Jerome Golden

July-30-2023

Introduction to Psychology
Movie Paper

Movie Tittle
Avenger: Endgame
 Jerome Golden
July-30-2023

Terms.

Ambivalent/Resistant Attachment. This term’s meaning is a style of attachment where the

child displays intense stress and ambivalence towards the caregiver and more times seek and
resist comfort from the caregiver simultaneously. An example of this is shown throughout the
movie. The character Nebula has a desperate need to try to always please her father figure
Thanos. She mostly behaves this way just due to her competing against her sister but also her
fear of her father, especially of being disassembled and made more into a cyborg. Though in the
movie she displays a kind of affection but also hatred towards her father and her feelings for
him are conflicting.

Authoritarian Parenting. This term’s meaning is a style of parenting where the parent is highly
strict, demanding, controlling, and expects obedience. The parent also tends to show a lack of
affection and response to the child’s emotional needs. An example of this shown is how the
character Thanos is with his two daughters Nebula and Gamora. He expects his daughters’
obedience always and does not tolerate anything else. He is very strict with them throughout
the movie and expects their loyalty towards him. He trained his daughters to be merciless
killers and is also the reason why they don’t show much emotion to being with them.

Uninvolved Parenting. This term’s meaning is a parenting style where the parents lack
involvement in the child’s needs and emotional well-being. An example of this is the scene
where Clint and Natasha arrive to collect the soul stone. Upon arrival, they are met by the
guardian of the Red Skull. He then names both Clint and Natasha’s parents. After Natasha heard
her parents’ names, she was very surprised because she didn’t know who her parents were.
This shows uninvolved parenting by her parents due to them not being in her life.

Secure Attachment. This term’s meaning is a style of attachment that displays a healthy,
positive, and strong emotional bond between the child and their primary caregiver. An example
of this is upon Scott Lang’s return, he finds out the fate of earth’s demise and how half of the
population of all living things are wiped out. When he discovered this, his first instance was to
find out if this daughter was gone. Then after arriving at his home and noticing his daughter
Cassy is living in his house, they perform a long and healthy embrace with each other during
Scott Lang in the quantum realm for 4 hours, sassy hasn’t seen her father in 4 years. Yet after
the time of separation, they still embrace each other.

Intelligence. This term’s meaning is the ability to think, reason, problem solve and adapt to
environments. An example of this is the character, Tony Stark. His intelligence is that of genius
capability. He can adapt to any situation or problem and find solutions rather quickly. A prime
example of this is when he is home, he takes the thesis of Scott Lang’s proposal towards the
ability to time travel and discovers and proves a way to successfully time travel through Scott’s
method while the rest of the Avengers struggle to do it successfully.
 Jerome Golden
July-30-2023

Terms

Drive. This term’s meaning is when a person's state of mind is focused and devoted to
accomplishing a task or goal. An example of this is early in the movie, The Avengers which were
left unharmed from the infamous snap of Thanos, they were driven to bring back everyone that
was snapped away. This is mostly why the movie courses the way it does. It focuses on the
Avengers’ desperate need to undo what Thanos has caused and thus made the Avengers drive
to accomplish this goal.

Conditioning. This term’s meaning is a response to a stimulus such as a person, place, thing,
idea, animal, etc. and associations are made leading to behavioral changes. An example of this
is the fight between the past and future Captain America. During the fight, they are evenly
matched, and the fight uses the same moves and styles. Then the past Captain American put
the future one in a grappling lock. It wasn’t until the future captain uses the bucky is alive
phase, to which the past captain loosens his grip after hearing this. This is a display of Captain
America's conditioning of letting go of his guard down whenever his past best friend is brought
up during a fight.

Affect. This term means the emotional state of or feeling that was followed by experience and
behavior. An example of this is the scene when Natasha speaks to other Avengers about solving
different problems. After they disconnected, Rhodey stayed and talked to Natasha about her
best friend Clint. During their conversation, she makes initial emotional reactions based on her
body language and facial expressions. This display is because of her initial concern for him and
his well-being.

Incentive. This term means when a person has internal and external stimulation which
motivates one’s behavior. An example of this is when Tony, while doing the dishes, thought
about what Steve Rodgers and Scott Lang said. That they have a second chance to remember
the much more people that were lost because of the snap. During the scene, Tony pulls out a
picture of him and peter parker. This picture I believe gave Tony the incentive to think about
the possibility of a working time machine, into which Tony made their possible moments after.

