Steve's relationship with his father is strained with Stan often behaving judgmentally and intolerantly over Steve's nerdiness, immaturity and sensitivity. Steve has been known to cop attitude, sometimes rightfully so at Stan over his offensive acts. Steve is portrayed as a stereotypical geek. He is a bit of a social outcast, wears thick glasses and harbors a strong academic interest in science, especially chemistry. More typically geeky traits of Steve's include his interests in Dungeons & Dragons, Harry Potter and Star Wars. Like most unpopular students, Steve is often physically and verbally picked on by the bullies of the more popular social circle. Steve's father, Stan, is often frustrated with Steve, as he would prefer that Steve engage in activities that would improve his social standing, like sports, a conflict that was first explored in the first-season episode ' All About Steve'. Stan sometimes attempts to change Steve, usually unsuccessfully, as when he once gave Steve an experimental performance enhancer. The steroid caused Steve to grow female breasts but also ironically made him more popular at school. Steve looks up to his dad as a role model but his naïvete often leads him to follow his dad's advice or convictions, seemingly blindly. This led him to once openly display homophobia.
