The number of reported diagnoses of mental illness in the U.S. is growing with each generation, and the causes for the increase are multifaceted.
The number of reported diagnoses of mental illness in the U.S. is growing with each generation, and the causes for the increase are multifaceted. Many people know of at least one person with a mental disorder, and more people today are vulnerable to developing symptoms of mental illness. When working in the field of psychology, you will interact with people who exhibit symptoms of mental illness or have a clinical disorder, or you might have a family member, friend, or neighbor who is experiencing symptoms. Mass media in America’s culture may depict abnormal behavior as being odd or strange, even laughable. It may also be altogether inaccurately depicted, making the line, at times, between normal and abnormal unrecognizable. Learning to recognize symptoms of mental illness may be essential to your career. For this assignment, you will have the opportunity to identify symptoms of mental illness and consider cultural influences that determine if the behavior is considered normal or abnormal.
For this assignment, you will write a 2- to 3-page double-spaced expository paper (excluding the title and reference page), exploring a fictional movie character who is displaying abnormal behavior that could be considered indicative of a mental illness. You may choose a character from the movie list below or use another character of your choosing.
Name the movie and describe the character’s general behavior in question.
Identify and describe the symptoms of a mental illness that the character is exhibiting (see DSM–5-TR).
- Referring to the DSM–5-TR, the definition of abnormal behavior from the course textbook, and based on your observation of the character’s behavior in the movie, explain why the behavior appears to be abnormal?
- Based on the DSM–5-TR, which mental disorder do you believe the character’s symptoms best represent?
Are there any indications that suggest the character may have a different mental disorder other than the one you have listed above? If so, name the alternative disorders that could be a diagnosis and provide your reasoning. If not, explain why you dismissed other possible disorders over your chosen disorder.
Explain what social or cultural influences can make it difficult to identify symptoms of mental disorders. Was the movie’s portrayal of the character convoluted or normalized making the distinction of abnormal behavior from that of normal behavior blurred? For example, was the movie a comedy that joked about the character’s behavior, such as Jim Carrey in Me, Myself, and Irene? Or was addictive behavior normalized? Was behavior downplayed as simply teenage behavior gone “bad?” Was behavior glamorized as a damsel in distress being saved by a hero?
Movie ideas:
A Beautiful Mind
- American Beauty
Armageddon
Awakenings
Basketball Diaries – Jim Carrol
- Benny and Joon
Black Swan
Borderline
Born on the 4th of July
- Cobb
Dirty Filthy Love
- Dying to be Perfect: The Ellen Hart Pena Story
Fight Club
Finding Nemo – Dory
Girl Interrupted
- Good Will Hunting
He Loves Me…He Loves Me Not
- Infinitely Polar Bear
Iron Man
- Lila & Eve
Love & Mercy
- Lust for Life
Mean Girls
- Melancholia
Monster
- Misery
Jones
- Numb
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
- Perfect Body
Play Misty for Me
- Psycho
Shrek
- Silver Linings Playbook
Still Alice
- Sybil
The Aviator
- The Breakfast Club
The Deer Hunter
- The Hours
The Little Mermaid – Ariel
- The Three Faces of Eve
The Notebook
- The Royal Tenenbaums
Young Adults
- What About Bob?
Wristcutters
- 28 Days. Your assignment should be a 2- to 3-page expository essay, not including the title and reference pages, and should include the following elements:
Title page: Provide your name, title of assignment, course and section number, and date.
- Body: Answer all the questions in complete sentences and paragraphs.
Your responses should reflect professional writing standards, using proper tone and language.
- Reference page: Sources listed in APA format.
Include the film, the DSM–5-TR, and the textbook
- Use Arial or Times New Roman 12-point font, double-spaced and left-aligned.
Use standard 1″ margins on all sides.
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