Social Psychology Concepts - Movie Review Example

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY CONCEPTS IN THE MOVIE THE SOUND OF MUSIC

Introduction

Social psychology is the scientific field that seeks to understand the nature and causes of individual behavior and thought in social situations. Because the field is scientific, it involves referring to a set of values and methods used to study a wide range of topics. Social psychology deals with the behavior of individuals and, as implied by the definition, the focus is on the social behavior and thought of these individuals in a social setting. Factors which may influence people's behaviors include various cognitive processes which include memories and inferences, the physical references and the cultural context in which in which the behavior takes place (Mynhardt & Baron, 2006). This paper will critically analyze the social psychology aspects depicted in the film The Sound of Music.

Summary of the film

Social psychology is evident in every aspect of life since behaviors control every action of people and is influenced by the environment and the individuals occupying it (Mynhardt & Baron, 2006). The aspects of social psychology have been heavily integrated into the Robert Wise’s film titled The Sound of Music which chronicles the lifestyle of Maria, who leaves an Austrian convent to be a governess to the children of Georg Von Trapp, a naval officer in the German army.

Obedience is the submission to the orders of a figure in authority (Vaughan & Michael, 2014). Obedience is seen in the film when the captain orders the children around and brandishes his authority explicitly to the children who strictly obey him introducing the concept of obedience which is an element in social psychology. Soon the concept of conformity is introduced when Maria arrives to the home; she is ready to alter the means of parenting that the captain employs. She plays with the children and teaches them to sing where they later sing to the Baroness, who is the captain's fiancé. The Captains is impressed by the singing and conforms to Maria's parenting style.

Cognitive dissonance is brought by an inner drive to hold all attitudes and beliefs in harmony and avoid disharmony or dissonance (Vaughan & Michael, 2014). In the film, Maria has cognitive dissonance when she feels uncomfortable that she might love the captain and leaves for the Abbey. However, in the Abbey, she talks with the Reverend Mother who enhances the harmony in her attitude and beliefs and encourages her and return to the Captains home and face her feelings with the Captain.

In social psychology context, it is expected that one should obey individuals who are superior and authoritative. However, in the film, the Captain escapes from the Nazi soldiers who wanted to draft him into the war. They possess the legitimate power to require him fight against his native country. However, despite the power and authority possessed by the soldiers, the Captain does not follow their orders (Vaughan & Michael, 2014).

It is also unusual for a person to act against their ideology. One is expected to behave following their religious beliefs, principles and doctrines (Vaughan & Michael, 2014). However, the nuns forego their doctrines and ideologies and lie to the soldiers about the Von Trapp family hiding in the Abbey. This is a sin according to their religion. They also vandalize the vehicles of the soldiers in order to interfere with their ability to apprehend Georg Von Trapp.

An evaluation of three scenes that accurately represent social psychology research and theory

Obedience

Obedience is the behavior that is portrayed by people when an authority figure instructs them to do something and they follow that directive. According to a study conducted by Bickman in 1974, almost 9 out of 10 people were willing to follow orders of research assistants only when they had security guard uniforms (Cardwell, & Flanagan, 2005). The scene in which Maria is first introduced to the Captain Von Trapp's seven children is an accurate representation of psychology research and theory involving obedience. In the instance, it is evident that the captain has strict rules for the children which are strictly followed. When he blows a whistle, the children come out of their rooms marching quickly towards him, line up in order and stand at attention. In the same scene, he slaps the back of one child which indicates that any child who fails to follow the orders of the father is physically punished. The children obey their father due to the legitimate authority and the power he has over them.

Conformity

Conformity is the course of changing perceptions, opinions, or behaviors in ways that will suit a particular group. This is related to the study conducted by Solomon Asch in 1956 in which the participants thought that they must have been wrong because other participants thought something different (Cardwell & Flanagan, 2005). In the movie, when the Captain hears his children singing, he is impressed and even gets sentimental. Rather than adhere to his prior perspective which forbade singing, he joins them which conforms to the traits of the children. The Captain also feels that his parenting is wrong because Maria and the children prefer other activities like playing and singing rather than his marching drill regiment and therefore fits into the constructs of conformity.

Cognitive dissonance

Cognitive dissonance is the perceived discrepancy between an attitude and behavior. The conflicts between two conflicting attitudes can result in either one winning out. There is also an instance that adequately represents cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance is used to refer to the situation involving conflicting attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. It produces a feeling of discomfort that leads to an alteration in one of the attitudes, beliefs, to reduce the discomfort and restore balance. Festinger's cognitive dissonance theory suggests that people have an inner drive to hold all their attitudes and beliefs in harmony and avoid disharmony and dissonance (Vaughan & Michael, 2014). It is very applicable to the case when Maria has to adjust her beliefs and act on the fact that a loving a man may also be a form of service to God hence overcoming the discomfort that she had.

