TOPIC: BEFORE I GO TO BED

 Briefly outline the major sections of your paper, providing references at the end of your outline in APA format. Your outline should be 2-4 pages and be descriptive enough that I can get a sense of what the content of your paper will include. This is imperative for me to give you good feedback on your outline to enhance your final paper. Your outline will be graded based on organization, content, use of research, references, and formatting using the attached rubric. 

Application of Psychology Final Paper Outline Tips

1. Use proper organization strategies. Think about this paper as a five section essay that you
have likely been exposed to throughout your academic career. Specifically, 5 section essays
have an introduction, 3 body sections, and a conclusion section. In the introduction paragraph,
you are briefly introducing your topic and stating the purpose of your paper. Your thesis
statement should be something like “In this paper, I will explore the symptoms, lifestyle impact,
and treatments of X psychological disorder through character X in movie X. To accomplish this,
I will briefly summarize the movie, explore X disorder, and then describe how x character
experiences X disorder.” Then, your three body sections would be the movie/character
summary, the research on the disorder, and then describing the disorder through the character.
The last section would be your conclusion paragraph where you make some general conclusions
and restate the purpose of your paper (how you achieved your purpose) to close out your paper.

All papers may not be amenable to this format based on the topic, but many are. Some other
formats I have seen are where people explore three psychological concepts so the three concepts
are their body sections. Within each concept, though, they apply it to the character before
moving on to the next concept. This is perfectly acceptable as well.

2. Use bullet points not complete sentences throughout. This is not a mini version of your paper,
but an outline of the main concepts to cover. On the flip side, you must provide enough detail in
your bullets that I can easily deduce what will be in your paper. This can include themes, major
points, facts, etc. in bullet format. Good, thorough outlines can generally be done in 2-3 pages.

3. Provide a summary of the movie/book as if I have never even heard of it before. Your
summary needs to stand on its own before you can go into your psychological concepts or I may
not have a clue what you are talking about. This is called prepping the reader for what is to
come. You do this by having your first main body section being a summary of the movie no
matter how you format the rest of your paper.

4. APA format. Your paper AND the reference list must be in APA format. I realize many of
you have not used APA before, but I provided links to resources to help you with this. The Owl
Purdue APA site is the absolute best but for some reason it won’t let me paste it into LEO as a
link. Just google it and you will find it. I also provided the UMUC resource to assist you with
APA. Please note you do not need an abstract for the paper or abstract, however, and the 5 pages
required for the final paper DOES NOT include title or reference pages.

5. Be sure to actually cite your media used. APA has rules on how to cite films and books, so
when you are talking about them, you cite them in your paper and in the reference section. APA
uses parenthetical reference style. Again, you can get more information from the resources I
have provided.

6. You MUST have some peer-reviewed academic references. Just citing websites or popular
resources online by psychologists is insufficient. A peer-reviewed publication is one that
underwent a blind review and received approval to be published in a scientific journal. I have
provided you tips on how to search for peer-reviewed academic publications in the Application

https://learn.umuc.edu/d2l/common/dialogs/quickLink/quickLink.d2l?ou=49787&type=content&rcode=UMUC-1017144

https://learn.umuc.edu/d2l/common/dialogs/quickLink/quickLink.d2l?ou=49787&type=content&rcode=UMUC-1009817

of Psychology Paper folder.

7. Tips for Papers about Psychological Disorders: When we talk about someone suffering
from a psychological disorder, we are interested in the etiology, symptoms, prognosis, and
psychosocial impact. Etiology refers to the causes of the disorder or what has contributed to the
person developing the disorder. This can include biological (e.g., genetic), psychological (e.g.,
how one copes with stress/emotions), and social (e.g., experiences/events/people) influences.
The symptoms refer to the DSM diagnostic criteria where a person has to exhibited a specified
number of behavioral, emotional, and/or social symptoms to meet the threshold for having the
disorder. Prognosis refers to the projected outcome/course of the disorder or how we expect that
person to be impacted over time. Lastly, psychosocial impact refers to how having the disorder
impacts the person’s psychological/emotional, occupational (e.g., job), and social (e.g.,
relationships) wellbeing. For those of you writing your Media Review paper on psychological
disorders, these are the elements you should be researching and include in your psychological
concept portion of the paper. Then you can evaluate your character from your chosen media
based on the research you have found.

