Abnormal Psychology and Society
Class 25
May 4 , 2004
Final Exam
Final exam is FRIDAY, MAY 7 at 8:00 (NOT
9:30!!) AM in this classroom
Review session will be held Thursday May 6
from 5-8 PM in Rm 238 of John Dewey Hall
– Please check website for updates about location
Final exam is not cumulative
– Covers chapters 7, 11, 13, 14 (and childhood
disorders); cases 5, 19, 21, 22; and the films
“Bellevue: Inside Out” and “Girl, Interrupted”
– Please see website for “supplemental” thought
questions specifically about case studies and films
May bring 3 x 5 card with notes on one side
Mental Health and Society
People are deeply influenced by the society in
which they live, and society as a whole is
influenced by the individuals who compose it
This is true for psychological concerns as
well:
– Societal pressures may cause or contribute to
psychological difficulties
– Those with psychological difficulties influence
societal views of among other things) right and
wrong, what it means to need help, and how to
best balance the protection of the rights of an
individual with the welfare of a group
Mental Health and Society
One area in which these interacting factors
are readily apparent is in the media (news,
films, books, etc.)
Societal pressures are often delivered by (and
sometimes exaggerated by) the media, and
these messages may be harmful to people’s
mental health or to their recovery
Mental Health and Society
In addition, societal messages are delivered
to us through the media about what
psychological “abnormality” is, what people
with mental illness are like, and how people
should recover from their disorder
Take a moment to reflect on how people with
mental illnesses are portrayed in films, TV
shows, commercials, etc.
Mental Health and Society
People with mental illness are often portrayed
as violent, scary, weak, self-indulgent, in
control of their illness (i.e. they are faking or
making their own problem worse)
– How many films have you seen that involve
someone with a mental illness as the villain? How
many films have someone with a mental illness as
the hero?
– How often does the person with the mental illness
die or experience a “miraculous” recovery? How
often does the person continue to struggle with
their illness everyday, but generally manage to live
a meaningful life?
Mental Health and Society
Recently, more movies and TV shows feature a
“hero” who may have a mental disorder
– The Sopranos (Tony has panic disorder)
– Joan of Arcadia (Joan hears messages from God)
– Monk (Adrian Monk has OCD (and Tourette’s))
However, it is important to think critically about
how these people (and their illnesses) are being
portrayed
– E.g., often when the “hero” could qualify for a mental
illness, the message is that the person is not really
crazy (as in Girl, Interrupted and Joan of Arcadia)
Mental Health and Society
“True” stories such as those in the media
often portray people with mental illness in a
similar negative light
– As we’ve discussed, cases like this are “dramatic”,
and real life is rarely thought to be as entertaining
– Even the excellent documentary we saw in class
(Bellevue) focused mostly on the dramatic,
sometimes violent actions of the patients
The prevailing message we receive from
society is that people with a mental illness are
different from us and possibly to be feared
Mental Health and Society
In reality, people with mental illnesses (not
including substance abuse) are actually less
likely to commit crimes than people without
mental illnesses
In addition, people with mental illnesses are
not so very “different from us”. Remember
that the lifetime prevalence rate for
psychopathology approaches 50%!!
Also, the line between “us” and “them” is not
firmly drawn – Have you had the experience
of reading the text and thinking, “that’s kind of
like me” (or mom, brother, aunt, friend…)???
Mental Health and the Law
Another area in which this tension between
mental health and society is played out is in
the intersection of psychology and the law
(known as forensic psychology)
Courts must decide if a defendant can
contribute to his or her defense, and, if found
to have committed the offense, determine the
defendant’s responsibility for committing that
crime
These determinations are guided by the
opinions of mental health professionals
“Insanity Defense”
Although at various times other rules have
been briefly adopted, we have returned to the
M’Naghten rule in many states
If the person is found insane at the time of the
crime, he or she is not responsible for that
crime and is found Not Guilty by Reason of
Insanity (NGRI)
– Person is committed to a mental institution until
improved – this is called criminal commitment
– A person might also be found to be insane at the
time of trial and may be committed until competent
to stand trial (this is also called criminal
commitment)
“Insanity Defense”
“Insanity” is not the same thing as having a
“mental illness”
– Insanity is a legal term that implies that the person
had a mental disorder AND this disorder
prevented the person from knowing right from
wrong during the commission of the crime
This is called the M’Naghten rule after the
1843 trial of Englishman Daniel M’Naghten
• M’Naghten (probably a paranoid schizophrenic)
believed that the Tory party was intent on
hurting him and attempted to kill the prime
minister (actually, he killed his secretary)
“Insanity Defense”
Studies have demonstrated that
about 90% of the general public
believes that the insanity defense is
a “loophole” and that insanity
defenses are used much too often
For example, when John Hinckley was found
NGRI, newspapers ran headlines reading
“Hinckley Beats Rap”
– Hinckley was found NGRI in 1982 and remains in St.
Elizabeth’s Hospital today (though his lawyers are
seeking conditional release)
Mental Health and the Law
Less than 1% of all cases involve an “insanity
defense”, and only 26% of those cases result
in acquittal
– In addition, most of those people spend longer in a
mental institution than they would have spent in
prison (15% are released – 12% “conditional”)
About two-thirds of defendants acquitted by
reason of insanity qualify for a diagnosis of
schizophrenia
– About 50% are Caucasian
– About 86% are male
– About 65% of cases involve violent crime
• Close to 15% of those acquitted are accused of murder
Other Verdicts
Society has been generally dissatisfied with the
insanity defense because of perceptions that the
person “gets away with” their crime
Therefore, states have been creating additional
verdicts, such as Guilty But Mentally Ill (GBMI)
– That is, their illness was not related to or fully
responsible for the crime. They are either committed
until well (then serve their sentence AFTER if time left
on sentence) or given mental health services in prison
Also guilty with diminished capacity
– The mental illness is viewed as an extenuating
circumstance