Jenny: A Character Analysis Essay

Section I discusses Jenny in the points of view of Cultural Cognitive and Psychodynamic theories. Section II is a great in-depth research of Jenny’s personality employing Social Intellectual Theory. Jenny has a ability in vocal but offers poor self-perception, low self-efficacy and does not possess goals.

Jenny lacks self-regulation. Jenny has a mal-adaptive personality a result of her low self-efficacy. She could have learned her anti-social or perhaps maladaptive tendencies (drug work with, being connected with anti-social peers, and taking once life tendencies, between others) through observation via models along with through direct experience. The girl was brought up by an abusive dad, she has witnessed aggression (she was present when Forrest was teased by the youngsters at school) and, being a grown-up, been a direct recipient of an aggression (she was hit hard by her boyfriend inside the Blank Panther party).

Jenny’s maladaptive behavior is the result of dysfunctional learning she gets observed and directly experienced inadequate or perhaps sick types (his daddy and his peers) and maintained these kinds of learning through reinforcement. The girl seems to have a phobia in relationship, that’s why the lady keeps running from Forrest who really loves her and whom your woman professes to love. Jenny shows a remarkably altered patterns toward the conclusion of the motion picture a result of her purchasing new thought patterns and behavior, and improved self-efficacy. Social cognitive theory can be described as personality theory proposed by Albert Bandura and Richard Walters in 1963.

Acquiring its origins from the cultural learning theory proposed by Neal Callier and John Dollard in 1941, that views persons as neither driven by simply inner pushes nor instantly shaped and controlled simply by external stimuli [but are] active agents who exercise a lot of influence over their own inspiration and actions, (Bandura, 1986, s. 18, 225). It landscapes people as self-organizing, positive, self-reflecting and self-regulating rather than as reactive organisms shaped and shepherded by environmental forces or perhaps driven simply by concealed internal impulses, and man processes as the merchandise of a dynamic interplay of private, behavioral, and environmental impacts, (Fajares, 2002).

What’s good regarding the theory is the fact it takes into consideration the individual’s beliefs and expectations. This emphasizes that although strengthening and consequence affect determination, they do not directly cause habit. According to the theory, the beliefs that people have got about themselves are critical in their response to circumstances.

People are both products and manufacturers of their own conditions and of their social devices, and, although they are influenced by their environment, their interpretations of their circumstances greatly shape their habit. Humans, in the view in the theory, posses intricate functions that define what it is to be man. They can represent and deduct meanings from symbols, master, self-regulate, and self-reflect, many other things, and these types of capabilities help them define their particular personality (Fajares, 2002).

Based on the theory, modeling, which can be direct (from live models), symbolic (from ebooks, movies, and television), or perhaps synthesized (combining the serves of different models), lies at the core of sociable cognitive theory. Modeling may cause new actions, facilitate existing behaviors, transform inhibitions, and arouse emotions (Pervin, 1989). From the perspective of the social cognitive theory, Jenny can be described as talented female, but has poor self-perception and low self-efficacy. Because of this she probably thinks of herself while incapable of dealing with situations.

Furthermore, Jenny offers poor self-regulation and is devoid of goals. Which means that she does not have a guide that will assist her to determine her focus, and is much more likely incapable of controlling her very own behavior. Having directly skilled physical and sexual misuse from her father since a child, and having lived in a place that can handle maladaptive habit as a fresh adult, Jenny eventually exhibited maladaptive habit herself resulting from the interplay of her environment and her poor self-perception, self-efficacy and self-regulation.

It is also the result of her unable to start self-conception and expectations. Towards the end from the movie, we see an improved Jenny. She actually is more mature in features and in just how she carries herself. She’s shown doing a normal job (a waitress) and sees it easier to speak to Forrest about why the lady keeps jogging away from him. From the point of view in the social cognitive theory, this improvement in her actions are a result of an improved self-efficacy as well as the acquisition of fresh thought design and patterns.

From the point of view of the psychodynamic theory, Jenny may be described as person who has a fragile ego as a result of her inside conflicts, which can be brought about by her traumatic experiences in the hands of her father the moment she was obviously a child. This lady has carried in to adulthood the memories from the traumatic encounters of her childhood, although in a overpowered, oppressed manner. The girl may not be conscious of the underlying problems in her character, but it can be shown in the way she will keep running from Forrest which she says your woman loves, and as manifested simply by her involvements with prescription drugs and her having taking once life tendencies, among others.