Outline Resources

Please see this link for how to structure and format outlines.

http://www.gallaudet.edu/tip/english_center/writing/essays/5-
paragraph_essay_and_outline_the_hazards_of_moviegoing.html

Based on this example, here is a helpful template for you to use to guide your outline:

Outline for the Media Review Paper

Title: ____________________

I. Introduction
A. Introductory statement
B. Thesis statement: ____________________

II. Body

A. Summarize the Media/Movie (Topic Sentence):
____________________

1. ____________________
2. ____________________

http://www.gallaudet.edu/tip/english_center/writing/essays/5-paragraph_essay_and_outline_the_hazards_of_moviegoing.html

http://www.gallaudet.edu/tip/english_center/writing/essays/5-paragraph_essay_and_outline_the_hazards_of_moviegoing.html

3. ____________________

B. Summarize Research on Psychological Concepts (Topic Sentence):
____________________

1. ____________________
2. ____________________
3. ____________________

C. Apply Psychological Concepts to Movie (Topic Sentence):
____________________

1. ____________________
2. ____________________
3. ____________________

III. Conclusion

A. Closing statement
B. Restate thesis: ____________________

End with References on a Separate page. Pay attention to the reference type, spacing, italics, and
use of punctuation.

References

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume
number(issue number), page range. https://doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyyy

**Use the above for peer reviewed scientific articles. You must have two peer reviewed
references utilizing this format

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Publisher.

**Use the above for a book

Producer, P. P. (Producer), & Director, D. D. (Director). (Date of publication). Title of motion
picture [Motion picture]. Country of origin: Studio or distributor.

**Use the above for a motion picture. YOU MUST CITE YOUR MOVIE OR MEDIA USED.

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of document. http://Web address

**Use this for websites; When there is no author for a web page, the title moves to the first
position of the reference entry. Use websites sparingly as they are not academic resources and
do not count towards your peer reviewed references.

The Saylor Foundation. (n.d.). Introduction to psychology. Author.
http://www.saylor.org/books/.

**This is how you cite our text book.

Saylor Academy Open Textbooks

Applicationof Psychology Paper Outline Grading Rubric

Criteria 6 Points 5 Points 4 Points 3 Points 2 Points 1 Point 0 Points
Organization Expertly follows

the organizational
guidelines for this
assignment,
including clearly
delineated
sections of the
paper:
Introduction,
section briefly
outlining
media/movie
summary, section
outlining research
behind
psychological
concepts, section
applying research
on psychological
concepts to
media/movie
chosen, and
conclusion.
Requires minimal
to no revisions.

Follows the
organizational
guidelines for
this assignment,
including clearly
delineated
sections of the
paper:
Introduction,
section briefly
outlining
media/movie
summary,
section outlining
research behind
psychological
concepts, section
applying
research on
psychological
concepts to
media/movie
chosen, and
conclusion.

Mostly follows
the prescribed
outline format,
including
meeting at least
3 of the 5
required sections
or minimally
meeting the
requirements for
all 5 sections.

Sections of
outline not well
delineated OR
only two sections
are well
articulated.
Partially follows
the prescribed
format.

Sections of
outline not well
delineated,
though one
section is well
articulated.

Minimally
follows the
prescribed
format.

No sections of the
outline are well
delineated and
author completely
disregards the
prescribed format.

Content Expertly details
each of the
required sections
of the outline to
articulate the
major points to
be covered in the
paper. The
reader has a clear
understanding of
the purpose,

Provides
sufficient detail
in each of the
required sections
of the outline to
articulate the
major points to
be covered in the
paper. The
reader has a clear
understanding of

Provides mostly
sufficient detail
in each of the
required sections
of the outline to
articulate the
major points to
be covered in the
paper. The
reader has a
general

Provides some
detail in each or
most of the
required sections
of the outline,
though material
needs additional
details
reorganization.

