a reprise:
His motivation is more than just a little bit similar to Dr. Marvin Monroe describing Bart Simpson in Treehouse of Horror II (in the wonderful parody of The Twilight Zone's "It's a Good Life"):
"The child doesn't care if he gets good attention for, say, high marks in school, or bad attention for turning his father into a jack-in-the-box." This is also the episode where Bart is first referred to by his intentioned anagram of "brat."
It should be noted that dogs behave in the same fashion, not really preferring good or bad attention, but just seeking attention in general.

Recently, we've all witnessed cryptowonderdruginvogue become yet another personality casualty as he puts-on a persona, gleefully chasing his tail towards the golden horizon of some popularity that he feels will elude him if he just acts like himself.