The paper will focus on the story that was later adapted into the film Antwone Fisher. Finding Fish depicts the life story of Antwone Fisher, a man who rose above his painful past to beat the odds. The purpose of this paper is to apply the strengths perspective and systems perspective to Finding Fish. Another outcome will be to identify and apply biopsychosocial, sociocultural, and social change theories to the situations in the book Finding Fish. Synopsis of Finding Fish The story of Antwone Fisher starts off explaining his origins into this world. His father was killed two months prior to his birth, and after that tragic event everything went downhill from then on. His mother was unable to care for him where he was sent to live with the …show more content…
The strengths perspective is based on the fact that everyone have the capacity for change, adaptation, and growth (Rogers, 2013). In order to change the course of his life Antwone joined the Navy to change his surroundings that had not been too pleasant. One of Antwone’s main strengths was that he was honest with himself and others even when it came to sensitive issues such as depression and mood swings. The strengths perspective also basically states that people are experts on their problems and circumstances so they can logically help develop solutions to their problems as well. This is definitely apparent in Finding Fish, because with the help of Lieutenant Commander Williams, Antwone knew that they could resolve problems from his …show more content…
The systems perspective takes a look at the behavior of individuals as a result of an interaction between people and their social systems (Rogers, 2013). Systems are made up of interdependent parts and can include informal or formal grouping of schools, families, or communities (Rogers, 2013). While living in the Pickett’s house, Antwone and their other foster children learned how to behave especially towards Mizz Pickett. Each child learned to basically the process of homeostasis by trying not to upset “Madeah”. For the most part Antwone’s family system before meeting his biological family were the Picketts. His role while living with the Picketts was not one of a normal boy his age either. Antwone basically took care of himself while living with the Picketts. Even when he started going through puberty his role wasn’t that of an adolescent boy. The biopsychosocial theory that I chose to apply is Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development. Erikson’s theory places more emphasis on social than sexual influences in development of children. The theory proposes that there are eight stages of development which last until birth to old age. Erikson also argued that we all consistently move through each stage methodically and don’t skip stages (Rogers,
...He is still anchored to his past and transmits the message that one makes their own choices and should be satisfied with their lives. Moreover, the story shows that one should not be extremely rigid and refuse to change their beliefs and that people should be willing to adapt to new customs in order to prevent isolation. Lastly, reader is able to understand that sacrifice is an important part of life and that nothing can be achieved without it. Boats are often used as symbols to represent a journey through life, and like a captain of a boat which is setting sail, the narrator feels that his journey is only just beginning and realizes that everyone is in charge of their own life. Despite the wind that can sometimes blow feverishly and the waves that may slow the journey, the boat should not change its course and is ultimately responsible for completing its voyage.
Antwone Fisher was a man who has trouble being a man because he can't stand strong. He can't stand strong because of the weight that was placed on him growing up in an environment where everyone told him he was worthless. Eventually, Antwone is able to grow and flourish, because like any tree that stands tall and strong, he finds that he has roots, and they run very deep.
In Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development, individuals can obtain unhealthy personalities as a result of how they were treated during each stage of their development. These stages are not in chronological order, but essential to development. I agree with Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development because it outlines specific stages everyone goes through in life and attaches a virtue. The theory is specific but not so definite that it cannot appeal to everyone’s personality development in some way. (Engler, 2014). Unlike Freud's stages of psychosexual development, Erikson does not limit these stages to a specific year of life, rather he uses stages such as infancy and
The biological theory refers to the focus of genetic factors that assist the child in adjusting to their environment. The theory highlights the importance of maturation of children’s bodies and their motor skills. The restriction of the biological theory however, is that it discounts the impact of children’s experiences. Behaviorism theory concentrates on children’s behavioral and emotional responses to changes in the environment. The argument against behaviorism is that it focuses on children’s visible behavior and ignores their thought process. The social learning theory interprets children’s beliefs and goals as affecting their behavior by what they learn when they observe others. In the psychodynamic theory, emphasis is on the interaction between internal conflict, early childhood experiences and the environment. Theorists focus on the personality development and how these early experiences play a role later in life. In cognitive-development theories, the concentration is on how the thinking process changes over time. Although it promotes adults to recognize children as curious minds trying to make sense of their environment, the theories lack clear stages that a child’s thought process goes through. Cognitive process theories similarly, also focus on thought process but more so on how people decipher information they see and hear. Sociocultural theories emphasize the affect of social
Both Erik Erikson’s (1963) theory and Mary Ainsworth and John Bowlby (1973) theory support the idea that early life experiences impact the person across their lifespan. Both theories believe that personality begins to develop from a young age and therefore occurrences in early life can have lasting impacts on the developmental of an individual. An individual’s social and psychological development is significantly influenced by early life and childhood experiences. The experiences an individual has as a child impacts on the development of social skills, social behaviours, morals and values of an individual.
