Attachment Theory in Ice Age by Ana Esparza

Do classical theories of development adequately capture the realities of diverse and contemporary persons?

everildizcordobapr — 2024-03-18 23:39:43 UTC

Trust VS. Misturst

everildizcordobapr — 2024-03-19 00:17:46 UTC

In the beginning of the Movie, Manny, Sid and Diego had to take care of the baby. The baby was crying and they had to find food for the baby. Through their determination to feed the baby, the baby began to trust them and feel more comfortable around them because he knew they would meet his basic needs. According to Erikson, Rohan experienced the first stage of trust vs. mistrust. Rohan experienced this because he was unsure if his basic need of getting fed would be met but when it did he began to trust his three caregivers more than he had before. Having developed this allows for the journey of the group to be easier since Rohan won’t have to be on high alert constantly wondering if he’s safe or if he will be fed.

Autonomy VS. shame and doubt

everildizcordobapr — 2024-03-19 00:22:23 UTC

In this stage the child is developing a self of Individualism. in the movie Ice age, the baby starts to walk on their own, without any guidance and is able to go around who he wanted to be around. this shows the Childs mentality to have his own mind though it is very new to the child. the baby is confident to go to someone than having to be picked up all the time. This is the second stage of autonomy vs. shame/doubt, according to Erikson. Rohan begins to make his own decisions and walk on his own because he is gaining more control of his body and of his actions. He is able to grow this way because he has the freedom to do so, as given by his caretakers during the film. Having passed this stage influences Rohan to continue to make himself independent and choose what he does.

Initiative VS. Guilt

everildizcordobapr — 2024-03-19 00:23:16 UTC

Finally for the first film, Rohan passes through the stage of initiative vs. guilt. Rohan initiates falling asleep on Manny’s tail, which is a very vulnerable moment for both parties as Manny is getting over some trust issues by allowing Rohan to sleep on him and Rohan is discovering his purpose by taking initiative on something he wants to do without a huge influence of others showing his past stage of development where he learned will and in this he learns his purpose to use that will.

Industry VS. Inferiority

everildizcordobapr — 2024-03-19 00:24:52 UTC

Following Erikson’s theory, in the second film, Crash and Eddie undergo the stage of industry vs. inferiority. Crash and Eddie are jokesters and like to get on people's nerves especially with Manny and they feel a sense of pride when they are able to bother him. This enables Crash and Eddie to feel more competent in their actions and specifically in how well they perform those actions. Throughout the rest of the franchise their ability to annoy people satisfies them showing their development during this stage affecting them even as they move past it.

Identity VS. Role confusion

everildizcordobapr — 2024-03-19 00:25:27 UTC

In the film, Ellie also goes through the identity vs. confusion stage. She is nudged into accepting that she is a mammoth and not an opossum like she grew up believing she was. She undergoes experimenting to find a way to connect her past beliefs and her past life that includes her brothers and accepting that she is not alone in her species because she now has a future with Manny. This Stage is very revealing for her as she had suppressed her past-past life from before she met Crash and Eddie and her adoptive mom.

Intimacy VS. Isolation

everildizcordobapr — 2024-03-19 00:27:03 UTC

In the second to last film in the franchise, Diego undergoes the stage of intimacy vs. isolation. Diego develops a possible romantic relationship with Shira in which they both develop intimacy with each other that will grow to love. Their established intimate relationship is seen when Shira betrays her captain and helps Diego and his family escape from her captain and Diego motivates her to go with them. This shows the difference in past relationships Diego has had as in the past they weren’t romantic or sad intimate as the one he was with Shira.

What is Ice Age?

