Perks Of Being A Wallflower Character Analysis

Throughout the movie, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Charlie and the rest of the characters display many examples of cognitive transitions. Most of the characters portrayed in this film are in their formal operations stage of cognitive development, as these characters range from early adolescence to young adults (Steinberg, 2017, p. 61). On Charlie’s first day of high school he believes his fellow students are an imaginary audience that are watching and evaluating his actions (p. 58). Charlie tries to adjust his behavior by participating less in class and keeping to himself, as he fears people will judge him. Patrick, one of the supporting characters in the film is quite opposite from Charlie and displays a personal fable, which becomes visible
He tells her that his best friend shot himself recently. Sam begins to get very concerned and emotional as she beings mentalizing. Since Sam could mentalize and understand how Charlie must be feeling and what he is going through, she realizes he needs support and decides to welcome him into her friend group (p. 76). In the film the main characters take a huge interest in music. One night while driving Sam, Patrick and Charlie find this amazing song and Sam feels the only way she can truly enjoy it, is by standing in the bed of the truck while they are driving. Sam was sensation seeking as she tried to find a new and exciting way to experience music (p. 81). In the film, Charlie puts himself in a tough social situation by accidentally getting into a relationship with a girl he does not like. The biggest problem with this is that the girl he is dating is part of his social group. Charlie uses his social cognition to understand the problems that could arise if he tried to breakup with someone from his friend group, as this could cause emotional and social disruptions within all the interpersonal relationships of their friend group (p.