries to move him, only to find him dead. Shane takes the time to make sure Rick is not breathing, close his eyes, and barricade the door so the zombies cannot get to Rick's body. He is functioning on the Belongingness Level during this scene. While the world is in chaos, Shane is satisfying his needs as a friend and as a brother. He is doing his duty when there is nothing else he can do for Rick. The small act of barricading Rick in the room so the zombies cannot get to him is a great show of intimacy. However, even though this act seems selfless, Shane is still acting on his d-motives. He feels guilty he cannot take Rick with him and could not save him. To reduce his guilt and anxiety over loosing a loved one, he tries to protect Rick from the zombies.

However, the question of why is Shane functioning on the Belonging Level and not reverting back to the Safety Level still remains? Zombies are taking over the hospital. While there is chaos around him, Shane, just like everyone else, truly does not know how bad things are about to get. He still feels in control, not quite grasping the severity of the situation. Shane most likely assumed the government would resolve the problem eventually. At this point in time, he still believes in the system that he, as a police officer, is apart of. Wearing his sheriff's uniform allows Shane to function above a normal human reaction because his position provides him with a sense of security that allows him to think of his human bonds. If Shane had not had the mental security of wearing his uniform or had not had the physical security of carrying his gun, it is probable that Shane would not have preformed these ritualistic mourning acts. Instead, he would have made a run for it when he realized getting Rick out was futile. But his position of power, even if actually meaningless to protect him, allowed Shane to take care of his pseudo-brother and then turn his attention to caring for Rick's family, adopting them as his own.

Sometime after leaving the hospital, Shane, Lori and Carl join forces with a group of families and take shelter in the mountains on the outskirts of the city of Atlanta. This Atlanta group of approximately twenty people accepts Shane as their leader. They have clean water. They have fresh game to eat. They have tents so they can sleep out of the rain. Most of the zombies are down in the city and very few wander up into their camp allowing them a sense of security. Considering the world as they knew it just ended, they are doing very well.

Shane is forming even tighter bonds with Lori and Carl after the supposed death of Rick. Shane sees himself as a father figure for Carl. He teaches him to tie knots, how to fish, and helps to make Carl laugh by splashing around in the lake under the pretense of searching for frogs, "You and me, we'll be heroes. We'll feed these folks Cajun-style Kermit legs" (1.3). Shane is able to do these things because his basic needs are fulfilled. His interactions with Carl also give him a strong sense of achievement. He sees Carl as his son; he has a family just like he always wanted.

His relationship with Lori also progresses out of a mutual need for intimacy and respect. Shane receives a big confidence boost when Lori accepts his advances. He always looked up to Rick and probably envied Rick's relationship with Lori. Now that Rick is out of the picture, Shane can move in and satisfy his sexual desires. When Lori responds to his advances, this fills him with confidence and self-esteem. They cling together offering each other security, intimacy and respect. Based upon Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, Shane has it pretty good.

It is unclear how long the Atlanta group has been surviving in the mountains. They have a routine and Shane is beginning to feel safe. But he is still on edge. He walks the fine line between functioning on the Belonging and Esteem levels or crashing down into the Safety Level. When one of the men, Ed Peletier, decides to beat his wife, Carol, Shane loses his composure and regresses back to the Safety Level. Shane sees any disorder in his camp as a threat to his authority and by connection his own security. Shane sees himself as the protector and leader of the group. Any harm to the group is a personal failure. When Ed hits Carol, Shane nearly kills Ed. He warns Ed that if he ever hurts Carol again, Shane will kill him. When Ed acted out, Shane felt the need to restore the balance of power in the camp to restore his own safety. He did not step up for Carol, but for himself.

