The ‘environment’ part of the equation is particularly significant because of the familial dynamic. Meaning, the Jersey Shore group acts like a family. They are forced to live under the same roof for months, and their survival in the spotlight is dependent on their relationships to each other. Further, the group explicitly strives to act like a family.

Considering that a significant familial structure has taken hold, a family systems model may best illuminate, ‘why the drama?’ In other words, when you go down the list of major crisis moments from this season – when Sammi gets mad at Snooki and J-wow for writing the “note,” when Angelina smacks Paulie for ending what little friendship they had, or when Vinny calls out Angelina for instigating, well, in an obsessive manner - each conflict is shaped and fueled by  below-the-surface situational forces. These forces are: unspoken rules of behavior, invisible power roles and dynamics, and patterns of group action, which are the processes described by such family system psychology terms as ‘boundaries, hierarchies and feedback styles.’

That last sentence gave me a headache. Here’s what I mean:

Boundaries: Boundaries in a family are ‘norms’ that are created with regards to who interacts with whom, in what way, and around what activities. For instance, when Ronnie gets drunk and promiscuous at the club, this is problematic because his girlfriend, Sammi, is obliviously waiting at home for the boyfriend whom she perceives to be loving and loyal. On the sideline sit Snooki and J-wow caught between a problematic boundary and a hard place. The boundary says respect the ‘guy code’ which means you don’t tell a girlfriend things about the boyfriend that would predictably incite drama. Healthy boundaries involve openness and flexibility (translation: as a friend of both Ronnie and Sammi, J-wow and Snooki should feel free to prioritize their values of honesty and consequences for disloyal behavior over a ‘guy code’ that protects indiscretions unworthy of being protected). In this “family” the boundaries are rigid. Snooki and J-wow don’t feel like they can communicate openly and honestly about this issue. Instead, they attempt to circumnavigate the boundary by drafting an anonymous letter (not a wise plan in a house of 10 people but that point is for another day) to Sammi outlining Ronnie’s moral failings. This boundary problem comes to serve as the most significant strain leading up to the Sammi v. J-wow fight, as Sammi felt “disrespected” by the avoidant communication and J-wow felt “insulted” by Sammi’s negative response.

Internal hierarchies: Hierarchies in the family are based on who has the power and how the power is attained. Two issues go into healthy and unhealthy hierarchies: one, are the people with power selfless and wise or petty and unforgiving? Two, is power attained through competency and moral living or by less seemly means? Again, Jersey Shores tends to score on the unhealthy side. The Situation is a good example of one of the more powerful members of the family, as he enjoys immunity from a lot of the petty attacks and fights. This is the case because one of the ways in which power is attained is through sexual hook-ups (if you’re a guy) as such conquests are perceived as notches on a belt by the larger community of Jersey Shorians. The “family” literally track's each other’s statistics in this arena and The Situation does pretty well for himself.  A prime example of how this type of power hierarchy engenders conflict is Ronnie’s impulsive and amoral behavior as a boyfriend in the earlier part of the season. His routine of fighting way too intensely with Sammi, getting way too drunk, and making way too many selfish decisions at the clubs stem from his sense of lost power. He wants notches on his belt just like The Situation. He wants “power” even if he also wants to be a good boyfriend to Sammi and it is this drama that drives drunk-Ronnie and all the attached problems.

Feedback: Fights are either fueled or extinguished by the feedback styles that exist in families. If consistent, open feedback oriented toward harmony is encouraged then problems get solved. If feedback is non-existent then trouble will brew. The pattern of feedback for the Jersey Shore family consists of…thunderous silence which, yes, leads to more drama. Imagine the following, common scenario: A spontaneous verbal fight erupts near the hot tub between Person A and Person B. Person A comes inside and sits on the couch while Person B storms off to her room. Over the next few days, Person A and B avoid each other at all costs, but Person A talks about Person B and the fight to anyone else who will listen. Yet, whenever Person B enters the vicinity Person A falls silent. Interestingly, so do everyone else in the scene. This domino effect of silence occurs because there are no established procedures for approaching drama other than eyes-to-the-floor silent-sounding avoidance. There is no dialogue between the two participants of the fight, or between the ‘fighters’ and the larger group. Thus, instead of a coherent group having a calm roundtable about the fight in an efficient time frame that prevents the emotions from bubbling over, there is an immediate divergence between Person A and B followed by one-sided, polarized accounts like two gang leaders recruiting for an inevitable street fight.

Diagnosis: Much of the fighting between the cast mates are generated by the fact that they don’t realize when they are stepping on each other’s toes in violation of unclear, unarticulated and rigid boundaries. Once the match is lit, the fire is easily fueled by the fact that those with power facilitate conflict and drama, in and of itself, is one of the fastest ways toward attaining power (if you win). Finally, ongoing silence over how to resolve fights breeds further hostility about the unhealthy boundaries and hierarchies operating below the surface. The consequence is a guarantee of more drama right around the corner. Perhaps during their next sit-down dinner, instead of discussing who slaved over the hot stove or whose on clean-up duty, the group can discuss a new way of calmly and rationally de-escalating conflicts…assuming that’s the goal. Then again, this is the Jersey Shore where dysfunction is expected and drama represents the easiest, simplest path toward celebrity and riches.