Psychological Analysis Of The Movie: Good Will Hunting

Good Will Hunting is a movie about a guy with a high IQ called William Hunting. He loved to read books on different subjects, and was a genius in mathematics. He did not have a formal higher education but was a dedicated autodidactic person. Although he could work in any company, he worked at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a janitor. Will had no respect for authority, mocked people when felt threaten, continuously got legally in trouble, and had little professional aspirations (Bender, 1997). On the surface, he was content with his life, however, he had some emotional issues worth exploring. I will explore Will’s environment, family history, and personality traits that might influence his daily life and possible outcomes and how

As mention before, Will has a hard time making relationships, and the only meaningful enough are the ones with his friends, yet they are not as secure as to Will feeling completely comfortable and vulnerable. In the movie, Sean Maguire is Will’s psychologist, and they developed a secured attachment, and just like the experiment, Will was able to be vulnerable and approach Sean for comfort thus draining some of his fears (AMNH, 2011). This relationship is the most meaningful and secured attachment Will ever had, and now he is ready to explore the world beyond books and new romantic

The dependency in monkeys studies hypothesize a child comes to a wired mother to only meet a specific need like food, and in contrast, the child comes to the clothed mother to meet needs of proximity, connection, affection, security, and comfort (Baker, 2010). Gerald Lambeau is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of technology and is interested in helping Will reach his full potential and become a famous mathematician (Bender, 1997). Since Will is autodidactic and also hides his fears behind his intelligence, he accepted studying mathematics with the professor for the sole purpose of meeting his intellectual needs and staying out of jail. Therefore, professor Lambeau is a representation of the wired mother from Harlow’s studies. On the contrary, Sean Maguire is a psychologist instructor at the Bunker Hill Community College and is partnering with Will by the professor’s request (Bender, 1997). Will craves proximity and contact, yet he rejects them because he is fearful; he developed an unsecured attachment as mentions before. Sean challenges Will’s defense mechanisms and has his overall best interest in mind, and after building their healthy relationship based on trust and respect, Will opened up to him and the most meaningful secured attachment (Bender, 1997). Sean Maguire is a representation of the clothed mother from Harlow’s studies. Will found comfort in