Shane claims that all his decisions as the leader are made in the best interests of the group. While this is not a lie, it is not the whole truth. Shane feels a great sense of belonging because of his position in the group. The group helps maintain his high functioning because they provide for all his needs simply by being around. His Cognitive Needs are also met by being a leader. Cognitive Needs are the desire to know or understand the world around you. This overarching need does not fit in the pyramid at any particular position, but instead can be achieved at every level in different forms. This desire is used to solve problems and overcome obstacles. Shane's Cognitive Needs are very well satisfied because he is constantly faced with problems regarding the running of the group and keeping them safe.

It is in Shane's best interests to keep the group happy by making decisions the group likes, or at least understands are necessary. They hunt and when the group needs more specific items, Shane sends group members into town to make supply runs. This of course, allows him to stay at camp under the guise of protecting them and maintaining order. If the people die, then he can send different ones. Without the group, he would need to take these risks himself.

The members of the group also maintain his sense of belonging and esteem. Zombies do not care that Shane is a police officer. There is very little respect for his position in his current world because the governmental structures have all collapsed. Before the zombies, Shane's self worth, his esteem and belonging came from football and then his position as a police officer. Without the confidence these two positions previously gave him, Shane uses the group to give himself confidence. There is a lot of responsibility in leading the group, but Shane feels he is up to the job. The fact that the group trusts and respects him enough to allow him to lead, keeps him sitting contently within the parameters of the Esteem Level.

This perceived respect makes him feel good about himself and gives him an over-inflated sense of confidence. However, not even this over-inflated sense of esteem can prevent him from regressing back to Safety when his security is threatened. Shane sends a group of survivors down into the city to get food. When only half come back with the news that the missing half of the scavenger group have been pinned down in the city center by a herd of zombies, Shane forgets all his confidence and intimacy with the group. He only worries about his own safety. He refuses to organize a rescue party. "We are surviving here. We are day to day" (1.1). He argues that the group in the city is probably already dead and that sending a rescue party needlessly sacrifices more people. What he is really saying is that the group has already lost four people to protect him and his interests. He is not going to risk more people or himself to go on a potentially hopeless mission.

However, the missing group is not dead. They manage to escape with the help of a man they found in the city, Rick. This is when everything changes. The realization that Rick is alive would have once sent Shane jumping for joy. But now Rick's return is a huge threat to his current lifestyle and personal safety. He does not know how Rick will react if he finds out that Shane was sleeping with his wife. Also Lori feels betrayed and angry because she feels that Shane lied to her. She tells Shane to stay away from her and her family "You are the one that told me that he died"... "From now on my family is off limits to you" (1.3). Instantly, the confidence that Shane derived from being the head of the group is gone. His sense of belongingness from having Lori and Carl as family is gone. Shane feels threatened. All his actions for the foreseeable future, especially those interacting with Rick, are mentally processed for his Safety Needs on the hierarchy.

With Rick back in the group, Shane takes a step back on leadership, deferring to Rick's natural leadership abilities. He agrees to decisions he normally would not, like allowing a rescue team to go into the city to rescue a man stuck on top of a building. Shane defers to Rick's decisions so he will not draw Rick's attention and maybe even his anger. Shane agrees with Rick to gain the new leader's favor in order to maintain his security within the group.

However, Shane's attempt backfires. With Rick and a portion of the group back in town, the camp has fewer defenses when a massive herd of zombies wanders into camp. This puts Shane and everyone else in danger. This really upsets Shane because he is functioning on a Safety Level. He does not care about keeping the peace or hurting people's feelings, he wants to survive. The Atlanta group loses a lot of people in this zombie attack. When Rick and the rescue party return, without the person they set out to find, Shane loses his composure. He blames everything on Rick. Shane says Rick is too moral and this would have never happened before Rick came back.

Shane does not care about his brotherly bond with Rick anymore. Rick's decision put him in danger and that is all Shane cares about. It takes the rest of the first season for Shane to make the decision that he wants to kill Rick. However, it is here on the mountain in the aftermath of the zombie attack that Shane realizes that to completely satisfy his Security Needs, Rick needs to go. With Rick out of the group, Shane believes he will feel more secure which will allow him to regain his sense of belonging in the group. The group will look up to him again and he will regain the confidence and self-esteem that is not possible when Rick is around.

