Psychology in Film

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Theatrical poster for A Separation
Image rights: Copyrighted promotional artwork. Image source

A Separation

Written and directed by Asghar Farhadi, this 2011 drama set in contemporary Iran follows Simin and Nader as their marriage dissolves over whether to leave Iran with their daughter Termeh or remain to care for Nader's father, who has Alzheimer's disease, with conflict deepening after Nader hires a young woman to help with his care.

2011. Feature film · 123 min (Sony Pictures Classics press kit). Chronology period: 2000–2014.

Feature filmRelease or archive checkedRelationshipsDevelopment

Directed or created by
Asghar Farhadi
Country and language
Farsi
Content notes
Marital conflict Divorce Alzheimer's disease in the family Caregiving

Why this work matters for psychology

The premise stages competing obligations between a marriage, a child, and an aging parent, inviting students to ask how people weigh care and autonomy under pressure without reducing anyone to a diagnosis.

Psychological connections

Screen stories illustrate how psychological processes look and feel in narrative form; they are not empirical proof or clinical case studies.

  • Conflicting obligations

    Consider how the synopsis presents divided loyalties between spouse, child, and parent, and which obligations are treated as negotiable.

    Topic: Attachment, intimacy and family systemsBasis: Grounded in the inspected synopsis's divorce premise and caregiving arrangement; an interpretive question, not a claim about real family outcomes.

  • Care across generations

    Ask how the grandfather's need for assistance reorganizes the household and reshapes the roles of the other family members.

    Topic: Lifespan development, childhood and agingBasis: Based on the inspected synopsis's stated Alzheimer's diagnosis and hired assistance; the film portrayal is not clinical evidence about dementia care.

Portrayal and accuracy limitations

  • The synopsis is a distributor summary and marks the father's condition by name only, without clinical detail; it should not be treated as a portrait of dementia care in practice.
  • The synopsis does not specify characters' interior states, so claims about their motives would exceed the evidence.

Questions to watch for

  1. 1. What considerations might lead each spouse to prioritize a different obligation?
  2. 2. How does the arrival of a caregiver change the family's situation as the synopsis frames it?

In the Psy101 course

Use the linked textbook concepts as questions for interpreting the premise, rather than as evidence validating its portrayal.

Textbook links show where these concepts sit in an introductory course; they do not study this screen work. See the full topics and course map.

Companion readings and work source

Readings labeled as conceptual companions or contextual references study the psychological topic rather than this screen work.

  1. [1]
    Classics, S. P. (n.d.). A SEPARATION - synopsis (sony pictures classics). https://www.sonyclassics.com/aseparation/synopsis.htmlChecked 2026-10-23.Release or archive checkedSelected official synopsis and catalog details inspected; full work not viewed.
  2. [2]
    Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., & Lovett, M. D. (2020). Psychology 2e. OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/12-1-what-is-social-psychology(OpenStax course textbook · Full-text passages checked · Checked 2026-10-23).Conceptual Companion (Does Not Study This Work)Conceptual companion: does not study this work. It investigates the underlying psychological construct or textbook topic.Offers situational and dispositional frames for discussing how observers attribute motives in conflict; it does not study this film.Note: Selected textbook material inspected at the stated access scope. Conceptual companion; it does not study or validate this screen work.
  3. [3]
    Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., & Lovett, M. D. (2020). Psychology 2e. OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/9-3-stages-of-development(OpenStax course textbook · Selected passages checked · Checked 2026-10-23).Conceptual Companion (Does Not Study This Work)Conceptual companion: does not study this work. It investigates the underlying psychological construct or textbook topic.Surveys intergenerational family roles and aging at excerpt scope; it cannot establish any character's development.Note: Selected textbook material inspected at the stated access scope. Conceptual companion; it does not study or validate this screen work.