The altered Jenny that we see in the movie could have been the result of undergoing cathartic hypnosis or free-association method. The girl could have finally discovered and resolved her inner disputes and set totally free her repressed memories. The character of Jenny in the video has a ability in vocal singing.

In fact , her dream should be to become a specialist singer. As being a young youngster, Jenny showed ability to associate with another person on a personal level; your woman and Forrest taught the other person some methods. She also confirmed the ability to motivate others to overcome their particular fears; she urged Forrest to climb up tree, shouting, Come on Forrest, you can apply it! from the forest top.

However , even as a kid, she already seemed to have got escapist traits: she is seen running away from her dad, and praying to God: Dear God, make me a bird, in order to run far, far away coming from here (Tishe, Finerman, & Zemeckis, 1994). She also tendencies Forrest to run away and to manage fast whenever she views her friend being teased. She shouts: Run Forrest, run! Many years after, when Forrest was designated to Vietnam, she would guide him to not try to end up being brave but for run away from trouble, fast. But while her friend’s Forrest’s runs will be in the exacto sense, Jenny’s is both in the literal and in the figurative sensory faculties.

She would a lot of running, but is not away from problems, but towards it, and away from the person she adores Forrest. Viewed from the structure of her individuality through the zoom lens of interpersonal cognitive theory, Jenny appears to have poor self-perception, as manifested once, as hope for00 Forrest’s query as to why she wouldn’tt get married to him, she says it is Forrest who would not need to marry her (implying that Forrest deserves someone better than her) and, once again, when she gives Forrest her becoming screwed up as the reason for her running from him. She tells him when she explained the first time why your woman kept going out of his view: I was just messed up (Tishe, Finerman, & Zemeckis, 1994). Jenny also has a poor self-efficacy.

In respect to Bandura (1986) in Pajares (2002), self effectiveness is the perceived ability to handle specific circumstances. It is the people’s judgments of their capabilities to organize and perform courses of action required to obtain designated types of activities. Possessing a poor self-efficacy hindered Jenny from attaining her think of becoming a popular singer since self-efficacy may be the very basis of motivation.

People who have poor efficacy tend to avoid activities that they perceive to be beyond their capabilities, might not put much effort to attain their dreams, may not continue when you will discover obstacles, may possibly have bad thought habits while executing the tasks needed to be done to accomplish their dreams and may possess negative emotional reactions when anticipating a conference, or in the middle performing a task. Hence, the lady always detects herself planning to fly nevertheless couldn’t. Finally, though Jenny had desires for a good foreseeable future, she did not have desired goals.

According to the cultural cognitive theory, goals will be those that guide us in establishing goals among rewards and in selecting among conditions that allow us to look beyond temporary influences also to organize our behavior above extended time period, (Pervin, 1989, p. 338). Jenny failed to build her focus and overcome the bad impacts in her life and have an arranged behavior during time. Hence, since going to an all-girl school, she has been associated with maladaptive behavior, such as engaging in drugs, backed by bad crowds of people, having taking once life tendencies, along with having relationship phobia, and others.

As a youthful kid, Jenny had been subjected to and immediately experienced aggression from his father, and from the bullies who roughed up Forrest in her occurrence. And while going to an all-girl school, she might have acquired negative impact on from peers, and these kinds of negative impact on may have been approved in her new environment. Having been introduced to an environment that gave confident rewards so bad behavior through acceptance, Jenny eventually been found doing the modeled behavior. But more than just having been added too an environment that accepts negative behavior, a lot more important thing that may have written for Jenny’s maladaptive behavior is her lack of a chance to self-regulate.

Self-regulation involves a great individual’s capability to control all their behavior rather than mechanically responding to exterior influences (Pervin, 1989). In the event Jenny was able to self-regulate, that means, she was able to process the influences patterned to her in a way that she could assign which in turn behavior was socially suitable, and which in turn behavior has not been, she would have prevented very little from succumbing to the unfavorable influences patterned to her. In line with the social cognitive theory, behavior is maintained by expectancies or anticipated outcomes.

