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I think part of Shabby's desire for attention and stimulation in social situation arises from her boredom with conventional social interactions. She doesn't regard social interaction as a challenge; she thinks she can play with other people in social situation for her entertainment and because she can, she does.

She thinks, with some justification, that she can make any outrageous comment or insult or break any social convention she feels like because she knows she has the force of character, incisive wit and intelligence to demolish any resultant social flak.

She is a formidable verbal combatant, I would feel she would be a real challenge even to me, and I am quite a bit older than she is!

She is remarkably eloquent, incisive, intelligent and swift in her verbal jousting. She has perceptive things to say and she delivers them in explosive packages with maximum effect.

She is so effective in most of her logic and her delivery that her barrages disguise flaws in her argument and logic. For instance she was berating Ben, in the argument over his comments to JJ about her supposed gleeful reaction to JJs intention to leave following his argument with Josie over bad breath, she said Ben had no right to judge her as he didn't know her, yet she was being the most judgemental of anyone as she had declared Ben was a horrible person who was intent on maliciously besmirching her name to other hms, yet she knows as much about Ben as she knows about him. This was deeply hypocriticial.

Nonetheless, she is an amazing character and highly entertaining, both in her deliberate attempts to be witty and her effects on the social dynamics.

Yes, I largely agree. I like her as a character but there's a lot of people who don't on DigiSpy. I don't think though that she feels she can break any social convention because she's articulate enough to verbally justify it, I think she's just unconventional as a character and doesn't respond well to restrictions. In other words she's being herself.

I'm also not sure I agree with the point about playing with people in social situations. I think she's loyal to her friends and behaves honestly to them, not playing.

However I thought the housemate who was really effective in verbal combat was JJ with Josie. His retaliation was delivered like a series of accurately thrown knives. Even Shabby was aghast.

I think you are underestimating the effects of power.

Everyone is liable to be corrupted and indulged by being in a powerful position, whether the power is social, financial or political in nature.

Her intelligence and verbal skills allow her to indulge her attention seeking and drama-loving nature. So yes, she is inclined naturally to break social conventions, but, like an irresistable juicy apple dangling within reach, the opportunity to break social conventions with relative impunity and to gain attention and create drama in the process, is just too inviting for her.

She does "it" because she can, and because others can't.