Introduction

The Truman Show stars a man who is unaware that his whole life has been staged and is surrounded by an imaginary world.  To Truman, the world is a peaceful place where everything works, as it should on the small island where he lives.  He has never gone on vacation; never made his own choices and certainly has never been told his life is a Television show. First we will give an in-depth summary of what transpired to Truman in The Truman Show then discuss the psychological aspects of the movie. Second we will show how the Social Learning Theory, classical conditioning, and motivation can explain his actions. 

Summary

Truman Burbank lives his life unaware that he is on a world famous television show. All of his actions are real responses to his life, but everyone person around him is an actor. The movie begins twenty-eight years into Truman’s life. He wakes up every morning greeting his neighbors with the usual, “Good morning! And if I don’t see you later, good afternoon, good evening, and goodnight!” On his way to work, a set lamp drops from the sky. This begins the unraveling of The Truman Show. Scarred by the memory of losing his father while at sea, Truman is unable to board a boat to leave the island and see the rest of the world. Many years after his father’s death, Truman sees his father in town while going to work. Simultaneously, two bystanders remove his father from the set on account that he is not supposed to be there. The shock of seeing his supposed, dead father being forcefully removed by strangers causes Truman to begin to question reality. Truman has a flashback to his school days where he sees a girl and instantly falls in love with her. Unfortunately, she is not the girl with whom the producers want Truman to fall in love. One night, Truman and this girl run to the beach where she attempts to tell Truman that his life is being controlled and watched before being forcibly removed by a man who claims to be her father. Reflecting on this moment, Truman realizes that there is a secret about his life that everyone knows but him. 

The next day on his way to work, Truman’s usual classical music radio is interfered with by frequencies from the set crew’s radios. He hears a play-by-play description of his whereabouts until the producers can regain control and continue to play his regular music. Walking into an office building, he sees an elevator without a back wall revealing a break room and employers likening those of a film crew.

While talking to his wife, explaining his doubts about his life, Truman decides to run away. His attempts to get a flight to Fiji, a bus ride to Chicago, and board a ship headed away, all fail. He kidnaps his wife and drives off the island as a last resort to escape. Evacuated employees of a radioactive plant unfortunately stop him. After returning home to his normal life, Truman talks to his friend who falsely reassures him that there is nothing going on and his life is not being controlled. Dramatically, Truman’s once dead father reappears and an emotional reunion takes place. That night, Truman decides to leave. After escaping a search party of the film crew, he takes a sailboat and sails away from the island hoping to find Fiji. As a last endeavor, the producer and creator of The Truman Show creates a storm to persuade Truman’s return. Escaping the storm and carrying on, Truman rams the boat into the outer of the set, which was disguised as the sky. Reality finally hits Truman that his world has been controlled. The producer pleads guilty to controlling Truman’s life, but implores him to remain in his virtual world. Independently, Truman decides to leave the show to live a normal life on his own.

Psychological Concepts

The Social Learning Theory states that people “learn social behavior by observing and imitating” others. In the movie The Truman Show, Truman displays social learning by his interactions with surrounding people. For example, in interactions with neighbors every morning, the family politely greets Truman. In response, Truman greets them with equal politeness by saying, “Good morning! And if I don’t see you later, good afternoon, good evening, and goodnight!” The movie correctly exemplifies the Social Learning Theory through Truman and his interactions with the townspeople.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_s9pG5CWXM&feature=player_embedded
 This video shows young children watching and then acting like their parents. 

                                Sean "P. Diddy" Combs advertises Cîroc vodka with the allure
                                                        of going to parties and living like a celebrity, which causes 
                                                        people to buy his vodka in hopes of a similar life. 

Classical Conditioning is “a type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events." Classical conditioning is performed with an unconditioned stimulus resulting in an unconditioned response followed by a conditioned stimulus in hopes of getting a conditioned response. The unconditioned stimulus of his father going overboard while on a boat and drowning produced the unconditioned response of Truman being fearful of death. The conditioned stimulus then becomes the boat, which produces the conditioned response of fear of death. Classical conditioning was perfectly portrayed through Truman’s fear of death while on a boat.

http://mindgatemedia.com/lesson/classical-and-operant-conditioning/
Dwight is classically conditioned to ask for an altoid when he hears the computer restart sound. 

                               Teenagers have been conditioned to dance upon hearing the Cupid Shuffle.

Motivation is “a need or desire that energizes or directs behavior.” Truman’s two motivations are to find out the truth about his life and to find his love, Lauren, who was taken away years ago. Because of his desire to find out the truth, Truman asks his wife and friends odd questions and is very observant. Truman also tries to leave the island and go to Fiji, because he wants to find Lauren. Through these two situations, Truman’s motivations can be seen.

http://www.oprah.com/spirit/How-to-Get-Motivated-to-Change-Your-Lifestyle-LLuminari-Guide
Oprah gives advice on how to be motivated and live a better life. 

The movie The Truman Show follows the life of a man whose every action is being recorded and shown on a popular television show. The writers of this film intertwined psychological concepts that were displayed through the character, Truman. Concepts such as Social Learning Theory, Classical Conditioning, and motivation were used to explain Truman’s actions. With these items, the movie portrayed a story of a man whose life was altered due to his forced involvement with The Truman Show.

The Hunger Games shows the motivation the characters have to live and win the games. This is also an example of not being in control of your life, similar to Truman.