preview

Examples Of Social Psychology In Easy A

Decent Essays
Open Document

Social psychology is essentially the study of how human beings interact, behave and think around others. It is rooted in explaining the various different experiences we face each day in our social lives. Nowadays, film-makers try to depict these psychological phenomena in their movies to make them realistic. One such movie stars Emma Stone, an Oscar winner playing the role of Olive in the film “Easy A”. The film in short describes the high school life of a chaste girl, Olive, who conforms to peer pressure and starts lying about her sexual behavior in order to maintain a certain reputation as well as to help out her troubled friends. This eventually leads her to challenge her self concepts to extreme levels, causing her to either liberate herself from the façade she created or sink into the role. Easy A describes many genuine psychological phenomena and I am going to focus on three of them; Cognitive dissonance theory, how societal and cultural norms dictate our attitudes and thoughts, and different ways of persuasion. …show more content…

Easy A depicts strongly the theory of cognitive dissonance on numerous occasions. After Olive wrongfully admits to having sexual intercourse with a guy, the entire high school starts labeling her as a promiscuous woman. Since the uneasy feeling of lying about her acts causes a severe cognitive dissonance, Olive starts acting like an unchaste lady in order to overcome it. She becomes a devil-like diva who wears revealing clothes and buys provocative lingerie. She mentions casually to her best friend Rhi that losing her chastity to a guy was nothing but a fling which ended over the weekend, leaving Rhi surprised. Furthermore, she starts flirting with all

Get Access