Personality Evaluation of Wade Whitehouse in the Affliction - Research Paper Example

? A personality evaluation of Wade Whitehouse in the movie Affliction Glory E. Rodriguez Capella COUN5214 13 December Introduction: Wade Whitehouse is the name of the leading character in the critically acclaimed movie Affliction. He is introduced as a policeman in a small town who is seen struggling with a paralyzing sense of melancholy despite having a sound professional career, uniform, and everything. Deficiencies of his personal life like not having his wife and daughter in addition to a nonexistent social life weigh down on him all the time. He is oppressed by social isolation and suffers from an inability to relate to anyone. His character, which is singularly intense and complex, has contributed much to the success of Affliction. In this essay, I will scrutinize Whitehouse’s personality in reference to two major perspectives of personality psychology which are psychoanalytic and behaviorist perspectives. I will try to reach the best assessment possible that is reliable and valid by utilizing these approaches to dissect the chosen personality. It will help to know on what grounds Whitehouse’s personality causes him to go down the destructive path as portrayed in the film. Certain important concepts from both perspectives will be implemented on the chosen personality to assess the extent to which the personality analysis presented in this essay could be considered decisive. The discussion in this essay will help to prove concrete usefulness of myriad theories of personality psychology in good interpretation of a subject. Psychoanalytic perspective on personality: This perspective stems from the work of Sigmund Freud and focuses on the nature of effects produced by unconscious thoughts and childhood experiences on one’s personality. According to this perspective on personality, myriad experiences of youth or early family life have huge repercussions and play a momentous role in structuring a road-map for the future (Cherry, 2013). Freud’s biological mother was quite beautiful and when once, he inadvertently saw her naked, everlasting impression of attraction and love was casted on his mind. His positive impression of women and the way he acknowledges their beauty and intelligence in his work stems from that early experience (Friedman & Schustack, 2009, p. 70). In the same way, the bitter experiences Whitehouse shared with his alcoholic father, Glen, inculcated gigantic deficiencies in his life. An abusive father who had only been able to derive pleasure from terrorizing his family all his life was bound to leave a lingering impression in Whitehouse’s mind. Repeated abused hurled by Glen in the childhood at him ended up making him feel worthless about himself. Research suggests that the kind of interactions or attachments a person has as a child “have profound effects, both cumulative and delayed” (Deiner, 2011, p. 85). When there are not good cumulative experiences with others, like Whitehouse did not share good experiences with Glen, a child is bound to develop a singularly warped sense of attachment or psychological connectedness. This warped sense of attachment is particularly evident in the way Whitehouse relates to his wife and everyone in his life because he unfortunately had an affectionless relationship with Glen. A closer look at the film makes it clear how Whitehouse’s rancorous relationship Glen works to reinforce emotional deficits in him. That is why he is unable to emotionally attach both with his wife and daughter. It does not mean that he does not try relating to them. It just means that his intimacy deficits always become an obstacle in the way of healthy relationships no matter how hard he tries. This is because the kind of attachment he has with Glen as a son affects him deeply and shapes his behavior. Glen is introduced in the film as a very strict figure. He abuses alcohol and enjoys being the source of pain for his family. He is painfully judgmental, treats both his sons Rolfe and Whitehouse disparagingly, and excessively rebukes them. This objectionably irrational behavior of Glen’s is showed in flashbacks throughout the film to help the audience realize the source of Whitehouse’s crippling anguish. As stressed by Freud’s psychoanalytic perspective, the kind of traumatic domestic experiences and lack of secure attachments, which Whitehouse was exposed to all the time, definitely construct a roadmap for social awkwardness and psychological stress (French et al., 2010, p. 173). This explains why his wife leaves him in the film and also does not let their daughter stay with him fearing his weird behavior will inflict bad influence on their daughter’s impressionistic mind being a child. Glen’s harsh attitude, in the form of a powerful environmental force as suggested by the psychoanalytic perspective, left a lasting impression on Whitehouse’s personality. Such environmental forces affect the development of both normal and, in Whitehouse’s case, problematic behavior (Plante, 2011, p. 133). In accordance with this thought, the film shows how during an angry encounter with his girlfriend, Whitehouse attacks Jill causing her nose to bleed. Instead of dealing his daughter in a calm manner staying levelheaded, he carelessly knocks her to the ground hurting her in the process. This is because as a child, he himself has always been treated in the same thoughtless way by his abusive father. This does not mean that he appreciates what Glen did to him. It only means that bitter early life experiences can very subtly and unconsciously affect a person’s personality and the way he/she decides to act as an adult. A mutilated sense of connectedness inculcated in him by his sadistic father structured a roadmap for his future life which is evident in the way he goes on to treat his wife and daughter, two very important people in his life. The psychoanalytic perspective on personality suggests that in contrast to free will of people, it is their early life experiences which play a more influential role in making them who they grow up to become. These experiences “can be used to predict future behavior” (Coon, 2005, p. 413). If this is believed to be true, then it suggests that the behavior of an individual is determined by their unconscious motives which are defined by their early experiences. These experiences play a decisive role. Depending on the nature of experiences or environmental forces, they also help a person in coping with stress. In case of Whitehouse, because the experiences are negative, he is never able to cope with stress and keeps sinking deeper into depression (Meadows, 2009, p. 124). It is due to the aggressive thoughts fostered in Whitehouse’s mind in childhood that in one scene of the film, when his wife arrives to pick up their daughter from his place, he aggressively shoves her against the car before she drives away with Jill. He is a policeman and law-abiding citizen. His job is to protect people around him. Yet, because