An evaluation of three scenes that you determine is in some way inaccurate or atypical according to social psychology research and theory

Ideology

Ideologies are the personal doctrines, opinions, or ways of thinking that characterize an overarching view of the world. There is a strong connection between one's ideology and behavior. People who are religious have many religious traditions and beliefs that prevent them from acting in a certain way and also guide their actions. The movie also has instances which are inaccurate and are challenged by social psychology research and theories concerning ideological concepts. For instance, when the Von Trapp family escapes from the soldiers who wanted to draft Von Trapp into the war, the nuns hide them in the Abbey and lie to the soldiers by telling them the family is not in the Abbey. Two of the nuns also vandalize the soldier’s vehicles to prevent or stall their ability to pursue the Von Trapp family after they escape the festival and the Abbey. The actions are unexpected in social psychology concept people because the nuns are pious people who are supposed to behave according to a set of moral code which forbids lying (Vaughan & Michael, 2014).

Obedience

Obedience has been described earlier in the paper as submission or compliance to the orders of an authoritative figure. It has been studied and hypothesized that when an authoritative figure has power, the chances of disobedience reduces. However, in the movie, Von Trapp disobeys the Nazi army officials by escaping their draft attempts. Von Trapp has been instructed to join the Nazi army who has the legitimate power to draft people into the army. Their power is clearly displayed at the music festivals where their soldiers guard the hall to ensure that Von Trapp does not escape. They also have the legitimate authority to force him into their military which will cause him to fight against his native country. By the Captain’s fleeing the country, his is in direct disobedience to the Nazi’s. This instance is atypical to the conclusions of research conducted and the theories identified.

Self-identity

The self-identity theory claims that identities are perceptual control systems that act to maintain congruence between identity standards and individual's self-perceptions. These identities are often based on the opinions of others (In DeLamater & In Ward, 2013). This concept conflicts with the instance in the 'Sound of Music' movie where Maria fears to love Von Trapp because of his engagement to the Baroness. The instance is conflicting as Maria is aware she has challenges as a nun based on the opinion of many of the other nuns as well as the Reverend Mother, who was in charge of the abbey. In addition, the Abbey is not a place to hide, but a place to reflect and determine one’s place in life. Maria must change her current self-identity as a nun and embrace the fact that she is in love with The Captain as well as his children, and adjust her self-identity to that of becoming a wife and mother.

An explanation of the plausibility of the whole story from a social psychology perspective

Social cognition

Social cognition is the concept that suggests people learn behaviors by the way they think about or perceive other people's behaviors. It is the general process through which people make sense out of social events which may or may not include other people. The concept suggests that human beings see the manner in which other people act and judge whether the actions are good or bad. People may also alter other belief systems if they discover someone who they believe to be a good person, temporarily engaging in or doing something that is considered bad. It enables people to accept certain behaviors in certain situations.

Symbolic interactionism

The social interactionism perspective asserts that people will communicate using symbols. The symbols also have different meanings to different people. For, instance, according to symbolic interactionism, objects have no inherent meaning, but their meanings are negotiated through shared understandings. The movies portray this perspective in many different instances. For instance, Maria is naive of love and did not find it awkward until the Baroness confronted her. Her naivety meant she had no existing concept for the feelings of love and therefore did not view them as bad. However, the Baroness viewed the love as bad due to her engagement to The Captain. Once the Baroness placed a meaning on the feelings Maria had for the captain, Maria then acted in dismay believing she would inappropriately interfere with their existing relationship. The Baroness does not believe that it was Maria’s fault but convinces her to leave the home to prevent any further damage to her engagement with the Captain. This is an instance of a situation that does not have an inherent meaning hence the two characters negotiate on the meaning of the situation through their shared understanding (In DeLamater, & In Ward, 2013).

Issues that are significant in morality contexts also sometimes lack an inherent meaning and are interpreted differently by different people. The meaning and the morality of certain issues are negotiated through the shared understanding of people. For instance, the morality of misleading is uncertain and requires justification by the people involved within the context of a specific social situation. Though misleading is generally against the beliefs in Christianity, given the social situation in saving the Von Trapp’s, the nuns feel morally justified in their actions. In another social context, misleading would be inappropriate.

