1. Defense Mechanisms
1.1. Displacement
1.1.1. In the movie it is clear Bender hates his parent and would hurt them if he could. Alas, he cannot; so he lets out his anger on his peers and teachers.
2. Social-Cognitive Perspective
2.1. Reciprocal determinism
2.1.1. Bender is spiralling towards a big fall. Being raised in a home such as he was, Bender probably had to do things things most other people did not and began to think of those things as acceptable. Now, he does those things out of habit which puts him in situations that make him angry and he does more bad things. This endless, destructive circle of reciprocal determinism makes it very hard for Bender to change his ways.
2.2. Diffusion of Responsibility
2.2.1. This one applies to all the members of the Breakfast Club. In the detention group, all of them feel safer doing things they would not normally do because they feel as though their actions are not so much their own as they are the actions of the group.
3. Catharsis
3.1. throughout the duration of the movie John Bender Releases his anger in random outburst. This shows that he should use catharsis because he is letting out repressed feelings at random times. Catharsis would allow him to avoid this behavior
4. Adolescent Egocentrism
4.1. Invincibility Fable
4.1.1. Bender displays the invincibility fable when he climbs in the roof to get from the closet back to the library where the other students are. He doesn't recognize the danger because he believes nothing could happen to him. When he falls through the rafters that does not prevent him form climbing through them again to get back
5. Personal Control
5.1. Learned Helplessness
5.1.1. Throughout the movie, Bender seems resigned to his fate of being a bum. Saying that there is nothing he can do about it. This is a classic case of learned helplessness probably due to his parents constantly putting him down no matter what he does.
6. Parenting Style
6.1. Neglectful
6.1.1. While in the library with the other students John Bender does a imitation of what life is like at his home. If he was being truthful it demonstrates a neglectful parenting style. Based on his interpretation his parents offer no support on only scold him.