Inside Out Psychology

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Overview The animated film Inside Out directed by Pete Doctor is about the change in emotions due to stress, and how the brain changes with age. The film is about the mind of an 11-year old girl named Riley, who is trying to remain happy with the family move from Minnesota to San Francisco. Once the family arrives in San Francisco a series of events happen that make her upset or disappointed. However, she tries her best to please her parents by pretending to be happy. The movie also highlights the function of short and long-term memory, and the psychological changes in becoming a pre-teen. The major characters in the film were the personification of her emotions: Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust and Anger. These five personifications worked together …show more content…

The prefrontal cortex, which is the area of the brain that helps regulate emotions and behavior, is still not fully developed. Since the prefrontal cortex is still developing, when a pre-adolescent is confronted with stress, it interferes with the ability to make decisions. In addition, stress can cause anxiety and depression, and based on evidence from the film, when a pre-adolescent faces stress it is harder to regulate emotions. Also, since the brain is not fully developed, the pre-adolescent is unsure of what to do or how to handle the situation (Eiland & Romeo, 2014; Welsh, …show more content…

In 2015, the Bainum Family reported on poverty in D.C. After reviewing the document, I noticed that some of the components related to the film. In the health and well-being section, the document discusses preterm births and its effects. Children that are born preterm are more prone to have difficulties in higher order cognitive functioning skills. In addition, children who experience extreme forms of neglect can suffer from emotional, behavioral and cognitive problems. This information relates to the film because of the connection with brain and emotional development. Luckily, Riley had a positive home life, which influenced how she eventually handled the stress, but not all children have that luxury (Murphey & Cooper,

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