1. Personality and Development Concepts
1.1. ID
1.1.1. Definition: A reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that, according to Freud, strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives. The id operates on the pleasure principle, demanding immediate gratification
1.1.1.1. Application: John has a strong id. The id works on the pleasure principle, meaning John will likely choose what he wants over what is right. Throughout the movie, John constantly messes with the teacher that is watching them. John knows that this is not the right thing to do, however, his unconscious id pushes him to continue because it makes him happy.
1.2. Displacement
1.2.1. Definition: A defense mechanism that involves taking out our frustrations, feelings, and impulses on people or objects that are less threatening
1.2.1.1. Application: John tells the other kids in detention about his parents. They treated John poorly and told him he was, "Stupid, worthless, no good, Goddamned, freeloading, son of a bitch, retarded, bigmouth, know it all, asshole, jerk, ugly, lazy and disrespectful." To deal with the rejection and treatment of his parents, he yells at less threatening group, his peers. He takes out his frustration from his parents on the other teens in detention, which helps him feel better.
1.3. Oral Fixation
1.3.1. Definition: Freud believed that being overindulged or being underindulged in a certain psychosexual stage of development can result in the person taking on activities related to that erogenous zone when they are older
1.3.1.1. Application: In the movie, we see John smoking a cigarette. This could be the result of fixation in the oral stage. John could have been either overindulged or underindulged in the first year of his life, when his mouth was the erogenous zone. Since his oral needs during this time were not met during the correct time zone, his smoking could have risen from this conflict.
1.4. Invincibility Fable
1.4.1. Definition: The feeling that although others might be vulnerable to tragedies, these things won't happen to them
1.4.1.1. Application: Throughout the movie, we see John smoking. John knows that smoking is very bad and can kill a person. Despite this knowledge, he continues to smoke, thinking that it won't affect him.
1.5. Unconditional Positive Regard
1.5.1. Definition: A caring, accepting, nonjudgmental attitude, which Carl Rogers believed would help clients to develop self-awareness and self-acceptance.
1.5.1.1. Application: John does not receive unconditional positive regard from his parents, who are some of the biggest influences in his life. Since John's parents often yell at him for all of his actions, John doesn't get rewarded or loved by his parents. John needs unconditional positive regard from his parents to grow and live in a friendly environment.
2. Other Concepts
2.1. Self Fulfilling Prophecy
2.1.1. Definition: How one's behavior is influenced by how other's see someone and how they expect one to behave.
2.1.1.1. Application: John is treated very poorly by his parents, and called names such as "stupid, worthless" which make him believe he actually is stupid and worthless. Due to his belief that he is stupid and worthless, John acts as if he is stupid and worthless. John acts out (he pulls pranks on many people, for example, he shut the door connecting the teacher's office and the library) and those actions show how he These names that his parents use to describe John lead John to act worthless, rather than smart and worthy.
2.2. Stereotypes
2.2.1. Definition: A generalized (sometimes accurate but often overgeneralized) belief about a group of people.
2.2.1.1. Application: John has stereotypes about many different groups of people. For example, John has a stereotype about people that are in many clubs and activities. While talking about people in clubs, John says, "Well, it wouldn't have anything to do with you activities people being a..holes...now would it?" Even though John does not know anyone in clubs and activities (besides the students at detention), he believes that everyone in clubs and activities are annoying and bad people. This stereotype is not true for everyone in clubs and activities, but John believes that this stereotype represents EVERYONE in clubs and activities which is false.
2.3. Relative Deprivation
2.3.1. Definition: the perception that one is worse off relative to those with whom one compares oneself.
2.3.1.1. Application: John often compares himself to the other people in detention. He believes those people are better off than him. When talking to Claire about her earring, he says, "I'll bet he (your father) bought those for you. I bet those were a Christmas gift. You know what I got for Christmas? Oh, it was a banner f...ing year at the old Bender family. I got a carton of cigarettes." John compared his Christmas gift to Claire's, which made his gift seem lousy. As John compares his tough and poor life to Claire's privileged life, he feels worse off that her and many others.