ana_esparza — 2024-03-19 00:37:05 UTC

Ice Age is a 2002 film that is centered on a woolly mammoth, Manny, a saber-toothed cat, Diego, and a ground sloth, Sid, as they take care of a human baby, Rohan, and return him to his kind. The story takes place more than 20,000 years ago in Northern Siberia where now extinct animals lived alongside Paleo-Inuit's. The film focuses on chosen families, overcoming trust issues based on past experiences, and perseverance in doing the right thing. The rising action is when the mom, Nadia, flees with Rohan after her village is attacked by saber-toothed cats. She continues to flee from the cats until she goes into a river in which the current is too strong for her to make it to safety, so she decides to use he remaining strength to push her baby towards Manny and Sid, essentially giving her life for her kid. The climax occurs when, after the three main characters reluctantly team up and make up their mind to take Rohan back to his surviving family, Diego betrays them when it is revealed that he originally only joined them because he wanted to take the baby and he was preparing to ambush Manny, Sid, and Rohan. During the climax, much of the character growth that had previously been made was lost as trust was lost, Manny realized he never should have trusted strangers, Sid similarly feels betrayed, Rohan is confused as he doesn’t know exactly whats going on but he follows the behaviors of the adults around him. The falling action is when Diego saves Manny, Sid, and Rohan from the other saber toothed cats after devising a plan in which he made sure the cats wouldn’t suspect that he would side with his chosen family instead of his family that was using him for personal gain. The resolution occurs when, after many highs and lows, the trio reaches the new settlement of Rohan’s family and they reunite the dad, Runar, with Rohan. A rare moment of peace is observed when the humans don’t attack Manny and Diego doesn’t attack the humans.

Who was Erik Erikson and what was his theory?

ana_esparza — 2024-03-19 00:41:59 UTC

Erik Erikson was born on June 15, 1902 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany and died on May 12, 1994 in Massachusetts, United States. He was a psychologist and psychoanalyst active in the fields of developmental psychology in which he was influenced by Sigmund and Anna Freud. He coined the term lifespan development and developed his theories of Social Psychological development with the term. In his stages of development he theorized that personality develops in order through eight stages from infancy to adulthood. The first stage, which a human undergoes from 0-18 months, has trust vs. mistrust as the basic conflict, hope as the virtue/favorable outcome, and is when trust or mistrust of basic needs being met is learned. The second stage, which a human undergoes from 2-3 years, has autonomy vs. shame/doubt as the basic conflict, will as the virtue/favorable outcome, and is when a sense of independence is developed. The third stage, which a human undergoes from 3-5 years, has initiative vs. guilt as the basic conflict, purpose as the virtue/favorable outcome, and is when initiative is taken and guilt is experienced if boundaries are crossed. The fourth stage, which a human undergoes from 6-11 years, has industry vs. inferiority as the basic conflict, competence as the virtue/favorable outcome, and is when self confidence is developed when competent and self inferiority is developed when incompetent. The fifth stage, which a human undergoes from 12-18 years, has identity vs. confusion as the basic conflict, fidelity as the virtue/favorable outcome, and is when self confidence is developed when identity and roles are experimented and developed. The sixth stage, which a human undergoes from 19-40 years, has intimacy vs. isolation as the basic conflict, love as the virtue/favorable outcome, and is when intimacy and relationships with others is developed. The seventh stage, which a human undergoes from 40-65 years, has generativity vs. stagnation as the basic conflict, care as the virtue/favorable outcome, and is when family and society is developed and contributed to. The eight stage, which a human undergoes from 65+ years, has integrity vs. despair as the basic conflict, wisdom as the virtue/favorable outcome, and is when sense of life and contributions are assessed and made sense of. The foundational beliefs of the theory are that we are aware of our motivators in life, making decisions conscious and giving the ego more importance in decision making than the id. Conscious choices, can focus on social and cultural needs and drive away from biological needs. Criticism that Erikson’s theory faces is that he focuses more on men than women, can be considered vague and therefore difficult to test, and is heavily influenced by western culture so it may not transfer well to other cultures.

Sources

ana_esparza — 2024-03-20 12:32:37 UTC

Learning, Lumen. “Lifespan Development.” Lumen, courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-lifespandevelopment/chapter/erikson-and-psychosocial-theory/#:~:text=Erikson%20believed%20that%20we%20are,rather%20than%20purely%20biological%20ones. Accessed 20 Mar. 2024.

Erikson, Erik (1968). Identity: Youth and Crisis. Chapter 3: W.W. Norton and Company. p. 92.

Skalski, and Jensen. “Psychosocial Development and Identity Statuses.” Psychosocial Development and Identity Statuses, BYU-I Books, 1 Jan. 1970, books.byui.edu/Adult_development/week_3A#:~:text=Culture%2Dbound%3A%20Critics%20have%20noted,for%20individuals%20from%20other%20backgrounds.

Pomerantz , Andrew M. “Chapter 9, Development Across the Life Span.” My Psychology , Worth Publishing, 2018, pp. 313–315.

