For this assignment, you should carefully read the chapter on Psychological Disorders. Then you should apply one of the psychological disorders you have read about to a character in a movie or TV program you have seen or a fictional book or comic book character. You can use any disorder discussed in the chapter (please don’t choose substance abuse disorders for this paper). You will type a one page summary of the character, to orient the reader (i.e., me) to what film/show you are reviewing. And then, you will then type a 3-4 page ‘analysis’ of this character using your knowledge from the chapter. Thus, the entire paper should be 4-5 pages total (not including the references page). Also, be sure to discuss why you believe the character has the disorder AND how you think this character might be best helped. Keep in mind that I may not have seen the movie or TV show you are discussing, so please describe the character in enough depth that I will be able to understand your paper. Be creative and have fun analyzing! Your analysis of the character should come from information from at least 3 research-based journal articles. These can be reviews of past research or the actual research studies (even better)! You can access these from the journal databases on Mt. SAC’s library website. Make sure to cite your sources throughout the paper and include a references/bibliography page, or else it is plagiarism and you will receive a failing grade for the assignment. You may cite the textbook sparingly, but I want most of your info to come from your research sources. Checklist (make sure that you include all of the following in your paper):
Decide what character and disorder you plan to discuss in your paper.
Read about this disorder from these 3 journal article sources you’ve found.
Write a summary of the character, to orient the reader (i.e., me) to what film/show you are reviewing. No more than one page needed.
Write about what characteristics he or she possesses that makes you think he/she has the specific disorder you are discussing. Include citations and info from your sources (at least two sources needed in this section).
Write about whether you think this character was born with this disorder or developed it (nature vs. nurture) based on your readings. Include citations and info from your sources (at least two sources needed in this section). Write about how you think this character might be best helped. Include citations and info from your sources (at least two sources needed in this section).
Write about whether you think this disorder was portrayed accurately or whether there was a lot of “Hollywood” in the movie? What aspects seemed more accurate and what aspects seemed less accurate? You may wish to include a citation in this section to back up your claims.
Write about how you might help a friend or loved one who was diagnosed with this disorder. Keep in mind that you are not a trained therapist, so that would not be your role. What CAN you do to help or support? Include your references page at the end (not included in the page length requirement).
Make sure you cited your sources throughout the paper in either APA style (since that is the format used in psychology). Info on APA style can be found on www.apa.orgLinks to an external site. or handouts from the library.
To find journal articles, you can visit the Mt SAC library database and look up articles in ProQuest or PsycArticles in the Psychology section. If you need help with this, please call or visit the library and they can walk you through it. The more journal articles you use, the better! NOTE: You may NOT use any source that discusses the character and their disorder! That is your job, and the main purpose of this paper. If you use one of those sources for your paper, you would earn a zero. Examples of disorders:
“Sybil”: dissociative identity disorder
“A Beautiful Mind”: Paranoid Schizophrenia
Monica on “Friends”: OCD