However, until Shane can find a way to get rid of Rick, he has to play along and allow Rick to lead. Shane decides to follow Rick's lead for his own protection. But it is clear that Shane is not putting on as good of an act as he would like. This mask is clearly slipping as Dale, another member of the group, accuses Shane of wanting Rick dead. "You think I'd shoot Rick? That is my best friend. That is a man that I love. I love him like he's my brother. You think that's the kind of man I am?" (1.3). All these things may have been true if Shane was functioning with his needs for Belongingness in the forefront of his mind. But he cannot function under those guidelines when his safety is threatened. Rick is a threat first and a brother second.

Since it is clear that their mountain home is no longer safe, the group picks up and decides to move on. Rick decides that their next move is going to be investigating the Center of Disease Control (CDC), a research lab that was working on a cure for the zombie infection. The group is still hopeful that the government will develop a cure and everything will be alright. Shane does not like the idea, but lacking a better idea, goes along with the trip so that he can stay with the group which offers him security in numbers.

The CDC is a beacon of hope for the group. They band together so they can make the long car trip to the CDC. Once they arrive and meet the sole surviving scientist, Doctor Jenner, they are overwhelmed by the luxury of the CDC. They are in a heavily fortified and zombie-proof enclosure. They have a roof over their heads; they have hot showers, a generous supply of food, and alcohol. The Atlanta group laughs and plays games, enjoying their first taste of security since the Zombie Apocalypse began.

This is not perceived security, or "good enough" security, or even momentary security that can be invaded by zombies at any second. This is real security and the group can relax for the first time in months. In the past, Shane had to be satisfied with partial security. But at the CDC, for the first time he feels completely safe. But as his need for security is filled, he starts to see how lonely his life has been even though he lives with a group of people. He longs for belonging and the intimacy he shared with Lori before Rick came back. He can see his actions have caused friction and tries to ease the tension so he can regain the intimacy they shared. He wants to take comfort and give her comfort in that moment. This strong desire to belong is amplified by alcohol. Shane finds Lori alone and corners her. At first it looks like they are going to have a much needed conversation and gain some closure. However, Lori opens a can of worms which she is not willing to deal with. She confesses that she is confused because she had real feelings for Shane when she thought Rick was dead. But now that Rick is alive, she cannot feel those feelings anymore.

In Shane's intoxicated and deluded mind, this confession gives Shane false hope. He wants to belong to the group and belong to her again. Shane sees Lori's confession as her accepting him into her heart again. With his Belonging Needs supposedly met by her confession, Shane tries to force himself on Lori to regain some of his self-confidence and respect. Lori turning him down for Rick on the mountain was a huge blow to his self-esteem. He wants to feel like a man again. During the altercation, Shane even screams at Lori, "I'm a better father than Rick," (1.6) begging her to confirm his thoughts about himself and to see if he has her respect. He even asks her if Rick makes her feel the way he does as he tries to pleasure her. He believed if he could just show her how much pleasure he could give her, that he was a better lover than Rick, she would never leave him again. He needs this physical intimacy with her to solidify his manhood. However, these advances are undesired by Lori and they struggle.

The scene ends with Lori leaving a giant gash on Shane's neck with her nails, making it clear she neither believes Shane is a better husband nor father figure. Shane's time on the Esteem Level is short lived. Lori's clear and final rejection sends him plummeting back down Maslow's Hierarchy to lick his wounds on the fine line between the Safety Level and the Belonging Level. His safety is secure but his Belongingness is on rocky ground. It is important to note that Shane only made the risky decision to pursue Lori because he felt secure at the CDC. His had a solid foundation from which to make the rash decision to try and regain Lori's affection. This rashness is similar to his behavior when he was in high school. Shane stole cars and acted out in school because he knew that he had the security net to catch him if he fell. The same is true at the CDC. Sadly, he does not succeed and Shane must go back to fearing Rick's retaliation for attacking his wife.