Provides
minimal detail in
each required
section so the
reader is unsure
exactly what will
be covered in the
paper and/or how
the
psychological
concepts will be

Outline
insufficient to
determine
major topics of
the paper and
incomplete,
though some
sections
provide
minimal detail.

No detail provided
at all so reader has
no idea what topics
will be covered in
the paper.

media/movie
description,
psychological
concepts
covered, how the
author will apply
the
psychological
concepts to the
media/movie,
and conclusions.
Requires
minimal no
revisions.

the purpose,
media/movie
description,
psychological
concepts
covered, how the
author will apply
the
psychological
concepts to the
media/movie,
and conclusions.

understanding of
the purpose,
media/movie
description,
psychological
concepts
covered, how the
author will apply
the
psychological
concepts to the
media/movie,
and conclusions
OR missing one
section of the
outline.

applied OR
missing two
sections of the
outline.

Use of
Research

Author expertly
integrates
scientific
psychological
research in the
content of the
outline. Author
demonstrates
clear
understanding of
the media/movie
as well as the
psychological
concepts
covered.
Requires
minimal to no
revisions.

Author integrates
scientific
psychological
research in the
content of the
outline. Author
demonstrates
understanding of
the media/movie
as well as the
psychological
concepts
covered.

Author
demonstrates
average
integration of
scientific
psychological
research into the
content of the
outline. Author
demonstrates
general
understanding of
the media/movie
as well as the
psychological
concepts
covered.

Author
demonstrates
some integration
of scientific
psychological
research into the
content of the
outline, though
additional work
is needed to
demonstrate
clear
understanding of
the application of
research to the
media/movie
selected.

Author
minimally
integrates
scientific
psychological
research in the
content of the
outline. Author
demonstrates
minimal
understanding of
the media/movie
as well as the
psychological
concepts
covered.

Author does
not use
scientific
psychological
research in the
content of the
outline, but
does
demonstrate
some
understanding
of the
psychological
concepts
covered.

Author does not
demonstrate an
awareness of the
scientific literature
or how to apply the
literature to this
paper.

References Author provides
two or more peer
reviewed
academic
references to

Author provides
at least two peer
reviewed
academic
references to

Author provides
at least two peer
reviewed
academic
references to

Author provides
only one peer
reviewed
academic
reference to

Author provides
two academic
references, but
they are not peer
reviewed (e.g.,

Author
provides
references that
are not
appropriate to

No references are
provided at all.

support the
research
objectives of this
paper. The
references
provided were
expertly selected
for the purposes
of this paper and
demonstrate a
through
understanding of
the topic. Author
cites chosen
media.

support the
research
objectives of this
paper and the
references
provided are
appropriate to
the topic. Author
cites chosen
media.

support the
research
objectives of this
paper with at
least one
reference
provided being
appropriate to
the topic. Author
cites chosen
media.

support the
research
objectives of this
paper OR the
references
provided are
inappropriate to
the topic. Author
cites chosen
media.

text books or
other academic
works other than
peer reviewed
journal articles).
Author does not
cite chosen
media.

the topic or the
paper
requirements
(e.g., websites,
wikipedia, etc.
are
inappropriate
for the two
peer reviewed
required
references).
Author does
not cite chosen
media.

Formatting
& APA Style

Outline is
expertly
structured as a
bulleted,
sectioned
document. All
references are
cited in APA
format at the end
of the outline in
a separate
references
section, with
minimal to no
errors in APA
format style.

Outline is
structured as a
bulleted,
sectioned
document. All
references are
cited in APA
format at the end
of the outline in
a separate
references
section, though
minor errors
observed.

Outline is
formatted
appropriately,
though may not
use bullet points
correctly (e.g.,
use of complete
sentences or
paragraphs
instead of
bulleted points)
OR some errors
in APA format
for references.

Outline is mostly
formatted
appropriately,
though may not
use bullet points
correctly (e.g.,
use of complete
sentences or
paragraphs
instead of
bulleted points)
and has some
errors in APA
format for
references.

Outline does not
follow the
standard
sectioned,
bulleted point
format (e.g.,
mostly uses
paragraphs
instead of an
outline format),
but is easy for
the reader to
understand and
references not in
APA format at
all.