Agentic state

The agentic state is the situation in which one becomes focused on the source of authority and therefore turns in to the instructions issued. The individuals then give up their normal moral and ethical standards in the favor of the individuals who are in power. The agentic state forces the individual to be the agent of the authority figure.

For instance, in the movie, Maria is in an agentic state since she obeys Baroness believing that God wants her to prepare the children to accept the Baroness as their new mother. She also takes the Reverend mother as an authority figure and follows her word in utter obedience. Also, Maria does not want to love the Captain or marry him since it may be unacceptable based on her religious beliefs, and according to the Reverend Mother. These instances prove that the movie is authentic in social psychology concept in relation to the agentic state concept.

However, an agent may experience role strain which is a discomfort that one feels that causes a person to question the legitimacy of the authority figure. This weakens the agentic state, and the individual is more likely to disobey. To disobey successfully, an individual must be aware of the alternatives to obedience and have an adequate amount of resources. However, in the movie, the decision of the Captain to disobey the order does not adequately fit into the social psychology concept. For instance, though the Captain has an alternative to obedience which is escaping to another country, he does not have the necessary resources to resist the Nazis. It is hence unexpected that the captain would disobey in a situation that has a firm agentic state (Eysenck, 2015). The plausibility of the movie in that instance is weak since it does not have credibility in alignment to the agentic state concept.

Social learning theory

Social learning theory is the theory that social behavior is acquired through direct reinforcement or punishment of behavior and observational learning. However, the process of direct reinforcement is through observational learning or modeling. It is an important concept especially in parenting (Akers & Jensen, 2009). For instance, the captain reinforces behavior in his children by punishing them. However, it has shortcomings since the children only obey his orders when he is around and relax when he is away. On the other hand, Maria employs observational learning and urges the children to embrace new ways of spending their time. This one is found to have a better influence in the children, and when she is absent, they still try to do what she had taught them. 

Gauge the plausibility of the overall story against theory and research and include your conclusions in your evaluation.

Presence or absence of authority in relation to obedience levels

The presence of authority has been found to be significant in the probability of a particular subject following orders from a certain leader. This was proved by the Milgram's proximity study, where the experimenter left the room before the learning session and continued to give instructions by telephone instructing the volunteers to continue administering shocks to the subjects. When the experimenter was outside, only nine out of forty which is only twenty-three percent of the volunteers went into the maximum shock level. This showed that the authority's direct surveillance is a crucial factor in determining obedience in this setting (Cardwell, & Flanagan, 2005).

In the plot, the children were very obedient to the captain when he was present. They would march towards him once he blew his whistle. When the captain went away, the children climbed trees, played and sang, which was against the rules that he had set. Maria had also made their play clothes from drapes which would not have been the case if the captain had been there. In the absence of the captain, Max auditions the children for the Salzburg Festival despite the Captain prohibiting it previously. The movie shows that the absence of the authority figure results in a decrease in the obedience levels (Cardwell & Flanagan, 2005).

Aggression

Aggression is a behavior that has the intention of harming someone. It occurs when one aims at seeking a particular goal and is frustrated in this attempt. The lost letter experiment by Milgram is an experiment that exposed aggression. In the experiment, Stanley dispersed four hundred sealed, stamped and self-addressed envelopes in public places. It was recorded that more people mailed letters addressed to the socially desirable groups which included medical associates. On the other hand, the letters belonging to undesirable parties like the Nazis and the Communist party had a low return rate (Baumeister & Bushman, 2008).

Aggression has also been represented throughout the movie. The captains’ children are rude to the governesses to such a degree that they quit their job at the children’s home. This is because the governesses come to help the captain in raising the children and conform to his cruel parenting which the children do not like. However, they love Maria because she is kind, loving and caring which makes her desirable. This instance in the plot supports the conclusions of the Milgram mail research; hence, the plot is plausible.

Conclusion

All in all, social psychology is the branch of psychology that deals with social interactions, their origins and their effects on people. The branch of psychology has developed the elements of social psychology through the study of the nature of social interactions and investigating how they are influenced by the environment which is the main aspect that alters and influences behavior. It has led to the discovery of the elements of conformity, cognitive dissonance, ideology and obedience. Social psychology also has been viewed and analyzed through different perspectives which include social cognition, symbolic interactionism, and social learning theory. The perspectives and the elements are evident in many spheres of life. The perspectives are supported by years of researched theories and tested hypothesis’s. The movie The Sound of Music has many instances that support various social psychology concepts which have been reviewed in this essay.