Individuals discover how to set ideal goals on their own, and reward themselves with self-praise, when they are able to style the behavior and with guilt when they do not. Moreover, actions are not exclusively regulated simply by external forces; there is a procedure for self-reinforcement by which individuals praise themselves intended for attaining the standards they established for themselves (Pervin, 1989). Jenny, who does not need goals to start with, as mentioned in the structure area of this newspaper, also will not seem competent of self-regulating.

As a result of her low self-efficacy, Jenny is rolling out a maladaptive personality which usually she discovered through declaration from models as well as through direct encounter, having been brought up by a physically and sexually abusive dad, and having witnessed and directly skilled aggression outside the home; the girl was present when Forrest was teased by the kids at college and, as a grown-up, recently been hit in the face by her boyfriend during an argument within a Blank Panther party. Jenny seems never to have become an aggressive person, but your woman developed maladaptive behavior. Her aversive activities drove her to use medicines, develop phobia of romantic relationship, and to strive or contemplate suicide.

Jenny’s maladaptive behavior is a result of dysfunctional learning she has observed and straight experienced insufficient or ill models (his father wonderful peers) and maintained this sort of learning through reinforcement. Her exposure to and direct experience of inadequate types may have got resulted in dysfunctional expectancies and self-perceptions. Her running far from Forrest who loves her and to whom she reveals to like may be indicative of a romance phobia. It may be possible that she is reminded of her unpleasant past which usually she could be trying to try to escape from whenever she is with Forrest.

Or perhaps she has designed fear of discomfort fear of being ridiculed when with Forrest perhaps, or fear of the ghost of her painful past. According to the interpersonal cognitive theory, dysfunctional anticipations and personal conceptions include a great function in the learning of overt behavior, so that people learn, erroneously, should be expected painful what you should follow a few events as well as to associate soreness with an event (Pervin, 1986). In Jenny’s case, her developing a relationship phobia (with Forrest) might be caused by associating pain with being with Forrest, or wanting pain to happen by being with Forrest for a long time of time.

Her incessant instinct to stay away from Forrest after brief encounters with him may be a defensive behavior to escape the pain the lady expects to experience or unpleasant events your woman expects to happen when she is with Forrest. Toward the final of the video, we see a fresh Jenny. Your woman no longer demonstrates maladaptive behavior, no longer runs away from Forrest, and is at this point able to concede her feelings. In the perspective of interpersonal cognitive theory, change in behavior happens when there is certainly alteration in the level of and strength in self-efficacy. Because the level of self-efficacy increases, a person’s patterns tends to alter toward confident behavior (Pervin, 1989).

Eventually in her life (while Forrest was running across America), Jenny must have experienced acquired new thought patterns and patterns, and better self-efficacy. This change in Jenny might have been created in part simply by maturation and her becoming a mother, but mostly with new affects to version from. In that time in her life when change began to develop, she could have attained new friends who modeled to her great behavior, within an environment that accepts that kind of patterns. She could have had organized desensitization of her anxiety; thus, ultimately she is not only able to return to the man your woman loves and with who she has a young child, but likewise ask him to get married to her. Jenny’s personality can be both a product or service of internal and external factors.

Among the list of external factors that tremendously influenced her personality incorporate her dad and the violations he?nduced upon her; her cousin who took care of her when she was taken from her father; her peers in school and the persons she came in contact with throughout her existence; Forrest him self and the a friendly relationship they shared together simply because they were young kids; and the situations in the society they were created into. In comparison with Forrest, Jenny is more affiliated with the events that shaped their particular country. The internal factors, alternatively, include her thoughts regarding, feelings toward and perceptions of the people who she came in contact with associated with the events that took place around her.

Jointly, the external and inside factors include defined the person that is Jenny. Jenny’s greatest achievement is that she eventually prevailed over her maladaptive behavior toward the finish of the motion picture. This change, from the point of view of social intellectual theory, is not difficult. All she needed is usually someone to version from someone who has experienced similar conditions like hers, but is usually behaving differently. She must have had by least one model.

Boeree, George C. (2006). Albert Bandura. Recovered January twenty eight, 2008 from http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/bandura.html Pajares, Frank. (2002).

Overview of sociable cognitive theory and of self-efficacy. Retrieved January 25, 2008 from http://www.emory.edu/EDUCATION/mfp/eff.html (1925). htm