Outline does
not follow
required
format though
the reader is
able to
understand the
goals of the
paper. No
references
presented.

Outline does not
follow required
format, is difficult
for the reader to
understand, and
does not have
references.

Overall
Score

25 or More 20 or More 15 or More 12 or More 8 or More 5 or More 0 or More

Applicationof Psychology Paper Outline Grading Rubric

Criteria 6 Points 5 Points 4 Points 3 Points 2 Points 1 Point 0 Points
Organization Expertly follows

the organizational
guidelines for this
assignment,
including clearly
delineated
sections of the
paper:
Introduction,
section briefly
outlining
media/movie
summary, section
outlining research
behind
psychological
concepts, section
applying research
on psychological
concepts to
media/movie
chosen, and
conclusion.
Requires minimal
to no revisions.

Follows the
organizational
guidelines for
this assignment,
including clearly
delineated
sections of the
paper:
Introduction,
section briefly
outlining
media/movie
summary,
section outlining
research behind
psychological
concepts, section
applying
research on
psychological
concepts to
media/movie
chosen, and
conclusion.

Mostly follows
the prescribed
outline format,
including
meeting at least
3 of the 5
required sections
or minimally
meeting the
requirements for
all 5 sections.

Sections of
outline not well
delineated OR
only two sections
are well
articulated.
Partially follows
the prescribed
format.

Sections of
outline not well
delineated,
though one
section is well
articulated.

Minimally
follows the
prescribed
format.

No sections of the
outline are well
delineated and
author completely
disregards the
prescribed format.

Content Expertly details
each of the
required sections
of the outline to
articulate the
major points to
be covered in the
paper. The
reader has a clear
understanding of
the purpose,

Provides
sufficient detail
in each of the
required sections
of the outline to
articulate the
major points to
be covered in the
paper. The
reader has a clear
understanding of

Provides mostly
sufficient detail
in each of the
required sections
of the outline to
articulate the
major points to
be covered in the
paper. The
reader has a
general

Provides some
detail in each or
most of the
required sections
of the outline,
though material
needs additional
details
reorganization.

Provides
minimal detail in
each required
section so the
reader is unsure
exactly what will
be covered in the
paper and/or how
the
psychological
concepts will be

Outline
insufficient to
determine
major topics of
the paper and
incomplete,
though some
sections
provide
minimal detail.

No detail provided
at all so reader has
no idea what topics
will be covered in
the paper.

media/movie
description,
psychological
concepts
covered, how the
author will apply
the
psychological
concepts to the
media/movie,
and conclusions.
Requires
minimal no
revisions.

the purpose,
media/movie
description,
psychological
concepts
covered, how the
author will apply
the
psychological
concepts to the
media/movie,
and conclusions.

understanding of
the purpose,
media/movie
description,
psychological
concepts
covered, how the
author will apply
the
psychological
concepts to the
media/movie,
and conclusions
OR missing one
section of the
outline.

applied OR
missing two
sections of the
outline.

Use of
Research

Author expertly
integrates
scientific
psychological
research in the
content of the
outline. Author
demonstrates
clear
understanding of
the media/movie
as well as the
psychological
concepts
covered.
Requires
minimal to no
revisions.

Author integrates
scientific
psychological
research in the
content of the
outline. Author
demonstrates
understanding of
the media/movie
as well as the
psychological
concepts
covered.

Author
demonstrates
average
integration of
scientific
psychological
research into the
content of the
outline. Author
demonstrates
general
understanding of
the media/movie
as well as the
psychological
concepts
covered.

Author
demonstrates
some integration
of scientific
psychological
research into the
content of the
outline, though
additional work
is needed to
demonstrate
clear
understanding of
the application of
research to the
media/movie
selected.

Author
minimally
integrates
scientific
psychological
research in the
content of the
outline. Author
demonstrates
minimal
understanding of
the media/movie
as well as the
psychological
concepts
covered.

Author does
not use
scientific
psychological
research in the
content of the
outline, but
does
demonstrate
some
understanding
of the
psychological
concepts
covered.

Author does not
demonstrate an
awareness of the
scientific literature
or how to apply the
literature to this
paper.