Obsession. This term means when a person is in a state of mind where they are hyper-focused
on someone, something, or achieving a goal of some sort. An example of this is the character,
Thanos. During the movie, he is obsessed with gathering the six infinity stones to in his mind
help stabilize the universe by getting rid of half of the population in the universe. You see this
during the last parts of the movie during the final battle as he solely wants to use the stones to
get rid of half of all living things in the universe. Even though him knowing it will probably kill
him.
 Jerome Golden
July-30-2023

Terms

Homeostasis. This term means the body’s natural method to maintain internal stability and
balance. An example of this is when we are first introduced to Bruce Banner in this movie.
Normally Bruce is either in his human form or his Hulk form. However, in this movie, Bruce has
found a new form. He’s managed to find homeostasis within himself as his two alter egos.
Doing so, His new form allows him to keep the best parts of his ego, the brains from his human
form, and the brawns from his Hulk form.

Discrimination. This term means an unjust or specific treatment or behavior towards certain
persons or individuals based on a certain bias or social category. An example of this is during
the scene when Thanos returns to his ship. His behavior clearly shows that he discriminates
more towards his daughter Nebula as he thinks Gamora is the perfect daughter. But also,
throughout the movie Nebula talks about how her father treats her and trades her real body
parts with cyborg parts.

Fluid Intelligence. This term’s meaning is the ability to abstractly think and react, reason, and
problem-solve fluidly. An example of this is the final battle involving Iron Man, Thor, and
Captain America. The three of them regroup to prepare their counterattack and fight against
Thanos. During their final battle, each of them profoundly displays their ability to use fluid
intelligence. A combination of thinking and reacting to each fighting move, technique, attack,
and counter moves.

Superego. This term means the state of mind that provides morals, values, and standards which
are governed by the ego. An example of this is the scene when Captain American and the other
Avengers returned to tony stark regarding building a time machine. Tony exhibits superego by
displaying his morals about needing to be with his family. This is then reiterated when he meets
Captain America and returns to the avenger’s headquarters and tells Captain America that he
values his family more and wants to keep that more than helping restore the people lost by
Thanos’s snap.

Permissive Parenting. This term’s meaning is a parenting style in which the parents are lenient,
and don’t necessarily set rules or boundaries towards the child. An example of this is the scene
where Tony was looking for his daughter Morgan. HE found her and she had managed to get a
helmet part from one of his suit designs that were intended for his wife Pepper. Tony expresses
leniency towards Morgan when he saw that she got a hold of the helmet.
 Jerome Golden
July-30-2023

Terms

Development. This term means the development of cognitive emotion, intellectual intelligence,
emotional intelligence, and capabilities since a past period. An Example of this is the character,
Nebula. There’s a scene where her past self wants to pose as her future self to gain inside
access to the Avenger’s base. Though her real motive for doing this is to please Thanos. The
future nebula begs not to do this because she cares for the Avengers now. The display of her
past and future self as a character is night and day, which shows the development she has had
over the years.

Growth. This term means when a character displays personal development from how they
were before. For this term’s example, during the ending, Steve Rodgers aka Captain America,
takes the time stones back in time and returns them to their rightful place. After completing the
mission, he ends up not returning to the time he was supposed to. He instead, goes back in
time to the year he meets his first love, Peggy Carter. This shows growth because Steve was a
soldier at heart. He always placed the mission first until this moment when he decides to be
with his true love and settle down.

Role Diffusion. This term’s meaning is when someone’s state of mind is conflicted with the idea
of who they should be vs who they are. And for example, at the beginning of the movie, we see
Steve Rodgers in a group seminar talking to others about what happened and trying to move
on. Afterward, the Avengers struggle with their defeat and their new way of living. With friends
and family missing they don’t feel like the heroes they made themselves to be but instead feel
like failures. They feel they need to move on but the people they lost are surmounted.

Formal Operational. This term’s meaning is the ability to form a hypothesis to solve a problem
and test it to solve said problem. After Tony and Steve reconciled their differences, they began
working on their time machine. The problem was that they needed the infinity stones from the
past brought to the future to bring everyone back. They test the theory of using the quantum
realm to navigate through time and arrive at different points in time to retrieve the infinity
stone. Which they were able to do.

