One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Psychology Essay

The film One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest directed by Milos Forman exemplifies several social psychological theories and influencing behaviours. This film focuses on Mc Murphy's problems about obedience and conforming, nurse Ratched's problems with disobedient and nonconformist people and also the situational forces that are affecting the person's behaviours. The film highlights elements which contribute to all three types of social influence: conformity, compliance and obedience

One example that has links with conformity is being not unique in the society. Mc Murphy who is called Mac represents a character does like he pleases. This means he likes to do anything he wants. That behaviour has link with individual characteristic that do not obey the rules accepted by the society. A conformist person or someone follows the rules accepted by society or a group would not do such that things because
People watch, listen and read thus they learn indirectly to do those things that have positive consequences for others and they do not do things that get them in trouble. For example Nurse Ratched encourages Billy to start the therapy. She tells him that he will receive a tangible reward if he starts the therapy. This is an example of positive reinforcement because he knows that starting the therapy has positive consequences but when he is offered a reward it is easier to make him do it. In addition to that positive reinforcement makes people more volunteer to do something because they are going to have a reward at the end of the work. It is easy to see making people do something by informational influence is better than rewarding because when people are believed in something that is true they work or do it more efficiently than a rewarding work. But positive reinforcements are very effective to make people conform for a short time and thus this makes people conform but not believed in the importance of