References Author provides
two or more peer
reviewed
academic
references to

Author provides
at least two peer
reviewed
academic
references to

Author provides
at least two peer
reviewed
academic
references to

Author provides
only one peer
reviewed
academic
reference to

Author provides
two academic
references, but
they are not peer
reviewed (e.g.,

Author
provides
references that
are not
appropriate to

No references are
provided at all.

support the
research
objectives of this
paper. The
references
provided were
expertly selected
for the purposes
of this paper and
demonstrate a
through
understanding of
the topic. Author
cites chosen
media.

support the
research
objectives of this
paper and the
references
provided are
appropriate to
the topic. Author
cites chosen
media.

support the
research
objectives of this
paper with at
least one
reference
provided being
appropriate to
the topic. Author
cites chosen
media.

support the
research
objectives of this
paper OR the
references
provided are
inappropriate to
the topic. Author
cites chosen
media.

text books or
other academic
works other than
peer reviewed
journal articles).
Author does not
cite chosen
media.

the topic or the
paper
requirements
(e.g., websites,
wikipedia, etc.
are
inappropriate
for the two
peer reviewed
required
references).
Author does
not cite chosen
media.

Formatting
& APA Style

Outline is
expertly
structured as a
bulleted,
sectioned
document. All
references are
cited in APA
format at the end
of the outline in
a separate
references
section, with
minimal to no
errors in APA
format style.

Outline is
structured as a
bulleted,
sectioned
document. All
references are
cited in APA
format at the end
of the outline in
a separate
references
section, though
minor errors
observed.

Outline is
formatted
appropriately,
though may not
use bullet points
correctly (e.g.,
use of complete
sentences or
paragraphs
instead of
bulleted points)
OR some errors
in APA format
for references.

Outline is mostly
formatted
appropriately,
though may not
use bullet points
correctly (e.g.,
use of complete
sentences or
paragraphs
instead of
bulleted points)
and has some
errors in APA
format for
references.

Outline does not
follow the
standard
sectioned,
bulleted point
format (e.g.,
mostly uses
paragraphs
instead of an
outline format),
but is easy for
the reader to
understand and
references not in
APA format at
all.

Outline does
not follow
required
format though
the reader is
able to
understand the
goals of the
paper. No
references
presented.

Outline does not
follow required
format, is difficult
for the reader to
understand, and
does not have
references.

Overall
Score

25 or More 20 or More 15 or More 12 or More 8 or More 5 or More 0 or More

A Look into Schizotypal Personality Disorder as Illustrated in Joker
[student name]
University of Maryland Global Campus
[Psychology 100: Introduction to Psychology]
Dr. [Instructor Name]
[date]

A look into Schizotypal Personality Disorder as Illustrated in Joker

Joker depicts a man who is seen struggling in a world that has no regard for him and his mental state (Cooper, Webb, Koskoff, & Phillips, 2019). Arthur Fleck, who is later known as the Joker, portrays a unique character, as he is seen battling various social, emotional, and mental health stressors stemming from schizotypal personality disorder. Throughout this paper, I will explore the symptoms, causes, lifestyle impacts, and treatment of schizotypal personality disorder (SPD) through the main character, Arthur Fleck.

Movie Summary

The movie takes place in Gotham City in the early eighties and paints the town to have a dark, dainty cloud watching over them (Cooper et al., 2019). During this time, not only is it dark and gloomy, but crime and poverty are at an all-time high. Arthur Fleck, the main character, is a troubled man, who is seen struggling to make ends meet both in a physical and mental sense. He works for a clown business and finds joy in coming to work every day to make people smile. After a long day at work, when he comes home and is left alone to his thoughts, a different side gets portrayed.

Arthur suffers from a mental illness. One of the main traits that he tries to inhibit is his uncontrollable laughter when is he uncomfortable or nervous. This makes social interactions with people almost agonizing to witness. One day while at work advertising a store with a sign, a group of teenagers start harassing him. Later, they take his sign while repeatedly kicking and punching him in the face. In this scenario, Arthur’s reaction is laughter (Cooper et al., 2019). As the audience is witnessing this, we begin to empathize for this character because we are able to understand just how cruel society can be.

