Psychological analysis of the series Friends

  • Jul 26, 2021
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Psychological analysis of the series Friends

The Transtheoretical model of change part of J. Prochaska (C. DiClemente) (1983), and serves to predict and explain changes in addictive behaviors in subjects through a three-dimensional structure that includes: stages, processes and levels of change that interrelate with each other.

This global model of change emphasizes the motivational variable as a determining factor for change or decision-making covering the entire change process “from the moment someone notices the existence of the problem until the moment in which the problem ceases to exist ”(Annex I, module 6), proposing the analysis of the various factors that influence the passage between the different stages in order to intervene in an adapted way to the stage of change in which the subject is.

The great potential of this theoretical framework is to involve the main psychological variables on which the acquisition of a healthy habit, which include the motivational phase of change and the volitional or action phase itself said, in addition to the processes that include awareness, social support, contingency management and others (Prochaska and DiClemente, 1994; Prochaska and Prochaska, 1993).

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Index

  1. Analysis according to the Prochaska model: moderate alcohol consumption
  2. Hypothesis
  3. Results
  4. Analysis according to the Prochaska model: actions to avoid infectious-contagious lesions
  5. Results

Analysis according to the Prochaska model: moderate alcohol consumption.

Alcohol is consumed with prudence and moderation: always during the meal and not while driving, or during leisure activities. responsibility with oneself and their environment, evaluating the beneficial effects of a substance that can cause serious disorders in the organism.

Hypothesis of the passage of the leading character of the behavior through all stages to healthy behavior: Charlie

Stadiums

They represent the when certain changes of intentions, attitudes and behaviors in behaviors occur and therefore reflect a time dimension, which does not explain how to go from one stage to another. The model assumes that the subjects go through 5 stages or stages in which they change their behavior in a non-linear way, but rather spiral, because relapses normally occur placing the subject in the contemplation phase again, until if it is possible to stop the addictive behavior, the entire process of behavior change is completed, achieving finish it. The stadiums are:

  • Pre-contemplation: The person still has no idea that he has a problem, nor that he is going to have to try to solve it. According to Prochaska and DiClemente it is that he knows he has a problem, but is not aware of it.
  • Contemplation: In this stage consciousness appears. Prochaska and DiClemente place the subject in an ambivalent state: he considers and rejects change at the same time, beginning to resolve said ambivalence on the side of change. You decide to do something, which is not the same as doing it for real.
  • preparation: The subjects are prepared for the performance and prepare, even a start date.
  • Performance: Here you are already determined to change and take the necessary steps in that direction. When the person reaches the stage of overt modification of the problem behavior occurs.
  • Maintenance: He strives not to lose what he has achieved in the action phase. It involves considerable work, because the fundamental task is to prevent relapse. It begins six months after the change occurs and ends when the addictive or risky behavior ends.

The processes

Represent the how changes occur. They are overt or covert activities that the subject performs to abandon her addiction. Tejero (1997) made a table with 10 processes of change:

  1. raising awareness (intensifying information about the problem and benefits of stopping the addictive behavior),
  2. dramatization relief,
  3. environmental reassessment,
  4. self-evaluation, which are the processes of change to move from pre-contemplation to contemplation and the therapist has to influence them if the subject is at this stage. The steps towards action involve the use of cognitive, affective and evaluation processes of change,
  5. social liberation,
  6. self-liberation (self-confidence in their abilities, self-efficacy),
  7. counterconditioning,
  8. stimulus control,
  9. contingency control are essential, in addition to having,
  10. Relationships help to get to the maintenance phase of non-drinking behavior. As for example, demonstrations of his environment of friends and his own evaluation about his behavior under the influence of this drug, and / or reassessment when Charlie gains self-control and confidence in the health behavior of drinking with moderation.

The levels of change

They refer to what You have to change for the addictive behavior to stop. There are 5 and they are organized hierarchically:

  1. symptoms / situation
  2. maladaptive cognitions
  3. current interpersonal conflicts
  4. family / systems conflicts
  5. intrapersonal conflicts. In the transtheoretical approach, the first level of change is usually intervened, thus there will be more possibilities for the change to happen than to stop the addictive behavior; This level is also usually the main reason for consulting the addict, it requires less inference because it is the most conscious level; and on the other hand, being interdependent if one of the levels is modified, the others will also change. In our hypothetical case Charlie has acted on the first and second levels, as will be seen later.