Does Erikson’s theory apply to contemporary persons?

ana_esparza — 2024-03-20 13:03:05 UTC

The foundation of Erikson’s theory is to comprehend how the environment shapes a person as they grow and those environments impact them positively (virtue) or negatively (part of the crisis) and change something in them which does correctly explain the development that characters went through in the Ice Age franchise. The characters like Manny and Diego that were present and main characters in all of the movies underwent many different scenarios that changed them in many ways which can make their development seem very complex but the fundamentals that were added to their character that they previously lacked can be explained using Erikson’s theory and with those older or constant characters one can see how the effect of the past stages are still present even as a character is in another stage of their life. The theory is a good fit when making a psycho-developmental assessment of the character because the theory can be interpreted in many ways as long as the result on the character is the same. Most of the adults in the franchise undergo the fifth, sixth, and seventh roles visibly in the films but in differing ways showcasing that the theory can be used through various cultures, beliefs, and genders. The Ice Age films don’t showcase many diversity in religion, sexual identities, and traumatic upbringings so it isn’t fitting to use in order to test the limits of the theory; with that said, the theory is valid to use in all of the characters and is applicable to them at any given point because even if you don’t see Manny go through his childhood you can see the past stages of his development in his behavior and can see the imprint of his past and growing identity.

Generativity VS. Stagnation

ana_esparza — 2024-03-21 03:00:36 UTC

Manny undergoes the stage of generativity vs. stagnation, according to Erikson’s theory. Manny takes on the role of the main caregiver and leader where he is actively contributing to society and being part of that society not just being detached from his family. He learns to care for them and continues to develop new ways to support his family after he has built intimate relationships with his wife and family members, showing how each stage builds on from the previous.

Integrity VS. Despair

ana_esparza — 2024-03-21 03:01:15 UTC

Granny is one of the oldest characters in the Ice Age franchise and is undergoing the integrity vs. despair stage. Granny is able to reminisce on her past and contribute actively like when she continues to tell stories surrounding her Precious that nobody believed was real but actually was all along and is one of the biggest contributing factors to their victory. Being helpful allowed Granny to understand her contributions and her acts of wisdom speak of her having gone through the other seven stages already in her youth and having been changed from them.

Second Ice Age Film…

ana_esparza — 2024-03-21 03:19:48 UTC

The frozen world is thawing while creatures keep enjoying ice. Sid opens a day camp for children later attended by Manny where he was asked about his family leaving him remembering his past, until seeing Sid in risk at a giant waterfall. When Manny and Diego reach the waterfall, they discover the melting and they try to warn everyone, but are not convinced but until a vulture confirms that. Animals then head to a boat and when Manny is mostly convinced of being the last mammoth, he meets Ellie, a female mammoth convinced to be an opossum, like her brothers, Crash and Eddie typical risk-taking and jokester teenagers. Invited by Sid, they join the group and while Manny and Ellie get in a romantic relationship constantly boycotted by her brothers and difficult by Ellie's conviction of being an opossum after discovering herself as having mammoth feelings for Manny, Sid is kidnapped by a tribe of mini-sloths who were about to sacrifice him after worshiping him, and then the group faces several challenges for reaching the boat. They need to overcome geyser fields, the boulder cave where Ellie got stuck, Diego overcoming fear of water to save Sid, Crash, and Eddie, as well as running from Cretaceous and Maelstrom. Once reunited, animals escape flooding waters after a crack from the glacier's top splits down, diverting the flood. After Diego confirms the relevance of Sid as creator and glue of their friendship herd, Ellie and Manny also confirm their elected romantic relationship, celebrated by the mammoths. Finally, Ellie and Manny, with Crash and Eddie, join Sid and Diego to remain together as a herd.

Second to Last Ice Age Film…

ana_esparza — 2024-03-21 03:37:36 UTC

The film begins with Scrat causing continental separation while chasing his acorn. Manny, Sid, Diego, and Granny get captured by pirates led by Gutt. The group escapes, thanks to Shira’s help, with Scrat on a separate journey, and reunites on an island. Shira and Diego begin to develop a special bond while the four are captured. They confront Gutt, rescue Shira, and defeat the pirates with the help of Granny's presumed imaginary whale pet, Precious. Peaches, daughter of Manny and Ellie, reconciles with her family, and Shira becomes part of the herd. The film closes with Scrat sinking Scratlantis in pursuit of nuts, ending up in the desert in frustration. The film presents Manny’s leadership, Diego having a romantic interest, and Sid having a biological relative on stage.