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. (Movie: Good Will Hunting, 1997- Lawrence Bender)
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). (The character displays symptoms of dissociative personality disorder)
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?
