abnormal psychology movie analysis of mental conditions

Final Project Directions

Abnormal Psychology in the Movies

For your final project you will be writing a paper in APA format. (See details below.) Your paper should be approximately 4-5 pages or 1200-1500 words. Your paper will focus on the main character of one of the movies listed below. Each character suffers from a particular mental illness (or illnesses) covered in this course.

• When a Man Loves a Woman

Please post your movie choice in the “Final Project Movie Selection” discussion forum before the end of week 1.

After watching your selected movie, it’s time to focus on the writing portion of this assignment. The goal of your paper is to analyze the main character and his or her abnormal psychology.

Please utilize the following headers within your paper:

1. Introduction: Introduce the character you are writing on and summarize the plot
2. Symptoms & Diagnosis: What specific symptoms did the character experience in the movie? What diagnosis would you give them?
3. Nature or Nurture: Was the character’s mental illness a result of biological or environmental influences? Explain.
4. Treatment: What type of treatment would you recommend for the character? Be specific.
5. Prognosis: Good or bad? Why?

Conclusion: Summarize your main points and reflect. Did you enjoy the movie you selected? Did the movie teach you anything you didn’t know already about mental illness? Was it a realistic portrayal of mental illness?

I would like you to reference at least three sources in this paper. The textbook may be one of your sources.**Be sure to review the grading grid so that you will be aware of how your paper will be graded. This should also serve as a guide to help you remember to include all of the important elements in the paper. Most importantly, DO NOT PLAGIARIZE YOUR WORK!!! Write in your own words and when in doubt–CITE! 🙂 Plagiarized work will result in an instant zero for the paper. Do not go to a website, copy and then paste and expect it to count as your paper. Your paper will be scanned for plagiarism so do not make this error.

Grading Grid for Research Paper

10%

10%

20%

Item Description	Percent
Uses scholarly and credible references (Minimum of 3 required) (One may be your textbook. Do NOT use Wikipedia, as it is not a scholarly resource.)			10%
Adequately covers the provided topics (headers)	30%
Content in introduction (including main points and thesis) Content in conclusion (5% each)
Uses the required minimum word count 1000-1200 words (4-5 pages)
Organization: Follow APA formatting -(intro, body, conclusion), Title page, double-spacing, 12 point font, include works cited page*Remember to include parenthetical citations in APA format and post the proper word count		20%
Spelling/Grammar (10% each)
Total:	100%

Here are some helpful tips and examples:

Parenthetical (In-Text) Citations

• A parenthetical (in-text) citation is when you place the source in parenthesis ( ) right after the sentence you cited instead of waiting until the end of the paper. It helps the reader to know exactly what sentences and paragraphs are taken from particular sources.
• Place the author’s name and the source’s date of publication in parentheses immediately after the end of the cited material. If it is a direct quote, include the page number as well. For example:”Psychology is defined as the science of behavior and mental processes” (Coon, 2012 p. 12).If you have paraphrased the information then you do not need to include the page number. For example: Psychology is a scientific field that specifically studies both mental processes and the associated behaviors (Coon, 2012).

Helpful Tips

• Always use spell and grammar check
• Make sure you indented the paragraphs (5 spaces in)
• Balance – Each paragraph should be similar in length
• Review the APA video and resource in Student Resources under Course Home
• You can send your paper to the Keiser OWL (Online Writing Lab) for review and to ask for help.