In summary, a hierarchical and systematic therapeutic intervention model is achieved with this global treatment approach through the differential application of the change processes in each of the 5 stages depending on the level of the addiction problem treated; in this way you get 3 types of intervention strategies: the change of levels, based on the addict's symptoms and the situations that maintain them, if the processes can be applied and the subject progresses well to the next stages of change therapy can be completed without requiring a more complex level of analysis. The key level will be used when there is causality in the acquisition or maintenance of the addiction, Charlie (anxiety before his social disabilities he commits) with his partner, his friends and with his therapist to work on this level to achieve get over it. Finally, that of the maximum impact that is used in complicated cases of addiction, where the implication of multiple levels as cause, effect or maintenance of the addictive behavior is evident; in this case the interventions will be varied in order to achieve maximum impact, and it is applied synergistically rather than sequentially.

Psychological analysis of the series Friends - Analysis according to the Prochaska model: moderate alcohol consumption

Hypothesis.

Let's imagine that Charlie had a problem with alcohol addiction 7 years ago. Based on this hypothesis, according to this theory the steps from their risk behavior to their health behavior would be:

Precontemplation

At that time Charlie did not assume risk behavior with her health and had no intention of changing his addictive behavior to alcohol, whose intake she was in 1/4 liter of wine daily at meals and 1 or 2 glasses of high-grade alcohol (40º) from dusk until she left. to sleep; therefore, she sees no risk or problems for his health. He ignores the benefits of not continuing with this risky behavior, having a greater perception about the practical barriers, feeling demoralized in the face of the ability to change from it and does not want to think about it.

When his friends Mathew, Phoebe, and his partner Monica point out that his intake is excessive, Charlie may be questioning it; it is through these helping personal relationships that motivation for change or decision making. Thus, a process of change is introduced through an increase in awareness so as to increase your ability to perception negative aspects on his health and the impact (evaluation) in their interpersonal relationships. However, we cannot yet maintain an attitude where he does not believe that giving up alcohol is favorable for his life.

Contemplation

Charlie begins to pay attention to information that previously went unnoticed, such as statistical data from the TV news, he pauses to watch how much and how people in his workplace and friends drink. So take awareness self-reevaluation of your addiction problem and idea of change your behavior. Charlie feels the perception of barriers to practice even stronger, he begins to debate within himself the benefits and costs to quit this addictive behavior. For Charlie, alcohol is part of many social activities that provide him with good food, a good atmosphere... but he begins to visualize his behaviors somewhat pathetic emotional under the effects of those night drinks and the morning consequences of what he is already beginning to value as excess or behavior of risk. Therefore, he begins to think about the change in attitude and is more open to all suggestions and remarks that both his girlfriend Monica, and his friends Mathew, Phoebe... have been making him in the end times. Especially in the information that Mathew discusses with the roommates in the presence of Charlie methods and forms of quality of life and health behavior. Producing in the latter a reevaluatedon environmental not only cognitively but emotionally, as he is thinking about how his friends would see him without a drink in hand. What happens is that Charlie still thinks about the capacity for disinhibition that a "little drink" gives him. for social activities outside of this environment and especially in the workplace during mealtimes. deal.

This phase usually lasts several months (6) and even a year (with alcohol), although there are people who remain years in this period, there are even chronic contemplators, who substitute acting for the action of think.

Preparation

The subject initiates an effort by preparing change plans, with the intention of leaving it in the next few weeks. However, he has already been able to verify that when he meets in the Central Perk cafeteria with his friends he has been substituting his "glass" for other non-alcoholic beverages without him having repercussions that he cannot front facing. Although he still has not gone 24 hours without drinking alcohol stimulus control. He is thus taking some steps towards acting and counterconditioning, trying to take some control.

Charlie can now take steps toward change. Actions and ideas appear together for the first time and from this moment it is granted to the self-efficacy a high predictive value as a variable of change. Charlie already begins to appreciate that he will be able to leave him even communicates to his friends (who enthusiastically support his changes -Helping relationships-) his plans, as he has consulted a specialist and has subjected him to a series of tests (CAGE) to assess his degree of addiction. This process is also called Self-liberation since the subject feels his capacity to decide and choose (he perceives that he has the capacity to choose and implement change).

Action or performance

Suspension of the habit, moment of behavior modification. Normally it is valued this way when 4 days to a week have passed without drinking and it usually lasts to 6 months. Here the individual can receive feedback on his ability to self-control to maintain the behavior of not drinking, even in risky situations; and like Bandura, in addition to Prochaska, believes that beliefs in one's own capacity for control favor the maintenance of change, the confrontation of risk situations and the avoidance of relapses. In this phase, Charlie manifests himself confident in the scenes in which during his time in the cafeteria or with his friends -a those who play little jokes about asking for a "drink" from time to time - being able to overcome temptation and feeling more effective.