People are always in transition with their environment, and each subsystem has an impact on the whole system. This is also why I am using the Family Systems approach, as I am also able to see how the family system has affected Precious, and how the family has functioned across the lifespan. It is important because we can discuss boundaries, individual’s roles, communication in the family, the family structure and how this influences the families functioning not only with Precious’s Mother and Father, but with her own children as well. With systems theory and the Family Systems approach, the basis is that a Systems component can only be understood as part of the Whole, therefore when working with an individual such as Precious, all aspects of their personality and environment must be considered and worked with as a whole. (Payne,
Erikson believes a person’s personality changes throughout their lifespan and primarily focuses on ego. Furthermore, ego is a person’s sense of self-importance or self- acceptance. This is a major factor when discussing personality because how we perceive ourselves, reflects onto others. Erikson’s eight stages of psychological development consist of infancy, early childhood, preschool, middle school, adolescence, young adulthood, middle age and old age. He indicates that during each stage of life a person experiences a psychological crisis, which could aid in a negative or positive result. During the infancy stage, the psychological crisis is trust vs. mistrust, meaning total dependence on the mother or father. If either or both parents show love and attention, then the child will develop trust, or otherwise mistrust if neglected. Early childhood, around the ages two to three years old a child becomes more mobile and shows signs of independence. The caregivers will either assist the child in all their needs or wait patiently as they figure them out on their own. Erikson distinguishes the importance of allowing children to face their own challenges with the tolerance of failure. This will provide the willingness to push through hard times and overcome adversity. Stage 3, initiative vs. guilt describes the interaction between other children and their ability to make decisions. A child will initiate activity with others continuously when he or she feels secure. Nevertheless, when children are told ‘no’ they react with feelings of guilt. The fourth stage of Erikson’s theory begins to explain inferiority. In this stage, a student will be introduced to teachers who become a major part of a child’s psychological development. With encouragement, children will feel confident in themselves, whereas negative reinforcement may cause self-doubt. Identity vs.
Developmental psychology is the scientific study of changes that occur in human throughout the life span. The development starts from infant until old age. Childhood is a time of tremendous change, but people also continue to grow slowly and develop during adulthood. It is a continuous process with a predictable sequence. These developmental changes may be influenced by genetic factor, environment factor and maturation factor. There are three types of human development changes: physical development, cognitive development and psychosocial development. Early childhood is the children that range at the aged 3 to 5 years. Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development is one of the best-known theories of personality in psychology. Erik Erikson
The story of Antwone Fisher is a very intriguing and moving story. Antwone Fisher was an individual that was resilient and had endured so much in his life. As a young child, he did not live in the best environment. He lacked the guidance that is recommended that a child should have. There are two theories that may help to explain Antwone Fisher. These two theories are Bandura’s modeling theory and Roger’s self-actualization theory.
It is inevitable, children and adults constantly evolve and the evolution of this population requires an ongoing scientific investigation (Eberbach & Crowley, 2009). The scientific investigation of the evolution of children and adults is described as developmental psychology. Developmental psychologists establish theories of developmental trajectories, interpersonal, intrapersonal, emotional, and cognitive processing. Moreover, developmental psychologists endeavor to provide descriptive and expository research to enhance client and professional development (Machery, 2011).
In Antwone’s childhood, he seemed to not have many positive influences in his life. Even as an infant, Antwone was not born into the ideal situation. When Antwone’s mother was pregnant with him, in a correctional facility. This was where he was born. Also, his father was murdered. Due to the bad decisions of both of his parents, he was left under the supervision of his foster mother Ms. Tate. His foster mother mistreated him by being verbally and physically abusive. Ms. Tate’s daughter was also abusive to Antwone. He was molested by her.
The way a child develops through out their lives has been a crucial topic, a topic where many theorist state that children develop internally (born with it or on their own) or externally (with the help of others). The scope of a child developing successfully, for those who believe in internal development, consists of completing or experiencing each of the stages the theorists such as Piaget’s stages of intellectual development, Freud’s stages of psychosexual development or the eight stages of life that Erickson constructed. Theorists such as Vygotsky, Bandura, Skinner, and Brofrenbrenner, who believe in external development, stated that a child development consists of exterior influences such as parent, friends, the society or our environment. Regardless
Childhood set Albert Fish on a path of no return. With his father dying at a young age he had no father figure in his life but it didn't help that his mother gave him to an orphanage. This would lead him to developing is enjoyment when he was beaten, and his homosexual relationship at 12 years old. Alberts Adult life wasn't very successful due to
Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development relates to my life at some milestones but not all. Erikson has eight stages he feels everyone goes through in life during a certain age frame. Each stage is divided into age categories from birth through late adulthood. The eight stages are; trust vs mistrust, autonomy vs shame and doubt, initiative vs guilt, industry vs inferiority, identity vs identity confusion, intimacy vs isolation, generativity vs stagnation, and ego integrity vs despair. The first six stages seem to mostly fit to the development of who I am today.
The five stages of Freud’s psychosexual development theory included the oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital stages. During infancy the oral phase of development begins, the mouth being the source of all pleasurable interactions. The infant attains pleasure from gratifying activities such as sucking and eating. Freud believed if the child’s needs are not met during this period, it would result in issues with dependency, aggression, and oral fixations. During adulthood oral fixations may spawn negative habits such as eating, smoking, and nail biting. During the anal stage of development toddlers and preschool aged children must learn to control their bodily needs, developing control leads to independence and a sense of accomplishment. Improper resolution of this crisis can result in obsessiveness and tidiness if a parent is too harsh during toilet training and messy destruction personalities if a parent is too lax. During the phallic stage, the libido concentrates on the genitals. Throughout this phase of development children start to discover differences between males and females and begin to struggle with sexual desires toward the opposite sex parent. During the latent period, the libido is suspended and children and adolescence concentrate on suppressing sexual desires. At this time children focus on hobbies and friends. During the final stage of psychosexual development, the genital stage, people develop strong sexual interests in the opposite sex to fulfill the instinct to