Goal Complexes

 Louise Belcher has various motivations for different goal pursuits which can tie into the idea of goal complexes. For example, one of her main goals in the show is to make a lot of money or to become rich. It can be suspected that she is fixated on making money because she sees on a regular basis that her family's restaurant is not doing well financially and her parents regularly worry about money, openly. "Goal complexes" can be thought of as a construct that explains how people pursue their different goals and aspirations, and what motivates them. In goal complexes, there are four common approaches that align with mastery and performance goals- mastery avoidance, mastery approach, performance avoidance, and performance approach. The reason for goal pursuit- "making money" can be attributed to wanting power and financial security, which her family does not have. This goal complex can be thought of as a "performance approach" because Louise is aimed at making as much money as possible and outperforming others. "Mastery goals" are often focused on the pursuit of knowledge and learning (and mastering skills), while performance goals are often focused on outperforming others or performing the "best" possible. Louise always acts concerned with coming up with the "best" shenanigans in school, making the most money, and being the "best"- she has a very competitive side. 

In terms of her goal orientation, I would rate Louise as being an "optimist" (high hope, low fear) because she always has high hopes for her goals (even if the goal's success margins are not realistic) and has low fear of consequence from the goal not working out. For example, when she orchestrates running a casino out of the restaurant's basement, she has low fear of getting caught by the landlord, Mr. Fischodeor, and low fear of consequence from her parents or other adults. She also is extremely convinced that it will be a successful venture, and is highly focused on the initial success of the venture. Whenever a goal or scenario seems to be "falling apart", Louise acts determined until the very end and will not give up easily. She does not have a pessimistic attitude when it comes to her goals.