Self-actualizing after your mother commits murder is difficult, not impossible

According to Sherif’s 1996 conflict theory (here derived from Psych Exchange UK website), two groups competing for the same resources diverge even further from their original differences and exhibit fierce competitive tendencies. In scene 9 of White Oleander, Claire and Ingrid demonstrate this principle as they compete for a valuable 'resource': Ingrid's daughter Astrid.

Claire and Ingrid--like the boys in the study discussed below--could have chosen to put aside their animosity for the sake of a common goal—Astrid’s happiness—but instead choose to channel their energies into competition. In the process, they forsake the common ground they might have shared—for instance, their mutual concern and love for Astrid, or even their artistically-based careers. However, the women mistrust each other, therefore they are unable from the get-go to establish a collaborative relationship, and instead resort to hostility. Sensitive, loving, dependent Claire appears to melt even further into her sugary persona in front of Ingrid. Ingrid’s natural toughness, coldness, and independence, which might have ordinarily faded in the presence of her daughter, are brought out to the fullest prominence possible. The conversation then takes an “in-group/ out-group” turn for the worse as Ingrid tries to influence her daughter’s conception of Claire by painting her foster mother as alien to their own shared history and goals.

The resemblance of the animosity between Claire and Ingrid to the Eagles and the Rattlers of Sherif’s “Robbers’ Cave” study should be noted. In both cases, the involved parties increased the differences in their behaviors in order to differentiate themselves from the other group. In the Robbers’ Cave study, one group of boys at a summer camp (the Eagles) prided themselves on praying before a contest and not using foul language (they believed their opponents, the Rattlers were foul-mouthed). In response, the Rattlers began parading their toughness. The groups of boys only resolved their differences when presented with an outside enemy in the form of a glitch in the water system of the camp the required the efforts of all campers—Rattlers and Eagles alike—to be resolved. If Ingrid and Claire were to face a situation that would rouse them to action (for example, if Astrid were in danger), then perhaps the two mothers could put their animosity aside to achieve a common goal.

Astrid faces a number of obstacles that would seem to prevent her from obtaining a healthy, sound psychological state, but as she moves throughout the film she gradually confronts them all. From obtaining food, water, shelter in often unstable homes where she is placed (physiological needs) to gaining enough self-efficacy to fend off the bullies in her foster care center(partly fulfilling the need of safety, and also the need of esteem), Astrid exhibits all the traits to be expected of someone struggling to ascend the height of Maslow’s pyramid of hierarchical needs. She adapts to the eccentricities of each new foster family, sometimes in positive (her incredible resilience when adapting to the foster care center) and sometimes in negative ways (notably, the incident with Ray). One of the major achievements for Astrid throughout the film is when she obtains love and a sense of belonging with Claire. However, Astrid remains fundamentally unstable and therefore vulnerable to her upbringing until this scene.





Herein is the moment that Astrid self-actualizes: when she states: “No. I stopped when Claire showed me what it felt like to be loved.” Here she finally fully separates herself from her mother and declares her own rights and needs. Astrid struggles with identity issues throughout the whole film, often adopting the attitudes and personas of her various foster families, unable to differentiate herself as an individual. The culprit behind this failure to retain a stable identity is of course, Ingrid, a strong personality who never wants her daughter to explore lifestyles and philosophies different from her own. Therefore this scene is the pivotal breakthrough that Astrid has been unknowingly working towards, a crystallized moment of self-actualization. The textbook, The Science of Psychology: An Appreciative View, defines self-actualization as “the motivation to develop one’s potential as a human being”(379). Soon after she asserts her own worth in the face of her mother’s selfish behavior, she moves in with the only living person who has loved her as she deserves, namely Paul, and is able to move forward, create art, and, most importantly, retain a stable identity. Thus it is safe to say that after three foster homes, and easily as many changes of identity and values, Astrid has finally ascended to the highest level on Maslow’s hierarchical pyramid of needs.

http://www.psychexchange.co.uk/glossary/realistic-conflict-theory-500/

http://www.overcomingbias.com/2007/12/the-robbers-cav.html

Laura King, editor. The Science of Psychology: An Appreciative View.