Orphan Black reflections: How would clone psychology resemble that of real orphans?

As BBC’s Orphan Black Season 3 progresses, we are seeing more of the complex psychological struggles both the Leda and Castor clones are faced with.

Not only are each of them searching for some sort of existential resolution and freedom from their “makers,” they also have personality traits that in someways really resemble what psychology health professionals have documented about real orphans. These are people who are, at least in some way, unaware of their origins and must deal with the idea that their biological roots are a mystery.

(For the sake of argument and in response to modern biotechnological advances, let’s assume human clones could exist in society in the relatively near future.)

Each clone on the show has a unique and distinct personality, which points to the nature vs. nurture discussion the show has made sure to highlight. But each of them have also displayed individual orphan-like behaviors.

Granted, the clones weren’t aware that they were clones until later in life – thus post-orphanage traits aren’t entirely accurate – they are all still dealing with feeling displaced and having a false sense of identity.

Developmental psychologist, Dr. Boris Gindis, wrote previously about typical behavioral traits adopted people might display. Here are a few that seem to directly match up with some of our favorites and some of the not-so-likeable clones.

Poor self-regularity: Gindis writes, “As a result of this everyday routine combined with sudden uncontrollable change, there is a minimal need for behavioral self-regulation, long-term planning, or a need to practice goal-directed consistent behavior. The orphanage residents live in a ‘reactive’ mode, surviving ‘one day at a time.'”

We’ve seen this behavior extensively with Sarah at this point, as she seems to always be focused on the task at hand and entirely in survivor mode, but also with Alison. There is a clear disconnect between reality and consequences. And the Castor clones, well they’re a whole other story in terms of knowing when acting in the moment is appropriate or just plain criminal.

Learned helplessness: “Learned helplessness is tolerated by society much longer than acting-out behavior,” Gindis writes. “Many of these children actually have the needed skills or knowledge, but are resistant to any attempt to encourage them to act independently. There is, of course, a genuine need for help, but sometimes the line between learned helplessness and real need may be rather thin.”

At this point we know that most of the clones have a tendency to “act out,” but there is also a very prominent helpless aspect to each of their stories. For the Castor clones, they set aside their creepy antics and become entirely submissive to Dr. Coady (Mother), in times of need or conflict. Before Beth jumped in front of the subway train in Season 1 episode one, it later became clear that she felt entirely helpless in the attempt to figure out who she was and the complex nature of the clone experiment and its aftermath.

Self-soothing and self-stimulating behavior: “A consistent state of abandonment, deprivation, and neglect of basic emotional needs ‘educates’ orphanage residents on how to ‘take care’ of their own emotional needs with self-soothing and self-stimulating behavior, which might have been copied or arrived at independently by a child,” Gindis points out.

Clearly, Helena is a perfect example of this. She has been moved around and basically treated as an scientific commodity her whole life. She has learned to soothe herself with the company of an imaginary scorpion who not only nurtures her in a manipulative manor but also coaches her on whom to trust. While being so regularly in captivity, this manifestation is the only way she can continue without feeling entirely alone.

Feeling of entitlement: “While a sense of entitlement in children raised in families may result from poor parental techniques (like giving rewards randomly and for no reason), in orphanage residents this is a survival skill determined by institutional care. As such, it is only one small step away from the feeling of entitlement to obtain things though theft, robbery, or deception.”

Both Rachel and the Castor clones demonstrate a deep feeling of entitlement. For Rachel, she feels like its entirely reasonable for her to be the only remaining Leda clone, completely abandoning her sisters who have essentiall decided to join together as a family (while Helena and Sarah still have some unresolved business.) The Castor clones, specifically Rudy and Seth, clearly have no sense of personal responsibility and are more than inclined to follow through with deceptive, creepy schemes in the hopes of finding out information about their “original.”

The idea of multiple human clones being set out into the world with different caregivers, environments and no real understanding about where (or who) they came from is a premise that could eventually play out in real life. Strange, but maybe true.

Chances of it being such a dramatic and twisted government-influenced scenario are probably slim. But if it were to happen, the likelihood of them having some of the same psychological challenges orphans face (or at least some serious issues to deal with) seem high.