Personality Psychology and Antwone

Antwone Fisher’s (played by Derek Luke) story is one of hope and faith over adversity. Fisher grows up living in a foster home (the Tates) where he is beaten, mentally and sexually abused; he escaped homelessness by joining the United States Navy, The movie picks up with Antwone as a young sailor who dreams of being welcomed by a big family to extremely massive feast. However, his dream is interrupted with the sound of a gun shot. Already suffering from self-doubt and shame about his past, he reacts with angry outbursts when his self-esteem is challenged. Throughout the movie, Antwone keeps on getting in fights and getting sent back to the psychiatrist, Dr. Jerome Davenport (played by Denzel Washington). He slowly begins opening up, learning to confront the past that has fostered his long-standing rage. Dr. Davenport becomes Antwone’s substitute father figure, the person who teaches him to drop his guarded resentment, and assures him that he has the strength to face the buried traumas of his childhood. One fight in particular changed his life. One of his fellow shipmates taunts him about being a virgin. They fight and then he gets sent back to the Dr. Davenport. The Dr. Davenport then tells Antwone to go find a girl to go on some dates with.

He finds a girl (Cheryl) that he has been friends with for a while, and asks her on a date. He went on a date and that helped him build his self-esteem. Antwone and the Dr. Davenport have become really close. Dr. Davenport decides that it would be a good idea for Antwone to set out to find his real or biological family. In the end Antwone finds his father’s family and his mother that gave him up at birth while in prison. Everyone learns from everyone else, Antwone’s courage persuades Washington’s character to own up to his own traumas. What mighty achievements Fisher wrought. He conquered everyone who ever held him back, beat him down, and made Dr. Davenport a better doctor and husband. Then Dr. Davenport salutes him.

The character Antwone Fisher through the lens of the psychodynamic theory and the social cognitive theory, both are major concepts in the study of human personality.

Antwone’s story demonstrates his psychodynamic personality and his unique character traits. The Psychodynamic Theory is a view that explains personality in terms of conscious and unconscious forces, such as unconscious desires and beliefs. The theory offers three basic constructs to understanding personality pathology: ego strength, defense style and mental representation of self and others. Social Cognitive theory deals with cognitive, emotional aspects and aspects of behavior for understanding behavioral change. There are social and physical environments that can affect a person’s behavior. The Social Cognitive Theory is concerned with the development of Antwone’s thought processes, it also looks at how these thought processes influence how he understand and interrelate with the world.

The primary elements of the psychodynamic theory and social cognitive theory will be used to analyze the main character in the film Antwone Fisher. The psychopathology of the character will be identified, and an analysis through structure, process, growth and development and change will be explored.

Section 1: Character Personality Matrix

Theory Major Components
Structure Process Growth and Development Psychopathology Change 1. Psychodynamic Psychodynamic Theory Antowne’s behavior and All his behavior has a Behavior is motivated by twoOnce the unconscious Psychodynamic theory is a view that focus on Antwone’s feelings as an adult cause reason; his instinctual drives: Eros motives have been explains personality in terms of unconscious process as (including psychological behavior and feelings are(the sex drive & life altered he could change conscious and unconscious forces, such asthat is manifested in problems) are rooted in powerfully affected by instinct) and Thanatos (the for the better. Antwone unconscious desires and beliefs. his present behavior. his childhood his unconscious motives. aggressive drive & death was able to address face Dreams of being experiences. Children Treatment of disrespect instinct). Both these drivesand adjust through his welcomed by a big ostracized and bullied Already suffering from come from the “id”. therapy sessions. family to extremely Antwone.

He suffered self-doubt and shame Personality is shaped as theAntwone was able to massive feast. However,physical, mental and about his past, he drives are modified by recalls the abuse and his dream is sexual abuse. Later, in reacted with angry different conflicts at heartbreaks he suffered interrupted with the his teen years and a outbursts when his different times in childhoodand comes to terms with sound of a gun shot. reform school, (a prison self-esteem was Antwone’s aggression or his anger and The lack of positive for juveniles) and not challenged. He finds the motivational forces are resentment. A love emotional support and finishing high school. strength through released by his fighting andinterest, the courage to fact he managed to keepThe process of Antwone’s counseling to overcome disobeying orders. His aim face the abuser and all his feelings factors in his life the psychological and is to survive self search for his real or bottled up inside created valid reasons forphysical abuse of his preservation by hiding or biological family.

He himself, (abandonment, him to be angry and have childhood that withhold his pass. He must also redirects some of mistrust, the abuse, a negative behavior. ultimately influenced hislearn to control aggressive his aggression into lack of love from real personal growth. instinct. learning different family). languages and writing poems. 2. Social Cognitive Cognitive Theory looks Antwone’s personality is Antwone’s interaction is Antwone’s childhood Cognitions change over Social Cognitive theory deals at Antwone as an based upon what his mind between his environment upbringing has made him holdtime as a function of with cognitive, emotional aspects and individual; behavior ishas come up or his is largely determined by his frustration inward thus maturation and aspects of behavior for understanding primarily learned reality. Using triadic his situations and as he exerts it as aggression experience (attention behavioral change. There are social and through his observationdynamic and reciprocal there become changes in and violence.

Fighting and span, memory, and physical environments that can affect a of other as well as interaction of personal his situations and being disobedient. reasoning skills). person’s behavior. through interaction factors behavior, and theenvironment this will Probably, learned as a Dating, continue therapy with his environment. environment. Abusive change his behavior. Thissurvival skill with the with psychiatrist and Physical and cognitive controlled environments could other children picking on search for his real or hardships greatly (foster home, reform only be achieved if he him in the foster home. biological family and to impacted the school and the streets). was willing to confront Antowne’s foster parent find that love he is shaping of his adult Antwone is force to a his past and the contributed to his lack of missing from his real identity. Living in a life of inward isolation.flashbacks that haunt self control. Not being in afamily. Antwone must foster home where he isThese factors created him. stable environment. But at believe that he has the beaten, mentally and valid reasons for him to the same time he had self skills and abilities sexually abused and be angry with the world. control not to become a partnecessary for doing this forced to attend of the street (smoking, in aregardless of his pass church. gang, going to jail) and circumstances. turn his life around for the positive.

References

Bandura, A. (2001). Social cognitive theory: An agentive perspective. Annual
Review ofPsychology, 52, 1-26. Epstein, S. (1994). Intgration of the cognitive and the psychodynamic unconscious.

American Psychologist, 49(8), 709-724. doi:10.1037/0003-66X.49.8.709.

Pervin, L., Cervone, D., & Oliver, J. (2005). Therories of personality (9th ed.) Hoboken,NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.