At breakfast the next morning, the Atlanta group discovers there is no cure. There are no secret government communications between cities let alone countries. They are on their own. The first season ends with the CDC self-destructing, leaving the Atlanta group to once again face the uncertainty of life during a Zombie Apocalypse. The group's short time at a completely satisfied Physiological and Safety Level is over. While the group is able to function and make decisions on the Belonging Level, their foundation has been severely shaken.

Season two opens where Season one left off; in front of the destroyed CDC. The Atlanta group decides to continue on. However, Sophia, the daughter of Carol becomes lost during a zombie attack and they must find her. Shane decides that his security with the group is no longer guaranteed after he attacked Lori. Shane contemplates leaving the group. However, it is unclear how completely he believed his security was actually threatened because he agrees to stay until they find Sophia. This shows that Shane is functioning on the Belonging Level, he cares about the group and the intimacy they share. Sophia cannot do anything to protect Shane, but she is apart of his new family. The fact that he agreed to stay to help look for her shows he never really wanted to leave. If his security was threatened, forcing him to process on the Safety Level, he would not have cared about Sophia because those feelings are on the higher Belonging Level.

While searching for Sophia, Carl is shot and the group is taken in by Hershel Greene and family on their farm. Carl needs surgery. Hershel is a veterinarian and says he can operate but he needs supplies. Shane and Otis, the man who accidently shot Carl while hunting for deer, volunteer to go to a nearby high school to raid the science department for the supplies needed to do the surgery.

While at the school, Shane and Otis are cornered by zombies. They are forced to make a run for the car. Shane injured his ankle while escaping. Consequently, any possibility of his functioning at the Belonging Level is gone. Shane realizes that if he has any hope of surviving, Otis will have to be sacrificed to slow the zombies. In a split second decision, Shane reverts to the Safety Level and uses the last bullet in the gun to shoot Otis in the knee, leaving him for dead. Shane escapes with the medical supplies and drives back to the farm as the zombies feed on Otis. Hershel operates and Carl survives his injuries. At a memorial service for Otis, Shane lies to the group and conjures up a heroic tale of Otis saying, "We gotta save the boy," intentionally putting himself in harm's way for the greater good.

The fact that Shane is lying about what happened to Otis shows he feels secure at the farm because his main concern at the funeral is not being kicked out of the group. He wants the group to see him as a hero and love him for his actions. Rick and Lori are thankful that Shane helped save their son and all these feelings allow Shane to sky rocket back up to the Esteem Level. He wants and is receiving their respect. His confidence is high. However, Shane's true motives shine through.

Shane helps save Carl because he sees the possible deficiency in his life if Carl dies. Otis' death is an acceptable loss because Shane is not trying to become a better person by killing Otis, he is trying to prevent a deficiency in his life at the Belonging Level. If he had not killed Otis, Carl would have died because the medical supplies would not have arrived. He even tries to use Otis' death to make a case that he is a better father than Rick because he did whatever it took to save Carl, regardless of the moral implications. Shane argues that Rick would not have shot Otis and therefore would have let his son die because his morals were too lofty. Shane is fishing for compliments. He wants the group to reassure him, tell him he did the right thing and that they accept him. Instead they turn on him and demonize what he did to Otis.

This is not a smart move on the group's part because killing Otis is the point of no return for Shane. Once he has taken one human life he knows that he wants to kill Rick. Shane believes that if Rick is removed from the picture, he will have security. He believes that Lori will come back to him and Carl will love him, giving him a sense of belonging and purpose. With Rick gone everything will be right with the world. On the farm without a lot of zombie attacks, Shane longs for the comforts of his life in the first few episodes when he had a family to belong to and a son that looked up to him. It seems he will stop at nothing to regain his position near the top of the pyramid of needs.

