This dependence enables an infant to begin to self-regulate, to build inner strength and resiliency. The infant understands that help is on the way. As the infant becomes assured that its needs will be gratified, it acquires the ability to delay gratification when hearing its caretaker’s voice or seeing the caretakers’ face. If needs are consistently satisfied, the infant learns to depend on and trust its caretakers. The caretaker learns to recognize the infant’s different cries to determine the specific need requiring gratification. This is exemplified by the infant emitting a cry reflecting a “need state,” a signal for help.
The attachment also impacts self-esteem through the experience of conflict with caregivers.Įarly attachment is established in infancy and is primarily based on the acknowledgment and gratification of basic biological needs: the need to eat, the need to drink, they need to be comfortable (not cold, hot, or wet), the need to sleep, and the need to be free from fear. Through these interactions we learn to balance our feelings and need states with others and to establish our varying degrees of independence, dependence, power, and control. It asserts that the methods we use to relate to others, manage our needs, express our demands, and shape our expectations for the world are rooted in our relationships with our early caregivers. She represents a risk that he cannot tolerate until after his treatment.Īttachment theory is accepted by most psychologists and psychiatrists as the best explanation for how we develop the capacity to form relationships with others and relate to our environment. But she is smart, and requires an empathic and loving relationship. Will has the good instinct to be attracted to Skylar, portrayed as a loving and genuine person. Chuckie is nurturing, loving, and respectful of Will’s promise. His intelligence is a strength, and his choice of Chuckie Sullivan as his best friend is a strength. These “friends” could not rise from the grave and hurt him.) When Sean asks Will to name the people with whom he has strong relationships other than Chuckie, Will names Shakespeare, Nietzsche, and several other dead intellectual giants. (Had Will been emotionally secure, he would have shared his intellectual interests with people who could have appreciated them. He uses intellectual tasks to self-soothe. The reading gives him a sense of mastery and a way to distance himself from people. Will does not integrate his intelligence and his interest in reading with relationships, either socially or in the workplace. Will’s subconscious is determined that no one will be able to penetrate these defenses and hurt him again. Will’s anger is one of many defenses that mask his inner feelings and guard his inner self. If he has a disagreement with someone or if he dislikes them, he will assault them either verbally or physically.
He cannot manage his basic emotions, such as anger. He has no empathy for people outside his close group of friends. His only friends are among a group of young men his own age who cannot begin to compete with his intelligence. Abused as a child, he has trouble developing meaningful and appropriate relationships with adults and women. Will Hunting has a classic attachment disorder.
Gerald Lambeau Minnie Driver as Skylar Casey Affleck as Morgan O’Mally Cole Hauser as Billy McBride John Mighton as Tom.Īttachment Theory Applied to “Good Will Hunting” Robin Williams as Sean Maguire Matt Damon as Will Hunting Ben Affleck as Chuckie Sullivan Stellan Skarsgárd as Prof.
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