At this stage it may happen that even though these people are effectively making their behavior changes, these changes are not so real and definitive. The therapist in this case will support and train patients with behavioral procedures (counterconditioning and stimulus control) how to increase the probability that certain behavior related to the change of habit happen (contingency management). In the case of alcoholism, group and individual therapy is required for both action and maintenance, underpinning relapse prevention strategies. This stage is very stressful and the support that Charlie is having with her environment is very favorable, such as For example, the fact that Monica, her partner, tries not to have alcohol at home or that she does not drink it in her presence of her.

Maintenance

Preservation of the action of not drinking for 6 months, and resistance to falling into temptation in all problem situations. It ends with the ending of the process when the subject no longer needs change processes to avoid relapse, but in the case of alcohol this limit is not clear - it is said that an alcoholic is an alcoholic for life. At this stage, the subject undergoes the actual exposure with his own resources and all external help (that of his friends and partner) must be diminished. The basic process of this stage and the previous one is the contingency management (already mentioned) and the change of levels that is achieved with the feeling of having "achieved a state of maximum self-efficacy or confidence and that the temptations are minimal" (Annex I). The maintenance status lasts between 6 months and 5 years, after the start of the Performance.

Psychological analysis of the Friends series - Hypothesis

Results.

So far I have been hypothesizing the case of Charlie that, in some chapter of the Friends Series, his problem with alcohol was discussed. But the behavior chosen was the moderate consumption of this substance as a health behavior and it is evident that in the chosen chapters Matew, Phoebe, Charlie, and All the components of the series respond favorably to moderate alcohol intake following the predisposition of its positive effects as learned. Therefore, these characters are located in that of Maintenance: Conservation of action where Charlie does not need change processes to avoid the abuse of alcohol consumption, as we have been able to check through the entire series and through the behavior of the characters, but you do need Charlie (as an alcoholic) to avoid relapses. Neither do the rest of the characters require change processes. As we have seen, all the scenes in relation to alcohol are aimed at health behaviors.

The passage of the precontemplation and contemplation stages have been induced by cognitive and decision-making processes caused by awareness, education and sense of efficacy, plus Charlie's invaluable supportive emotional environment with her partner and friends - helping interpersonal relationships -. There is no reference to the family environment, but Charlie is in that indefinite age of 40 years where some people begin to question what phase of her life they are in and perhaps this has influenced to drive his decision and the passage from the Preparation stage to the stage of Performance.

According to Prochaska and DiClemente For the precontemplation and contemplation stages, the most effective therapeutic approaches are usually psychodynamic, experimental and cognitive. And for the preparation and action phases, behavioral or existential therapy. In the therapeutic intervention, it is essential to detect the stage of the patient and to be able to apply the appropriate processes to help him: Charlie goes to the specialist in the preparation stage where the therapist will have a role that will improve motivation and clarify Doubts; In preparation, the dependence and degree of motivation will be assessed with the appropriate tests, a history of previous attempts will be made to leave the addiction, evaluating the method used, and 3 or more attempts correlate with better success rates, a report will be made on the 3 types of dependence, you will be given tips to prepare for the cessation day (strategies to reduce withdrawal syndrome, list with the cons of addiction…); in acting the almost ex-addict already knows what induces you to consume (In Charlie's case, his inability to socialize) and what strategies he uses to control those stimuli: Key strategy level, where the patient and the therapist work almost exclusively helping you to prevent relapse with support. Maintaining the former addict identifies the risks of relapse and already has coping solutions.

Analysis according to the Prochaska model: actions to avoid infectious-contagious lesions.

Although this analysis focuses on the States of Change or transtheoretical Model developed by Prochaska and Dicle fundamentally directed to addictive behaviors, we cannot say that an addictive behavior as such existed here but we can hypothesize a risk behavior for the Health. So with this model we can try to explain and predict by means of the three-dimensional structure formed by stages, processes and levels of change of this theoretical framework, supported by the decision-making model (Janis and Mann 1977) and the self-efficacy model (Bandura 1987, 1980) as determinants of change.

Prevention of eating food that other people have already put in contact with her body. Matew and Monica fight over the last cupcake in the Central Perk cafeteria and they both fiddle with the idea of ​​mouth contact (before the other achieves it) and that the food in question and the utensils for drinking coffee (cup) are impregnated with microorganisms other than one's own same.

