Lyanne Mae M.

Quismundo

1E1

Quiz in Psychology and Business

I am Sam
Lucy Diamond Dawson
Sean Penn portrays a mentally challenged man whose name is Sam
Dawson in the movie I am Sam. Sams intellectual capacity is around that
of a 7 year old. He became a single father to a daughter whose name is Lucy
Diamond Dawson.
When Lucy grew up, she noticed that her father was different. She
became aware that her father has a mind of a child. But thats all right with
her because her father provides her with an atmosphere of love and
happiness. She then started holding herself back in school. She is afraid to
learn because she doesnt want to be smarter than her father.
Some of her friends teased her and said that her father was a retard.
She told one of her classmates that she was only adopted. This happened at
her surprised birthday party which was prepared by Sam. As a result, a social
worker visited them and took Lucy away. Because of this, Lucy became
depressed. All she wanted was to be with her father. It came to a point where
Lucy convinced Sam to runaway while the trial is still on process. After this
incident, Lucy lived with her foster parents. Sam moved into a new
apartment closed to her. Lucy had a habit of sneaking out during the night to
go see her father.
These parts of the movie represent Lucys attitude and perspective
about the situation that she and Sam were facing. It is related to Piagets
theory on cognitive development1 and Kohlbergs theory on morality or moral
reasoning2.

On cognitive development, the ages at which children reach different

levels vary considerably, depending on many factors1. At the age of 7, Lucy
already reached the formal operational stage1 due to their problem. In this
stage of cognitive development, children become concern about rational
problems1. It was shown in the movie that Lucy already understood the crisis
they were in. She had analyzed the problem and concluded that she was
being taken away from her father because of his incapability of raising her
well. Another part of the movie that is also related to this stage is when Lucy
does not want to learn anymore because she knew that her father is a retard
and has an intellectual capacity of only 7 years old. She had understood this
problem and decided for herself. She decided to hold herself back.
On moral reasoning, Kohlberg described children as moral
philosophers who develop moral standards of their own which emerge from
the cognitive interaction of children with their social environment 2. In the
movie, Lucy exhibited conventional morality. In this stage of moral reasoning,
a childs action is good if it conforms to the expectations of others, otherwise
it is not. A childs action is also good if it will enhance ones good reputation
or image on thers2. It was shown that Lucy told one of her classmates that
she was adopted. She did this because she wanted the other kids to stop
teasing her and her father. She does not want to destroy her image of having
a father who is retarded.

Reference:
1

Aguas, J. S. (2008). Theories on Human Development: Kohlbergs Stages of Moral Reasoning.

Psychology and
Business. Manila, Philippines: University of Santo Tomas Publishing House.
2

Aguas, J. S. (2008). Theories on Human Development: Piagets Stages of Cognitive Development.

Psychology and
Business. Manila, Philippines: University of Santo Tomas Publishing House.
Synopsis of I am Sam. Retrieved March 2, 2013, from
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0277027/synopsis?ref_=tt_stry_pl