Psychological Disorder. This term means conditions characterized by abnormal thoughts,

feelings, and behaviors such as PTSD, anxiety, or depression due to the traumatic events they
have endured. An example of this is when Tony was brought back to the avenger’s
headquarters and was debriefed on what had taken place on Earth after the battle with Thanos.
Steve asks Tony what they can do, and Tony begins giving cap resentment from their fallout
followed by Tony having an anxiety attack and PTSD in which after he collapses. This is probably
due to his nearly dying in space of starvation and his great loss when he fought Thanos.
 Jerome Golden
July-30-2023

Terms

Depression. This term means a mood disorder characterized by sadness, letting go of daily
routines and loss of interest. An example of this is the scene seeing Thor’s living conditions after
the five years of the Thanos snap. You can see Thor’s living condition has significantly declined
to the point where it seemed he doesn’t go outside; he gained a significant amount of weight
and probably drinks beer a lot. This is a sign of his depression and ability to not face his failures
throughout the years and failing the fight with Thanos may have been the breaking point for
him.

Aversive Conditioning. This term means a type of behavior conditioning where bad stimuli are
associated with bad or unwanted behaviors. An example of this is Thor’s need to drink alcohol
lately. Instead of getting help from others, he decides to drink. This behavior may be to
suppress his tremendous feelings of guilt, failure, and depression after he lost to Thanos twice.

Phobia. This term’s meaning is the exaggerated, and unrealistic fear of a person, object, animal,
thing, or situation. An example of this is when the Hulk travels to New Asgard to find Thor. He
mentions a plan to save those that were lost because of Thanos. After saying the name, Thor
gives an intense reaction of fear and discomfort after just hearing his name. Though he was the
one that killed him. He may still fear that he still undoubtedly lost to him and feels responsible
for others perished by Thanos.

Altruism. This term’s meaning is the belief in putting others and the wellbeing of others before
themselves. An example of this is the scene where Clint and Natasha travel to the planet Vormir
to retrieve the soul stone. After arriving on the planet, they soon discover that there is a steep
cost to wielding its power. The cost is the wielder losing someone they lost. Natasha ultimately
sacrifices herself to not only save her friend Clint but put the greater good of the universe and
Clint’s family before her in life.

Conformity. This term means the process where a person or group of people change their
beliefs, state of mind, and or perceptions to match or come together as a group. An example of
this is during the planning stages of the time heist to gather all the stones back to undo what
Thanos's snap has caused. Off-screen we don’t see how everyone's way of dealing with PTSD,
failure, or grief, though we do see some character's methods. The scene where they all come
together and begin to change their perceptions and current state of mind to focus and
accomplish the ultimate task of reviving everyone that was lost.
 Jerome Golden
July-30-2023

Terms

Implicit Memory. This term’s meaning is when a memory of multiple memories affects
behavior without conscious awareness. An example of this is the scene where the past nebula is
confronted by Gamora. Followed by the nebula from the future joining the picture. Gamora
tells the past nebula that she doesn’t have to give Thanos the stones and please him. At this
moment she has implicit memory of all the times she has failed Thanos and Thanos punished
her by making her more cybernetic. These memories drive her to almost kill her sister but were
stopped by a fatal shot from her future self.

Crystallized intelligence. This term means the knowledge and skills attained through experience
and education. An example of this is the battle scenes between Thanos and all the Avengers.
Though we do not see the training and the way he gains his experience before the battles. We
do see his experience as a precision fighter, being able to give lethal attacks and counterattacks
on moment’s notice. We are also able to see the precision of these attacks as though he may be
big and strong but has immaculate technique when it comes to his fighting, making him a more
dangerous fighter.

Humanistic. This term’s meaning is the psychological approach to understanding human

behavior by looking at the whole person. For example, Tony Stark. His behavior for discovering
the time machine and the need to go back to the Avengers and fight to bring everyone back is
probably due to his need to redeem his failure and ultimately protect everyone he loves. Tony
Stark overall is a protector and will sacrifice his own life to do just that. In the final battle he
knew there was only one way to protect his family, his friends, the world, and the universe was
to take the stones from Thanos and use them against him knowing that he would probably die
in the process.

Egocentrism. This term means an individual who struggles to understand other perspectives,
thoughts, and or viewpoints. An example of this is before the final battle with Iron Man, Thor,
and Captain America, Thanos tells them that the method he thought of how to restore balance
to the universe would bring peace to the world. Only for the Avengers to remind him that this
would be a world born of blood and death to innocence. This is an example of egocentrism
because Thanos thinks that this viewpoint is the only correct way to bring peace and serenity to
the universe.