But Shane does not know what it means to belong to this group and care about them. He only wants the comfort they give him and only cares about how they make him feel and if they serve his needs. Shane is truly a d-motivated individual. Dale sees that Shane is not doing well and knows that Shane is functioning without his Safety Needs fully met and without any of his Belonging Needs met. He realizes how dangerous this situation could become since it is not the zombies Shane fears, but Rick and the group. He confronts Shane with his concerns; "This world, what it is now, this is where you belong. And I may not have what it takes to last for long, but that's okay. 'Cause at least I can say when the world goes to shit, I didn't let it take me down with it" (2.7). Dale is referring to the fact that Shane functions very well on the Safety level. Dale is a civilized man. With his strong moral upbringing, Dale does not believe modern society should function at this low level of the pyramid.

Dale knows that Rick is not a physical threat to Shane. Rick is not going to kill Shane. But Shane does not see this. Dale realizes that the group is no longer safe with Shane around. Dale asks Shane to leave the group. Shane does not respond well to this assessment of his character and threatens Dale by saying, "Well maybe we oughta just think that through, say I'm the kind of man who would gun down his own best friend...what you'd think I'd do to some guy that I don't even like... when he starts throwing accusations my way what you think?" (2.7). Shane does not care what Dale thinks because he has already come to a conclusion that he voices later in the season, "You can't just be the good guy and expect to live. Not anymore" (2.10). Shane knows what he is doing is supposed to be wrong, but because he is functioning on the line between Safety and Belonging, he sees survival as more important than belonging. His actions are acceptable because it is what he has to do to survive. Shane will do whatever it takes to survive, whether it is killing Otis or killing the zombie version of Sophia when Rick could not bring himself to do it. Both these acts protect Shane.

The tension between Shane and Rick comes to a peak during Season Two when they discover Lori is pregnant. They do not know if the baby's father is Rick or Shane. Shane is convinced the baby is his and this intense sense of belonging quickly sets events into motion. Shane starts to function not only on the Belonging Level but up on the Esteem Level. Shane is proud he is about to be a father and believes he will be a good one. Shane wants to mark his territory. Rick's presence threatens the good feelings Shane receives when he thinks about Lori having his baby. Shane refuses to let Rick emasculate him by letting Rick raise a child that could be Shane's biologically.

Shane lures Rick into the woods to kill him. Rick realizes what is happening and tries to appeal to Shane's Belonging Level of mental processing, "Are you going to kill me in cold blood, screw my wife, have my children, MY children call you daddy? I know you. That life won't be worth a damn. You won't be able to live with this." (2.13) Rick still believes that Shane sees him as a friend and brother and tries to show Shane that his actions will deprive him of his belonging to the group. This is a rational argument for Rick to make. This could make Shane regress from the Esteem level, where Rick is a threat to Shane's self confidence, back down to the Belonging Level where Shane might desire brotherly love from Rick. However, this approach/strategy does not work because Shane has no desire to have a sense of intimacy with Rick, only with Lori, Carl and the baby. Shane sees Rick as a threat to that belonging and his self image as a confident and respectable man. That is why Shane clings hopefully to the thoughts that if Rick is gone, Lori and Carl will get over Rick and come back to him in the end.

At this point in the story, Shane's Esteem needs are governing the moment. He wants Lori and Carl back for the confidence they give him. He wants control of the group back. He does not want to live under the rule of Rick. Shane is confident that Rick will not try to kill him, so Shane has a secure safety net to grapple control away from Rick. This is why, even though they are about to fight to the death, Shane's mental needs are on the Belonging and Esteem Levels, not on the Safety Level. Shane is so confident in his security that he puts his gun away and screams at Rick to shoot him. If Rick is really the better man for Lori and Carl, Rick will shoot him. Shane knows Rick does not want to kill his best friend.

