Abnormal Psychology: Case Study on American Beauty

Lester is a 40-year-old man referred to me for counselling by his doctor. He is currently married and lives with his wife, Carolyn, and their 16-year-old daughter Jane. He is employed as a fast food attendant (Cohen, Jinks & Mendes, 1999). At the initial examination Lester dresses untidily and unshaven, and avoids eye contact. Lester reports an overall feeling of unhappiness (Cohen, Jinks & Mendes, 1999). He stated that he has become reckless and self-destructive and worried about some of his recent life decisions.

American Beauty, a film that was written by Allan Ball and directed by Sam Mendes in 1999 is a unique piece that demonstrates many sociological themes throughout the development of the plot. The characters strive to portray themselves as the All American Family. They live in a nice house, drive nice cars and seem perfectly normal to the general public, but the audience is allowed to view the deep set issues that plague the main characters; Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey), Carolyn Burnham (Annette Bening), Jane Burnham (Thora Birch), and Jane's best friend Angela Hayes (Mena Suvari). As the plot develops there are many obvious parallels relating the lives of the characters to Merton's Strain

After several days spent meticulously filtering and interpreting the poorly translated web of psychological theories, Katharine Cook Briggs finally decides to unwind on her recliner. She calls her daughter, Isabel, eager to hear about the newest rendition of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, test form D, but she is unavailable (“A Guide to…”). She turns on the television, interested to hear the latest news updates on the deteriorating geopolitics of the late 1950s. Instead, she receives an unappreciated surprise in the form of the perky, gleeful face of stereotypical housewife June Cleaver on Leave it to Beaver as she thoughtlessly cleans, cooks, and cares for the family, all the while indoctrinating the audience on domestic female roles that Katharine finds both diminutive and regressive. June Cleaver may not have been the news Katharine was anticipating, but it was equally informative. She very well could have been a June-type mother, or worse, her daughter could have been. This comedic television trope of the average housewife reinvigorates Katharine, a constant reminder of her good fortune growing up in an intellectually supportive environment. She turns off the television, opens Psychologische Typen von C.G. Jung, and continues to comb through the pages, endlessly searching for the key to unlock the complexities of personality (“Myers’ and…).

Abnormal behavior relates to the influence of psychological factors, biological factors as well as the social factors referring to inadequate relationships. In the face of diverse definition, abnormal behavior refers to the deviating from norm, which norm is the typical behavior or characteristic of the population. As such, Jim behavior is abnormal because it violates moral and conventional mores of the society (Violates societal standards), as such causing social discomfort to others. For instance, Jim fails to recognize the social cues in conversation thereby annoying other interlocutors. Jim is this case is behaving in a manner counterproductive to his own well being by

When I was told to choose a movie to perform a psychoanalysis on a character. I did not know what movie to choose. After watching the two hour long film on the multiple characters that seemed to be struggling to find their inner happiness: American Beauty. I knew that I should not look any further. One character that especially stood out was, Lester Burnham. A forty-two year old father with a mid-life crisis. In the film, American Beauty Lester Burnham is portrayed as an ordinary man, with a perfect life, but of course that is far from the truth. From the outside, Lester seems to have a perfect salary, and a perfect family who lives in a perfect neighborhood. In reality, things are not

No family is perfect. Although from the outside looking in, some families may be depicted as perfect, they are far from it. The theme of unhappy families being portrayed as perfect is shown in the movies American Beauty directed by Sam Mendes and Pleasantville directed by Gary Ross. American Beauty depicts the Burnham’s as being the perfect 1990’s suburb family. Lester, the father, has an office job and Carolyn, the mother, works as a realtor. They have a teenaged daughter named Jane, who is in high school. They live in a single house surrounded by a white fence and perfect shrubbery. In the movie Pleasantville, the Parkers are illustrated as the perfect 1950’s family in the sitcom named Pleasantville. Betty Parker is a stay at home mom whereas

Although happiness is a more evident theme in American Beauty, the idea of liberty is substantial; specifically, because free will is difficult to find, not to mention, exceedingly rare. One of the uniting personality traits in the movie is that so many of the characters appear trapped: trapped by their fears, their existences, and their occupations. Several characters such as Colonel Fitts and his wife, Barbara Fitts conclude the film just as entombed as they were when the movie began. Additionally, character’s such as Carolyn Burnham, merely begin to free themselves from the events that bind them in the substantial moments just before the film

