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Seven Pounds Essay

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Introduction Personality is “the sum total od the actual or potential behaviour-patterns of the organism, as determined by heredity and environment (Binger, 2014). The film Seven Pounds (Seven Pounds, 2008) revolves around Ben Thomas, a man with a tremendous secret that drastically and destructively changed his and seven others lives. He is the cause of a car crash, which kills his wife and six other people. On his journey to receive redemption for himself he sets out to change the lives of seven different strangers for the better. The two chosen theories, which apply to the main protagonist Ben Thomas’ personality, are the Eysenck Theory and the sub-section of Maslow’s Theory of personality; self-actualising. Ben is a careful, thoughtful and …show more content…

It is defined personality as the more-or-less stable and enduring organisation of a person’s character, temperament, intellect and physique that determines his or her unique adjustment to the environment (Bradley et al. 2005). Basis of personality involves genetics, physiology and environment and to understand personality, it is necessary to create a theory that identifies its main dimensions, devise the means to measure the dimensions and link them with experimental procedures. Eysenck used factor analysis, a statistical procedure to categorize people’s personalities. (Bradley et al. 2005). He originally identified two main personality dimensions: extraversion-introversion and stability-neuroticism (Bradley et al. 2005). The two major dimensions of personality, according to Eysenck are extraversion-introversion and neuroticism. Extraverts and sociable, optimistic, impulsive and with actions enhanced by positivity. Introverts are quiet parochial, serious, restrained and inwardly focused, lastly neuroticism, it is something that is referred to as emotional instability. The main characteristic of neurotics is that their anxiety level is out of balance with the situation at hand however neurotics who are free of anxiety and fear are labelled psychopaths, they cannot recognise the consequences of their actions. Ben Thomas’ personality falls under …show more content…

He is methodical, reserved, and rigid in his journey recounted in Seven Pounds (Seven Pounds, 2008). Thomas disassociates from himself as he systematically betters seven lives despite it being the end of his own. This seems to be unimportant in the grand scheme of his plan, something to be disregarded; the selfless aspect of his melancholic personality plainly plays a large role as the lead driving force, furthering the plot of this film. There are many parallels between Maslows theory of self-actualization and Eysenck’s introversion. They are both personality types that fit the leading hero Ben Thomas. Both show characteristic of people who are reserved, plan their actions and control their emotions. They tend to be serious, reliable and pessimistic (McLeod, 2007). Maslow used the term self-actualization to describe a desire, not a driving force, that could lead to realizing one's capabilities. Maslow did not feel that self-actualization determined one's life; rather, he felt that it gave the individual a desire, or motivation to achieve budding ambitions (Gleitman et al. 2004). This is in contrast to the correlation between Thomas’ personality and his actions. I believe it is through the melancholic aspect of his personality he is able to carry out his plan through the methodical, antisocial and thoughtful manner driven by the introverted facet of him. While I see that it is the self-actualized aspect

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