Chris Gardner’s psychological development as an emerging person in The Pursuit of Happyness

Abstrak

This study examines Chris Gardner’s psychological development in The Pursuit of Happyness using Carl Rogers’ concept of the emerging person. This study focuses on identifying how the main character reflects the characteristics of an emerging person, including openness to experience, trust in one’s organism, internal locus of evaluation, and willingness to be a process. This study employed a descriptive qualitative method. The data were collected from dialogues, monologues, and narrative scenes from the film and its script. The data collection process involved watching the film repeatedly, identifying relevant data, classifying them based on the theoretical framework, and reducing the data to focus on the significant findings. The analysis applies a psychological approach to the literature based on Carl Rogers’ humanistic theory. The results show that Gardner demonstrates all the key characteristics of an emerging person throughout the film. He shows openness to experience by accepting reality and seeking new opportunities, trusting his organism through confidence in his own judgment, and having an internal locus of evaluation by making decisions based on personal values rather than external approval. In addition, his persistence, adaptability, and continuous efforts reflect his willingness to undergo the process. These findings indicate that Chris Gardner’s character represents an individual who is continuously developing and striving for personal growth, as proposed in Rogers’ concept of the emerging person.