Official trailer for Skyfall (coming Nov. 2012)
Volumes could be written about the psychology of the fictional character, James Bond. On the one hand, there is his almost superhuman courage (is it thrill-seeking? obliviousness to risk? or just monumental bravery?), his devotion to duty and his loyalty, his capacity for concentration, even his incredible hand-eye coordination. On the other hand, especially pre-Daniel Craig, there seems to be an almost compulsive promiscuity, even perhaps an inability to form lasting close relationships. And, especially in the Daniel Craig era of Bond, we see something of the personal price that someone in his position must pay to function: repeated exposure to trauma.
However, it is rarely that we see psychology portrayed in a Bond film. Yet portrayed it is, in the new trailer, just out today, for the forthcoming film Skyfall (out in November; see trailer, above). The trailer opens with Daniel Craig as James Bond having an odd conversation with an unidentified man:
Unidentified Man: "Country."
Bond: "England."
Unidentified Man: "Gun."
Bond: "Shot."
Unidentified Man: "Agent."
Bond: "Provocateur."
Unidentified Man:"Murder."
Bond: "Employment." (Bond smiles slightly.)
Unidentified Man: "Skyfall."
(Bond does not respond. The smile disappears. The audience sees a glimpse of what seems to be a memory: Bond shooting someone?)
Unidentified Man (repeats): "Skyfall."
Bond: "Done." (Bond gets up and leaves the interview room.)
What is happening here? The unidentified man is using one of the oldest methods of psychological assessment known to modern psychology, the Word Association method. In this technique, the person administering the assessment--a psychologist or psychoanalyst, for example--says a word; the person being assessed--in this instance, Bond--is supposed to respond with the first word that occurs to him. Analysis of the pattern of responses is thought to give some insight into the personality of the person being assessed.
James Bond and the Word Association Method
What would we be able to tell about Bond from this assessment? He associates "Country" with "England," fitting for someone with his devotion to duty. He associates "Gun" with "Shot," which is appropriate for someone who has both shot and been shot at many times. (Of course, to date, Bond has always walked away when he's been shot at. His own targets? Not so much.)It is typical to begin a session of the Word Association method with fairly neutral, low-risk stimuli, and that's what we see here. Even the word "Gun" is fairly neutral for someone in Bond's line of work.
However, the person administering the assessment in the trailer then starts to move into edgier territory, perhaps unintentionally. To "Agent," Bond responds with "Provocateur," a response that could be seen as either cheeky or downright pointed, depending on the context. This is because "agent provocateur" is a technical term in the intelligence community; it is a term that would be well known to Bond, an agent of MI6 (which focuses on foreign intelligence, much like the CIA in the U.S.A.). An agent provocateur is placed by an intelligence agency within some group (like a political party). Once accepted as a legitimate member of the group, the agent provocateur incites ("provokes") the group to extreme actions, often of a violent nature. Once such actions are carried out, these actions are used by the authorities in power to justify their own extreme response (such as invasion of a foreign nation, a repressive crackdown on opposition political parties, and so forth). The use of agents provocateur is considered rather "not cricket" (as they might say it in the U.K.), or on the order of "dirty pool" (as we might say it in the U.S.A.). By associating "Agent" with "Provocateur," Bond is saying that he knows his intelligence agency uses tactics of which the public might well disapprove.
Then Bond gets decidedly cheeky, responding to "Murder" with "Employment." Of course, with his Double-Oh License to Kill, murder is literally part of his job--although someone more concerned with social niceties would hardly say it that way.
Then we hit "Skyfall." This is likely the code name for an intelligence operation in which Bond was involved--and an operation that did not go entirely well. We see a split-second flashback to Bond, holding a gun, with another man sitting in a chair, a man who is not moving. (Someone Bond had to kill but did not want to? Someone Bond discovered dead, unexpectedly?)
Bond resists. He does not respond at first. When the unidentified man presses the issue and repeats the word "Skyfall," Bond responds with "Done"--meaning that the assessment is over. As he leaves the room, we get a clear if brief look at his attire: a sort of jumpsuit, with the insignia of the British Crown on the left breast. Not normal attire for an MI6 agent--unless that agent is a patient in a facility for agents undergoing psychological evaluation, perhaps after some operation has gone horribly wrong. (Call me picky, but any operation for which the aftermath is seven or so flag-draped coffins--as we see later in the trailer--cannot be said to have gone entirely well.)
The Value of Word Association
Now you have seen a version of the Word Association method. As it happens, I have conducted many psychological assessments, including some in which I have administered Word Association. What do I think of its use in the trailer?
One thing about Word Association: there is no generally accepted standard list of words used in this method. To some extent, that is a strength, in that the person conducting the assessment can tailor the list to the specific client (as is clearly happening in the trailer). On the other hand, the lack of a generally accepted standard list of words means that there are no norms against which to compare a specific individual's responses. (For example, Bond responds to "Gun" with "Shot." How typical is that of the general population? Or of intelligence agents? We have no way to know.)
Overall, the Word Association method has only heuristic value. That is, the material that emerges in Word Association may suggest some interesting hypotheses and areas where exploration might be fruitful; however, it really does not allow one to establish a diagnosis. (Then again, maybe those folks at MI6 are not interested in establishing a diagnosis so much as they are in prying open a peep-hole into Bond's mind--in which case, heuristic value is all that is required.)
Ethical Issues in Assessment
Perhaps the most interesting part of this for a psychologist or trainee involves the ethical issues involved. As a matter of professional ethics, at least in the United States, the person for whom the assessment is done is the patient himself or herself; the assessment may be ordered by a helping professional (like a hospital ward psychologist), but the benefit is supposed to accrue to the patient, not the institution. But the trailer shows the head of MI6 (played by Judy Dench) and Mallory, a government official with oversight of MI6 (played by Ralph Fiennes), both observing the assessment from behind a one-way mirror. The implication for me is that the assessment was ordered up by MI6, for their benefit and information, not to assist in Bond's treatment.The ethical issues raised for psychologists and other mental health professionals in the employ of military and intelligence services are many. As the world gets to be a more interconnected and complicated place, these are issues that have a greater need to be clarified, for the student and the professional alike--and for the public as well.
(A ding to Yahoo! Movies for thinking that "Provocateur" was a reference to the lingerie company! Thanks to E! Online for the information about Mallory.)
(Copyright 2012 Mark Koltko-Rivera. All Rights Reserved.)