Hypothesis of the passage of the leading characters of the behavior through all stages to healthy behavior: Matew and Monica

Precontemplation

Matew and Mónica at this stage would not be taking preventive actions nor would they consider a change in attitude necessary, as they would not they would see a problem in their behavior (taking food and utensils used at the same time by other people) that does it necessary. Well, they would not have cognitive, affective, executive, social, family attitudes, etc., that would base the prevention activities that they have maintained during these scenes. Anticipating how prevention factor, which always implies arriving before something happens.

Only through the perception of external agents would they point out their behaviors and would install themselves in them motivation for change or decision making, then continuing to the next stage. In other words, there is an increase in awareness in such a way as to increase their ability to perception of the negative aspects of unhygienic behaviors on their health and on the impact (evaluation) on their interpersonal relationships.

Contemplation

At this stage the characters recognize that they have a problem and begin to think about solving it, the processes being characteristic of it.

Self-assessment

Sometimes, vital events such as observing a disease that is transmitted by the lack of prevention, hygiene, lack of information regarding health habits would start motivation To the change Dramatic relief. If both characters contemplate the probable consequences of these behaviors, they would initiate awareness of the need for change and they may still say to themselves "it should have more careful… ”, even because socially this type of unhealthy attitudes leads to social marginalization, where they are the ones avoided and therefore this perception places them in the Environmental reassessment. This stage may have started in the precontemplation stage, establishing in them a cognitive process in which the benefits and costs of abandoning this behavior are debated within. For both of them, the behavior practiced so far represents a comfortable and practical way of eating whatever they want without making sure hygienic conditions, but they have learned from their own observation how flu and other infectious-contagious diseases spread. Therefore they begin to think about the change of attitude since they would begin to accept that their behavior can seriously damage their health. Beginning to pay attention to the information provided by both their affective environment and the clinical experts and having a contingency management that allows them to verify the habit with the consequences.

Preparation

Both Matew and Mónica begin to make plans to change their hygienic eating habits. Matew and Monica can now take steps towards change. At this stage it is possible to immediately start the evaluation and modification process, for example with Helper Relations. With their social environment supporting them.

In this case, the interventions will be reeducational and not only informational, providing a greater effect when carried out at this stage, since they consider the possibility of self-efficacy. Believing in the possibility of change is a motivating element, and it is important that the subject takes responsibility for doing what is necessary to achieve the change. Taking into account the factors that need to be avoided and the healthiest behaviors to prevent Infectious-contagious injuries that lead to Counterconditioning, behaviors contrary to the situations risky.

Action or performance

The moment of the behavior modification. Taking only the food that they have only put in contact with themselves and using clean utensils and exclusively. And with a frequency that allows them to perceive their capacity for self-control to maintain preventive and hygienic behavior, even in risky situations. The first obstacle that a person presents is facing a high-risk situation, which are those that threaten the sense of self-control.

Maintenance

Preservation of the action when your actions are like those presented in the series and in the chosen health behavior in my previous pecs. At this stage the subject undergoes the actual exposure with his own resources and Matew and Mónica fight in the cafeteria over keep the trophy: the cupcake, keeping it in perfect hygiene and disease prevention conditions contagious.

Psychological analysis of the series Friends - Analysis according to the Prochaska model: actions to avoid infectious-contagious lesions

Results.

Therefore, these characters are located in that of Maintenance: Conservation of action where neither Mónica nor Matew need change processes to avoid contagion.

This health behavior that the protagonists maintain is contemplated within the Health Psychology and in other related branches such as that of the Behavioral health, an interdisciplinary field that is behaviorally located promoting good health and hygiene habits and preventing disease among those who are currently in good health; or in the branch of preventive medicine: which deals with preventing, in the individual, family or population groups, the appearance, development and prolongation of communicable diseases; maintaining and promoting health, through diagnosis, early treatment and rehabilitation, as well as avoiding and limiting the disability that they may cause.

Also in the branch of Health Education: a process whose intellectual, psychological and social dimensions are related to activities that increase people's capabilities in order to take decisions informed that affect their personal, family and community well-being.

The Transtheoretical Model suggests that we must design change strategies that are in accordance with the characteristics of the subjects to whom they are directed. These strategies make the subject emerge the necessary behavior that leads him to maintain a lasting change in the desired behavior. Preventing relapse is seen as part of the last stage of maintenance.

Finally this model is based on intentional change, but it assumes that the subject can relapse into his addictive behavior, which in general is not difficult to modify, but his changes are difficult to maintain, that is why the probability of relapse is part of the therapeutic processDue to this, it is convenient to study the factors that predict it as prevention to stop it, and the most practical alternative to relapse is proposed as utilization of recycling programs.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to Psychological analysis of the series Friends, we recommend that you enter our category of Social psychology.

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