LaRoy 1
Brian: the Lovable Brainiac Brian Johnson is stereotypically known as ?the brain? of the five students in detention. A high achieving student, he places a lot of emphasis on his grades as a value of who he is. So much in fact, that when he receives an F in shop class, he attempts suicide. The gun that he brought to school, however, was a flare gun, which went off in his locker. This earns him a detention. Over the course of the Saturday, he gains a group of friends and a better understanding of himself. By observing his behavior during detention, we can psychoanalyze his personality using several different theories of psychology. One theory that we can use to analyze Brian?s personality is Piaget?s Stages of Cognitive Development. …show more content…
Kohlberg asserts that the three stages of moral development are pre-conventional, conventional, and post-conventional. Brian begins the movie in the conventional morality stage, and through the events of the day, begins to show signs of post-conventional morality. At first, he is conventional. The book says that this means he tries to ?uphold laws and rules to gain social approval or maintain social order? (Myers, 2014). Brian tries to make everyone obey Vernon at first when Bender wants to close the door. He says things like ?Well, you know the door's supposed to stay open? and ?Uh, excuse me, fellas? I think we should just write our papers? (Tanen & Hughes, 1985). This shows that he wishes to obey authority figures and follow the rules of society, making him in the conventional stage. However, by the end of the movie, he shows signs of the post-conventional stage. He says, ?I just wanna tell each of you that I wouldn't do that ... I wouldn't and I will not! 'Cause I think that's real sh***y? (Tanen & Hughes, 1985). That is a significant change in his moral thinking. He isn?t following society?s rules anymore, which would dictate that he stick to his social group. Instead, he progresses to a higher moral standard of friendship and kindness that shows elevated thought. He learns to focus on his own moral code rather than just following the rules because he?s supposed to. Therefore, he has …show more content…
This theory evaluates a person?s personality based on five traits: extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, and openness. Brian ranks very high on all of these traits except for openness. First, he is very extraverted. He is fairly sociable and talkative, like how he immediately tries to relate to their discussion about clubs by talking extensively about physics club. Also, he is on a first name basis with the janitor, so we can assume that he has strong social tendencies and is extraverted. Next, he is very conscientious. The book describes someone who is conscientious as ?organized, careful, and disciplined? (Myers, 2014). Brian is extremely careful and disciplined, which is evident through his line, ?Why are we risking getting caught?? (Tanen & Hughes, 1985). He is always very cautious and rational, which demonstrates his high conscientiousness. Also, he is very agreeable. The book described agreeableness as ?soft-hearted, trusting, and helpful? (Myers, 2014). This is evident in his conversation with Bender. When he is sarcastically asked if his mother married Mr. Rogers, he innocently responds, ?Uh, no, Mr. Johnson? (Tanen & Hughes, 1985). This shows his child-like willingness to trust even Bender, who is constantly sarcastic. He is also very neurotic. The book describes neuroticism as ?anxious, insecure, and self-pitying? (Myers, 2014). Brian is neurotic because he is always very
Brian: the Lovable Brainiac Brian Johnson is stereotypically known as ?the brain? of the five students in detention. A high achieving student, he places a lot of emphasis on his grades as a value of who he is. So much in fact, that when he receives an F in shop class, he attempts suicide. The gun that he brought to school, however, was a flare gun, which went off in his locker. This earns him a detention. Over the course of the Saturday, he gains a group of friends and a better understanding of himself. By observing his behavior during detention, we can psychoanalyze his personality using several different theories of psychology. One theory that we can use to analyze Brian?s personality is Piaget?s Stages of Cognitive Development. …show more content…
Kohlberg asserts that the three stages of moral development are pre-conventional, conventional, and post-conventional. Brian begins the movie in the conventional morality stage, and through the events of the day, begins to show signs of post-conventional morality. At first, he is conventional. The book says that this means he tries to ?uphold laws and rules to gain social approval or maintain social order? (Myers, 2014). Brian tries to make everyone obey Vernon at first when Bender wants to close the door. He says things like ?Well, you know the door's supposed to stay open? and ?Uh, excuse me, fellas? I think we should just write our papers? (Tanen & Hughes, 1985). This shows that he wishes to obey authority figures and follow the rules of society, making him in the conventional stage. However, by the end of the movie, he shows signs of the post-conventional stage. He says, ?I just wanna tell each of you that I wouldn't do that ... I wouldn't and I will not! 'Cause I think that's real sh***y? (Tanen & Hughes, 1985). That is a significant change in his moral thinking. He isn?t following society?s rules anymore, which would dictate that he stick to his social group. Instead, he progresses to a higher moral standard of friendship and kindness that shows elevated thought. He learns to focus on his own moral code rather than just following the rules because he?s supposed to. Therefore, he has …show more content…
This theory evaluates a person?s personality based on five traits: extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, and openness. Brian ranks very high on all of these traits except for openness. First, he is very extraverted. He is fairly sociable and talkative, like how he immediately tries to relate to their discussion about clubs by talking extensively about physics club. Also, he is on a first name basis with the janitor, so we can assume that he has strong social tendencies and is extraverted. Next, he is very conscientious. The book describes someone who is conscientious as ?organized, careful, and disciplined? (Myers, 2014). Brian is extremely careful and disciplined, which is evident through his line, ?Why are we risking getting caught?? (Tanen & Hughes, 1985). He is always very cautious and rational, which demonstrates his high conscientiousness. Also, he is very agreeable. The book described agreeableness as ?soft-hearted, trusting, and helpful? (Myers, 2014). This is evident in his conversation with Bender. When he is sarcastically asked if his mother married Mr. Rogers, he innocently responds, ?Uh, no, Mr. Johnson? (Tanen & Hughes, 1985). This shows his child-like willingness to trust even Bender, who is constantly sarcastic. He is also very neurotic. The book describes neuroticism as ?anxious, insecure, and self-pitying? (Myers, 2014). Brian is neurotic because he is always very