One day, Arthur and his neighbor were in an elevator, and after a brief interaction, Arthur becomes very infatuated with her. This isolated incident leads him to create the illusion that he is involved in a romantic relationship with said neighbor. Later, he begins to spend his free time following her. Not long after, she begins to find out and confronts him about his actions. Any normal person would be very outraged and slightly revolted knowing that they have been stalked by someone they’ve barely even spoken to. While she is confronting him, Arthur admits to this. Her reaction isn’t as one would expect; she is very calm and seems to have no issue with this. Towards the end of their conversation, Arthur invites his neighbor to his first comedy show that he will be performing in. In this scenario, she seems to be very charmed by his demeanor and accepts his invitation. During Arthur’s performance, he becomes very uncomfortable and starts laughing hysterically and is not able to complete his act (Cooper et al., 2019).

After Arthur’s failed comedy show act, it was not long after trouble finds him. On a subway ride home one late afternoon, Arthur notices four men harassing a woman. Instead of intervening, he starts laughing uncontrollably which draws the men over to him causing a fight to ensue. Once again, we as the audience are able to witness this vicious incident and empathize for this character and understand why he was pushed to becoming the notorious villain later known as the Joker. The group of men soon beat down Arthur, and we see him fight back as self-defense. Later, Arthur pulls out a gun and murders the group of men who violently beat him, which later causes a great deal of media attention (Cooper et al., 2019).

The murder on the train station that Arthur committed becomes a major turning point in the movie. We first see Arthur as a socially awkward loner turn into a completely new person, one that seems very authentic. This new image of himself makes him feel more comfortable. Once Arthur admits to the murders, he decides to appear on a nationally syndicated television talk show. At this point, his style and look have dramatically changed. While on the show, there was a bit of a disagreement between Arthur and the talk show host. Arthur felt as though the media was covering this story heavily because of the men’s upper class status. He felt that if he were one of the men, his story would’ve fallen through the cracks and been dismissed. This created tension in the room; Arthur starts grinning and states, “What do you get when you cross a mentally ill loner with a society that abandons him and treats him like trash?!” (Cooper et al., 2019) and shoots the talk show host live on national television. The media responded by giving him praise to showcase the division between the upper and lower class, though the movie ends with him in what appears to be an asylum.

Research Summary

Schizotypal personality disorder (SPD) is a type of personality disorder that is said to be very similar to schizophrenia in terms of psychotic features and social impairments (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). The difference between schizophrenia and SPD, however, is that individuals might experience less cognitive deterioration, deficiency of social skills and possibly fewer episodes though the dysfunction is more global and stable over time (Walsh, 2017). In order to be diagnosed with SPD, an individual must experience symptoms such as odd beliefs, speech, behavior or appearance, paranoia, social anxiety and inappropriate responses (American Psychiatric Association, 2013; Ridenour, 2016). Individuals suffering from SPD can also expect to have a difficulty forming relationships with others.

Researchers suggest that SPD can be the result of environmental factors in early childhood (American Psychiatric Association, 2013; Ridenour, 2016). Some research has shown that children and young adults who were later diagnosed with SPD have shown behavior that wasn’t like others their age. These children and young adults showed major differences such as lack of social skills and firmness compared to their counterparts (Ridenour, 2016). Childhood trauma and environmental factors have a high association with SPD as well. Such childhood trauma may include physical, sexual and emotional abuse, physical and emotional neglect, and/or general household dysfunction (Ridenour, 2016).

While environmental factors play a role in the development of SPD, biological factors are also relevant as well (American Psychiatric Association, 2013; Coccaro & Siever, 2005). Research has found that individuals who have been diagnosed with SPD generally have also had a close family member diagnosed with Schizophrenia. Brain irregularity has also been found in individuals suffering from SPD; this irregularity is found in the temporal cortex (Coccaro & Siever, 2005). This irregularity found in the temporal cortex causes selective attention which can interfere with social and emotional functioning (Walsh, 2017). Additionally, aggressive outbursts and violence could result (Coccaro & Siever, 2005), making it difficult for individuals with SPD to form relationships with others, maintain a job, or follow the laws of society without treatment.