he witnessed aggression at his home all the time in his early life, he ends up projecting those experiences out on other people despite not intending to. Not being able to attach to humans fills people with acute isolation according to Freud. In accordance with this thought, Whitehouse is also seen in the film subjected to great isolation. This isolation fills him up with an overwhelming sensation of worthlessness. This worthlessness, consequently, cripples his ability to provide love and protection to his wife. He lives a fragmented life and is unable to sustain a healthy relationship with anyone. He drives his wife, daughter, and girlfriend away from him because he is unable to provide each of them what is expected of him. This is because bitter early life experiences, as stressed by Freud’s perspective, keep influencing a person both consciously and unconsciously (Millon & Lerner, 2003, p. 118). Behaviorist perspective on personality: General consensus is that this perspective also plays a very deterministic role in interpreting a personality. It is also known as the social-learning approach to personality. It is basically introduced by John Watson who is regarded as the first social-learning theorist. He suggested that children have no innate dispositions (Shaffer, 2009, p. 44). This is quite a bold statement, but is also true. This is because more than children’s inborn tendencies, it is the external stimuli in the form of rearing environments and parental attitudes which determine how children will turn out to be as adults. It could be parents, friends, or any other significant people, but they all potentially affect a child’s psyche and approach to life. Interactions matter a lot and influence behavior for better or worse depending how those interactions are. In contrast to Freud, Watson stressed that adult behavior cannot be analyzed through the lens of a series of different stages as described by Freud. These stages, related to biological maturation, do not determine how children are expected to progress through life. Rather, it is the interactions or the external stimuli of different kinds which determine the pattern of development. If this perspective is held to be true, then in contrast to psychoanalytic perspective, it suggests that development is not a fixed process because behavior undergoes continuous change. This is why Watson considered development “a continuous process of behavioral change that is shaped by the person’s unique environment” (Shaffer, 2009, p. 44). Instead of internal forces like natural tendencies, external stimuli like reward structures or punishments are more important in shaping a personality. While Freud attached due importance to internal thoughts in defining a personality, the behaviorist perspective stresses that a personality is only the product of interaction between a subject and its environment. It is also suggested that a personality is made up of behaviors learned throughout life and emotional reactions, both of which are “tied to particular environmental contingencies” (Oldham, Skodol, & Bender, 2009, p. 17). If this environment is positive, a person will be at peace with him/herself. But, if the environment is negative, a person will be faced with acute dissonance as Whitehouse is in Affliction. According to this perspective of personality, his staggering distress not only stems from his childhood or early life experiences, it also stems from the environment to which he is exposed as an adult. From childhood to adulthood, Whitehouse has had to interact with a very tumultuous environment which contributed to his moroseness and dissatisfaction. To cap the matters, he is also a sheriff. Being a sheriff requires him to interact with a lot of law offenders everyday which is a powerful external stimulus in itself. In the movie, he grows increasingly suspicious of Jack whom he suspects to be involved in the murder of his friend. While other officers show no signs of suspicion, only Whitehouse is not at ease with Jack because his troubled interactions with others as a child added to the fact that he grows up to join police force compel him to find issues even in normal things. Jack is a normal person who is naturally shocked at the murder of his friend himself reports the incident to the police. But, Whitehouse becomes convinced that Jack is the murderer because of his social environment and childhood experiences, both of which define a personality. Like the psychoanalytic perspective, this perspective also stresses on the same message that “children are shaped by their social environments” (Shaffer, 2009, p. 45). Whitehouse comes across as a poor husband, an inattentive father, and an unprofessional officer in the film because his social environment as a child had been such that he grew up to be pathologically distrustful of everyone he interacted with in life. Conclusion: In conclusion, Wade Whitehouse’s personality is open to multiple interpretations on a perceptual level. Various approaches can be employed to better understand its complex patterns. Not one personality psychology perspective can be considered decisive because every approach has something unique to offer as is obvious from the above discussion. In the movie Affliction, a very strict and alcoholic father very effectively contributes to a troubled childhood experience for Whitehouse and also drastically affects his self-esteem. It might also be the time around when he first began having issues with socializing with other people and maintaining relationships. Moreover, his social environment as an adult also remains distressing as he has no family life. In the light of the analysis of the chosen personality, it is safe to assume that it is really the blend of all perspectives that can ensure a personality to be effectively analyzed. References: Cherry, K. (2013). Attachment Theory: The Importance of Early Emotional Bonds. Retrieved from http://psychology.about.com/od/loveandattraction/a/attachment01.htm Coon, D. (2005). Psychology: A modular approach to mind and behavior (10th ed.). USA: Cengage Learning. Deiner, P. (2011). Inclusive Early Childhood Education: Development, Resources, and Practice, 6th ed.: Development, Resources, and Practice (6th ed.). USA: Cengage Learning. French, P., Smith, J., Shiers, D., Reed, M., & Rayne, M. (2010). Promoting Recovery in Early Psychosis: A Practice Manual. Malaysia: John Wiley & Sons. Friedman, H.S., & Schustack, M.W. (2009). Personality: Classic Theories and Modern Research (4th ed.). Allyn & Bacon, Inc. Meadows, S. (2009). The Child as Social Person. USA: Routledge. Millon, T., & Lerner, M.J. (2003). Handbook of Psychology, Personality and Social Psychology. USA: John Wiley & Sons. Oldham, J.M., Skodol, A.E., & Bender, D.S. (2009). Essentials of Personality Disorders. USA: American Psychiatric Pub. Plante, T.G. (2011). Contemporary Clinical Psychology (3rd ed.). USA: John Wiley & Sons. Shaffer, D.R. (2009). Social and Personality Development (6th ed.). USA: Cengage Learning. Read More