The Psychology of Disney Pixar?s Lightyear 2022

I had a big week at work. My energy this Saturday afternoon is quite low but I have promised to have
some fun with my kid.
Let?s watch a cartoon at the cinema! I couldn?t think of a better option. I could sit down for 2 hours,
no need to talk, support economic recovery, use the $25 NSW Discovery Voucher which will expire in
2 weeks, there was no queue at the cinema which was only 5 minutes away. The friendly staff said
Lightyear is starting in 7 minutes! Great.
I remember Buzz as the action hero in Toy Story. My top of mind was his iconic quote ?To infinity
and Beyond? and ?I?m sorry. I?You?re right. I am just a little depressed. That?s all. I can get through
this.?
Goal-oriented, dutiful, very skilful and loyal, learnt some humility when he learnt to adapt to his
new world. He now has own his own movie? I?m curious.
My oh my. OOOOhh I?m very surprised and very impressed with how sophisticated this cartoon/film
is, and the psychology behind it. How is this a kid?s movie? I don?t think I should call it a ?cartoon? at
all! The moral message is beyond most kid?s entertainment.
Our family thoroughly enjoyed it. I personally respect and learn from the psychological qualities of
the multiple characters and their great lines! I am trying to keep this as spoiler free as possible!

?Narrating helps me focus.? ?Buzz Lightyear mission log ?. blah blah blah?
The mission-obsessed Buzz was narrating as he went on his mission, battles, even when he was
getting beaten up, going through challenges and failures. Narrating out loud can be annoying but
what a great strategy!
One of the key topics in my Ph.D. research was in metacognition, thinking about our thinking.
Narrating is the first step in metacognition, which is a form of self-regulation, which is helpful for
learning and performance.

?We?re making a detour to investigate.? ?1 year of work for a four minute flight.?

Have you all seen that visual graph or comic where the journey to success is not a straight line? There are lots of detour, ups and downs, with disappointing deviations and may be even some scary ?outliers? before we could reach the peak of success. Often, it takes longer than the projected timeline. 

Well, we see this full trajectory in this animated film about intergalactic adventure, with time-travel, grief and loss, and more. 

Very inspiring.

?Don?t die is something you want to do every day.? ?Operation Surprise Party is a go.? ?She?s afraid of space.? ?She should be. It?s terrible.? 

The supporting cast have excellent mental health! They are funny, not the sharpest tools in the shed, not the brightest crayons in the box, but hopelessly positive, resilient, resilient. 

?I?m Buzz Lightyear. I?m always sure.? ?Everyone?s just stuck here. Because of me.?

Buzz is very VERY confident. 

He said this line right before his mission failed. He was consumed in guilt because this negative outcome has impacted everyone, and is seemingly irreversible.

There was a moment where he nearly gave up, but he quickly bounced back! Great mental health helps us bounce back. Even Heroes make mistakes, and sometimes irreversible mistakes.

As I am a descendent of the greatest social-cognitive psychologists, Albert Bandura and Bob Wood, the concept of ?self-efficacy? is in my everyday life, personal and professional life. Buzz Lightyear has very high self-efficacy as he perceived that he could achieve in tasks, even in the face of challenges, even when resources are scarce. His self-efficacy and hence motivation remains high even when support is stripped bare, even at great odds of failure and risks. 

In the literature of Psychology, learning and performance, self-efficacy is the criteria of successful performance. In street language? He is a legend. 

Focus on how we bounce back!

?You don?t need to save us, you need to join us.?   ?I hate Rookies as much as autopilots!?

In any leadership theory and Harvard Business Case, the goal of any good leadership is to lead, to motivate and to mobilise resources effectively. 

In this film, Lightyear has a great leader, a legend (a female, black, same sex marriage, and very pretty). In contrast, Lightyear is not much of a team player. He has top skills and he prefers to tackle problems by himself. Absolutely can?t be bothered coaching rookies. Do you know someone like this?

To me, I have watched his journey of honing leadership and teamwork skills!

?Captain, this mission has 83% chance of succeeding.? ?I?ll take those odds.?

?Success and failures? carry different meaning and different weights to different people. 

Buzz Lightyear was constantly, CONSTANTLY PUSHING HIS LIMITS, AND NEVER GAVE UP!

He is constantly learning and pushing his limits to fulfil his missions. He is not afraid of setbacks and failures. He is willing to change, to adapt, and transform. 

He even fought himself when he realised he was wrong (you will get what I mean after you watch the movie). Disney Pixar touched on some pretty deep stuff there?in a very cool way. 

This film has touched on self-efficacy, perception of success and failure, adaptation, change management, transformation, teamwork, leadership, goal-setting, planning, resilience, plus an interesting outlook of the future.

Buzz Lightyear is a fictional character, but in my opinion, he provides some lessons we all can learn from, kids or adults. To infinity and beyond!Note: I did not receive any sponsorship. 

Sox (sidekick) said ?I regret joining you on this mission?.