One case illustrates the impacts of SPD on functioning within society. In Overstreet vs. Wilson (2003/2012), Michael Overstreet kidnapped and murdered Kelly Eckart. The counsel called up three mental health professionals to testify on behalf of Michael Overstreet. Eric Engum, a neuropsychologist testified that Overstreet suffered from SPD and informed the jury that it is one of the most serious of personality disorders. Engum also stated that daily stressors caused Overstreet to experience hallucinations and episodes. Due to these episodes, Overstreet was not able to adhere to the law due to being impaired.

Treatments for SPD can include a mixture of medication and psychotherapy based on individual temperament and what would work best for each person. Psychotherapy is a treatment option that can encourage patients to discuss their problems in a one on one therapy session while also addressing a course of treatment (Saylor, n.d.). Psychotherapy can be broken up between cognitive- behavior therapy, supportive therapy and family therapy. While there are no medications specifically to rectify SPD, doctors can provide patients with antidepressants and antipsychotics to aide with different symptoms such as anxiety, depression, and psychosis (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Psychotherapy is also prescribed to individuals suffering from SPD because it confronts this disorder head on and teaches the client and his or her family skills to cope with the diagnosis and its symptoms.

Application of Research to the Movie

Throughout Joker, it is clear that Arthur Fleck suffers from mental illness. Some of the symptoms he displays include laughing when he is uncomfortable, inappropriate social interactions, delusional thinking, violent outbursts, odd behavior and appearance, and mood symptoms. We also see these symptoms progress in severity over the course of the film and represent enduring traits as opposed to brief psychotic episodes that would be present in schizophrenia.

In order to understand how Arthur Fleck may have developed SPD, we must look at his past and family. While we don’t learn a lot about his family, it does appear Arthur Fleck comes from a very underprivileged background. Living in Gotham City, where crime rates are through the roof, the world does not sit back and take a second to help people that might be going through a hard time. Instead this society places the mentally ill under lots of discrimination and rejection.

In the beginning of this film, we see Arthur reporting to the medical clinic to grab his medication, only just to be told that his medication won’t be covered anymore. So it appears he was trying to manage his symptoms with medications, but was unable to do so, which led to a worsening of his condition. Due to Arthur’s environment and lack of attention to his illness, this may have caused him to go off the deep end with some of his actions.

Social stigma and discrimination that are sometimes placed on individuals does not aid with their recovery and can make that conditions worse. Discrimination might not be as apparent as Arthur had to experience, but it is very prevalent. Arthur struggled in a society that did not see him and was tormented both in a physical and mental sense. This leads to him acting out in antisocial ways in the movie.

In conclusion, Arthur struggled in a society that did not see him and was tormented both in a physical and mental sense. Many people struggle with discrimination when it comes to mental illness. Sometimes discrimination isn’t as apparent as we might think. In this paper, I have explored the symptoms, causes, lifestyle impacts, and treatments of SPD through the main character Arthur Fleck, in the movie Joker.

References

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

Coccaro, E. F., & Siever, L. J. (2005). Neurobiology. In J. M. Oldham, A. E. Skodol, & D. Bender (Eds.), Textbook of personality disorders (pp. 155–169). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Press.

Cooper, B., Webb, D., & Koskoff E. (Producers), & Phillips, T., (Director and Producer). (2019). Joker [Motion Picture]. United States: Warner Bros.

Overstreet vs. Wilson, 783 N.E.2nd 1140 (D. Ind. 2003)., aff’d No. 11-2276 (7th Cir. 2012). Retrieved from:

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-7th-circuit/1605724.html

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Ridenour, J. M. (2016). Psychodynamic model and treatment of schizotypal personality disorder. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 33(1), 129–146. doi: 10.1037/a0035531

The Saylor Foundation. (n.d.). Introduction to psychology. Retrieved from 

Saylor Academy Open Textbooks

Walsh, J. (2017). Schizotypal Personality Disorder: A clinical social work perspective. Journal of Social Work Practice, 31(1), 67–78. doi: 10.1080/02650533.2015.1132686