Psychology in Hunger Games

     The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, was undoubtedly an exciting novel with action-packed adventure, but I have focused more on a perspective that many others may have not.  When reading this novel for my book quest, through all the different twists and turns that the story took I felt there was a very prominent aspect of psychology within the games.  There were many instances in which the characters were forced to make decisions in the game that often entailed very positive or negative consequences.  The many factors and motives that went into the characters' decision making led me to my emphasis on the field of psychology and various mind games.

Katniss and Peeta

     A very common theme throughout the Hunger Games was the obvious connection between Katniss and Peeta.  Prior to the games even beginning though, Katniss was immediately faced with the obstacle of being selected alongside Peeta, who had previously saved Katniss' life when they were children.  Katniss felt like she owed him, yet she was now expected to kill him in the games which really forced her into a dilemma.  By the end of the games, Katniss and Peeta were the only two left.  It seemed as if it was now inevitable that one of them had to die now that the newly established rule of same-district winners had been revoked and it was secretly the plan of the Gamemakers all along.

    This was a prominent point in the book that facilitated my focus on mind games that the characters had been a part of.  With the devotion to her love for Peeta, Katniss comes up with the brilliant plan for them eat the poisonous berries together and then pretend to be deeply in love with Peeta in order to both be declared winners and not be held accountable for their actions.  With stunning acting, the both pull it off and convince everyone that they are truly in love.  This both has an affect on the audience and spectators of the games as well as Katniss herself.  They had now escaped their biggest problem and most importantly death, but now Katniss was unsure if Peeta actually had a real love for her.  This was just another instance of how manipulative the characters were throughout the development of the Hunger Games.

     A very interesting speaker we had in our class that always stands out in my mind was Stephen Garcia who lectured about psychology of competition.  The struggle between Katniss and Peeta as well as their focus on winning the Hunger Games was a situation where psychology played a major role.  One of the main concepts he expressed that was very evident throughout the book was social facilitation.  This concept states that competition and motivation on a given task increases when you work in pairs or small groups as opposed to alone.  This can be exemplified by the many alliance realignments such as Katniss' alliance with Rue and the on-and-off alliance with Peeta.  I can agree with this with first-hand experience that working together with someone is always more tempting.  It gives you a sense of reassurance when you think may be incapable of reaching your goal, ultimately providing more motivation.  Additionally, Dr. Garcia discussed the role of situational factors on competition.  Such examples included time, resources, and perhaps even the role of love, which all can profoundly impact the course of a game like it did in this book.  With the scarcity of food and supplies as well as the relationship between Katniss and Peeta, the level of competition in the games were without a doubt altered.  The love Katniss and Peeta may have had for each other completely changed the course of the game as an alliance between the two may never have even existed.  As far as I see it, the Hunger Games would have been a completely different story without the various psychological factors that were clearly put in play.

     I believe my understanding of the Hunger Games was enhanced by my prior knowledge surrounding the psychology that goes into competition and games.  It offered me a perspective on this story that probably would not have even crossed my mind.  Rather than simply following the storyline and plot, I was able to pick apart the motives and psychological mechanisms of the characters.  Katniss' love for Peeta as well as the strategy going into the various alliances formed contributed to my complete comprehension of the story, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.