英文心理学论文

Running head: CATCH ME IF YOU CAN 1

Catch Me If You Can

General Psychology

Monday, Wednesday & Friday 9:00 a.m.

Blake Mendez, Christopher Griggs, Cyrus Kiurire, Luyang Gao, and Huixian Tang

March 21, 2010

Many people and parents think of children, teenagers in particular to be under their parents’ wings, and being well behaved, and learning and preparing for their adult lives; but in the movie Catch Me if You Can (2002), the main character is a young man who runs away from home, and pretends to hold several different professional jobs, and his paper trail catches the eye of an FBI agent that chases the young teen for several years. From 1964 to 1967, Frank successfully impersonated an airline pilot for Pan Am Airways and he flew over two million miles for free. Additionally, he impersonated the chief resident pediatrician at a Georgia hospital and an assistant attorney general for the state of Louisiana. Frank had cashed almost $4 million in fraudulent checks in 26 foreign countries and 50 states (Parkes, Spielberg, 2002). The real life of runaway teens is not as dramatic, but is still as dangerous, and stressful; no matter what route a runaway teen takes “they put themselves at risk for physical and emotional harm… and most runaways run away from home searching for safety, and independence, a reality that few receive” (Ruby J. Martinez RN, 2006).

Living on the streets usually leads to a life of crime, and illegal drug use; and later could turn to sexual abuse, or death. In Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, it says that “people are born with preprogrammed sets of behaviors, and that humans will seek a certain level of stimulation” (Feldman, 2009, p. 319). So it maybe that the main character in the movie was just seeking his higher level of stimulation to be happy or that he was trying to fulfill his natural needs.

Feldman (2009) found that a lot of the main characters actions point towards the Identity-verses-roll-confusion, which is a time of major testing, when people try to determine what is unique about themselves, and to discover who they really are. Many teens that

runaway try to run their own lives, and make their own decisions; but when something goes wrong they become vulnerable, and they usually fall to the first relief they find. That could end well, or just as badly; such as a homeless shelter, or gangs.

Most runaways either and up being caught by police, or realize that they can’t make it on the street alone and try to return home on their own, this is the case in Catch Me If You Can; probing that not all teenagers and children are safe at home with their parents, they are the victim, or the suspect when on the street (Ruby J. Martinez RN, 2006). It is not a place for anyone with a mental problem, and it will more than likely make it worse.

In addition, the behavior of Frank is different from ordinary people can be divided into some aspects; such as consciousness, intelligence, the effects of divorce on children and personality, etc.. Consciousness is “in this sense, every mental action-whether though, feeling, fantasy, imagining, wishing, or willing, and whether conscious or unconscious-is a product of the action of the brain” (Meissner, 2009, p.285). For example, when Frank cheated the bank clerk, he told her that the necklace was hers. Frank’s father also used this method, therefore, Frank’s experience made him have such a consciousness, and then he put into the action (Parkes, Spielberg, 2002).

Frank will commit crimes is from his family. For instance, when the lawyer asked Frank to choose his mother or father, Frank rushed out of the door and ran away. In this film, from the beginning to the end, Frank always asked his father to make his peace with his ex-wife. So Frank was anxious for his parents to marry again (Parkes, Spielberg). Frank committed a series of crime before his 19 years old, so it is a fact that breaking up of a family produces a large effect on child’s behavior. According to the data, “the prevalence of

behavioral problems among boys age 10-11 years is 4-12% and that for girls 4-6%” (Anja, Elina, Irma, Marjo-Riitta, 2002, p.694). Due to the reason of family environment, Frank’s personality had a large change. Personality means “the pattern of enduring characteristics that produce consistency and individuality in a given person” (Feldman, 2009, p.446). There are many causes lead to personality change, such as genetic factors, social and cultural factors, family environmental factors, early childhood experience factors, natural physical factors, school education factors, etc.. So, healthy personality is just as important as excellent intelligence. Whether Frank was a criminal or an expert, it depends on his personality.

