Final Cause Of A Persons Actions example essay topic

The movie "Signs" by M. Night Shyamalan is an excellent movie that explains how reflections and occurrences of the past can influence your overall perceptions and views of the future. It takes place in a small farm town where everyone knows each other very well. A single father is forced to continue raising his two young children due to the tragic death of his wife who was involved in a fatal car accident. This causes him to resign from his preaching career and become a stay at home farmer due possibly to his question of faith. Being a preacher, this man must have thought that nothing would have ever happened to him because of the way that he reacted to the stimuli. He was probably one preacher of only a few in the whole area.

With the arrival of extra terrestrials all over the globe, including in the corn crops of his farm, this already upset father ends up with his hands full of problems that he is unwilling to accept and face. It is hard to understand what this man has had to deal with. There is an extreme lack of communication in this household and something happened for a reason to bring them back together and much more tightly knit. The presence of the uncle has been positive and well received during these tough times for the whole family. There are many theories that can describe what is happening. They are the attribution theory, causal attribution theory and the social penetration theory which will be included in the following paragraphs.

First of all, the social penetration theory is a theory that we as people disclose to others in stages like pieces of a pie. Each piece is different facets of self and has the potential to be superficial or deep. It was very interesting to analyze how things were, or more the less weren't communicated in this seemingly lifeless household. The children did not talk or play like most children grow up doing.

There was a blank stare on their faces most of the time and their voices were monotone. The father would experience flashbacks of the incident where his wife was killed which was sending him a message that he needed to change his ways of non communication towards his children. Even in the case of traumatic events, it is necessary to talk about them to ensure closure and strength to the survivors of the woman. When the extra terrestrials started to invade was a major point where the father finally disclosed to his children not knowing of the outcome of the attack. At this time he told the children about the moments of their birth and how special they were to him and their mother.

The fathers visions influenced his new found willingness to let the children know how special they are to him. These seemed to be extremely deep feelings that were hard to let out because he had been shattered from the inside out and left alone. Next, the attribution theory is how we generate specific motives and causes to the behaviors of others. It helps interpret what people do and why they do it. Obviously, a major motive for the way the father acts is due to the unfortunate death of his wife. This was more than him or anyone else could swallow.

The movie was supposedly taking place about six months after the death and it seemed as if nothing had healed or even begun to do so. He kept everything inside and intended to do so. This all changed when the world was under attack by creatures no one dreamed of encountering. This was obviously the second motive. This forced the father to think and realize what he was still blessed with despite what he was missing. The presence of the children was the only thing that was really keeping him together although you might not be able to tell.

When the son told his father he hated him was a break down point due to all the stress and uncertainty of what may become of them. It hurt the kid very badly when the father said that he would not waste another minute on prayer and for the most part gave up on everything he ever believed in for so many years. Last but not least is the causal attribution theory. This states that there are three causes for a persons actions. Circumstance is the first which means that a person acts the way they do because the circumstance leaves them no choice. I agree to a certain extent with this however everyone has a choice.

It was the fathers choice to totally try and rid the horror out of his families life. Everyone has different ways of dealing with their problems. He took it upon himself to make sure that it was not an issue to be discussed when it was possibly the most healthy thing they could have done. Stimulus is the second cause for a person's action. The obvious stimuli in this movie was the extra terrestrials. When everyone else in the family realized that there was something not right going on, the father was in extreme denial of the facts at hand.

He was unwilling to believe even with everything that was happening around him. Another stimuli would be the man that was responsible for killing the mother. Coming in contact with the source of the problem which is extremely difficult was necessary for the healing process. Personal is the final cause of a persons actions. This means that there is some quality about the person that caused the observed behavior. In this case the behavior was a short fused temper, mass confusion, as well as a lack of communication.

It basically seemed as if the father would not let the children live their lives the way that they should. He was punishing himself as well as his surroundings for something he could not have controlled. A main point that his wife made for him which he recalled was that everything happens for a reason. That is what triggers his change of attitude and communication skills. Overall, this movie made me realize how important interpersonal communication is. If there were to be a sequel to this movie, I think that there would be a significant change in communication between everyone.

Especially after the father is faced with the possibility of his son dying because of an asthma attack. There are many theories that can explain what causes the actions and behaviors in the movie. The one that best explains what is going on is the attribution theory because of the given circumstances and how the events that occurred caused a chain reaction that affected everyone in the family. It created a snowball effect of denial until finally the father decides that he must stand up and face reality. Interpersonal communication is and will always remain ideal to the success in families whether they suffer from trauma or not.