Attributions

In this post, I will first discuss attribution theory and its components. After, I will attempt to connect June's cognitive attributions that impacted her emotions and motivations to short term and long term outcomes.  

Attribution theory is a theory which addresses how people evaluate and determine causes of occurrences, as well as their own behavior and the behavior of others. In other words, it is what a person attributes to the cause of an event or behavior. To identify how this process works, there are attributions links: perceived causes (attribution), subsequent motivation and emotion (due to perceived cause) and finally, subsequent action (due to perceived cause). Within causal attributions there are three main causal-dimensions (Weiner): Locus of control, which can be internal (self) or external (other) sense of control for who or what cause the event. Controllability is how much a personal control was involved in the event. Finally, stability is the degree of which the event was changeable or stable. 

In the case of June, let's go back to the beginning when June and her daughter were captured in the woods by the Gilead regime. June, her husband Luke, and daughter Hannah were attempting to escape the grasp of the regime and head to Canada, though ended up in a car chase. When the regime started to weigh in on them, Luke decided to pull over to the side of the road and distract them so June and Hannah could make a run for it. While June and Hannah are running hastily through the woods, a gunshot is fired, leaving June running faster. Eventually, the regime captures both June and Hannah and separates them.

Analyzing June in this opening scene, let's look at the three main causal-dimensions. June's Locus of control (who caused the event and whether it's internal or external control). As far as we know, as the viewer, this incident was an external control, because this event was beyond her control. Regardless of who was in the car, the regime would have chased after anyone trying to leave the uprising Gilead region. When June's husband pulled the car over, that was also external, she wasn't in control of the vehicle. Her choice to run through the woods with Hannah however, I would say was more internal, because she could have stayed with her husband at the car, though chose to escape to the woods. Finally, when June and Hannah were finally captured, she tried to fight back, though there were too many to fight off. As far as controllability, I would say the event was uncontrollable. June did all she possibly could've to avoid getting captured, though she inevitably was. Finally, the stability of the event, I would say was stable, at least for that specific event, due to June not given any sort of choice in what happened to her or her daughter. However, looking at the stability, long-term, we see that June creates massive change, not only for herself, but for others in Gilead. Overall, the reoccurring emotions June expresses is resentment, anger, and fear, due to external, uncontrollable, and stable events.