Theories of Success
Theories that outline success are beliefs used by members of society to explain the meaning of success. These approaches give a fair opinion on what could be termed as success. Success could simply mean the potential of an individual being able to attain the set goals to the standards that are anticipated. The psychological and social settings have different definitions and views on success. This paper seeks to establish the variations and similarities of the two theories used in the definition of success. The paper further seeks to establish how these two principles relate to the personality of Jason in the novel of Dark Matter.
Jason's Dual Lives
The character Jason lives two types of lives. The novel starts with Jason being a family man who is responsible and caring. He takes care of his family and successfully provides for them without any problem until the story takes another direction. The character is kidnapped and taken to another type of life where he becomes a very industrious scientist, using his knowledge to make inventions that earn him a lot of respect and later help him to escape from his tribulations (Johnson, p. 42). The two types of lives give different approaches that manifest the various parameters that can measure success. While using the psychological and the social approach, there are various aspects of success outlined from the two types of life that the character lives in and the achievements that the character makes.
Jason's Scientific Knowledge
Jason, in his adventures, uses his scientific knowledge to solve the challenges that he and his friend Amanda face. These efforts are made in a bid to help the character and his friend escape from where they had been captured. The desire to escape from their enemies pushes Jason to exploit his scientific skills to successfully move out of danger and ensure that he and his friend continue surviving despite the challenges that they face; Jason finally succeeds in moving out of danger when he arrives in Chicago. His success from this area can be explained by the use of the expectancy element of the psychological theory. The psychological theory implies that a person will be motivated to achieve the goals that he or she seeks to achieve as a result of the motivation that they receive from achievement of the set goals that will result in very high rewards. The element of valence under the expectancy theory evaluates the value of the reward that a person seeks to achieve, for instance, Jason finds the success of his escape mission as the only way he can reach his desired outcomes of meeting his family that he loves so much.
The Psychological Theory of Achievement
The psychological theory of achievement states that the basic human needs need to be met before any other needs. The need to achieve success in acquiring basic needs becomes a crucial factor that drives people to work hard and sacrifice their efforts and mental skills to overcome challenges and achieve the desired outcomes (Maslow, p. 370). The use of personal skills and effort in pursuit of goals to achieve these goals is depicted by Jason's creativity and innovation in their journey escaping from their enemies. He exploits his scientific skills to help his friend and himself escape danger; this could be in line with Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of physiological and safety needs. The theory explains that a person will strive hard to acquire basic needs such as food, water, and shelter to survive. The need for safety, which also is under Maslow's hierarchy of needs, explains the reason as to why a human being will find it necessary to strive and achieve safety before achieving other needs. Jason attempts and achieves these types of needs by being committed to working hard and achieving these needs.
Family as a Motivating Factor
Jason, as a family man, relies much on his family as a source of motivation in the success of providing for the needs of his family. Jason, while with his family, provides for their basic needs while offering them love and care as a responsible family man. He gets motivation from his children and wife whom he loves very much. According to the sociological theory, motivating factors under the social theories include the stability of one's family background and the level of motivation that one receives from the people under him or her to pursue what he or she desires (Weiner, p. 568). As a family man, the character raises a stable family and succeeds in providing for all their needs from physiological needs, safety, love, and protecting his family's self-esteem. Jason is very successful in providing for the needs of his family, which further builds his reputation and gains him the social status of being a responsible and caring father.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Jason performs more as a scientist because of the environment that he is preconditioned to. The environment that he is made to work under dictates him to work hard and sacrifice his energy and comfort to secure his survival and that of his supportive friend Amanda. Jason can engage in more mental creativity and innovation to come up with solutions to the challenges that he faces in his escape mission. It is evident that a person performs more while striving to survive and cater for his or her most basic survival needs as compared to the other needs.
Works Cited
Johnson, David. “Sci-fi/fantasy [Book Review].” Good Reading Aug 2016 (2016): 42.
Maslow, Abraham Harold. “A theory of human motivation.” Psychological review 50.4 (1943): 370.
Weiner, Bernard. “An attributional theory of achievement motivation and emotion.” Psychological review 92.4 (1985): 548.
