Control-Value Theory & Motivation

When Will Hunting turned down the job offer to work for the NSA, Will and his MIT professor had very different reactions. For Professor Gerald Lambeau, his motivation for securing a position for Will was high, mainly because of his sense of control over this event and his values. Lambeau developed connections throughout the years and was able to recommend Will for various prestigious positions. Besides, Lambeau admired Will's math skills and the importance of building a name in the field, based on his previous experience with his classmate, Dr. Sean Maguire, Will's counselor and a professor at a community college. Lambeau thought that Maguire was talented and deserved a better career, but he wasted his potential in the pursuit of happiness and human connection. Lambeau felt angry and frustrated at the situation because he was a well-known MIT mathematician who valued prestige, recognition, and intellectual achievement. Lambeau worried that Will would follow Maguire's career path. On the other hand, Will wasn't motivated to land a job even though he could have had a good sense of control. He didn't value these positions because of his morals and his childhood experiences of feeling like a worthless person. He didn't consider these jobs because they were beyond his league, nor did he have an emotional response to losing the job opportunity. 

In the case when Will's girlfriend Skylar invited Will to move to California, she was motivated because both her sense of value and control were high in the relationship with Will. She believed they got along well, always enjoyed their time together, and they loved each other. She was happy to bring up this proposal, and didn't expect Will to break up with her because of his insecurities and low self-esteem. However, for Will, even though the value of this relationship to him was high, he didn't have the sense of control due to his antecedents that he cannot control the past of being abandoned and physically abused. He attributed both internal and external causes: he didn't have the ability to change the situation; he wasn't lovable; and the environment and people he encountered were uncontrollable and unstable. As a result, he had low self-efficacy and did not anticipate positive self-efficacy and outcomes in the future. He was sad and hopeless, and chose to withdraw and break up. Later on, Will internalized what Maguire told him—that his traumatic experience was not his fault—and his sense of control changed. He gained increased self-efficacy, believing he was worthy and lovable, and he had greater control over his choices. Therefore, both his emotion and motivation were elevated, and he decided to go to California to meet Skylar.  

Will & Sean Maguire