Optimism Phenomenon In George Gatson's Beauty And The Beast

Gatson in Beauty and the Beast is very confident about his appearance and skills, often using self serving beliefs/comparisons as a way to neglect his weaknesses and keep a positive self concept. The unrealistic optimism phenomenon (3.4 How Do People Maintain a Positive Self-Concept) can explain Gatson's belief that he is great at everything. This phenomenon is described as the belief that we are more likely to experience good events than bad events, often used as an explanation for why people think they are "better than average”. For example, when Gatson looks in the mirror, he claims that he is the "most beautiful thing that he has ever seen” and "our children will be beautiful.” Within this scene, Gatson believes that he is more beautiful than the average man and hopes to pass these traits onto his

Another example of a self-serving belief is when Lefou sings about Gatson's wonderful traits as a way to cheer him up after being rejected by Belle for being "simple-minded.” Quickly, Gatson becomes overconfident in his abilities, reverting back to his initial self. Kruger & Dunning's research with students which is described in the textbook concludes that "those who are least competent are most overconfident about their abilities.” Therefore, Gatson skill in hunting and fighting are over-exaggerated to inflate his positive self concept. "People's overconfidence is particularly strong when they're given feedback that confirms their original views” (Law connections). Therefore, Gatson overconfident judgments about himself is reinforced by both Lefou and the civilians glorifying his achievements. Perceived control, which is defined as seeing uncontrollable events as at least partially under our control, is another self-serving belief. However, this phenomeon doesn't fit in with Gatson and Lefou because they believe nothing that happens to them is within their