Anxiety. This term means when a person goes into an emotional state of excessive nervousness
and or constant worry. An example of this is during the scene where Rocket and Thor travel
back in time to the past in Asgard to retrieve the reality stone. As they are making their way
through the castle to find Thor's girlfriend during the time whose body contains the reality
stone, He runs into seeing his mother. At this moment he slowly begins to freak out and gets
nervous. This is probably because the day they travel back to is the day his mother dies. Thus,
having anxiety.
 Jerome Golden
July-30-2023

Terms

Compulsions. This term means habitual behaviors, and or mental acts performed to calm stress
or mental triggers caused by obsession. An example of this is after the first battle with Thanos,
and throughout the movie, we see Thor has a compulsive need to constantly drink alcohol.
Every chance he is uncomfortable he drinks or is already drunk. This is his repetitive way of
dealing with the stresses of his failures.

Aggression. This term means to have intentions to hurt, harm, or injure verbally, physically, and
or emotionally. An example of this s Thanos preparing to fight Iron Man, Thor, and Captain
America. After their banter, he begins getting ready to fight by putting on his helmet and
grabbing his sword. Thus, taking his battle stance and they begin fighting. You can see
throughout the fight he gets more aggressive showing his aggression towards the Avengers as
he wants to kill them all so that he can fulfill his plans.

Empathy. This term means when a person displays the ability to relate, understand, and show
compassion towards another person and their feelings. An example of this is during the scene
where Bruce and Rocket go to New Asgard to find Thor and bring him back to the team. Thor
has been in a different mental space since he last saw his team. Immediately Bruce empathizes
with Thor, saying he understands and knows how he’s feeling right now. Also, remind him that
Thor was the one who brought him out of his off-mental state as well.

Groupthink. This term means the instance where a group of people prioritizes a joint decision
done by critical thinking and decision making. An example of this is the scene where Tony,
Natasha, and Bruce come together to decide on how to find infinity stones at certain points in
time. They then, after Natasha pointed out how three stones are in one area during a certain
year. They then come to a group consensus of using that year as their time stamp point to
gather the infinity stones.

Punishment. This term means a consequence that was followed by a negative reaction or
undesirable behavior. An example of this is the scene where Clint and Natasha go to the planet
Vormir to retrieve the soul stone. Upon arrival, they found out how to get the stone from Red
Skull, the guide of the stone. However, the cost is the wielder must lose something.
Immediately Clint tributes himself to die as a punishment for the way he was fighting crime and
getting justice after his family’s death.
 Jerome Golden
July-30-2023

Terms

Eustress. This term means stress which leads to positive outcomes. An example of this is the
Avenger planning and executing the time heist. The stress is that they only have a limited
amount of Pym particles to travel to and back in time and the necessity to have all six infinity
stones. This amount of stress lead to positive outcomes which was the accomplishment of their
task of getting the infinity stones back to their present time from different past times and using
the infinity stones to bring everyone back in the universe that was lost because of the first
Thanos snap.

Self-Perception. This term’s meaning is about the viewpoint we have and the personal
judgments that are made within. An example of this is the self-perception that Clint has made
about himself after the loss of his family from the snap. He then believes he’s not the protector
that he believes he was because he wasn’t able to save his family. Thus, making him take on the
persona of Ronin, a more aggressive and vengeful vigilante getting justice on any and everyone
involved in crime.

Prejudice. This term’s meaning is a bias that makes a certain type of person, or group less
valued than others. An example of this is Thanos’ plan to wipe out half of the universe. He holds
a strong prejudice against half the universe's population because he believes that culling half
the population will restore balance and prosperity. That’s why during the ending when he
dawns the gauntlet, he snapped his fingers believing that by sacrificing half of the population of
the universe, he devalues innocent people who are already alive just on a belief that this way
will bring the prosperity he speaks so much about.

Attitude. This term’s meaning is defined as a state of that reflects behavior towards emotions,
beliefs, ideas, person, etc. An example of this is when we see Natasha after five years since
Thanos snapped. She takes on the role of leader of the Avengers to handle affairs happening all
around the world. This attitude is characterized by a sense of responsibility and caring towards
the remaining Avengers and still wanting to be a hero and help people. This attitude exemplifies
her commitment to the team and her drive to fight for good.

Individualistic Culture. This term meaning refers to the community that prioritizes the
individual's needs over a group. An Example of this is the motivation of each Avengers tasking
on a risky task of going back in time. If you take each Avenger, they all are doing this mission for
personal reasons. Such as Clint rescuing his family, Tony protecting his family, Thor getting
redemption, etc. They all have their reasons for why rather than what the collect group is
doing.