Good Will Hunting Psychological Analysis

The film Good Will Hunting is about a young adult, Will Hunting, who has a brilliant mind, but comes from a poor neighborhood and an abusive background. He has the ability to perform nearly impossible math calculations, but has a hard time with relationships and trusting others. Throughout the film, Will undergoes therapy that helps him deal with his aggression. The movie contains multiple psychological principles that effect Will, such as cognitive dissonance, a self-fulling prophecy, and social traps. Not only are these principles apparent in Will, but in the people around him as well, which affects the decisions he makes. In the middle of the film, Will Hunting is standing at the construction site where he works talking to his friend, …show more content…
Lambeau continually talks about how Sean is not doing what is best for Will, and turns the conversation to all about himself. He believes that Sean is just jealous of all he has accomplished, and only wants to use Will for his brilliant mind. He seems to have his own idea of how he wants Will’s life to be mapped out, but Sean tries to redirect the conversation back on what is best for Will. Social traps are present in this scene. A social trap is where one harms someone or a group of people when thinking about their own interests (Meyers, 2011, p. 688). When a person tries to maximize their own goals over the goals of others, it can lead to destructive behavior. This usually happens within a group. When multiple persons only think about their own gain, they both end up coming out with a worse situation than they were in before. In this film, a social trap is relevant because Professor Lambeau is only thinking about his own personal interests instead of Will’s, which was the main reason he tried to save Will from jail in the first place. What is different about the social trap in this movie is that Sean, the psychiatrist, was able to point out that Will’s needs were to be placed above their own. Will was able to escape the trap with Sean’s help. If Sean had been thinking about himself, it could have negatively impacted Will’s future. The scene right after shows Will having a realization and he finally breaks down and cries on Sean’s shoulder. Since he overheard the conversation they had before, he was reluctant to come into Sean’s office, but Sean was able to comfort him and make him realize that he was trying to do what was best for him all