American Beauty is a movie that sets in suburban America. The story is about Lester, whom is a middle-aged writer working in a magazine company. He was having a midlife crisis where he felt lonely and numbed by continuous unchanging routine of his everyday life. In the movie, his wife portrayed as a successful real estate agent, but she was also going through her own midlife crisis in both her career and personal life. Lester’s daughter, Jane Bumham had alienated her parents and was going through puberty. They have a new neighbor who is a U.S. Marine Corps Colonel Frank Fitts, and he has a son, Ricky Fitts, who is a drug dealer. Lester was going to get fired from his company that he had worked for fourteen

A growing sense of confidence is a theme found in American Beauty and Demian. After hanging out with Max Demian, Emil gains the confidence to tell Franz Kromer he will not bring his sister for him to meet and also tells his mother that he stole money from her piggy bank. In American Beauty, we see Lester Burnham slowly open up and he begins to speak his mind, instead of being afraid and keeping his mouth shut. An example of this is when he has a dispute with his wife Carol about their sexual frustrations. He says: "This hasn't been a marriage for years, but you were happy as

The portrayal of an American family as shown in the movie, American Beauty, is one of dysfunction. In fact, the homosexual couple is the only family that seem to display somewhat "normal" behavior. As a non-traditional family, the homosexual couple appear connected, loving, and very happy. Most importantly, they demonstrate great respect for each other, something the heterosexual families do not. This non-traditional family is seen in small doses throughout the movie. However, the families that are prominently displayed for the majority of the movie are The Burnhams and The Fitts; the so-called "normal" family unit. What is striking about this display of "normalcy"

What makes someone beautiful? This striking question has always had a complex answer rather than simple. Society makes their interpretation of beauty with many standards that qualify for the “most beautiful people” in the world. America's picture of the perfect lady is extremely thin however full figured. America’s picture of the perfect gentleman is also thin, yet very fit. It’s always one thing or the other, never one choice. The public has their own particular rendition of what beauty looks like, yet american beauty happens to have a stance amongst the most startling standards. These standards of beauty that women see each day impact their confidence and self-esteem negatively only to push them to discover ways to fit into these unrealistic beauty criterias. Beauty standards in America are ever-changing, but society has yet to absolutely accept the average, everyday woman.

Abnormal and clinical psychology are two branches in the field of psychological studies. In simple words, abnormal psychology can be defined as the study of people who engage in unusual behavior and emotional thoughts. These actions and thoughts are considered abnormal compared to those of other members of society, and they significantly interfere with their functioning in life. Clinical psychology goes hand in hand with abnormal psychology because it is the study that deals with the assessment and treatment of those abnormal actions. Learning about these branches of psychology can help us understand and predict behaviors of people who that are affected by these disorders. It is also essential to advance our knowledge to help assess the people who suffer these illnesses to lead a life of better quality. In this paper, a case study that entails a brief vignette of a 35 year old paralegal named Greg will be analyzed. According to concepts of abnormal and clinical psychology, Greg will be diagnosed with the psychological disorder of obsessive-compulsive disorder (more formally known as OCD) that might have originated in the anal stage of the psychoanalytic theory, for which cognitive behavioral therapy will be used as a possible treatment.

This magazine Ad called “Self-Love” is for young black girls who feels discouraged about their natural hair. This ad is targeting young girls who feels as if their natural hair is not as beautiful as other women hair, I wanted this ad to show them that their hair is just as beautiful as the rest of the different hair textures. The Self Love ad would be located public arenas where young children are mostly located, I want the ad to be seen by these young girls and I want them to see that they’re not the only one who has discomfort with their hair, but they also can learn to love the hair that is part of them are and their culture. The Self Love ad is there to help the girls feel confident with their hair and help them become comfortable with wearing their natural hair without a care in the world.

“I have lost something...It’s never too late to get it back,” stated Lester Burnham, the main character of American Beauty. American Beauty is a 1999 film that provides a look into the lives of a modern married couple that is dealing with issues within their relationship. As the story progresses, it is easily identifiable that the roles of the husband and wife are not what the viewers would expect. On the other hand, the homosexual couple presented throughout the movie seems to be the normal pair. Furthermore, society’s definition of beauty and contentment is questioned. Throughout American Beauty, the homosexual couple has a healthier relationship than the heterosexual couple and beauty is falsely represented.

The sociocultural model of abnormality examines the social and cultural trends of everyday world and how environments contribute to mental disorders. “Sociocultural theorists believe social forces contribute to mental disorders through learning. Individuals learn to adopt behaviors normal and abnormal in response to the social and cultural roles model, ideals, pressures, and stresses they encounter” (Hansel, Damour, 2008, page 216).