In a recent study that involved conducting a survey on inmates, many inmates appear to believe that forgers are superior intellectually (Irwin, 1944). Frank successfully fits in varying and totally new fields of respected intellectuals, such as a supervising doctor, a college instructor, a lawyer and a Pan American copilot (Parkes, Spielberg, 2002). According to the study of variations in intellectual abilities, such intellectually gifted people from 2 to 4 percent of the population and they usually have an IQ scores greater than 130 (Feldman, 2009). What is intelligence? Intelligence means “the capacity to understand the world, think rationally, and use resources effectively when faced with challenges” (Feldman, 2009, p.286). For example, through Frank’s intelligence, he can make counterfeit checks and escape several times from FBI agent’s sight (Parkes, Spielberg, 2002). It is a fact that Frank has high intelligence. Therefore, the person has higher IQ more easily lead to high-level crime.

Irwin (1944) found that, “for an offence which involved a large sum, the preparations

were sometimes quite elaborate”. In the study of memory, elaborative rehearsal occurs when the information is considered and organized in some function (Feldman, 2009). In a similar manner, Frank surveyed a senior Pan American pilot before masquerading as a Pan American copilot. He also watched surgery scenes to understand the medical terminologies (Parkes, Spielberg, 2002).

Thorndike law of effect suggests that, responses that lead to satisfying consequences is more likely to be repeated (Feldman, 2009). Following a research by Irwin (1943), he found that those forgers who had previous successful experiences continued in forging more checks even after their release from prisons. This is the case with the character in the movie. He forges many checks over and over on successfully cashing them despite the fact that he is being hunted (Parkes, Spielberg, 2002).

Observational Learning also exists in Frank's mind. Throughout the movie, he uses lies and deceives to make his way up the social ladder. With the dialog such as, “Ah, People only know what you tell them, Carl”; it is clear that throughout the movie Frank takes advantage of many people who give him the benefit of the doubt. Then he gets better and better and deceives more and more professionally (Parkes, Spielberg, 2002). Frank shows signs of what Robert S. Feldman defines as Observational Learning. “Learning by observing the behavior of another person, or model” (Feldman, 2009, p. 201). When he observes what his father does (that being deceiving others in everything). Then later by his actions Frank shows signs of Latent Learning. “Learning in which new behavior is acquired but is not demonstrated until some incentive is provided for displaying it” (Feldman, 2009, p. 199)，which in this case maybe dropping a necklace and say a charming word or two in order

to get sex with a plant attendant or some other means used in the movie (Parkes, Spielberg, 2002). This movie reveals how easy it is to commit fraud, how to deceive and how to lie well.

This one man, Frank had successfully deceived the not so smart as well as the guys up top. The question remains, how private and protected can any of personal lives be. According to the data, “in the service of the privacy we so value, the risks of being deceived, conned, and defrauded are necessary evils” (Bella M., Chris, R. Weylin, Molly J. Walker, 2003, p.16).

In the movie Catch Me If You Can, people cannot say whether these psychological terms were thought out by their names or not. Throughout the movie people see these things and these terms people come to learn aren’t merely terms some psychologist made up, but a word to describe a human reaction. Here people learn that a science, such as psychology, in any aspect is subject to change but fact remains forever. In any similar situation like Frank, a man can only speculate on what mans action is, and then label his actions by word definition.

In conclusion, through look up the documents and Textbook, appreciate the film, can be seen that people’s behavior, whether good or bad, is combined with a lot of factors. Growth environment, personality, intelligence, family and education are very important to people, especially in children. Therefore, people should establish correct weltanschauung, values, and ethics, and also should try to develop a healthy mentality. Mohandas K. Gandhi once said, “There is a sufficiency in the world for man’s need but not for mans greed.”

References

Berg, I. A. (1944). A Comparative Study of Forgery. United States: American Psychological Association.

DePaulo, B. M., Wetzel, C., Sternglanz, R. W., Wilson, M. J. W. (2003). Verbal and nonverbal dynamics of privacy, secrecy, and deceit. United Kingdom: Blackwell

Publishing.

Feldman, R. A. (2009). Personality. In Understanding psychology (pp. 447-506). Boston: McGraw Hill.

Meissner, W. W. (2009). Mind-brain and consciousness in psychoanalysis. United States: Guilford Publications.

Ruby J. Martinez RN, P. (2006). Understanding Runaway Teens. JCAPN , 77-88. Taanila, A., Laitinen, E., Moilanen, I., & Javelin, M. R. (2003). Effects of family interaction on the child's behavior in single-parent or reconstructed families. United Kingdom: Blackwell Publishing.