If you had a chance to take on today again, what would you do differently? In Groundhog Day, reporter, Phil Connors experiences the blessing and curse of repeating Groundhog Day over and over again in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. This dejavu like course of events allows Phil to choose how his day goes, knowing that he will be able to relive it the next day without consequences. His character and demeanor changes throughout the film from his initial personality, through his repeating days, and once the repeating days end. While Phil’s journey in the film can be explained in multiple personality theories, Skinner’s personality theory perfectly describes Phil and his eccentric personality. Phil Connors is an anchorman who is pretty much miserable
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When assigned to cover Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney, the world’s largest celebration location for the holiday, Connors dreads the piece. Connors covered the piece three years before and was hoping to get out of it. The day after Groundhog Day at 6:00 AM, Phil woke up, except it was Groundhog Day again. This pattern repeated several times, and more and more Phil transformed from a grumpy man into an arrogant person. He was so confident that anything he did during the day would be wiped away by the next, that he would say and do anything he pleased without thought of consequence. A good example of how his cockiness grows is in his relationship with Rita. During a date with Rita, Phil asked her what her ideal man would be. Rita’s response was, “ He would be too humble to know that he is perfect.” Phil screamed, “That’s me,” in response to her answer. Phil’s attitude at this point in the movie is not only cocky but egocentric. The glossary of The American Psychological Association describes egocentrism as “In cognitive development, the inability of a young child at the preoperational stage to take the perspective of another person.” (APA.org) Phil’s inability …show more content…
B.F. Skinner describes operant conditioning as a relationship between behavior and consequences, where a consequence “modifies the organism’s tendency to repeat the behavior in the future.” (Crowne) In the Scenario of behaviors and consequences, Phil’s behaviors are acting in a rude and arrogant manner. The consequences of his malevolent behaviors is nothing, simply because the day will reset itself and only Phil knows what happened the previous clone day. Phil uses operant conditioning in his favor without releasing it. He tries to better his relationship with Rita by changing his answers and actions everyday to see what the outcome will be like. If Phil messes up with a detail then he can alter his behavior the next day to better the outcome. Phil masters the perfect way to get Rita by watching her to see what her favorite drink is, what type of literature and poetry she favors and what she wants in the world (world peace). Both positive and negative consequences helped Phil achieve what he wanted, which was to grow a relationship with Rita. In Phil’s mind he was being reinforced by the concept of what their relationship could
When assigned to cover Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney, the world’s largest celebration location for the holiday, Connors dreads the piece. Connors covered the piece three years before and was hoping to get out of it. The day after Groundhog Day at 6:00 AM, Phil woke up, except it was Groundhog Day again. This pattern repeated several times, and more and more Phil transformed from a grumpy man into an arrogant person. He was so confident that anything he did during the day would be wiped away by the next, that he would say and do anything he pleased without thought of consequence. A good example of how his cockiness grows is in his relationship with Rita. During a date with Rita, Phil asked her what her ideal man would be. Rita’s response was, “ He would be too humble to know that he is perfect.” Phil screamed, “That’s me,” in response to her answer. Phil’s attitude at this point in the movie is not only cocky but egocentric. The glossary of The American Psychological Association describes egocentrism as “In cognitive development, the inability of a young child at the preoperational stage to take the perspective of another person.” (APA.org) Phil’s inability …show more content…
B.F. Skinner describes operant conditioning as a relationship between behavior and consequences, where a consequence “modifies the organism’s tendency to repeat the behavior in the future.” (Crowne) In the Scenario of behaviors and consequences, Phil’s behaviors are acting in a rude and arrogant manner. The consequences of his malevolent behaviors is nothing, simply because the day will reset itself and only Phil knows what happened the previous clone day. Phil uses operant conditioning in his favor without releasing it. He tries to better his relationship with Rita by changing his answers and actions everyday to see what the outcome will be like. If Phil messes up with a detail then he can alter his behavior the next day to better the outcome. Phil masters the perfect way to get Rita by watching her to see what her favorite drink is, what type of literature and poetry she favors and what she wants in the world (world peace). Both positive and negative consequences helped Phil achieve what he wanted, which was to grow a relationship with Rita. In Phil’s mind he was being reinforced by the concept of what their relationship could