Shane's self-confidence skyrockets at this moment. Shane believes he is right to assume he is better for Lori and Carl, because he is willing to look past his morals to protect them when Rick is not. In Shane's mind, this is justification for killing Rick; "Even right here and right now you ain't gonna fight for her? I am a better father than you, Rick. I am better for Lori than you, man. Because I am a better man than you, Rick. Because I will be here. I will fight for her. But you came back and just destroyed everything. Raise your gun, Rick." (2.13). When Rick refuses, Shane moves in for the kill.

But one last plea from Rick makes Shane stay his hand. Rick begs; "There is still a way back from this. Nothing has happened here. We are going to lay down our guns and walk back to the farm. Back to Lori and Carl. And put this all behind us" (2.13). It is unclear what Shane feels at this moment. However, it is possible that Shane's confidence and sense of security was shaken because he recognized the uncertainty of Lori and Carl embracing and welcoming back Rick's murderer. He wonders if Rick is actually the better man and if he is making a mistake. His thoughts revert his focus back to worrying about Belonging Needs, not about his self-esteem. He wonders if he can walk back to camp with Rick and if everything will be okay. In this moment he sees his friend, the friend he has had since high school, and Shane just wants Rick to comfort him. Shane lowers his gun and falls into Rick's waiting arms desperate for comfort, forgiveness, and belonging. In the very same moment that Shane decides not to kill Rick, Rick stabs Shane in the heart. Shane dies in that field as Rick yells at him, "You made me do this. YOU brought this on yourself! Why? YOU made me do this!" (2.13). In the end, Shane's over estimated self confidence allowed him to misjudge his security. Attempting to function at too high a level was his fatal downfall.

Shane's journey during the two seasons of The Walking Dead is a good illustration of Maslow's Personality Theory. Viewers are able to watch up close and personal as Shane skyrockets up Maslow's Hierarchical Needs Pyramid only to plummet downward. Shane has climbed the pyramid with a secure, completely fulfilled foundation and his has balanced precariously on half fulfilled needs at its foundation. If the Zombie Apocalypse never happened, Shane could have lived to a ripe old age, happily pursuing goals on the Esteem Level of the pyramid. It is unlikely he would have ever reached Self-Actualization since he is predominately d-motivated.

However, the zombies did happen. The rules changed. As the show progressed, Shane spent so much time processing on the Safety Level that his idea of what Safety really meant became skewed. While most of us would not feel safe with zombies on the other side of the fence, Shane and the group have to redefine their sense of what is an acceptable level of safety. At the beginning of the show, Shane saw any zombie in eyeshot as a threat to his security and a reason to regress his mental processing down to Safety Needs. Even Rick was seen as a threat when he returned. However, the longer these threats existed without hurting Shane, the less threatening they became. This allowed Shane the opportunity to adapt and redefine his definition of a threat until he eventually ignored some of them because he had re-categorized them as acceptable risks. This realignment allowed him to begin desiring Belonging Needs and Esteem Needs when he should have been focusing on the safety threats around him.

With this skewed view of his own needs, when Shane and Rick finally come face-to-face with the realization that only one of them is coming out of this fight, Shane's internal alarms do not go off like they would have months before. Consequently, he never brings his focus back to his Safety Needs. His safety alarms are quiet and he strives for Belonging and even Esteem as he misreads the signals. Shane's false sense of security is his downfall and Rick is able to take advantage and capitalize on that weakness.

After Shane dies, his character returns as a zombie. All Zombie-Shane cares about is food. He does not care about safety. He does not care about relational intimacy. He does not care about self-confidence or the respect of his peers. He certainly does not care about Self Actualization. He is functioning on the Physiological Level using the d-motives without the ability to care about Cognitive or Aesthetic needs. He only cares about eating. The zombie version of Shane is the truest example of a fixation at the lowest level of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.